This article provides an example of a social studies lesson from Turkish educational context in order to facilitate comparison with examples of social studies lessons from other parts of the world. This lesson was recorded in a 7th grade class at a middle school in one of the metropolitan neighborhoods in Istanbul. According to the current…

This article describes teaching a course called Harry Potter and Politics. Focusing on aspects of political culture, the class tackled themes of identity, institutional behavior, and globalization. Teaching Harry Potter has several benefits. Students are both familiar with the wizarding world and yet have enough distance to examine it…

As perhaps the most encompassing idea in biology, evolution has impacted not only science, but other academic disciplines as well. The broad, interdisciplinary impact of evolution was the theme of a course taught at Marian College, Indianapolis, Indiana in 2002, 2004, and 2006. Using a strategy that could be readily adopted at other institutions,…

An activity-based curriculum enables intermediate-grade children to pretend to be explorers who have discovered land. Students create a country by constructing a land map, formulating a constitution, determining an appropriate form of rule, and so on. Students learn how each aspect, from terrain to climate, creates ramifications leading to a…

Discusses a study of the political science major within the liberal arts curriculum. Urges that a major should have structure and coherence. Emphasizes the major as an area for in-depth training, not bureaucratic convenience. Suggests that the American Political Science Association foster more connections to other fields and assessment of…

Describes a team-taught, interdisciplinary college honors course on politics and literature, including the origins and theoretical underpinning of the course, issues related to the intersection of the disciplines, evolution of the teacher's role in the course, and outcomes. Concludes that despite the difficulties of interdisciplinary team…

Based on the game "Prisoners' Dilemma," a game-theoretical model of the arms race suitable for postsecondary level mathematics and/or political science students is developed in which two players can initially choose any level of arms development. The purpose of the game is to show under what conditions deescalation rather than escalation…

In this lesson plan, students are assigned a member of the California Assembly to research and a political faction to represent. Students examine representative bills voted on by the California Assembly to determine if their member's voting record coincides with the views of their political faction. Ultimately, students must decide whether, and…

Presents activities from an interdisciplinary project studying local watersheds that incorporate a broad spectrum of disciplines including science, math, geography, English, computer science, and political science. Enables students to understand how precipitation changes chemically as it interacts with the soils and human-altered landscape as it…

This book offers teachers problem-solving activities in five areas of the social studies curriculum: geography, politics, economics, culture, and history. The carefully structured activities in the book place students in role simulations so they learn to think and work with purpose and develop skills for problem solving. The book provides teachers…

In this lesson plan, each student must decide which political party he/she will join or whether to register as an independent. Each student will be part of a group analyzing one current political party and presenting to the class this party's solutions for the problems confronting the United States today. The political parties for analysis are:…

Argues that a complete and accurate understanding of constitutional history and constitutional law requires the study of state constitutions. Maintains that state constitutions contain a coherent political theory that is, in important respects, at variance with the concept of federalism. (CFR)

This teacher's guide was developed for the second of four courses in Valencia Community College's Interdisciplinary Studies Program, a 2-year core general education curriculum which chronologically examines the major developments in the evolution of human knowledge. The guide provides an introductory overview of the semester's topic (i.e., the…

This lesson plan imagines the student as part of a delegation to a special meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-sponsored Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council being held in Brussels, Belgium, where the topic of discussion is a proposal by several NATO members to invite independent republics of the former Soviet Union to become…

In this lesson plan, students role play members of the Cabinet of the President of the United States. Cabinet members must define and defend their highest priority programs for the coming fiscal year. Students must identify a pressing current issue before their particular Cabinet department and prepare an action plan, with possible alternative…