Many studies show the value of local history, especially multicultural history, to youth development and student learning outcomes. Incorporating local history into classrooms improves students' ability to question historical significance, analyze primary sources, contextualize their historical thinking, and embrace the learning process as their…

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…

This paper records how a group of high school second-language English learners in an international school studied their host country's cultural heritage. The school enrolls international and host country students and both groups of students participated in this study. They collaborated on a cultural project that involved using host country…

One way for teachers to use engaging and relevant social studies curriculum is by delving into local history to help students understand the influence that community activists have had on national policies and events. In this article, we provide teachers an approach to incorporate topics of racial inequity in their classrooms by showcasing a…

As advocates of engaging students in historical inquiry and of the use of primary sources to aid in this inquiry, we support the claims of numerous student benefits, such as learning to detect bias, appreciating the interpretive nature of historical thinking, and the drawing of conclusions based on judgments about evidence (Fehn & Koeppen,…

A text can be anything: a poem, a map, an old letter. To spur great learning, it needs to be provocative, powerful, open to multiple interpretations, and, above all, it needs to teach something profound. A school building can also become text when a teacher uses place as a way to make history come alive. The author discusses how he uses Theodore…

This paper derives from collaborative research undertaken by staff at the Woolyungah Indigenous Centre, into our own teaching practice. It articulates a particular strand of inquiry emanating from the research: the importance of Indigenous knowledges as this is taught at Woolyungah in the discipline of Indigenous Studies. The paper is a reflection…

Presents a social studies unit of study that involves having students conduct investigations of events and people in their own neighborhoods. (FL)

Easttown Township chose to celebrate its tercentenary to create a greater awareness of local history. In this article, the author discusses how she incorporated this celebration into her art classroom. With history and architecture as the theme, sixth-grade art students researched homes and buildings in the township dating back as early as the…

Nine essays serving as springboards to the study of historical events and cultures focus on the use of memorabilia and primary resources for teaching social studies. Following a short preface by John I. Thomas, Linda Carrillo examines ways in which folk songs can be used to arouse a child's interest in the study of other cultures. In "Using…

Asserts that the value of using pictures and photographs as teaching aids is firmly established. Suggests rephotographing old photographs to produce customized study prints and develop miniunits based on them. Includes a sample unit outline with teaching procedures and three illustrative photographs. (CFR)

Presents a two-month historical research project for use in a sixth grade social studies class. Includes student use of artifacts, photographs, news clippings, maps, and oral histories obtained by interviews. Suggests that children compile a chronological history of their community to analyze, organize, and record what they have learned. (DK)

Intended to accompany book 1 of the Rough Rock (Arizona) fourth grade Navajo social studies program, this guide is intended to help the teacher assist students through a series of learning experiences designed to develop important inquiry and social studies skills and to increase students' abilities to make generalizations about their community…

This paper is one of a series of ERIC/ChESS publications intended to give practical tips on teaching various topics and disciplines in the precollege social studies curriculum. The tips offered in this publication, written by seven authors, are intended to help teacheres deal with both content and teaching strategies in American history. Each of…

Reviews a series of teaching activities that revolve around family photographs, letters, and artifacts. Outlines how these items can be used to teach recommended National Council for the Social Studies strands and provides classroom examples. Discusses developing a unit of study and includes a form for a Family Artifact Report. (MJP)