This report on teachers and technology in North Carolina schools continues an earlier report based on a survey of North Carolina schools that focused on media specialists. Highlights include how teachers incorporate CD-ROM and videodisk technologies, school library media specialists as technology instructors, and teacher expectations of media…

Recounts the experiences of Kansas social studies educators in designing and implementing a workable assessment instrument that would meet state requirements. The design emphasized five characteristics (thematic orientation, skills emphasis, social studies perspectives, variety of resources, and community orientation) constructed around a…

Describes an undergraduate course that draws parallels between the immigrant and ethnic experience of the students with similar issues on a national scale. The students write papers exploring their ethnic heritage and, if possible, collect oral histories from other family members. This research complements the assigned readings. (MJP)

Asks the question: To what can teachers realistically expect students to be committed in the field of citizenship education when governments are consistently cutting back on their own involvement in public life? Concludes that principles of community and social justice remain valid and relevant to young people. (MJP)

Presents seven brief articles on legal issues concerning young people. Addresses such topics as curfews, teen smoking, dress codes, and child labor. Some articles are student-written while others profile student activity. Student authors include Mike Michaud, Danny Rosen, Carrie Kendrick, and William Hansen. (MJP)

Examines the legal and moral issues, controversies, and unique trial procedures involved with the death penalty. Discusses the 1972 landmark Supreme Court decision that resulted in many states abolishing this punishment, only to reintroduce it later with different provisions. Reviews the controversial case of Sam Sheppard. (MJP)

Considers the broad range of jobs in law enforcement, the courts, and the correctional systems. Discusses the various paths of education and training leading to these jobs, the most preeminent being law school. Considers opportunities in growing fields such as international criminal law. (MJP)

Reprints two statements of the Academic Freedom Committee of the National Council for the Social Students on academic freedom and professional standards in social studies education. Stresses the rights and responsibilities of teachers, students, and administrators to protect the freedom to teach and learn in a democratic spirit of inquiry. (CH)

Argues that learning about winds and ocean currents will help students understand the achievements of explorers in history in light of physical elements and technologies of their time. Presents a three-day lesson for teaching secondary geography units on locations and regions of winds and currents, and historic effects of winds and currents on…

Summarizes reviews of research reports on classroom practice in the "Handbook of Research on Social Studies Teaching and Learning." Examines textbooks, instructional grouping, teaching methods, and computer-assisted instruction (especially games and simulations), and civic education through student participation in community programs.…

Outlines letter writing exercises for fifth grade social studies units on the U.S. Revolutionary War period. Students write letters as fictional and nonfictional historical characters from trade books described in article. Objectives include understanding viewpoints and historical events, writing to persuade, and share or seek information.…

Investigates how students' ethnic backgrounds relate to their views of instructional communication processes. Assesses the structural relationships among teacher immediacy, course utility, and teaching effectiveness for Anglo-American, Latino, African-American, and Asian-American students at the middle and end of a 10-week term. (SR)

This series of eight articles examines cooperative curriculum planning by secondary education teachers and school librarians. The discussion provides examples of assignments that employ library resources and suggestions for working with teachers to develop new curriculum units, as well as the use of workshops to acquaint teachers with the…

Describes a university's pilot immersion and multiliteracy program, in which first-year language students used Spanish language newspapers and texts to study Latin American history, geography, and current affairs. Students in the pilot program developed skills similar to those of students in traditional content courses. Sample quizzes are…

Home school families in Washington were surveyed, and achievement test scores were analyzed to determine the following: (1) characteristics of home school families; (2) previous schooling and reasons for home schooling; and (3) effects of selected variables on student outcomes. (BJV)