When teachers present students with real topics in science and social studies instead of artificial, abstract writing exercises, the students will both develop and extend their interests and learn to think and communicate clearly about them. Choosing such a topic provides an opportunity to discuss student interests. Next, list building and small…

The discrepancy between educators' expectations for inquiry behavior and the actual status of such behavior (teachers feeling more comfortable teaching facts and feeling ill-prepared to guide students in inquiry learning) prompted a quantitative assessment of the existing research (reported between 1965 and 1980 in doctoral dissertations and…

Relationships between students' (N=169) rating of instruction and students' attitudes about inquiry and traditional teaching in elementary science classes were investigated. Since one of the goals of their methods class was to develop or adopt teaching styles on their own, it was hypothesized that the congruence of students' adopted teaching style…

REPORTED ARE THE RESULTS OF A CURRICULUM RESEARCH PROJECT OF THE MICHIGAN SCIENCE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL PROJECT FOR USE IN TEACHING JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL UNIFIED SCIENCE. THE COMMITTEE USED PREVIOUS RESEARCH DATA, PARTICULARLY IN THE AREA OF INSTRUCTION AND INQUIRY TRAINING, TO DEVELOP 13 UNITS INCLUDING 55 OPEN-ENDED LABORATORY…

Programs which lead to licensing and certification of social studies teachers should be based upon standards and curriculum set by social studies educators instead of social scientists. Reluctance of social scientists to work cooperatively with social studies educators is based largely upon the inability of social studies professionals to define…

The curriculum evaluation reviews content and teaching methods of various materials in civic and legal education. Twenty-one objectives of the Law in a Free Society project are identified and the adequacy of the materials reviewed to attain these objectives is discussed. Objectives include recognition of the following: (1) complexities of legal…

The Sampler is designed to stimulate teachers, parents, students, and groups to look at various types of open spaces and facilities as resources for environmental study. Written for use with children, but adaptable to older groups, the Sampler tries to engage the feelings as well as intellects of its users in the process of inquiry. It locates…

This 44th yearbook of the National Council for the Social Studies offers the elementary and secondary classroom teacher practical ideas on how to teach United States history. Intended to help teachers apply theory and objectives in the classroom, the book consists of specific class-tested lessons which focus on how a study of the American past…

As a result of rapid growth in student interest and enrollments at the secondary level, a workshop was designed to bring together teachers and teacher-trainees of high school behavioral sciences to explore current methods of classroom operation and to review specific areas of curriculum. Results of the workshop are seen in the first two sections…

The resource unit, developed by the University of Minnesota's Project Social Studies, is the third in a series of six units on continuity and change in American civilization. The social system of the democratic age (1820-1840) is investigated with emphasis on voluntary associations which pioneered social reforms. Changes in the executive branch…

The tenth grade unit, developed by the University of Minnesota's Project Social Studies, is the fifth in a series of six units on continuity and change in American civilization. The nature of industrialism and its social and political ramifications are analyzed. The economic growth theory is used as a framework for studying American history from…

This guide was designed to assist sixth through eighth grade teachers and pupils in furthering their understanding of man in interaction with his environment. It assists the teacher in the effort to understand, organize, and implement the conceptual, interdisciplinary approach to the teaching of the social sciences: anthropology, economics,…

The laboratory has created this information unit to help answer curriculum planning questions for secondary school curriculum decision makers. It tells about the products and activities of nine selected curriculum development programs by organizing the following information in chart, summary, then complete report form for quick and easy review and…

The theme of this unit of study for elementary grades is Africa: Past, Present, and Future. A sample outline is given suggesting topics to be explored as well as a list of introductory student activities. A problem solving approach is used and individual student research is encouraged. Some major historical events, important leaders, and…

This resource unit for use in Grade Nine is designed to develop specific generalizations about the American market economy. The core of activities centers around a series of economic simulation games. The concepts and generalizations which are introduced in this unit are expanded upon and developed more thoroughly in later units in this curriculum…