This user guide is part of a multimedia unit using an interdisciplinary approach with hands-on learning to motivate children to participate actively in their schools and local communities, and to experience the democratic process. This unit focuses on the concept of how people living in different neighborhoods and communities work together. Unit…

This user guide is part of a multimedia unit using an interdisciplinary approach with hands-on learning to motivate children to participate actively in their schools and local communities, and to experience the democratic process. This unit focuses on the concept of laws helping people to live together and how people help make the laws. Unit parts…

This user guide is part of a multimedia unit using an interdisciplinary approach with hands-on learning to motivate children to participate actively in their schools and local communities, and to experience the democratic process. This unit focuses on the meaning of the words in the Pledge of Allegiance. Unit parts include: (1) video preview; (2)…

This user guide is part of a multimedia unit using an interdisciplinary approach with hands-on learning to motivate children to participate actively in their schools and local communities, and to experience the democratic process. This unit focuses on the story of the "Star Spangled Banner" and understanding how music celebrates special…

The purpose of this paper is to provide information about the process of grant writing for law and civic education project directors who have little or no experience with proposals. The article attempts to clarify the usual components of grant proposals and provides some grant writing strategies. The paper is not intended to provide a complete…

Although the demise of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989 was described as "the ultimate victory of Democracy," this paper asserts that serious internal problems exist within modern democracies throughout Europe and the United States today. However, civic education offers a potential remedy. Part 1, "The New Democratic…

This document is an exercise for teachers who are seeking to increase student understanding of the rise and expansion of democracy in new or emerging nations. The exercise complements the National Education Goals for Student Achievement and Citizenship. By design, the exercise challenges students to plan and to conduct (based on the timeless…

The value of foreign language education at the elementary school level for Australia is discussed from two perspectives: its contribution to tolerance of cultural diversity within Australian society and its contribution to Australia's role in the global society. Reference is made to a variety of studies and commission reports. First, the…

Divided into eight documents, an introduction and guides to the program for levels 1-7 (which corresponds to grades 4-10, respectively), this material makes up the civic education program for schools in the Northwest Territories (Canada). The introductory guide includes a statement of philosophy and goals, an overview of the program,…

This theme issue of "The Docket" is devoted to national standards and their effects on education reform. National standards may provide the first real opportunity for schools to address the issues of student assessment and achievement. As the touchstone for educational equity, they may be the first real opportunity for teachers to…

This curriculum guide for North Carolina social studies teachers stresses the fact that social studies traditionally has accepted the dominant burden of preparing young people to inherit the right and the responsibility of effective citizenship. It is the single curriculum area whose subject matter is the entirety of human experience. The sequence…

This essay chronicles the move toward national standards in the content areas and examines the civics lessons to be learned from the debates. The paper notes the contradiction found in historically advocating local control and support of schools, moving toward the setting of national education goals and standards with little attention paid to…

This essay shows how the construction of literature curricula and the study of literature can contribute to civic education. The paper describes the anti-civic forces now at work in literature programs in U.S. schools and explains why these forces exist. The report suggests how literature programs can strengthen the underpinnings of a…

This lesson summarizes the most significant facts about the communist period in Hungary and briefly examines the Hungarian electoral system. The lesson is structured with: (1) background on the communist period (1948-1989) and the evolution of the democratic political system and institutions during 1989-1990; (2) description of the electoral…

Focusing on the most recent standards movement and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) framework for civics and government, this paper attempts to use the standards and framework to construct a synthesis model of civic education, to analyze the model through the perspectives of five civic education theorists, and to subject the…