Abstract
This study focuses on elementary school social studies teaching practices by following the Quality Education Reform in modern China. The study aims to describe the characteristics and problems of these teaching practices through the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the teaching practices for 24 lesson plans and videos from the "excellent national model lessons" published by The Chinese Society of Education in 2013. Chinese teachers teach morality and social recognition in the same lesson. However, the quantitative analysis showed that the excellent national model lessons are largely teacher-centered and focused on "value knowledge." The qualitative analysis showed that three main types of teaching methods were used for the 24 "Morality and Society" lessons: understanding through experience, inquiry, and problem-solving. These three methods share the qualities of cogitative faculty, the learner's good judgment, voluntary learning, cooperative learning, investigation and discussion, protection of the environment, and engagement in community activities.
