This learning activity, "Feeding Your Family for a Year," teaches students about how the shift from nomadic, hunter-gatherer societies to agrarian societies led to inequities in resources, which in turn allowed a leisure class to develop (Cordes & Ibrahim, 2003). The activity demonstrates how an unequal distribution of resources,…

Thomas Rickert warns of the dangers of "pedagogies that seek the disruption and politicization of hierarchies of power and privilege, especially in terms of race, class, and gender" because they can "nevertheless produce new forms of power and privilege that in turn produce new resistances, further alienate already cynical students,…

How can teachers help their students to meet high standards of reading and writing while also preparing them to become thoughtful and productive members of a multicultural society? And why is it important to do this? In her new book, Mary Dilg brings us into her high school English classroom, where we see students reach across the social,…

Social class remains one of the chief prisms through which reality is interpreted. It is vital for a student to understand how this prism influences their internal representations of themselves and others. In this activity, social class is viewed as a social construction of perceived financial and/or economic status developed through societal…

Provides description, materials needed, and suggestions for the teacher for three classroom sessions and an extension of a unit studying individual portraits and photographs of early Americans and discussing possible characteristics of the people and their place in American history. (CK)

Presents research on the situational dimension of linguistic power in social context and the relevance of this research within culturally pluralistic educational contexts. Offers suggestions for class activities that can engage standard and nonstandard speakers of English as well as those who do not speak English. (SRT)

Reports a recent classroom analysis of Latino students who were doing well academically (as reflected both in teachers' assessments and in achievement tests). Finds that teachers were theoretically equipped, able to make curriculum judgments, and received support from colleagues. (MS)

The paper discusses rationales for simulation gaming and describes "Spiegeldorf," a socio-historical game which simulates socioeconomic conditions in early 1930 Germany and Nazi party tactics used to gain mass support. Objectives are to identify characteristic Nazi tactics and points of political ideology, describe German social classes…

Presents a lesson plan focused on the events surrounding the 1894 Pullman railroad car strike. Reviews the particulars of the strike (the federal government used armed force to end the strike) and then presents a simulation where students role play members of the investigating presidential commission. Includes related documents. (MJP)