Students in grades six through 12 in 40 states are participating annually in a History Day competition. Rules for the 1983 contest are briefly described. (AM)

Describes high school social studies student projects involving a study of local cemeteries. Projects include charting life expectancies, creating slide shows of community grave sites, and collecting tombstone rubbings. (KC)

A lesson plan involves high school students in examining incidents in U.S. history as acts of political behavior, including an examination of the resources the participants possessed and the political techniques they employed. A list of 25 issues/events to investigate is presented. (AM)

Offers a rationale for oral history projects and details procedures for documenting oral histories. The oral history project involves students in field work in their own communities and develops interpersonal and academic skills. Procedures include locating a suitable memoirist, conducting the initial interview, tape analysis and follow-up…

How to use elementary school children as curators of a classroom museum is described. The teacher decides the concept or unit to be showcased in the museum. As curators students are responsible for many tasks including writing descriptive paragraphs for the artifacts and arranging the artifact display. (RM)

Fourth and fifth grade students at Bulman Elementary School, Redford, Michigan, learn economics concepts by selling potato chips: company stocks are sold and part of the profit is invested in a student-run bank which has checking accounts and issues monthly statements. (AV)

Provides classroom procedures for adapting the nineteenth-century-style song slide show to middle school history instruction. Suggests student production of song slide shows as individual or group projects. Argues that the activity can capture the drama of history and stimulate student curiosity about the past. (SG)

A local educational agency in St. Louis, the Citizenship Education Clearinghouse (CECH), works with schools to make real participation in community civic, governmental, and political affairs a possibility for students. Three CECH models for student participation in issues of national concern, in state politics, and in local issues are described.…

A reenactment that attempts to re-create and relive the sequence of events of a significant historical happening can be an essential power for learning history. Suggestions to help teachers develop and plan a reenactment are made. (RM)

Describes a local history project in which high school students located valuable historic photographs on the local community and reproduced them on 35mm slides. An historic photo archive consisting of the slides accompanied by documentary materials was created. Procedures for creating and suggestions for using a photo archive are included. (KC)

A high school anthropology teacher guided students in creating a new culture with distinct elements of social control, economy, decision making, family, religion, space, time, status, language, tension outlets, rituals, symbols, property, idealogy, and manners. The activity included a field trip lasting several days during which the class lived…

Elementary teachers can gain valuable insights into the teaching of social studies by taking part in primary social science research projects. Describes a primary research project conducted in a social studies methods class that involved future teachers in investigating the water problems of Shreveport, Louisiana. (RM)

An approach that will heighten secondary school students' interest in the study of local government and allow even poor readers to participate is described. Students analyze local county budgets and use a variety of resources, including textbooks and guest speakers, to find plausible answers to their own questions. (RM)

Centennial celebrations provide an ideal opportunity to help young children develop an understanding of the concepts of time and chronology, maps, societal change, and an appreciation of family and personal heritage. Centennial activities for use with first and second graders are provided. (RM)

Describes a six-week seventh-grade project in which students create their own continent. The project helps students learn about weather and climatic patterns, use map scales and legends, describe relationships between natural resources and human activities, solve problems, and work effectively in groups. (Author/KC)