Critical thinking is a process that can be taught. It involves "evaluating the accuracy, credibility, and worth of information and lines of reasoning. Critical thinking is reflective, logical, evidence-based, and has a purposeful quality to it--that is, the learner thinks critically in order to achieve a particular goal." The authors have found…

Population issues discussed are: (1) the growing elderly population in industrialized nations; (2) the debt crunch; and (3) immigration. The focus of the article on the elderly is Japan's elderly population, which will nearly double, from 10 to 18.7%, by 2010. In 1986, the Japanese government took steps to delay the age at which full pensions are…

Contains six lesson plans and student materials for a unit on global food distribution and the problems of world hunger for secondary social studies classes. Students study nutrition, population distribution, poverty, the causes of hunger, and economic development, and generate personal actions to solve the hunger problem. (AM)

Torture is a worldwide, not an isolated, phenomenon. It is epidemic in the world. A human rights unit for high school students on torture as a tool of the state is presented. An interdisciplinary approach, involving social studies and language arts, is used. (RM)

Describes activities of a unit on world hunger which include presenting a lexicon, topic overview, and guest speakers; reading topically related novels; creating scrapbooks; discussing pertinent quotations; exploring government role in ameliorating hunger; and completing final papers or projects. Resource materials are listed, including pertinent…

Intended as a starting point for junior and senior high school teachers, this guide contains five lessons that give an overview of the nuclear age and provide the most basic information that students must learn in order to understand the threat of nuclear war. Topics of the lessons include the history of weapons development, how nuclear weapons…

Data and activities examining the current world food crisis are provided. (DE)

Background information and a role playing activity which examines the conflict over control of the oceans are provided. (DE)

Including both social studies and language skills objectives, this unit of study encourages senior high school students to examine and wrestle with issues concerning nuclear warfare. Activities suggested are many and varied, e.g., students read and discuss fiction and nonfiction, analyze films, do library work, write essays, and conduct surveys.…

The unit of study consists of four lessons based on the concept that the earth is a large system made up of many small systems (air, food, water, man, etc.). Complete procedures are included to study the environment, examine developing countries, determine interaction between peoples and nations. The problem solving excercise is an inquiry…

Student inquiry into means of achieving world order moves in five steps, which are discussed. Consideration of the role of values in each step must be included in the methodology. (Author/JB)

A simulation designed to examine American responsibility with respect to global hunger is provided. Students play American leaders who must choose between conflicting national and international priorities. (Author/DE)

Designed to correspond with the similar topic of the American Issues Forum program, this article provides readings, discussion questions, and a map exercise on America's economic interdependence with the rest of the world. The readings focus on world energy interdependence. (DE)

Data and activities examining world environmental pollution are provided. (DE)

Designed to correspond with the similar topic in the American Issues Forum program, this article provides readings and discussion questions on America's role in helping to solve world problems. The readings focus on the ethical decision of whether to share our affluence with the rest of the world. (DE)