Elementary Teacher Education (ETE) students who pursue this concentration can become eligible for middle school social studies certification when they successfully complete the following courses with a grade of C- or better and pass the relevant Praxis II test identified on the Praxis resource page. Students must also have a minimum 2.75 GPA in their social studies courses, including the General Studies social studies courses, prior to enrolling in the student teaching experience EDUC 400.

Course Requirements

• ECON course
• GEOG course
• HIST 103, 104, 205 OR 206: World or U.S. History
• HIST 315: History for Teachers (fall semesters)
• HIST course from the list of approved courses below
• POSC 150 OR 270: Civics & Economics for Teachers, American Political System OR Comparative Politics (whichever was not taken for General Studies)
• One elective course (3 credits) from HIST, GEOG, POSC OR ECON
• EDUC 348: Investigating Social Studies in Middle School Communities 
• EDUC 400-036: Student Teaching: Middle School Social Studies 

Portfolio Requirement

In EDUC 348, students will compile artifacts (e.g., tests, projects) from the social studies courses that they have taken up until that point and submit a portfolio to demonstrate that they have addressed the National Council of Social Studies Standards during their coursework.

There will be a meeting during their sophomore year where they will meet with the other students in this concentration to learn about which artifacts should be saved from their social studies courses. Vicki Goettel will coach students during and after this meeting about the portfolio requirements and answer questions about them.

Approved History Courses