Suggests methods of teaching about the voyages of Columbus to develop students' knowledge and cognitive skills. Presents five keys to accuracy and balance in teaching about Columbus: emphasize biological and cultural exchange; apply the major geographic themes; examine events in their historical context; present multiple viewpoints; and use…

Describes a year-long elective film course in modern U.S. history for twelfth grade students. Explains course methodology and objectives. Analyzes selected films to illustrate how the course elucidates the consensus-conflict theme in U.S. history since the 1930s and enhances student understanding of Hollywood's perspective on gender, race, and…

Describes a field trip exercise for junior high school students in which students visit a battlefield while studying the Civil War. Discusses team competition as motivation for cooperative learning. Suggests that students can experience leadership, increased self-esteem, and strengthened relationships with peers. Emphasizes balancing student teams…

Presents a class project in which students were divided into groups, each of which produced a letter as though written by a resident of prerevolutionary Texas. Provides suggested characters, review exercises, suggestions, and evaluation advice. Discusses the project's benefits as a Texas state history review and language arts lesson. (DK)

Describes the use of poetry in U.S. history instruction. Contends that using simulations, historical documents, and literature help make students keenly aware of conflicts and the human impact of historical events. Recommends that students write poetry related to historical topics and includes five examples of student-written poetry. (CFR)

Asserts that South Korea can be an excellent subject for an effective unit on history, economic development, critical thinking skills, and cross-cultural understanding. Provides background information and a list of teacher resources for planning a unit on South Korea. (CFR)

Asserts that the Civil Rights is the clearest and most accessible example of nonviolent resistance to injustice in U.S. history. Discusses two common misperceptions among students about the Civil Rights movement. Presents a three-day classroom activity, including a bibliography and primary source readings. (CFR)

Describes a twelfth grade oral-history teaching project with multi-ethnic U.S. history senior students. Stresses that the project helps students think about and understand today's world by developing historical understanding. Activities include designing questionnaires, conducting interviews, writing biographical sketches, and producing a…

Argues students' understanding of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights is enhanced by reviewing historical decisions concerning ratification. Classroom discussion using "Original Intent" documents allows students to develop insight into the relationship between church and state and into judicial application of the Establishment…

Introduces a special section containing three articles and six commentaries, which discuss the form that multicultural education should take and consider whether children are well-served by a unified curriculum for all or ethnocentric curricula for various ethnic groups. Provides several examples of a multicultural approach. (SLD)

Analyzes effects of globalization and the intersection of tribal and modern societies in several areas, especially politics, economics, and communication. Urges social studies teachers to consider the world a totality and to introduce global issues to students. Advocates designing maps and charts that reflect new global realities and promote a…

Special supplement for middle level educators focuses on news from around the country, student environmental action, adolescent development, saying no to drugs, the case against tracking, technology solutions, astronomy, ancient Egypt, the American West, learning with literature, camaraderie, and puzzles for problem solvers. (SM)

Provides a six-part lesson plan for use in secondary U.S. history classes. Illustrates the development of higher-order reading, writing, and thinking skills in assignments and projects dealing with the history of westward expansion. Specific skills addressed are comparison, contrast, prediction, and evaluation. Recommends cooperative learning…

Points out the difficulties in helping students understand the importance of history. Presents the educational benefits of using television, cartoons, newspaper comics, pop music, local architecture, and personal archival material in history classes. Suggests classroom activities for incorporating these materials into the curriculum. (RW)

Maintains that achieving the social studies goal of helping children make good decisions about their world requires data interpretation. Includes activities and accompanying charts for classroom activities that combine social studies content and data interpretation and classification skills. (CFR)