Historical thinking involves being able to conceptualize historical events from multiple perspectives and to relate historical data within these. Hypermedia has enormous potential for supporting the development of historical thinking because it is open, nonlinear, and heterogeneous in ways other media is not; it can physically represent…

In 1995 the Virginia Board of Education adopted new Standards of Learning in four core subject areas: mathematics, science, English, and history and social science. The new standards set targets and expectations for what teachers need to teach and students need to learn. The requirement is designed to provide greater accountability on the part of…

In 1996, Minnesota's Anoka Ramsey Community College (ARCC) participated in the Exploring America's Communities project sponsored by the American Association of Community Colleges. The project works to strengthen the teaching and learning of American History, literature, and culture at U.S. community colleges. The grant application from the ARCC…

In 1996, New Jersey's Bergen Community College (BCC) participated in the American Association of Community Colleges' Exploring America's Communities project, which works to strengthen the teaching and learning of American history, literature, and culture at U.S. community colleges. BCC's primary goals were: infusing material into existing American…

This unit is one of a series that presents specific moments in history from which students focus on the meanings of landmark events. Columbus's momentous arrival in 1492 in the Caribbean ended the mutual isolation of two regions of the globe. From this moment on, the future of the Americas has been inextricably linked to those of Europe, Asia, and…

This manual presents teaching practices that are appropriate when using textbooks to teach history-social science to students with learning disabilities and others at risk for school failure. The approach is to improve the quality of regular text materials and the way text information is presented and processed, rather than reducing reliance on…

This essay addresses six pedagogical issues that English language arts teachers should consider in preparing to use Holocaust literature to address "intolerance and bigotry" in their teaching. Teachers should ask themselves: (1) Does the literature unit emphasize anti-Semitism as a cause of the Holocaust?; (2) Does the unit provide all…

Developed to help Alberta, Canada, teachers implement a new sequence of social studies courses, this teacher resource manual offers suggestions for organizing, teaching, and evaluating the new program, and additional information about the program. It is organized into the following sections and subsections: (1) Teaching Social Studies--social…

This issue focuses on heritage education, the goal of which is to introduce the historic built environment directly into elementary and secondary school curriculums. Kathlyn Hatch discusses how heritage education's linkage with historic preservation can help students relate to society. Earl Jones assesses the status of heritage education,…

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate four social studies textbooks recently under consideration for use by the Memphis (Tennessee) City Public Schools. The textbooks, chosen at random, are: "World Geography: A Physical and Cultural Study" (de Blij and others, Scott Foresman, 1989); "A History of the United States" (Boorstin…

A history teacher in a girls independent high school set out to examine her own teaching process in order to revitalize her work and to understand more about how her students learn. She began to keep a journal of her observations of classroom work and, with the help of a colleague, to analyze the observations. In addition, she set aside class time…

This periodical critiques the traditional views of Christopher Columbus and his voyages to America and looks at current issues that affect Native Americans. More than 50 essays, poems, historical documents, and articles are featured, including: "Columbus and Native Issues in the Elementary Classroom" (Bob Peterson); "Bones of…

An important objective of the History Academy for Ohio Teachers was to shift the participating teachers' beliefs and orientation to history. Through the examination of the portfolios and interviews, the study looked at the changes from the participants' perspective. A subset of 12 teachers were selected from the Academy's participants and were…

The History Academy for Ohio Teachers provided 40 Ohio teachers with an intense 4-week summer immersion in world and U.S. history and in historical theory and methods that was followed by a year-long follow up program on teaching units. Working together with college based historians, a new model was developed to help educators improve the teaching…

Although the collection of papers known as "The Federalist" (first published in 1788) has offered enduring wisdom to lawyers, judges, politicians, and scholars about principles and issues of constitutional government, this classic work has not occupied a prominent place in high school history and government courses. "The…