ABSTRACT
For example, 9/11 provided teachers with an unwanted, yet powerful, teachable moment. In the wake of 9/11, many students asked two complex questions: “Why do they hate us?” and “Who are these people?” (Lipscomb, 2002, p. 237). Addressing such questions requires the use of all of the tools of social studies: “If students are to understand how the social world operates, they cannot study history or geography or economics or any of the other components of social studies in isolation” (Barton, 2005, p. 23). Social studies instruction can provide various tools to assist in separating facts from hearsay while presenting and clarifying potentially unpopular views in historical and cultural contexts.
