Describes the role of women in the Chinese military during four eras: (1) the ancient period; (2) the post Opium War period; (3) 1949-present; and (4) today's women in the Chinese military. Includes a full-page chart indicating women warriors in ancient China. (CFR)

Describes a teaching activity in which middle school students draw maps based on map models used in ancient Babylon. Contends that this approach serves as a transition from the study of world civilizations in grade six to the U.S. history course in grade seven. Includes 10 student-created maps and student comments about the activity. (CFR)

Presents a secondary school lesson on the building of the Ho Chi Minh Trail during the Vietnam War. Helps students link history and geographical skills through cooperative group learning. Includes maps, diagrams, and three student readings. (CFR)

Contends that students enjoy social studies instruction more when new information can be personalized and reshaped into original material. Reports on the content and teaching methods used in an ancient middle east unit designed for the sixth grade. Includes three charts and one table that illustrate the instructional strategies. (CFR)

Presents a lesson plan using material from a primary source-based curriculum kit titled "The World of Barilla Taylor." The kit uses personal letters, maps, hospital and work records, and other primary sources to document the life of a young woman working in the textile mills in 19th-century Massachusetts. (MJP)

Describes a collaborative project using materials from "The American Girls Collection" series of children's books with preservice teachers and elementary students to practice small-group classroom teaching skills within a social-studies methods course. Outlines the project steps and evaluates the effectiveness for both elementary students and…

Provides an overview of Cold War years from President Kennedy's inauguration to end of Soviet Union on December 31, 1991. Recommends six questions to provide a structure for studying or teaching about the Cold War era. Concludes that the Cold War remains one of the premier forces in shaping the world during the second half of the 20th century.…

Presents a secondary lesson plan based on primary sources recently released by the Central Intelligence Agency on the Cuban Missile Crisis. Provides a background essay on the event. Includes five maps and three documents, all of which have been declassified from top secret or secret status. (CFR)

Contends that the pledge by President Kennedy to land a man on the moon and return him safely "before the decade is out" was a Cold War tactic designed to bring national unity. Presents a lesson plan, a chronological chart, three primary documents, step-by-step implementation procedures, and related student activities. (CFR)

Recommends using Chinua Achebe's novel of the 19th-century conflict between African tribal culture and English colonists in a world history class. Achebe's rich narrative, written in a graceful prose, is easily accessible to high school students. The novel replaces simplistic and abstract concepts with those more complex and concrete. (MJP)

Describes a University of Wisconsin program that maintains summer institutes and seminars between university, college, and high school history teachers. Priorities have included upgrading the critical-thinking and research skills of secondary school students. A serendipitous benefit has been an increased mastery of the recent literature by…

Describes an interdisciplinary instructional unit using the historical novel "The Killer Angels" to teach about the Civil War. Writing assignments focused on character analysis from the novel bolstered by outside historical research. Student response was overwhelmingly positive. Includes suggested guidelines for developing an…

This research applied evolving conceptions of learning to examine how to represent and evaluate students' and experts' cognitive structures. High school history students completed several tasks. Direct comparisons of the quality of student maps with expert maps showed that experts' concept maps could be used to score students' concept maps…

Recalls a week-long field study trip to a reconstructed historic site, Barkerville, British Columbia. Ten years later the participants remembered the experience. The students overwhelmingly agreed that the experience sparked their imagination and created a real connection to the historical past. Includes brief excerpts from the interviews. (MJP)

Describes a project whereby preservice teachers and young adolescents collaborate to interview local citizens who experienced life during World War II. Details the project stages including learning through oral history, preparing, interviewing, writing, celebrating, and evaluating. Notes how the project increased student interest in history and…