Interviews with fourth graders who had not yet received systematic instruction in U.S. history revealed that these students are interested in the past, concerned about human intentionality and cause-effect relationships, and able to construct coherent narrative accounts of historical events as they understand them. However, they lack an…

In order to give students an opportunity to personalize their learning through writing, two teachers of a high school American civilization class designed a biographical scrapbook project. The project objectives were to have students read about one person significant in the development of United States history and literature of the Revolutionary…

This research paper examines hidden cultural patterns establishing the expression of historical thought in Native Alaskan narratives which describe first contact with Russians. Historical consciousness in oral contact stories is always mythic in form, as well as in content. Native American oral cultures understood new events by…

This document is the record from a U.S. Congress oversight hearing on the Department of Education's refusal to fund a program to teach students about the Holocaust. The program, "Facing History and Ourselves," applied for federal funding to the Department of Education's National Diffusion Network (NDN), an organization intended to…

Part of an international series of amply illustrated, colorful, small size books for children ages 5 to 10, this volume describes various aspects of life in India. Customs, religions, languages, housing, work, food, clothing and festivals of the people of India are presented. A discussion of the 15 main languages in India and the Indian love of…

The reinterpretation of past events has been a natural phenomenon of twentieth century historiography. Historical revisionism--the reshaping by contemporary scholars of traditional views of the past--has been an inevitable and necessary trait of the profession and has contributed to the growth of humankind's perception of previous generations.…

This paper focuses on the current trends and issues in social studies education based on the literature that passes through the ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education (Indiana). Four trends pertaining to teaching content in history, geography, civics, and science in society have emerged from a review of the literature.…

Designed to accompany an audiovisual filmstrip series devoted to presenting a visual history of life in America, this guide contains an elementary social studies (grades 2-6) unit on the American city over the last century. Using authentic visuals including paintings, posters, advertising, documentary photography, and cartoons, the guide offers…

Designed to accompany an audiovisual filmstrip series devoted to presenting a visual history of life in America, this guide contains an elementary school (grades 2-6) unit on American food over the last century. Using authentic visuals including paintings, advertising, label art, documentary photography, and a movie still, the guide offers…

This guide is designed to help teachers develop comprehensive lesson plans to enhance student understanding of why nations compete, why they cooperate, and why they sometimes go to war. Written to accompany a student text of the same title, the guide should help students to: (1) understand the behavior of nations by defining national interest and…

This paper summarizes the suggestions offered by investigative committees of U.S. historians from the 1880s to the present concerning the importance of studying history in public schools, what should be included, and how it should be taught. An integrative approach to learning, combining history with English and geography, as suggested in reports…

A state by state profile of requirements and course offerings compiled by the Council of State Social Studies Specialists and the Social Science Education Consortium, listing curriculum changes and requirements for teachers and students, shows that there are very different practices and situations among the 50 states and the District and Columbia,…

This practicum addressed the problem of eighth-grade U.S. history students who did not acquire nor retain the necessary course core vocabulary. This lack of vocabulary acquisition resulted in reduced student performance, lack of understanding, and a poor attitude. The goals were: (1) to increase the student's U.S. history core vocabulary level;…

These curriculum materials about various aspects of the United States Constitution are designed as supplements to high school courses in history, civics, and government. They include 60 original lessons for students, accompanied by lesson plans for teachers, and are divided into five chapters. Chapter I, "Documents of Freedom" includes…

Designed to be used by secondary school students, this booklet makes use of Rochester (New York) related materials to teach about the popular taste of middle-class Americans living in the northeastern region of the United States in the latter part of the 19th century during the period known as the "gilded age." This was the period when…