Outlines a series of teaching activities to be used in conjunction with Robert E. Lee's letter of resignation. These include textual analysis, class discussions, writing assignments, and student research. Includes a photocopy of the letter as well as a brief discussion of Lee's role in the Civil War. (MJP)

Reports on the results of an experiment testing 58 elementary school students tasked with chronologically ordering a set of nine historical pictures and thinking aloud about their efforts. Provides increased evidence regarding the kind and sources of children's historical knowledge and how they deploy that knowledge. (MJP)

A Portland (Oregon) middle school teacher teaches an ethnobotany class using plants identified in Lewis and Clark's journals. After months of learning about native plants, Native American culture, and the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the class culminates in a 3-day canoe trip down the Columbia River. A Lewis and Clark Rediscovery grant provides…

Criticizes the National Commission on Social Studies in the Schools' report, "Charting a Course: Social Studies for the 21st Century," for its poor use of available social studies curriculum research and lack of citations of research sources. Argues that report views teachers as passive recipients of curriculum and fails to address…

Describes the process of developing a summer school social studies program for academically talented seventh graders. Based on a video encyclopedia, the program covers social, political, economic, and cultural events of the twentieth century. Includes sample activities. (LS)

Focuses on the intellectual and political forces that have influenced man's relationship with the environment. Discusses why the use of the environment has occurred as it has, and who benefited from these choices. Concludes with a look at global deforestation. Includes daily assignments and readings. (MVL)

Traces the history of science in the United States through an extensive bibliography of sources useful to history teachers. Expounds on notable trends in the history of science, beginning with the revolutionary period up to the present. Focuses on the impact of social and cultural ideas on science in the United States. (RW)

Reviews the use of the collaborative learning process in a seventeenth-century intellectual history seminar. Utilizing reader response, peer critiques, small writing groups, and peer tutoring, students became active participants in the learning process and assumed more responsibility for the course material. Includes a complete syllabus and…

Suggests a method for presenting narrative accounts of one event in history so that students can practice analyzing and evaluating sources. Presents historical background about the capture of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 1902, and offers three conflicting versions of this event with the teaching procedures for using the accounts in the classroom. (KO)

Describes 20 trade books to aid teachers in the development of social studies concepts. Suggests ways to use these books to extend lesson units by emphasizing formation of concepts and generalizations, integrating social sciences, clarifying values, achieving objectives, and maintaining of objectivity in discussing societal conflict. (KO)

Discusses the importance of Merl R. Eppse's work in integrating studies of Blacks into writings of U.S. history. Provides biographical information concerning this largely unrecognized educator. Notes reasons for the lack of recognition of Eppse's work. Suggests that current emphasis upon integrated (not additive) studies in U.S. history could…

Outlines classroom techniques for analyzing historical films and documentaries. Provides student materials to develop media literacy. Suggests that role-playing might be useful in stimulating student consideration of the actual production of a documentary. Emphasizes the transfer of critical insights developed in class to other media experiences.…

Describes the addition of a microcomputer component to a Tulane University (Louisiana) undergraduate history course on the Salem witchcraft trials. Discusses the use of a statistical package and a data set to analyze and display data and the enhancement of the active learning approach by introducing students to quantitative methods of historical…

Asserts that environmental history is an important component of the history of the American west. Discusses the historiography of the American west in relationship to environmental issues. Concludes that environmental history opened the door for scholars to study the way human beings interact with the physical world around them. (CFR)

Discusses the Pocketful of History project, which uses historical fiction and biographies to fill in gaps in student knowledge and engage children in meaningful learning experiences. Presents examples of seven historical figures featured in the project. (CFR)