This teacher's guide to unit three of the first-semester "Comparing Political Experiences" course provides teaching instructions to meet the unit objectives. The guide outlines instructional objectives and procedures for each of the 16 activities described in the 12th-grade student materials. Each instructional procedure is designed to…

This ERIC Digest outlines the methods employed and the results obtained from the 1994 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in U.S. history. NAEP surveys collect information about students' knowledge of core subjects of the school curriculum. This particular survey was administered to a national sample of students in grades 4, 8, and…

The National Register of Historic Places maintains a database with information on more than 60,000 historic places of significance in U.S. history. This paper contends that the emerging K-12 social studies core curriculum, as exemplified by the National Standards Project, contains a number of openings for teaching about historic places.…

The voyage of Columbus in 1492 is a turning point in world history. After 1492, people and civilizations of long-separated regions began to develop connections that have led to the incipient global community of the 1990s. It is their global significance that justifies a prominent place in today's curriculum for the four voyages of Columbus to the…

Efforts to strengthen instruction in U.S. history and government resulted in the development of "Lessons on the Constitution," a book containing 62 lessons for use with high school students. The curriculum development process used in writing the book is described, and the objectives, format, and content of the lessons are discussed. (RM)

Recent state-level curriculum frameworks have emphasized geography and history as core subjects of the social studies sequence of courses, from kindergarten through the twelfth grade. This Digest presents a rationale for the connection between geography and history, presents ideas for developing this connection within the curriculum, and…

In 1994 the Center for Civic Education published "National Standards for Civics and Government," content standards clearly defining what students should know and be able to do as the outcome of civic education in school. This standards project has been an attempt to standardize the best in civic education and to make the Standards…

Numerous criticisms of college social studies methods courses have generated various reform efforts. Three of these reforms are examined, including competency-based teacher education, the value analysis approach to teacher education, and the human relations approach to teacher education. Competency-based courses develop among future teachers…