This experimental unit on death employs a cross-cultural comparison of death and burial customs to increase student understanding of the values and reasons behind events surrounding the end of the life cycle. Nine activities are presented in which students collect, label, analyze, and generalize about the relationship of death customs to the…

This unit examines four topic areas related to police: rules and enforcement, police discretion, variety of police tasks, and police differences among societies as products of certain social pressures. High-school students learn about the police as an institution that responds to social and historical pressures. Students study police systems in…

This four-week fourth grade social studies unit dealing with religious dimensions in ancient Egyptian culture was developed by the Public Education Religion Studies Center at Wright State University. It seeks to help students understand ancient Egypt by looking at the people, the culture, and the people's world view. The unit begins with outlines…

Seven modules provide perspective on United States history in terms of the American as an individual in the community. Part One, The American Family, explores roles of American men and women, marriage, and the family. Letters written in 1776 between John and Abigail Adams are contrasted with letters written in 1975 between working mothers. Family…

Showing a variety of learned behavior about aging, activities in this unit are designed to help high-school students become aware that their views (preconceptions) on aging are not universally held. Objectives of the unit include achievement of global perspective on aging and its problems, understanding of the effects of population growth and…

This final four-part report describes and evaluates the Vocational Adult Secondary Training Project (VAST) whose goals were to revise and develop: adult basic education curriculum in the areas of mathematics, communications, and science; individualized instruction with clearly defined objectives; a methodology for pretesting and selection of…

This module contains a description of the responsibilities and ceremony of marriage in west Africa, seven discussion questions exploring the differences between Western and African marriage customs, five enrichment activities, and a bibliography of five books about love and marriage in Africa. The general discussion relates the engagement of a…

In this unit, high-school students identify and evaluate their own images of the Arabs and begin to develop more accurate perceptions of the Arabs through data analysis. Activities emphasize social studies skills, such as mapmaking and reading, use of time lines and the concept of chronology, and data collection and analysis. Students compare…

The teacher's guide contains interdisciplinary activities for all grade levels based on the inauguration of President Carter. The first section suggests ways of developing skills and competencies in self-actualization, communication, consumer/producer affairs, social-political values, and mathematical analysis. For example, students are encouraged…

This instructional unit offers high-school students experiences in learning about how human beings communicate and fail to communicate. It is based on the assumption that personal and cultural differences create differing "perceptual sets." Seventeen learning activities are grouped into four units: (1) Communication Processes and "Meaning-Making,"…

Insights are offered into how speech, melody, and rhythm dramatize the differences in the construction and interpretation of music for Africa and America. Intended for use in instructing American students about African music, the learning module relates music to traditional African culture and maintains that the music is at the same time…

The unit contains a teacher's guide, student reading materials, and data sheets about a variety of worldwide demographic and economic variables. Designed for students in junior high through college, its goals are to encourage students to analyze the causes and consequences of world population and economic trends, and to detect interrelationships…

The curriculum guide is designed to help high school art teachers develop a course of instruction to enhance student understanding and knowledge of 20th century art and architecture. A major objective of the course is to develop student ability to recognize, compare, and analyze style, form, and expressive content as a means of achieving greater…

This unit explores the roles of women today and the possible effects of social, political, and economic equality for women on students' personal lives, the nation, and the world. Thirteen activities are designed to help secondary students develop an understanding of the status of women in U.S. society as compared with other cultures. These…

The guide is designed to help high school art teachers develop an introductory art survey course which focuses on the basic elements and theoretical principles of art products from prehistory through the present day. A major objective of the course is to help students analyze the relationships between art and society and between the artist and…