This course is designed for the practicing elementary teacher who desires to improve their knowledge base, level of literacy and pedagogical skills in the teaching of elementary social studies. Being an effective social studies teacher requires great diligence. As most social studies teachers are required to teach courses outside of their expertise, they must regularly update their knowledge of the varied fields of study covered by the broad definition of social studies. This course will help prepare teachers to find dynamic and multiple ways to reach out to students who span the spectrum of learning readiness, cognitive strengths and weaknesses, linguistic backgrounds, and personal interests. In addition, the course will focus on preparing classroom curricula with culturally shaped ways of seeing and experiencing the world. Along with the national standards and state standards, participants will focus on differentiating instruction in social studies education. The overriding course concept is that today's social studies teachers have so much information to convey and yet so many options for teaching it. Pre-requisite: Admission to the Robert Morris University Graduate Program