While standards and assessments demand that students be able to recall content information, planning guides direct teachers to prioritize the development of transferable skills and understandings, and scholars of education have spent the past century debating the purpose of history instruction without approaching consensus. The field is still…

Ordinary citizens and elected officials struggle with the unsettled nature of history and America's problematic racial past in particular. Textbooks--the most common curricular resource in the discipline--contribute by emphasizing singular names (e.g., Martin Luther King Jr.), curious objects (e.g., Rosa Parks's bus seat), and ahistorical notions…

Middle school students learned about their community when they created documentaries as part of a state bicentennial celebration. Students gathered multiple primary and secondary resources and worked with community members to interview them for their perspectives through video presentations as part of the inquiry process. Students work with local…

As a project in a History of American Sport class, the author charged students with researching individuals or issues in Trinity University athletics history in the period from 1950 to 1991. After investigating their subjects in the university's special collections and archives, examining past issues of San Antonio-area newspapers and Trinity…

History learning is many times considered dull and demotivating by young students. Probably this is due because the learning process is disconnected from these students' reality and experience. One possible way to overcome this state of matters is to use technology like mobile devices with georeferencing software and local history and heritage…

What could two dozen middle school students, two teachers, land surveyors, journalists, divers, college professors, lawyers, archaeologists, an author, and an 85-year old retiree possibly have in common? The answer is their insatiable quest to redefine colonial American history. From geodesy to glaciology, from geology to hydrology, from…

Today, urban high schools are faced with a variety of pressures that are competing for attention within the classroom. These pressures come from a variety of sources and for a variety of reasons. The situation may involve students who arrive in the classroom unable to read or write at grade level and who display a wide variety of educational…

This book focuses on building community through the sharing of history and traditions that students have inherited. Two eighth-grade teachers collaborated with others in their Oregon school to collect teaching strategies for this book. The teachers worked to build curriculum that integrated social studies with language arts and other subject…

Describes the Southwest Texas State University course "History Practicum: Researching, Writing, and Publishing Local History" that stresses computer proficiency, teamwork, and active learning. Students create and publish a guidebook for a town, city, or historic site in central Texas. Discusses the publication process of "San Marcos: A Guide to a…

Illustrates that history can be brought to life and internalized in an authentic fashion in a variety of situations. Demonstrates the step-by-step process by which teacher and class can formulate, prepare, plan, research, rehearse, and present role-playing simulations for class, school, and community. Includes a student persona worksheet.…

Local historical investigation can make history more relevant and allow national trends to be understood as they were reflected in local incidents. Research-based historical reenactment is growing in popularity throughout North America but has had limited use in classrooms because of overreliance on textbooks and teacher concerns about curriculum…

Describes a classroom project in which elementary students bake homemade bread to learn about the settlement period in Canadian history and the early history of the students' community. Maintains that students learn to compare the lifestyle of the past with the present. (CFR)

This book aims to: (1) provide information that sets places of worship in their religious, historical and social contexts; (2) explore interdisciplinary links; and (3) offers ideas for study, projects, and follow-up work. "Church" is a word with two senses: a body of believers and a building where people worship. This book is about the…

This handbook aims to help teachers use archaeological remains and historical evidence in and around Colchester (England). Investigations supplement studies at Key Stages 2 and 3 of the British National Curriculum and can also be used for cross-curricular topics. The book contains suggestions for work on the town walls, the British site at…

This handbook aims to: (1) introduce teachers and pupils to Charles Darwin, his life and work at Down House, his voyage on the Beagle, and his evolutionary theory; (2) set his ideas within the wider context of the 19th century; (3) link the subject areas to the British National Curriculum, particularly in history, science, and English at various…