Discusses a field trip to Lucan, Ontario to research the story of the Donnelly family murders of 1880. Describes sites visited, student activities, and contacts made with local individuals familiar with the story. Includes class follow-up activities. Provides an activity on cemeteries and examines educational benefits. (RW)

This document discusses oral history and the use of active learning to make classroom teaching interesting and exciting. Oral history is an effective teaching tool that requires students to become active participants in their own learning process. It invites inquiry, stimulates discussion, and transforms abstract concepts into concrete reality.…

Describes a project in which fifth-grade students learn how schools have changed over the years. Students interview retired teachers, document the interviews, hear guest speakers describe schools of the past, and read school scenes in novels. (TM)

The book presents information on the use of oral history as a classroom device. The first chapter discusses the evolution of oral history from a practice intended to preserve information on noted Americans to a way of preserving recollections of older Americans about the past. The second chapter explains why interviewing members of their own…

Describes a broad variety of instructional ideas and activities designed to make history come alive for the intermediate grades. These include personal time lines, interviewing grandparents, and show and tell with personal artifacts. Includes a section of activities designed specifically to work with historical fiction. (MJP)

Describes teaching methods used to prepare students for conducting oral history interviews. Fishbowl interviews consist of a behavior-modeling exercise where the teacher interviews a guest in front of the class. Examines other instructional techniques such as role playing and paired interviewing. (MJP)

Describes how a walking tour of New York City gives students firsthand exposure to urban history. Suggests that history can be recreated with walking tours through areas of historical significance, combining them with classroom lectures. Gives tips for planning successful tours and suggestions for making historical periods come alive. (NL)

Describes a reading series to personalize classroom study of immigration. Includes two readings about Ellis Island and German immigrants in Colonial America. Appropriate questions accompany each reading with a list of classroom activities and additional resources, including films, for secondary level classroom use. (NL)

Provides lessons plans for teaching urban history through folk rhymes written by Chinese immigrants describing their early experiences in the United States. Includes eight folk rhymes from the early 1900s. Provides suggestions for teaching objectives, class activities, and classroom questions to enrich students' understanding of ethnic cultures…

Intended for use by teachers in the establishment of curriculum to study centennial-bicentennial topics, the main purpose of this guide is to instill in students an appreciation of Colorado's system of government, resources, people, territory, and technology. Suggestions for teaching about seven major areas which relate to Colorado's heritage are…