For social studies teachers, the challenge is to teach about war by going beyond causes and results and the major battles and highlights historians claim as important. Excerpts from literature and primary source materials and discussion questions are presented to help secondary students study the personal side of World War I. (RM)

Presents three simulations in which participants must make decisions based on a limited number of choices among a defined set of alternatives. Students (1) decide which English convicts will be transported to the colonies; (2) place individuals in one of two retirement homes; and (3) choose which children will help their mother draw up her will.…

To provide a structure for exploring the different approaches of presidents to economic problems, questions are presented. The contrast between the Carter and Reagan programs is discussed and placed into historical perspective by reviewing the different philosophic responses of Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt to economic issues. Classroom…

The imaginative teacher can employ poetry to advance student identification with the world community. Examples are provided. The learning objectives which poetry might facilitate are a commitment to removing human rights violations, an awareness of imperialistic policies, and a recognition of the absurdity of narrow, chauvinistic loyalty. (RM)

"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," a contemporary hit song by Canadian folksinger Gordon Lightfoot describing a shipwreck on Lake Superior in 1975, is used to illustrate how popular music can be used to teach geography to secondary students. Students analyze atlases, topographic maps, nautical charts, and weather maps. (RM)

An interdisciplinary approach to environmental education, incorporating both the sciences and social sciences, is presented. (DE)

An interdisciplinary approach reveals social reality as a totality and allows and promotes intelligent change in the construction and implementation of curriculum. (Author/KM)

Offers a rationale for social studies and home economics teachers to collaborate to promote global awareness and citizenship. Identifies principles common to the two disciplines. Explains how teachers of the two subjects can work together to explore various aspects of a given issue. Includes a sample lesson plan. (SG)

Focuses on the use of melodrama as an instructional tool in social studies classrooms. Discusses how to set up a melodrama and stage a melodrama. Provides ideas for possible melodramas that address issues of democracy, such as constitutional challenges and civil disobedience. (CMK)

Constructing a matrix model not only offers the teacher a theoretical and practical method for organizing his own knowledge about a topic, but provides a vehicle for the student to cope with contemporary knowledge explosion in a realistic and sophisticated manner. (Author)

The use of literature in a U.S. history class can revitalize the curriculum. The applicability of biographies, historical fiction, and contemporary fiction to history classes is discussed. A brief annotated list of appropriate sources, chronologically arranged for reluctant, average, and advanced readers, is included. (AM)

The author explains how social studies teachers can make sense out of economics for their students by viewing the American economy systematically, conceptually, and interdisciplinarily. Emphasis is placed on the interrelationship of inflation, deflation, and unemployment. Simple diagrams are provided. (DE)

An experimental learning project directed toward bridging the gap experienced by students between high school and college, and serving as a model for a senior year social studies course, is described. The seminar utilized a cross-disciplinary, dialogue approach with emphasis on directly involving students in the thinking process. (JB)