Abstract

Integrating global literature with social studies provides opportunities for students to deepen their knowledge and understanding of social studies concepts and broaden their view of the world. Students can make personal connections to the characters and events in the books and develop their empathy towards people who come from different cultures in faraway lands. In this article, we describe the rationale for integrating global literature with social studies in the elementary classroom and provide an example of a text set on promoting global citizenship, peace, and social justice with examples of response activities linked to the National Curriculum for Social Studies Teachers (National Council for the Social Studies, 2010).