Both the Organization of American Historians (OAH) and The American Historical Association (AHA) have engaged in the debate about reform and improvement of pre-collegiate history education, which has been a hot political issue at least since the 1983 publication of "A Nation at Risk." Both the OAH and the AHA support initiatives that promote the…

Two groups of middle school students were taught U.S. colonial history during a 5-week period using 2 different instructional strategies. In the experimental group, concepts and problem-solving strategies were explicitly taught; in the control group, content was presented using lectures and reading. All students took a pretest and several…

In the fall of 1996, the Arkansas Archeological Survey and the Department of Foreign Languages at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville received a $180,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities Teaching With Technology program. The goal of this grant initiative was to encourage creation of content-rich, computer-based materials…

It's unsettling to hear of credentialed school teachers who--ignorant of our principles and of so much more--are seduced by, and pass on, ludicrous and even subversive accounts of our history. Sandra Stotsky tells of curricula that equate white Americans with Nazis and of officials who discredit the Constitution as a license for slavery. She…

Many, even most, teachers have probably read or heard about the potential of the Internet and feel an obligation to use it in their classrooms. But, despite vast improvements in the quality of educational materials on the Internet, they are left with frustrating questions. How do teachers wade through the overwhelming amount of "information" on…

One educational area that has greatly benefited from the growth of technology is historical studies. Since the initial development of the World Wide Web in the early 1990s, tens of millions of historical documents have been placed online. During that time the quality and range of historical documents available on the Web has steadily increased.…

This article deals with the use of alternative texts, such as the Harry Potter book series in classroom teaching. In this article, the author discusses a wide range of themes that could be addressed in the classroom. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone deals with issues of greed, self-sacrifice, fear of the unknown, and self-confidence. Harry…

The present study tried to find out whether Saudi history textbooks for grades 4-12 contain global themes, in which grade levels global themes are introduced, the percentage of global themes, local history themes and Islamic history themes, and which global history themes are taught. A checklist of global history themes was developed. Those are:…

A research study on the learning effects of women's history on about 500 pupils throughout the Netherlands aged between 14 and 16 posed the question "How does women's history contribute to the gender-identity of girls?" Eleven classes (224 students) were taught women's history and 11 classes (273 students) were taught…

This book presents nine case studies from Australia, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom in which English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students have been successfully integrated into regular classrooms. An introductory section looks at the different contexts for the studies, objectives of language-minority education, the rationale…

In 1996, Butler County Community College (Pennsylvania) participated in the American Association of Community Colleges' Exploring America's Communities, which works to strengthen the teaching and learning of American history, literature, and culture at U.S. community colleges. Because the local population is overwhelmingly white, the general goal…

A vocabulary improvement project, comprised of three components, was initiated at Del Mar College (DMC) in Corpus Christi, Texas, in spring 1991. Component 1 consisted of a baseline study of vocabulary knowledge among students in two levels of remedial reading classes. The test instrument measured content-specific vocabulary in English/literature,…

These two issues of "Virginia Resolves" provide articles of interest to the social studies reader and provides ideas for social studies instruction and curriculum. The fall issue features seven articles: (1) "Death and the Young Child" (Rosanne J. Marek); (2) "Simulations: Bibliography for the Middle and Elementary…

In spring 1994, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) collected information on student achievement in reading, U.S. history, and geography at grades 4, 8, and 12. To provide a context for interpreting NAEP findings, the project collected background information from students, teachers, and school administrators using separate…

This activity book is designed to present information and insights on Japanese culture and society. Because few teachers can devote entire units to the study of Japan, the activities focus on teaching about Japan within the context of larger social science units. Some of the lessons can be taught within the context of the humanities and fine arts,…