A high school history teacher of gifted students examined difficulties in establishing cooperative groups when members changed frequently. Student interviews and surveys indicated that some students were happy to remain nonparticipants in any group. Participation was less a factor of group makeup than a factor of student opinion about grades.…

Questions how elementary teachers can expand their students' views of heroes and heroines. Includes nine activities designed to enhance students' definition of heroism. Includes a discussion of everyday heroism, political and social activity, and how students can be heroes themselves. (MJP)

Neatly summarizes both Latino history and the movement to develop a historical identity and consciousness. Briefly examines the contributions of labor, political, and social organizations especially in the Southwest and the urban Northeast. Discusses the emergence and rapid growth of academic work involving Hispanic culture, history, and…

Argues that instructors need to recognize and adapt to students who are increasingly computer savvy. Relates the process of developing dynamic World Wide Web syllabi for undergraduate history courses. Provides an outline of suggestions and warnings for creating interesting and educational syllabi. Suggests that the best syllabi incorporate Web…

Discusses the use of children's literature within the social studies curriculum, focusing on the study of the Civil War. Considers the benefits of literature for literacy acquisition, language skill development, critical thinking, and vocabulary development. Provides an annotated list of Civil War related materials with extension activities. (JPB)

Presents a folkloristic analysis of two history teachers' performances of lectures in an eleventh grade U.S. history course. Discusses educational research on teachers as storytellers, a folkloristic framework for analyzing teachers' storytelling, and the reception of stories by students. Reveals that the history lectures combine both anecdote and…

Compares three cases in Atlanta, GA, New York state, and Washington, DC, in which advocates fought to have an Afrocentric curriculum implemented in public schools' social studies and history classes. Examines the influences of six local organizational factors on the proposed curricular changes. (CMK)

Discusses the need for content-method realignment in social studies education by focusing on the content of social studies, particularly history. Addresses three issues: (1) history is a matter of assigning meaning to facts; (2) the significance of historical knowledge varies; and (3) the historical knowledge of greatest social value is…

Explores the content and history of the last three constitutional amendments: (1) presidential succession and disability (the Twenty-fifth amendment); (2) voting rights for young people (the Twenty-sixth amendment); and (3) congressional pay raises (the Twenty-seventh amendment). Includes questions for discussion. (CMK)

Examines why a sixth-grade teacher in a Waldorf classroom selected the particular forms of representation for the lessons in a thematic unit. States that the teacher represented the lessons in ways that would bring about experiences, feelings, and imagination (such as story telling, visual arts, and singing.) (CMK)

Investigated the role that interactive multimedia might play in scaffolding teacher-led classroom activities to help children construct more appropriate external representations for particular tasks and reason more effectively about historical chronological concepts. Reports on the conceptual design and pedagogical approach to developing effective…

Offers suggestions for using the "1896" website at Vassar College that includes 90 political cartoons, party platforms, candidate biographies, and other background materials on the election of 1896. Provides five approaches to teaching about the election that move beyond the basic facts of the campaign in order to develop students'…

Presents a lesson where students interact with the art of the Gilded Age and learn about various artists from the time period as a means to review the major themes of the Gilded Age. Explains that this lesson addresses the National Standards for U.S. History. Provides teacher notes, extension activities, and additional sources. (CMK)

Discusses the origins of "Teddy's bear," tracing back to a cartoon published in 1902. States that Teddy's bear can shed light on U.S. culture and society. Focuses on the role of Teddy's bear as a symbol of conservationism, an embodiment of male dominance and female nurturance, and a manifestation of white racial supremacy. (CMK)

Identifies the uses of plat books in teaching history and historical geography focusing on Washtenaw County in southeast Michigan as an example. States that plat books offer maps that indicate land ownership in addition to property location and size. Discusses French land claims and the Land Ordinance of 1785. Includes maps. (CMK)