Building a curriculum around social studies has multiple benefits for students. It helps them understand their history, their place in the world, and the world around them. In the late 1990s, NC State University’s College of Humanities & Social Studies developed a series of social studies textbooks meant to inspire students. “Living in Our World,” was highly acclaimed, used by social studies teachers throughout the state, revised, but never reprinted. Instead, the series was offered online.
In 2006, an innovative company – Gibbs Smith, Publishers – looked at entering the North Carolina market. Their tagline, “Inspiring Students, Reinventing Textbooks,” explains what they were seeking. While researching the market for an 8th grade history text, they heard time and time again about the NC State offering.
Gibbs Smith entered into a partnership with the original team that developed the NC State-inspired series. They updated the books, redesigned them, and worked with other educators and scholars to develop a customized series of textbooks to address the state’s demanding social studies curriculum.
Today, the company offers not only the NC-focused textbooks but a complementary program that inspires students and teachers. Audio books, teacher editions and manuals, website support, interactive activities … all built around NC State’s original concept.