"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Is History... History?: Standards, Accountability, and the Future of Our Nation's Past (Robert Rothman); (2) Curriculum Access for All: How Teachers Can Use Universal Design…

This paper addresses some real assessment challenges that teachers have identified: (1) Figuring out what really is important for students to know and be able to do in history; (2) Teaching the skills of "doing history" in a world of testing that often seems to value only factual knowledge; (3) Identifying and using assessments that provide…

Local historical investigation can make history more relevant and allow national trends to be understood as they were reflected in local incidents. Research-based historical reenactment is growing in popularity throughout North America but has had limited use in classrooms because of overreliance on textbooks and teacher concerns about curriculum…

This book contains over 50 reproducible pages with simulation activities, strategies, and themes for planning history lessons at the elementary level. Children's books are offered to enrich the teaching of history. The book focuses on how past culture and heritage melded to form present society in the United States. Thematic and multicultural…

The Civil War was perhaps the greatest turning point in U.S. history. The dual themes of slavery and power deeply divided the growing nation during the first half of the 19th century. The mission of the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) is to preserve the significant Civil War battlefields by protecting the land and educating the public about…

The California History-Social Science Project (CH-SSP), a legislatively-mandated professional development program is administered out of the University of California, Office of the President. The Executive Offices are based at UCLA, and oversee 17 local sites across California. As part of its mission, CH-SSP engages teachers in action research on…

This eighth-grade lesson teaches about military battles and the lives of women during the U.S. Civil War. Students work both individually and in groups, assuming the perspective of a young woman who has left home to join the war effort. The lesson progresses along the following steps: (1) "Getting Started" (Focus on a particular woman's role); (2)…

Students explore concepts of Progressive Era education and learn how the philanthropic efforts of Pierre Samuel du Pont helped transform Delaware's education system for African American school children. It is based on the National Register of Historic Places registration file "Iron Hill School Number 112C," interviews with former pupils,…

Four issues of this periodical of the California Association for the Gifted focus on: (1) issues in gifted education; (2) professional development; (3) history and social science for gifted learners; and (4) equity and excellence. Among major articles are the following: "Profoundly Gifted Guilt" (James R. Delisle); "Grouping the…

This teaching unit represents a specific "dramatic moment" in history that can allow students to delve into the deeper meanings of selected landmark events and explore their wider context in the great historical narrative. Studying a crucial turning point in history helps students realize that history is an ongoing, open-ended process,…

This description of the plan of civic education in the Indianapolis elementary schools has been prepared because of a growing, general interest in the subject, and because of the numerous inquiries as to existing methods of organized elementary civic training. The Indianapolis teachers and school authorities would be the last to claim that they…

Uses data from high ability students in two comprehensive schools in Britain to show that the use of logical connectives in history texts can be a stumbling block to comprehension. Compares these findings to those generated in Australia. (FL)

Maintains that although women's history has made great strides in the university environment, it remains peripheral in elementary and secondary education. Suggests feasible strategies to incorporate this subject into the curriculum. Includes Peggy McIntosh's "Five Phases of Curricular Re-Vision with Regards to Gender 1983." (MJP)

Presents background information and suggestions for teaching activities utilizing archival copies of the Report of the Chief Inspector of schools for Alberta. These historical documents provide a wealth of information concerning the geography, working conditions, pedagogical issues, and facilities of education throughout Canada's history. (MJP)

States that students often utilize sources from the Internet without evaluating the quality of the information presented. Discusses how to use technology in the history classroom in order to help students think critically. Describes different assignments and the problems that were encountered. (CMK)