The purpose of this study was to evaluate that project-based learning results in learners to be intrinsically motivated when learning History. Three methods were implemented in this study, namely role playing, poster-making and mixed projects (i.e., role playing and poster-making). To further enhance the understanding of intrinsic motivation, the…

As historians, we are dependent on evidence, which comes in many varieties. Rosalind Stirzaker here introduces a project which she ran two years ago to encourage her students to think about artefacts in a different way. They have examined randomly preserved artefacts such as those of Pompeii, and sets of artefacts which were deliberately chosen,…

Lessons in community building and cultural understanding are important aspects of a 21st-century education. Through such lessons, students gain the keys to societal understanding as they gain knowledge about their cultural and historical contexts, and use that understanding as a setting for exploration of deeper values, emotional experiences, and…

This study examines Malaysian learners' reflections on the discourses of the Asia-Pacific War in Malaysia and Japan after engaging in "Memories of War" project. The project, which was implemented in an advanced Japanese-as-a-Foreign-Language (JFL) class at a Malaysian university, aimed to improve learners' ability to grasp power…

This article is about a year-long teaching and research project conducted with 696 4th graders (mostly 10-year olds) and their 36 teachers in Wyoming/USA. The researchers employed an action research approach. They planned and taught a two-day, Wyoming-themed, interdisciplinary unit, "We Are Wyoming", which integrated Social Studies,…

In high school American history classrooms all over the country, the Civil War is a staple in the curriculum. Of course, that is to be expected given the pivotal place that the Civil War occupies in the nation's history. Indeed, it is not unusual for high school teachers to devote weeks of instruction to exploring the causes leading up to the war,…

School segregation and inequity are deep-rooted realities in U.S. society. Despite historical efforts at integration, too many schools are de facto segregated, and those serving mostly students of color are routinely under-resourced when compared to those servicing mostly white students. Teachers and students can struggle to talk about this…

This manuscript, written with the educator in mind, describes the Youth Historians in Harlem (YHH) program, a twenty-week after-school history program that engaged urban students in history by immersing them in aspects of the historical process. Throughout the program, a group of Black male high school students were apprenticed as historical…

This newsletter of best practices in implementing the High Schools That Work (HSTW), Making Middle Grades Work (MMGW) and Technology Centers That Work (TCTW) school improvement models is based on presentations at the 27th Annual HSTW Staff Development Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the summer of 2013. The newsletter is divided up into…

Service-learning projects help students make connections to their community and help them to think about civic participation. The projects can range from very simple short-term philanthropy to very complex direct involvement by the students across multiple years. Students learn both social problem-solving skills and academic knowledge through…

History consists of events and things that happened in the distant or the recent past. Students can make a time capsule to leave a piece of history for the future to discover. Time capsule items should be carefully selected, preserved, labeled, stored in a sealed container, and buried with a marker to indicate the site. (JDD)

Participation in the National History Day program (involving student papers, presentations, projects, and performances) provides many opportunities for eliciting the gifted behavior of sixth- through twelfth-grade students. The program, which emphasizes student involvement in real problems, can be used in the resource room, mainstreamed, advanced…

A museum program in Montreal encourages elementary and secondary school students to examine their surroundings and neighborhoods. Units focus on stained glass windows, houses, history of Montreal, the neighborhood, and architectural heritage. (KC)

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…

Provides classroom procedures for adapting the nineteenth-century-style song slide show to middle school history instruction. Suggests student production of song slide shows as individual or group projects. Argues that the activity can capture the drama of history and stimulate student curiosity about the past. (SG)