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Social Studies Ficiton Books

Children's fiction books can be used to convey Social Studies skills in elementary school children. Social Studies fictional books can promote skill building. Children will build citizenship skills in order to function productively in American society. This is one of the main objectives of Social Studies education. To contribute to the commonweal, young people learn lessons about the ways people live, and students acquire skills to make effective social decisions and the willingness to participate in the decision-making process. The pages of children's fiction provide many opportunities for children to model these citizenship qualities. Storybooks contain knowledge about people and relationships. Their characters deal with emerging values, demonstrate the effect of institutions on individual behavior, and relate with others in many situations. Children's fiction, moreover, offers lessons about people from various time periods and diverse cultural backgrounds.Finally, storybooks provide examples of citizenship skills in practice. Characters communicate with others, determine cause and effect, locate places on maps, process information, and think reflectively. The characters of children's fiction are concerned about and involved in their society. They confront choices every citizen must make, and circumstances force them to make decisions that influence the welfare of others. Far from a mismatch, citizenship skill building and children's fiction seem a natural combination. Storybooks are an ideal source for activities that convey the tools of citizenship to children.


 * Information taken from [|ERIC Digest]

[|Information about Children's Fiction in the Social Studies Classroom]

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