A seemingly simple tale of schoolboys marooned on an island, the novel "Lord of the Flies" is an enigmatic and provocative piece of literature. This casebook probes the many layers of meaning in the novel, examining its literary, philosophical, historical, scientific, and religious significance. The casebook integrates analysis and…

This 4-day curriculum unit explores U.S. foreign policy between 1787 and 1812. During this time the United States faced a series of foreign policy challenges that threatened its survival as an independent, constitutional republic. Between 1793 and 1815, a nearly continuous series of wars pitting the French against the British engulfed the European…

This publication features teaching ideas generated by classroom teachers. For grades K-4, fourth grade teacher, Janet Williamson, has developed "Off and Running with Primary Sources" which describes how she introduces students to primary sources using historical advertisements. Appropriate for grades 5-8, a strategy was developed by…

Teaching about the Amistad case provides correlations to the National Standards for History, and Civics and Government. An overview of the events of 1839 is given in this lesson plan. Seven student activities include reading and using primary source documents, writing journal articles, viewing the movie "Amistad," and giving…

This collection of primary source materials from the National Archives and Records Administration (Washington, DC) humanizes history so that it is real and personal to students. Intended for secondary school history teachers, the collection provides primary source documents, reports, maps, photographs, letters, diaries, posters, and recordings…

The purpose of this book is to create a synergy between records custodians and educators that will make historical records an important part of every New York state student's education. The book's first three sections explain basic information about historical records: what they are, how they can be found, how educators and records custodians can…

Many ways in which objects can be used to teach history are examined. An activity which requires students to hypothesize about the conditions of poverty and unemployment during the Great Depression and then to test their hypotheses by examining photographs taken in the 1930s is provided. (RM)

Discusses how teachers can use U.S. census data in secondary U.S. history classes. Four census-based activities dealing with the themes of social mobility among Detroit and Alabama Blacks, definition of megalopolis, poverty in Boston, and Irish immigrants in Walpole, Massachusetts, in 1850 are described. (AM)

Describes project initiated at Georgia College to provide access to the information in small-town newspapers by developing an index-abstract for the Milledgeville, Georgia, "Southern Recorder" and its successors (1820-present). The nature of the index project, subject terms, funding, and the use of computers are discussed. Seven…

Relates the positive effects of using an historical document as a stimulus for class projects in the English classroom. (RL)

Examines the process by which oral history materials become public historical documents. As a case study, the article focuses on an interview-based article in the "New York Times" on unemployment in Buffalo, New York. Topics discussed include interview techniques, editorial policy, relevance, and social consciousness. (DB)

The rationale, description, and evaluation of a course about adolescence taught to university students. This interdisciplinary approach includes materials from literature, philosophy, history, and the arts. Primary source material is extensively used. (Author/MLF)

Looks at some work done by children who are encouraged to use the techniques of the professional historian. (Editor)

A university history course in London introduced a new type of test question, similar to an essay question, based on excerpts from historical documents. The article compares scores of men and women on both types of question, and reviews student reaction to the new type of question. (AV)

A literary scholar recounts his personal experiences with manuscripts and archival materials of great variety and sees a pendulum shift back toward examining original source materials. Special collections need to reinsert themselves into the mainstream of intellectual life and promote themselves to students and scholars more effectively. (Author)