Students play the roles of delegates to the U.S. Constitutional convention in this grade 8 interdisciplinary history and language arts unit. After reviewing the activities of the men involved in the convention (Patrick Henry, George Mason, Luther Martin, Richard Henry Lee, John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton), participants prepare…

The small rural town of Bethlehem, Connecticut, contains pristine examples of modest 18th-century houses that surround a charming village green. Opposite the village green, the Reverend Joseph Bellamy's immense white clapboard house rises from a hilltop, an imposing presence that makes the village appear diminutive. The house stands today as a…

This guide provides background information on rural Latinos and includes brief profiles of 98 social scientists, researchers, and educators that focus their work on the rural Latino population. The first section addresses the need to study the rural Latino population and discusses census data, distinctions between rural and urban Mexican…

This teacher's guide provides activities about the National Air and Space Museum (Washington, DC) for students to complete. The guide includes primary and secondary source materials for teachers to photocopy and use during their study of African Americans in aviation based on the exhibition "Black Wings: The American Black in Aviation."…

Using primary documents, maps, and visual data, this lesson packet describes how President Dwight Eisenhower working at his Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, farm, which is on the Historic Register of Historic Places, used personal diplomacy to help ease the tensions of the Cold War. The lesson materials can be used in U.S. history units on the Cold War,…

This educational packet for grades 7 and 8 is organized to help students study about and/or plan a visit to Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, the site of a struggle between the Union and Confederate forces in August 1861 for the control of Missouri. The packet contains the following materials: (1) Educational Group Reservation Form; (2)…

Child labor in the United States is the focus of this unit of study for grades 5 and up. This unit contains four elements: (1) a list of documents with their specific archival reference numbers and a brief synopsis of their historical significance to the unit's theme; (2) a set of reproductions of documents; (3) 13 separate classroom activities;…

Intended to be equally useful to high school and college instructors, this book contains studies in history pedagogy, among them the first three published essays measuring qualitatively and quantitatively the successes and failures of "e-teaching" and distance learning. Collectively, the essays urge instructors to take the next step with…

Outlines the efforts of the Historical Advisory Committee (a group of archival scholars within the State Department) to force the release of documents revealing overseas covert intelligence operations in the 1950s. Recent legislation has reformed moderately the declassification process. Scholars continue to press for further reforms. (MJP)

Discusses results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in U.S. History and what may have influenced them, including use of computers and use of primary source materials. Includes an annotated bibliography of Web sites regarding the concept of peace as an alternative to perpetuating the historical realities of war. (LRW)

Provides background material for teaching Article Four of the United States Constitution. Suggests activities using primary documents in order to teach lessons on religious tests. The document chosen is a letter to John F. Kennedy from a citizen written in September 1960. Document may be reproduced for use in the classroom. (KO)

Reports on the controversy about the National History Standards, released in 1994 as part of the Goals 2000 program. Argues that the standards encourage critical thinking skills, active learning, use of primary sources, and integration of art and literature into history. (CFR)

Contends that peace history should be taught as a separate course or part of a larger survey course because of the wealth of scholarly materials. Discusses four historical movements that form the main currents of U.S. peace historiography and states that historian Merle Curti was the most influential peace historian. (CFR)

Presents three exercises, employing research of census materials (available from the National Archives), and class or independent field trips to cemeteries, historical societies, and libraries to teach immigration history. Advocates primary sources as teaching resources for family history studies. Includes three documents for classroom use.…

This lesson plan is designed to help students understand urban poverty by studying Cleveland, Ohio's social welfare services. Includes learning objectives, class activities, five scenarios of family and area conditions, and a case study of the "K" family. Describes actions taken by the social agency, The Associated Charities. (NL)