Discusses the availability of instructional media materials for teaching about religion. Explores possible legal problems with addressing religious issues in public schools. Provides an annotated listing of 40 relevant items. Includes notes on five sources for materials. (SG)

Describes a woodcut of the earliest map printed in a vernacular language, circa 1480. Discusses the location and representation of paradise, the winds, rivers, the world sea and islands, countries, and cities. Emphasizes the map as a world view of the late Middle Ages representing the popular culture of the time. (DK)

Discusses the importance of including primary source material in school library media centers and points out that many are probably already in collection, e.g., the texts of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, videotapes and audiotapes of actual events and voices, photographs, and paintings. Some basic primary materials are recommended. (LAE)

Asserts that computer analysis makes it possible to assess the intervention of a second "author" in Christopher Columbus's famous "Diary." Concludes that computer analysis makes it possible to examine Columbus's verbatim testimony and identify ways that Bartoleme de Las Casas intervened. (CFR)

Reprints portions of a sailor's diary, kept for two-and-a-half years during World War II. The 21-year-old quartermaster writes about his life on the USS Grimes; hearing of the war's official end; his ship's peaceful landing in Tokyo Bay; and his experiences in Nagasaki in September 1945. (CH)

Suggests the use of phony documents to interest students and provide them with an opportunity to develop critical thinking skills and practice historical investigative methods. Gives examples of documents that can be presented to students to determine authenticity. Offers advice on preparing phony documents to use in the classroom. (DK)

Presents a lesson plan for seventh-grade students in which they learn respect for themselves and others and apply social studies skills. Explains that the students create timelines, interview someone of an older generation, and create a Venn diagram comparing that person's life to their own. Includes suggestions for writing assignments based on…

Presents a lesson using photographs and descriptive readings about roadside attractions that have been nominated for the National Register of Historic Places. Includes student objectives, teaching procedures, photographs, and primary source readings. (CFR)

Examines controversies about the goals and strategies of history in the K-12 curriculum. Reviews and recommends recent books and instructional materials on history. Expresses hope that the quality and quantity of appropriate materials for teaching history will increase. (CFR)

Discusses the use of travel photographs as original sources in geography and other social studies classrooms. Contends that students can learn about other places and people through analysis of the photographs. Includes suggested sources and activities for using the photographs. (CFR)

Describes a secondary level lesson based on the Johnstown Flood in 1889. Includes maps, photographs, and readings designed as student resources. (CFR)

Introduces "Teaching with Historic Places," a lesson plan series designed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Park Service. Suggests that teaching with historic places helps students develop an empathetic connection to the past. Explains that students use historic places as primary sources to gather facts and…

At a New Jersey school, students spend one year studying each of three time periods: ancient Egypt in fourth grade; Greece in fifth grade; and Rome and the Middle Ages in sixth grade. The history curriculum becomes the focal point for other areas (art, music, drama, language arts, science, geography, and math). Teachers use primary sources and…

Summarizes the events leading up to and the investigation that followed the Watergate break-in. Presents a lesson plan using primary documents that allows students to explore the workings of congressional investigations, the key figures in the scandal, and the arguments of the different participants. Includes copies of the documents. (DSK)

Discusses the use of letters, diaries, and eye witness accounts to introduce students to personal impressions and experiences usually absent from contemporary written resources. Includes collections of letters, diaries, and eye witness accounts with accompanying activities for each primary source. (CMK)