Advocates enhancing understanding of the present through teaching about the past. Presents units of study that are concept based and interdisciplinary, focusing on life in colonial New England. Includes role play and simulation activities that highlight historical periods and provide children direct experiences. Recreates classroom life in…

Stresses the importance of teaching values in U.S. history classes. Reviews current literature on values development. Presents a lesson plan on John Adams and his decision-making role in the Boston Massacre incident. Asks students to examine the parallels between Adams' decision to defend the British soldiers and their own lives. (RW)

Asserts that teaching about Native Americans is clouded by stereotypes, emphasis on New England tribes, and relegated to a few weeks in November prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. Describes a kindergarten class in which children's literature and student activities were used to teach about three Native American cultures. (CFR)

Presents a lesson plan based on primary sources related to General William Tecumseh Sherman and the Civil War. Provides recommended questions for student discussion and writing assignments. Includes excerpts from primary documents and a list of document sources. (CFR)

Maintains that holidays provide opportunities for teaching about history and cultural diversity. Presents a bibliographic essay of recommended resources for elementary teachers on this topic. Materials include reading resources, activity books, and audiovisual materials. (CFR)

Contends that instruction in schools from elementary through university levels is a seamless web in which numerous elements of subjects converge with elements from other subjects. Asserts that a variety of disciplines can be taught through a study of Christopher Columbus and the Columbus voyages. (CFR)

Describes the "History with Civics" course taught in upper level secondary schools in Denmark. Discusses course content, student assessment, teacher qualifications, instructional materials, and teaching methods. Includes an appendix that presents a topical course syllabus. (CFR)

Presents a five-page study guide on the site selection of New Orleans (LA). Encourages students to recognize situational advantages determined by different historical periods. Asks students to recommend specific sites based on time and place variables. (CFR)

Presents a lesson plan that invites students to view 19th-century Hawaii through the eyes of Isabella Bird. Bird left Victorian England hoping that traveling would improve her ill health. In the process she became a celebrated writer and explorer. Includes excerpts from her letters and books. (MJP)

Describes two interdisciplinary units that can be used in most middle school classrooms, one on the sinking of the "Titanic" and one on Pickett's charge at Gettysburg during the Civil War. Describes how each unit involves English, math, social studies, and science classes and activities. (SR)

Describes a project using city and town archives to explore important issues in U.S. history for Advanced Placement American history courses. Relates how town death, birth, or marriage records can be used by students as the stimuli for research projects on larger trends in demographic, social, or political history. (DSK)

The debate over national history standards is so fixated on "which history" that the importance of studying history is being overlooked. History humanizes us in ways that few other curricular areas can. Three classroom vignettes illustrate the difficulties of achieving mature historical understanding in a Disney/MTV-dominated culture. (53…

Describes a unit of study for gifted fifth graders that connects architecture to the content areas of history, mathematics, and science. Emphasis was on problem solving of real-world problems as recommended in major reports on mathematics instruction. The unit also used technology in innovative ways, including computer-drawn images and digital…

Studied the Heritage Project, a federally sponsored program to develop and implement social studies curricula based on local history and cultural traditions in three rural areas. Results offer insight into educational change initiatives and problems with top-down program implementation. (SLD)

Expounds on two headline articles from the "Edmonton Journal" (Canada) that prompted the columnist to reflect on the history of the textbook in social studies. The two articles refer to politically motivated editing of history texts in Hong Kong and Japan. Urges history teachers to teach history "the way it happened." (DSK)