General and strategic management courses frequently provide external analysis tools through which students identify, classify, and assess how changes in the general external environment impact industries and firms. In this exercise, we facilitate analysis of the general environment through a popular song from the 1980s. Through analyzing an event…

The purpose of this article is to provide guidance for instructors who wish to develop a course associated with student participation in the College Fed Challenge (CFC), an academic competition designed to test students' knowledge of current economic events and monetary policy. We eschew a lecture-only methodology and use small-group and…

Museums are public resources that can offer rich extensions to classroom educational experiences, from tours through botanical gardens to searching for family records in the archives of a local historical society. With clarity and a touch of humor, Quinn presents ideas and examples of ways that teachers can use museums to support student…

In this teacher practitioner article, we share our experience presenting a humanities lesson in which students created a remix, or mashup, by combining contemporary fiction with historical documents. Theoretical underpinnings of this project included the work of linguists Kress and Van Leeuwen, who noted that texts are shaped by multiple…

Building a personal identity is a lifelong, thoughtful process that takes into account not only one's race and ethnicity, but also life experiences, relationships, and communities. The process of exploring and evolving one's identity deserves a place in the classroom. Educators can play a key role in supporting their students' in this process by…

Despite the growing availability and popularity of simulations and other active teaching techniques, many instructors may be deterred from using simulations because of the potentially high costs involved. Instructors could spend a preponderance of their time and resources developing and executing simulations, but such an approach is not necessary.…

Working at the sixth grade level, the authors write about their effort to interest students in current events and their historical roots. This article outlines a series of learning experiences and assessments that the authors created for sixth grade students at Lockhart School in Massapequa, New York. These learning experiences culminated in a…

Classroom activities to help children learn about and celebrate the bicentennial anniversary of the United States Constitution are described, including making up a class constitution, teaching about becoming a United States citizen, and researching details of a specific state's ratification of the Constitution. (CB)

Presents background information and teaching suggestions about endangered species for social studies teachers. Discusses political processes, economics, current events, and ethics. Lists resource information. (DC)

Activities are described for developing students' interest in current events through teaching about the news media: introducing major newspapers and magazines; encouraging analysis and forecasting on current issues; and teaching news reporting, interviewing, and writing techniques, culminating in a mock presidential press conference. (SJL)

Outlines a variety of activities incorporating celebration and study of the Olympic Games into the music curriculum. Suggested activities are separated by elementary, middle school, and secondary levels. Includes a list of Olympic music recordings. (MJP)

Reports on study of teacher decision making regarding instruction about Gulf War. Finds teachers were influenced by student grade level, number of students in class from another culture, and their own knowledge of Middle Eastern history and geography. Concludes that local and state curriculum officials should provide more flexibility so teachers…

This document suggests that the main purpose of the study of current affairs in the social studies program in Alberta, Canada, is to add relevance, interest, and immediacy. It defines current affairs as the study of news events presented by the media. Because the study of current affairs must be tied to the achievement of social studies…

A "maps in the news" unit can be used to help middle and junior high school students in many subject areas recognize basic map components and identify and analyze thematic maps while building writing skills. Prior to beginning the unit, the teacher introduces students to thematic maps, the parts of a map, and writing organization (topic…

Identifies hindsight bias as the tendency to exaggerate one's ability to have foreseen the outcome of an event after learning the outcome. Describes a class project where students predicted the verdict of the O. J. Simpson trial one week before the verdict and hypothesized a jury response a month later. (MJP)