Project-Based Learning (PBL) is increasingly popular in K-12 schools, not just in the United States but around the world. PBL is a great way to engage students in their learning. In this article, the author presents what PBL is and is not.

The social studies curriculum travels through time and space and is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. To an outsider, the social studies curriculum is a single line on a program of studies, 45 minutes of a student's school day. Those on the inside, however, know that the field covers history, geography, civics, economics, and much…

The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards calls upon social studies teachers to enhance the rigor of civics, economics, geography, history and the other social studies disciplines while building the critical thinking, problem solving, and participatory skills of students to help them become actively…

Biographies, which are popular among young people, can stimulate interest in the past when students investigate the historical contexts in which individuals lived. Creating biography webs offers students structured opportunities to investigate how other people and groups influenced the personal development of specific individuals (NCSS Strands II,…

If American young learners are to become effective participants in a democratic society, then social studies must be an essential part of the curriculum in each of the elementary years. The purpose of elementary school social studies is to enable students to understand, participate in, and make informed decisions about their world. Social studies…

How can educators immerse high school students in a real murder case investigation that will require them to draw upon and practice the critical thinking, literacy, and reasoning skill sets so highly valued under the Common Core, the C3 Framework and the 21st Century skills rubric? As an attorney and former high school teacher, the author knew…

Describes an experiment which compared the effectiveness of explicit instruction in problem-solving methods to an indirect, guided-discovery approach upon stimulus-bound and stimulus-free thinkers in the third and fourth grades. Findings suggest that logical problem solving is best taught using explicit instructions for both types of thinkers. (AM)

Examines three problem-solving models that have applications for the elementary school classroom. All are easily understandable, practical, pedagogical, and will improve children's thinking. Models are the Universal Traveler, Philosophy for Children, and the Decide Model. (Author/AV)

Ideas are suggested as to how teachers can help students deal intelligently with questions of value in the classroom. Steps to use in approaching the conflicting issues related to promotion of world peace are outlined. (KM)

Describes two methods to incorporate problem-solving into social studies classes. Project REACH, a five-step method, teaches students the process of problem solving while using a variety of materials and classroom situations. Project USMES incorporates problem solving into a set of specially developed curriculum materials. (Author/AV)

Five teachers describe the ways they teach consumer education: 1) through the theme of American problems, 2) through a team of teachers representing different disciplines, 3) through tandem teaching with constant representation from business and social sciences, 4) as a unit in an economics course, and 5) by activities integrated into the…

This article discusses four current explanations for man's failure to resolve conflicts. Information about and techniques for improving human judgment and opportunities for students to learn to use these are needed to improve efforts to solve social problems. (KM)

Presents background information on creative and destructive conflict between and among nations, treaty negotiations, political decision making, environmental conflicts, and research and training in conflict resolution. Suggestions for individual and group involvement are presented. (DB)

This exercise shows how to turn the expository treatment of a topic or event into a mystery or puzzling situation that students are asked to solve. Once a puzzle is presented, students may pose only questions that can be answered yes or no. Three sample lessons are included to illustrate the process. (JDH)

Aims of conceptual clarity of scope and aims of social studies by offering a definition of social studies as a way of organizing, selecting and teaching content related to citizenship, and by describing the three competing traditions within the social studies. A related article is SO 500 189. (JB)