Graphic organizers are immensely popular--and much utilized--in many classrooms, particularly at the elementary level. These creative and innovate teaching tools are a very effective addition to the teaching repertoire and may be designed to maximize precious class time. For the secondary social studies teacher, their instant appeal and universal…

People confront stereotypes every day, both in and out of the classroom. Some ideas have been carried in the collective memory and classroom textbooks for so long they are generally recognized as fact. Many are constantly being reinforced by personal experiences, family discussions, and Hollywood productions as well. The distinct advantage to…

"Difficult" or "challenging" topics to teach include racism, violence, genocide, bullying, gangs, abuse (physical, emotional, and substance), slavery, suffering, hatred, terrorism, war, disease, loss, addiction, and more. But by confronting them with students, in the safety of a classroom through thoughtfully constructed lessons (ones that take…

When Americans from the eastern part of the United States began moving west in large numbers in the mid-nineteenth century, tensions escalated and conflicts erupted between and among settlers, railroad workers, ranchers, the United States military, and numerous Native American tribes. Incorporating balanced consideration of these diverse and…

September 11, 2001, is a day most American high school students remember. They may not fully grasp the events that took place, the reasons behind the terrorist attacks on the United States, or their implications, but they remember. They were children when this national trauma occurred--and they saw those unforgettable television images of the…

In this article, the author uses several primary sources to demonstrate that George Washington, Samuel Cabble, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy stated their awareness of contemporary challenges, but looked to the future with hope and optimism. When they envisioned the future, their words indicated that they did not just imagine it, but…

In the late summer of 1888, officials at the U.S. Department of State appointed John Henry Haynes of Rowe, Massachusetts, to become the first U.S. consul in Baghdad. At that time, Baghdad--along with all of present day Iraq--was part of the Ottoman Empire, as it had been for more than three centuries. In his fourth dispatch, a single-page,…

American presidents are regularly called upon to share their thoughts, ideas, and sentiments both with the nation and the world. This prompts the questions: How are these speeches written? Who writes them? What other resources, texts, conversations, and experiences do presidents use to help them create these famous speeches? Who helps the…

On April 14, 1865, at approximately 10:20 p.m., John Wilkes Booth, a prominent American actor, sneaked up behind President Abraham Lincoln as he watched a play from the presidential box at Ford's Theater and shot him in the back of the head at point-blank range. Of the 14 doctors who attended to President Lincoln on the night of his assassination,…

On October 5, 1957, the headline on the front page of the "Baltimore News-Post" proclaimed "Russ "Moon" Circling Earth." The "Russ" Moon was Sputnik I, launched by the Soviet Union a day earlier. The launch had far-reaching and unexpected outcomes for the United States. Almost immediately, President Dwight…

The essays and annotations in this publication provide an opportunity for citizens and students to consider not only the history of the Northwest Ordinance but also basic and enduring issues in U.S. political life. The book is divided into three main parts. The first part provides a background to the Ordinance and its passage by the Confederation…

Briefly discusses the development of Cold War propaganda in the United States, Canada, and the USSR after 1947. Presents two movie reviews and a Canadian magazine advertisement of the period which illustrate the harshness of propaganda used by both sides in the immediate postwar years. (GEA)

Clifford Sifton stands out in most Canadian history texts as the architect of the immigration policy that settled the prairies West and shaped the development of modern Canada. Background information on Sifton is provided. Letters Sifton wrote regarding immigration policy are analyzed. (RM)

The oral histories of the Federal Writers' Project, begun in 1935 as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), contain the personal stories of people who lived during the Great Depression. A brief history of the project is presented and the interviews are discussed. (RM)

Discusses the Massachusetts Historical Society's various photostat and microfilming projects and describes how they grew out of the philosophy of the society's founder, the Reverend Jeremy Belknap. Topics include the preservation of the papers of presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, and collaboration with other repositories. (Author/JKP)