Prior research on primary social studies
Generic aspects of our instructional units
Using narrative to build a content base
Structuring the curriculum around big ideas
Developing big ideas about history
Developing big ideas about geography
Developing big ideas about the social sciences
Using instructional resources
Making connections and avoiding undesired content
Introducing new knowledge bases
Developing knowledge bases through structured discourse
Using questions to develop content with the whole class
Scaffolding for individual students within whole-class lessons
Activities and assessments.