Uses of three-dimensional objects in college level history courses are described, including using artifacts to enliven and invigorate classroom teaching and to convey a sense of the past to students. Journal available from Loren E. Pennington, Division of Social Sciences, Emporia State University, Emporia, Kansas 66801. (DB)

Noting that college history teachers must often contend with student reading problems, the article recommends ways of improving student comprehension of textbooks. Methods center on selecting a proper textbook and on having students preview, paraphrase, analyze, and review. Journal available from Loren E. Pennington, Division of Social Sciences,…

Recording history is a valuable learning technique in studying immigration or ethnic history. At the University of Missouri in Saint Louis, students develop a questionnaire and then interview first-generation immigrants as well as American-born descendants. Tapes and transcriptions are added to the campus archives. For journal availability, see SO…

Describes how a role-playing approach may be used to capture the style, flavor, and conversation of nineteenth-century British life through the staging of a Victorian tea. Examines the economic, social, and cultural questions addressed through the technique. Also discusses evaluation and student impact and recommends the activity for any…

Describes how 4 historical, popular, culture mediums may be used to help stimulate student curiosity about the past and provide practice in using and understanding the historical method. Highlighting the slave experience, the mediums are: (1) the antislave almanac; (2) the dime novel; (3) the moving panorama; and (4) the propaganda play.…

Focuses on the importance of teaching critical thinking in history at the college level. Discusses how the author promoted historical thinking in his survey courses through the use of assignments based on a series of paperback books called the Bedford Series in History and Culture. Includes exercises in the appendix. (CMK)

Asserts that students have difficulty visualizing the physical conditions of the event or period under study. Recommends the resources found in military museums to reproduce landscapes, images, and sounds that stimulate the learning process. Describes the First Division Museum at Cantigny near Wheaton, IL. (CFR)

Provides an interesting introduction to the military units, tactics, and campaign strategy used in the Civil War battle at Antietam (Maryland). Recommends a walking tour of the site and offers suggestions for discussion questions and related topics. Includes selected quotes from letters and memoirs of participants. (MJP)

Describes the activities of a high school class that discovered the joy of history through experiential learning. Students learned traditional military tactics for their unit on the French and Indian Wars, and tried to apply them to a nearby woods. Includes similar activities for other historic periods. (MJP)