Hull-House was a unique social experiment by which Jane Addams realized her egalitarian vision for a shared civic life. Facing soaring social problems of the early twentieth century, Hull-House's most important mission was to help new immigrants learn the rule of self-government and become successful drivers of it. Hull-House was an unusual group…

Methods for facilitating students' standards-based consumer literacy are addressed via the use of problem solving with food and product labels. Fifth graders will be able to: (1) provide detailed analysis of food and product labels; (2) understand large themes, including production, distribution, and consumption; and (3) explore consumer…

Students in this post-industrial technological age require opportunities for the acquisition of new skills, especially in the marketplace of innovation. A pedagogical strategy that is becoming more and more popular within social studies classrooms is the use of computer and video games as enhancements to everyday lesson plans. Computer/video games…

This article illustrates how community service-learning can be defined and implemented as a group inquiry project in which students apply academic knowledge and social problem-solving skills. The authors examined eleven different community service-learning projects put into practice by elementary and middle school teachers who participated in…

This article discusses techniques for integrating real problem solving and decision making into secondary social studies programs. Approaches to creative problem solving are presented, and various systematic decision making programs currently available for classroom use are identified. (Author/RM)

Describes a problem-solving model developed by economists that incorporates the use of economics into the high school social studies curriculum. Model components include defining the issue, identifying objectives, looking for ways to achieve objectives, identifying pertinent economic concepts, analyzing alternatives, and evaluating which…

The complete lesson enables the teacher to relate teaching strategies to levels of cognitive behavior, and stems from the belief that higher levels of cognitive behavior are developed only after a learner first acquires information and then puts that information to use. (Author)

Contains five lesson plans designed to help students understand the causes of violent behavior and vandalism and to give them experience in solving problems of real-life situations. Students examine the causes and implications of violence in schools and among adolescents and effect of mass media on violent behavior. (AM)

Considers how elementary school classroom teachers can employ exploration methods (gathering, evaluation, and synthesis of data related to a specific topic) to help students develop readiness for intellectually complex problem solving. (Author/DB)

Critical thinking has long been a goal of social studies education, and its importance has been reiterated in documents delineating standards for the social studies. Yet, teaching critical thinking is problematic because there are competing definitions and practices and many barriers to its implementation (Wright 1995; Onosko 1989). In this…

Stresses importance of making the social studies curriculum challenging for gifted students. Recommends differentiating between content and process, and discusses a variety of approaches and techniques relevant to a variety of classroom situations. Emphasis is placed on developing higher-level thinking skills in the gifted classroom. (BR)

Intermediate and junior high school students became very involved with this learning activity which involved detective work. Working in groups, students had to solve a riddle based on a sequence of clues. The answer to each set of clues was either a person, an event, or a place. (RM)

This article demonstrates how teacher-developed simulations can enhance social science instruction. A sample simulation is provided, along with techniques, skills, and learning objectives. (JR)

Social studies educators advocate discussion as an influential instructional method to encourage students to apply knowledge and develop higher-order thinking and understanding. The classroom reality, however, is that teachers only use the discussion method sparingly. Instead, teachers predominantly use a quasi-discussion form called recitation to…

Today, because of the problem-solving skills necessary for successful 21st century living, students must be taught higher-order thinking skills. Principles intended to stimulate discussion about the appropriate means for teaching higher-order thinking are examined. (RM)