Four different approaches to the teaching of U.S. history--chronological, topical, interdisciplinary, and problems--are presented. The purpose is to help students in grade 11 learn about and appreciate the country's history, heritage, beliefs, and institutions. The first approach presented is chronological, is in outline form, and contains nine…

This booklet accompanies the New York State Library exhibit of material related to the trial of John Peter Zenger. This 1735 trial established the legal precedent giving juries the power to decide libel suits. Labeled "the germ of American freedom," the trial was an important step in the development of American concepts of free speech…

The failure of history textbooks to teach about ordinary people and events is examined, and what teachers can do to overcome this shortcoming of texts is discussed. History texts emphasize political history, wars, battles, and chronicles of great persons and events of the past. Scant attention is paid to the lives of ordinary men and women. This…

During discussions about planning, Tim Kemp and Charlotte Bickmore recently concluded that despite the name they give to their major Year 8 unit (The Making of the United Kingdom), they tend mainly to focus on England, and even more especially, on London. They have a good point. Ask an average Year 8 student to describe Britain in, say, 1700, and…

With the first teaching of a revised history curriculum due in September 2008 the debate over content and order is well under way. Robert Guyver, involved in the design of the curriculum development experiment that evolved into the 1991 version of national curriculum history, witnessed the debates about all of the key stages in that crucial year.…

As historians, we know that "factual" information should never be uncritically accepted. And yet, too often, that is exactly what we do with the maps we use to locate ourselves and our students. Evelyn Sweerts and Marie-Claire Cavanagh, who now work in a European School in Brussels but until recently worked in English schools, have…

A college professor discusses his experiences in developing and teaching a multimedia course on American cultural and intellectual history 1920-1945. The course goal is to involve students actively in the learning process and to help them understand society as multidimensional. The course uses motion pictures as primary sources. (Author/RM)

A world civilizations course, based on the learning needs of the student, incorporates individualized options, library based instruction, choices in the medium of instruction, and the removal of grade pressures. (JH)

The pressure of high-stakes testing has virtually eliminated the teaching of history and the other social studies from many urban elementary schools. The author has heard it directly from many Philadelphia (Pa.) teachers in numerous classes where he teaches graduate social studies pedagogy courses to graduate student teachers who are pursuing…

"The Human Experience," a world history program for secondary students, is examined as a basis for teaching a sense of the unity of human experience which is central to understanding the global community. (Author/JR)

This essay presents background information and suggests teaching stragegies to aid community and junior college classroom teachers of history and civilization as they develop and implement educational programs on Latin American music. It is based on the premise that Latin American music can best be understood as a reflection of other historical…

This publication contains 44 suggestions for projects which actively involve elementary and secondary students in an individual quest for a personal heritage within the topical frameworks of community, ethnic, and family history. The projects are intended to awaken students to the realization that history is all around them. The projects utilize…

Although research has demonstrated that the well-planned use of audio-visual (AV) media enhances student learning, classroom use of media is usually confined to sporadic, individual presentations which serve only as an auxiliary to the lecture and which are too often regarded by the student as entertainment. To realize the potential of AV media…