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Notable Social Studies Trade Book (NSSTB) lists include books selected annually by the Book Review Committee of the National Council for the Social Studies in conjunction with the Children’s Book Council. These lists are excellent resources for teachers who use children’s literature to support social studies instruction in their classrooms. We report our analysis of award-winning titles for primary grades published from 2001-2011. Biographies and books that address topics about families are featured as a starting place for primary grades teachers to begin incorporating NSSTB into their social studies instruction. We conclude by suggesting ways for primary grade teachers to utilize the book lists each year.

It’s Back to School We Go! First Day Stories From Around the World by Ellen Jackson, is a fiction book, using short, first-person narratives to compare the first day of school for 11 children from different countries. The lesson plan, designed for grade levels 3-5, asks students to compare and contrast their own lives with those of the characters in the book. Students learn that humans from diverse cultural environments interpret similar childhood experiences from different, yet interesting, frames of reference. Exchange of perspectives and ideas may assist students in visualizing themselves as world citizens capable of promoting global understanding. The lesson plan includes graphic organizers and examples to implement the lesson.

The purpose of this paper, notable trade lesson plan, is to utilize a notable picture book in an early childhood application.

The approach of this notable trade book lesson plan is that of a hands-on interactive reading leading to a cultural exploration.

Young learners communicated connections with global communities, as they expressed similarities found between their evening routines and those of Germany. Opportunities arose for prekindergarten students to converse in a foreign language through a familiar song, as they discovered similarities and differences found in evening routines such as meals, games, family conversations and preparing for bedtime.

The value of this notable trade plan submission is in its ability to integrate geographical and cultural lessons into literacy contexts.

The purpose of this notable trade book lesson plan is to utilize the novel, Ghost Boys, in an upper elementary/middle school education application. This lesson plan utilizes visual curriculum materials to engage students in a powerful exploration of “bearing witness.” Through the exploration of text, photographs, music and dance, students will be given opportunities to engage with the visual materials, think critically about relevant societal issues and participate in affective learning. The students will interpret visual historical evidence to develop “a sense of otherness” or empathy, and engage with the inquiry process (Barton and Levstik, 2004, pp. 210–211). Historical empathy proves an important aspect to students' historical thinking because affective learning allows students to connect with historical figures and gain new perspectives understanding difficult situations (Endacott, 2010, p. 6).

The approach of this notable trade book lesson plan is a multimodal analysis of art forms (photography, music and dance choreography) which culminates in the students taking informed action to create a personal mural to “bear witness” to an issue of their selection.

This is a National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) notable trade book lesson plan. After engaging with this lesson, students will gain skills in visual decoding, empathy, critical thinking and collaboration. The students will use higher-order thinking to take informed action by creating a mural to “bear witness” to injustice.

The value of this lesson plan is the ability to integrate written themes from the text, visual learning and hands-on learning in a meaningful and authentic way to students. Allowing the students to take informed action using the knowledge gained about “bearing witness” proves crucial for young students learning how to actively participate in America's multi-cultural democracy.

The purpose of this paper is to allow students to explore the accomplishments of Harriet Tubman at various stages of her life through a guided research investigation. Students will be able to identify Harriet Tubman as a human hero by creating biographical story boards to display first in the classroom and later moved to a local cultural museum. The lesson plan is based on the trade book Before She Was Harriet. This short biography of Harriet Tubman is written in a free verse style to introduce young readers to the several roles she held throughout her impressive life span.

Social constructivist principles are integrated throughout the lesson; that is, meaningful interactions with peers and the teacher influence student learning. Students participate in a scaffolded research project with the support of teacher modeling and graphic organizers. They expand their knowledge by creating an original interdisciplinary project, a story board biography. Throughout all phases of the learning experience, students engage in critical thinking and challenging activities that include drawing connections among ideas, evaluating group work, arguing positions and applying research skills. Additionally, a variety of resources, including technology, are incorporated to promote active student engagement.

This is a National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Notable Tradebook Lesson Plan.

Young learners need the opportunity to engage in scaffolded research activities in a social studies classroom. This innovative instructional plan provides PreK-3 teachers a guide to introducing students to Harriet Tubman by reading aloud Before She Was Harriet, a 2018 Notable Trade book, and allowing students to gather a deep understanding of this historical figure through guided research over the course of two to three sessions.

This lesson plan can be used with elementary students to integrate reading, social studies, and language arts. You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer is a humorous, yet accurate, account of the beginning of the Women’s Rights Movement. Students learn to make personal connections to women of today by comparing and contrasting past and present roles as well as predicting future roles. The needs of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners are addressed through hands-on activities and the use of technology, and primary sources are used to teach content. Students read other trade books on the lives of various women and make trading cards illustrating important contributions they made to history. Higher-order thinking questions are an integrative part of this lesson.

This lesson plan can be used with elementary students to discuss the different aspects of entrepreneurship. It uses a trade book, Lunch Money, to launch a lesson about different aspects of designing and maintaining a business and business relationships.

This extended lesson plan uses the book Queen of the Falls to investigate the life of Annie Edson Taylor, the first person to successfully fall over Niagara Falls in a barrel Niagara Falls. Through the various activities, students will explore resources such as photographs, first-hand accounts, newspaper articles, songs, and poems from the era, to learn what life was like for women in 1901, and to discuss the events surrounding Taylor’s decision to venture over Niagara Falls. Several questions will be posed to the students including “How was Annie Edson Taylor a woman of her time?” “To what extent was Annie Edson Taylor a hero?” “Was Annie Edson Taylor’s trip over the Falls worth the attempt for fame and fortune?” The lesson concludes with the following question: “Was Annie Edson Taylor a woman of her time or by her design?”

Using children’s literature to teach economics is a good method of making unclear concepts seem logical and authentic and has been used effectively by primary school educators for many years. However, finding a popular book that contains clear and comprehensible examples of economic choice, goods and services, and supply and demand at the upper elementary/middle school level can be a challenge. Meeting this challenge is Jeanne DuPrau’s Ember Series, a compelling futuristic cautionary tale that encourages its readers to think seriously about the allocation of limited resources and the consequences of planning for the future. This interactive lesson takes a situation from a book’s plot and applies it to economic principle “voluntary trade creates wealth.”

This lesson plan can be used with elementary students to discuss the geographical concept of place. It uses a trade book, Going Home, to foster students’ consideration of their individual development and identity and its relationship to place.