The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation's Report Card, is the most comprehensive measure of student learning, and is widely considered the gold standard for empirically measuring trends in student achievement outcomes in the United States. The NAEP data for 2018, which were released on April 23, 2020, offer…

A set of questions developed as an analytical tool can energize and deepen student investigations of historical maps.

As a geography educator, it is hard to miss geography's bad rap. There is no shortage of stories and quizzes that show just how bad Americans are at geography and, by implication, how bad geography teachers are. What the public means when they say Americans don't know geography is that people cannot pinpoint countries/states on a map, cannot name…

In this article, the author argues that geography is more than a passive backdrop to time and events. Geographical perception is culturally mediated. He examines the case of the American Southwest and how its geography and historical heritage have been portrayed and how they might be otherwise if viewed through a different lens. (Contains 12…

Alarmed by the possibility of social studies being overlooked in this context of new national disciplinary standards, National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools convened a meeting of 15 national organizations representing civics, economics, geography, and history, to begin a conversation about…

"The C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards will soon be released under the title "The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: State Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History." The C3 Project Director and Lead Writer was NCSS member Kathy…

Once the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers on October 28, 1914, the fate of the Empire hinged on the outcome of World War I. The Ottomans waged war on multiple fronts: in the Caucasus against Russia, and to defend the Gallipoli Peninsula and the Arab territories against the British and French empires. One hundred years later, we live in a…

In this article, the authors explore the timely and sometimes controversial topic of gay civil rights and how the attendant issues might be taught in the social studies classroom. Many teachers shy away from teaching students about gay rights issues for a variety of reasons including personal beliefs, a lack of instructional time as a result of…

The recent National Assessment of Educational Progress in Geography revealed that few American students can identify locations of current events, the scale of those events, or why those events are important. Social studies educators have found that by incorporating emerging technologies into their classroom--such as Geographic Information Systems…

Many elementary teachers explore the marvels of ancient Egypt with their students, as evidenced by the numerous available websites on this topic for teaching elementary history. The drama and mystery of ancient civilizations with treasures such as mummies, King Tut, and the Giza Pyramids are intriguing to children, yet there is another layer of…

China has the world's largest population, now over 1.3 billion, but its land area (much of it high mountains or desert) is about the same as that of the United States, which has less than one-fourth as many people. So Chinese farmers have learned to use every inch of their fertile land intensively. Pressure on the land has required extremely…

As people head further into the 21st Century, they are living in a constantly changing and interdependent world. As such, students need a global awareness that includes familiarity with different cultures, beliefs, and lifestyles in order to understand and address global issues. Geography can help students understand these issues. In this article,…

Argues that geography can be made more relevant in today's social studies if it is presented as the study of the environmental impact of culture. This theme is illustrated by contrasting cultural influences which shaped the physically similar east and southeastern regions of China and the U.S. (JDH)

Examines appropriate map learning experiences for elementary school children based on inferences derived from Piaget's research on cognitive development. Addresses the eight skills developed in most map learning programs: 1) interpreting symbols, 2) envisioning perspective, 3) locating places, 4) determining direction, 5) computing distance, 6)…

Explains the relationship between important citizenship goals and recognized map skills. Demonstrates, grade by grade, how to conduct map learning activities that foster active involvement and problem solving skills needed for democratic citizenship. (JDH)