A Maryland teacher used Alaska's Iditarod sled-dog race to spark learning and bring adventure into a fourth grade history and geography course. Students followed the Iditarod, conducted reading races on related material, studied race strategies, and considered necessary mathematics. They learned about Alaska while experiencing cooperation and…

Examines four representative U.S. history textbooks dealing with science and technology. Finds that these books omitted the sources, authors, and context of scientific and technological events, and stressed instead their social and economic impact. Proposes ways to restructure history textbooks. (KO)

Illustrates the way that writing imaginary interviews with dead people can enhance students' grasp of history. Recounts author's personal experience with a college history assignment in which he interviewed the Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Includes a copy of the interview. Describes the assignment as a combination of primary source…

Five classes of secondary school students were involved in an experiment to compare student interest in expository versus narrative text structures. Results with 313 ninth graders in Guam, using history texts, indicate that students favored narrative structure in face-to-face comparisons of texts. (TJH)

Discusses the use of quantitative methods in historical research. Maintains that numbers are essential to understanding certain historical phenomena and contends that statistical sources must be approached with a critical stance. Describes the integration of quantitative methods into the history curriculum, and the establishment of an…

Offers ideas for using comparative history in the classroom. Includes suggestions for using guided design, role playing, and an approach for a series of sequenced writing exercises. Uses the 1920s and 1970s for comparison, focusing on Teapot Dome and Watergate. (LS)

Identifies developments in U.S. history in which religion played a decisive role. Investigates the way these religious forces were dealt with in 10 high school U.S. history textbooks used in Alabama. Concludes that they ignored or distorted the place of religion to the extent that students are denied knowledge of recent historical research. (LS)

Discusses the issue of memory and U.S. history. Emphasizes the social dimension of memory rather than accuracy of verification. Notes that while most discussion in the past has centered upon what content students should be required to learn. The issue of how to teach about memroy is of equal importance. (KO)

Illustrates the difficulties of adjusting to freedom through observations of former slave owners from the United States and Africa, letters written by former slaves to their former masters, and recollections of former slaves in Cuba and the southern United States several years after abolition. (KO)

Offers a lesson plan for comparing the ideas and context of the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862, and the Emancipation Manifesto issued on March 3, 1861, by Alexander II of Russia. Gives background information on the Emancipation Manifesto, discusses preparation and lesson procedures, and suggests…

Suggests that teachers of required history courses have a particularly challenging task in their first class meeting because of the captive nature of their audience. Proposes using the technique of providing humorous information and intriguing anecdotes to stimulate student interest. Provides a list of such items for teacher use. (KO)

Explains the use of interactional drama, a technique that presents a problem in dramatic form, drawing the student audience into the drama by encouraging meaningful discussion in order to resolve the problem. Describes a three-step process for developing dramas that bring life to historical events and distant locations. (LS)

Criticizes the American Federation of Teachers publication, "Education for Democracy." Argues that the terms democracy, freedom, and rights are not clearly defined. Emphasizes the political nature of the document and the ethnocentrism represented by the writing. Makes suggestions for improvement. (KO)

Discusses the integrated curriculum and the California Framework for History-Social Science Education as an example of the integrated curriculum. Shows how the Framework unifies the curriculum and offers a model to combine the content and processes advocated by the Framework. (LS)

Compares the California Framework for History-Social Science Education with the California Framework for English-Language Arts. Depicts the two frameworks and shows how teachers can implement both through interdisciplinary applications. Suggests how the two subject areas can be integrated. (LS)