Asserts that geographic literacy plays an important role in the overall history-social science curriculum. Provides a lesson planning strategy and recommends using the Five Themes of Geography as a guide when designing history curricula. Includes recommended textbooks, professional journals, and other teacher resources. (CFR)

Argues that history teachers do not give enough attention to preparing students for major tests. Maintains that the responsibility for test preparation should be divided between the students and teacher. Provides a set of six procedures designed to help students review course content and prepare for examinations. (CFR)

Presents a secondary school lesson plan about Jennie Dean and the founding of the Manassas (VA) Industrial School in the late 1880s. Provides historical background for the lesson, step-by-step instructional procedures, four primary source photographs, and three student handouts. (CFR)

Reviews recommendations from the National Council for the Social Studies which state that teaching about holidays can motivate students as well as teach about cultures. Reviews three videotapes designed for use in elementary schools. Includes a content summary and a discussion of strengths and concerns about each video. (CFR)

Asserts that using children's literature in primary grades enhances learning and helps achieve social studies objectives. Reports on survey of educators that identified 10 books, 7 book series, and 7 common characteristics of books or series that led to their selection. Includes chart indicating how these characteristics corresponded to social…

Reports on a European teachers' seminar. Points out the difficulties of making generalizations about history instruction in European nations. Concludes that it is essential to emphasize societal aspects that bind people together and that national history should be taught in a European and global context. (CFR)

Reports on a study of 93 McMaster University (Ontario) sophomore history students about their secondary school preparation in history. Finds that most respondents felt comfortable about their high school education, but a significant number were uncomfortable with their preparation for tutorial work, notetaking, and essay writing. (CFR)

Describes the background and development of the Activities and Readings in the Geography of the United States (ARGUS) project. Indicates that the project is part of a cooperative effort with geographers and educators in other nations. Includes a content outline of the project and four illustrative maps. (CFR)

Describes a series of class activities involving student surveys and interviews with parents and other adults. Discusses possible interview topics ranging from important inventions to simulated interviews with historical figures. Reports that student interest improved and parents became more involved with school activities. (CFR)

Describes the teacher education workshops and instructional materials available from the National Archives of the United States. Contends that using primary sources will help students see history as historians did. Concludes that the National Archives seeks more collaborative activities with history teachers. (CFR)

Provides an overview to the role played by the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) in supporting women in their move from rural domestics to urban workers. Specifically details some of the activities of the YWCA chapters across the United States and discusses the architectural characteristics of the buildings. (MJP)

Describes the use of computing technology in the Contemporary World History Project (CWHP), a year-long, two-part program that integrates the study of world problems within a traditional world history curriculum. Summarizes the use of the Internet via the International Communication and Negotiation Simulation Project (ICONS) in CWHP simulations.…

Recounts a teacher's experiences with the development and use of online field trips in a fourth-grade classroom. Uses these to outline questions that need to be answered in creating virtual field trip Web sites. Provides an example of a field trip that follows the Iditarod Sled Dog Race in Alaska. (DSK)

Presents three activities adapted from the "How Big Is Africa?" Curriculum Guide developed by the African Studies Center of Boston University. Includes activities designed to make students aware of the diversity extant in Africa and the vastness of the continent. Targets students at the upper-elementary and middle school levels. (DSK)

Presents a lesson using primary sources to explore the revolutionary rhetoric of British-American colonists and its application to the lives of enslaved Africans and free Blacks: How could the same people who argued so forcefully for liberty defend slavery? Includes excerpts from four primary documents and sources for additional documents. (DSK)