Teaching Social Studies to Multilingual Learners in Middle School

Xiaoning Chen is assistant professor of ESL/bilingual education at National College of Education, National Louis University. She has published articles and book chapters on multimodal analysis of visuals in science textbooks, translation issues in dual language children’s literature, and visual literacy and English language learners. Her research focuses on leveraging visuals and visual literacy to provide equitable access to content for multilingual learners. She has directed the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Regional Grant to enhance multilingual students’ engagement in STEM.Mark Newman is professor of social science education at National College of Education, National Louis University. He has published books and articles on primary sources, visual culture, geography, and visual literacy. He has directed the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources and National Endowment for the Humanities grants. Newman won the National Louis Distinguished Teaching Award in 2016.

This is a very useful text for middle grade social studies educators and their increasingly diverse student populations. Utilizing concepts and research findings about how multilingual students learn, Chen and Newman propose a triad approach to social studies instruction, consisting of inquiry learning, primary source documents, and visual literacy. Well-designed sample lessons combine an understanding of TESOL principles for teaching multilingual students with strategies for improving students' visual literacy and understanding of primary sources…. Chapter reflection questions will assist instructors who employ this text in teacher preparation programs or as a professional development resource. The book also makes a strong case for the centrality of social studies as a school subject that can help develop both content understanding and literacy skills, applicable across the curriculum…. [A] welcome addition to the social studies literature on education. Recommended. Advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and professionals.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I. FoundationsChapter 1. Exploring Social StudiesChapter 2. Working with Multilingual StudentsChapter 3. The Visual Literacy FrameworkPart II. ApplicationChapter 4. Teaching U.S. HistoryChapter 5. Teaching World HistoryChapter 6. Teaching GeographyChapter 7. Teaching Civics and GovernmentAbout the Authors