Teaching Global History : A Social Studies Approach

Teaching Global History challenges prospective and beginning social studies teachers to formulate their own views about what is important to know in global history and why. It explains how to organize the curriculum around broad social studies concepts and themes and student questions about humanity, history, and the contemporary world. All chapters include lesson ideas, a sample lesson plan with activity sheets, primary source documents, and helpful charts, graphs, photographs, and maps. High school students’ responses are woven in throughout. Additional material corresponding to each chapter is posted online at http://people.hofstra.edu/alan_j_singer.

The traditional curriculum tends to highlight the Western heritage, and to race through epochs and regions, leaving little time for an in-depth exploration of concepts and historical themes, for the evaluation of primary and secondary sources, and for students to draw their own historical conclusions. Offering an alternative to such pre-packaged textbook outlines and materials, this text is a powerful resource for promoting thoughtful reflection and debate about what the global history curriculum should be and how to teach it.

Alan J. Singer is professor of secondary education and director of social studies education in the Department of Teaching, Literacy and Leadership at Hofstra University in Long Island, New York and the editor of Social Science Docket (a joint publication of the New York and New Jersey Councils for Social Studies).