Introduces a special section containing three articles and six commentaries, which discuss the form that multicultural education should take and consider whether children are well-served by a unified curriculum for all or ethnocentric curricula for various ethnic groups. Provides several examples of a multicultural approach. (SLD)

Analyzes effects of globalization and the intersection of tribal and modern societies in several areas, especially politics, economics, and communication. Urges social studies teachers to consider the world a totality and to introduce global issues to students. Advocates designing maps and charts that reflect new global realities and promote a…

Special supplement for middle level educators focuses on news from around the country, student environmental action, adolescent development, saying no to drugs, the case against tracking, technology solutions, astronomy, ancient Egypt, the American West, learning with literature, camaraderie, and puzzles for problem solvers. (SM)

Provides a six-part lesson plan for use in secondary U.S. history classes. Illustrates the development of higher-order reading, writing, and thinking skills in assignments and projects dealing with the history of westward expansion. Specific skills addressed are comparison, contrast, prediction, and evaluation. Recommends cooperative learning…

Points out the difficulties in helping students understand the importance of history. Presents the educational benefits of using television, cartoons, newspaper comics, pop music, local architecture, and personal archival material in history classes. Suggests classroom activities for incorporating these materials into the curriculum. (RW)

Maintains that achieving the social studies goal of helping children make good decisions about their world requires data interpretation. Includes activities and accompanying charts for classroom activities that combine social studies content and data interpretation and classification skills. (CFR)

Describes the role of women in the Chinese military during four eras: (1) the ancient period; (2) the post Opium War period; (3) 1949-present; and (4) today's women in the Chinese military. Includes a full-page chart indicating women warriors in ancient China. (CFR)

Describes a teaching activity in which middle school students draw maps based on map models used in ancient Babylon. Contends that this approach serves as a transition from the study of world civilizations in grade six to the U.S. history course in grade seven. Includes 10 student-created maps and student comments about the activity. (CFR)

Presents a secondary school lesson on the building of the Ho Chi Minh Trail during the Vietnam War. Helps students link history and geographical skills through cooperative group learning. Includes maps, diagrams, and three student readings. (CFR)

Contends that students enjoy social studies instruction more when new information can be personalized and reshaped into original material. Reports on the content and teaching methods used in an ancient middle east unit designed for the sixth grade. Includes three charts and one table that illustrate the instructional strategies. (CFR)

Presents a lesson plan using material from a primary source-based curriculum kit titled "The World of Barilla Taylor." The kit uses personal letters, maps, hospital and work records, and other primary sources to document the life of a young woman working in the textile mills in 19th-century Massachusetts. (MJP)

Describes a collaborative project using materials from "The American Girls Collection" series of children's books with preservice teachers and elementary students to practice small-group classroom teaching skills within a social-studies methods course. Outlines the project steps and evaluates the effectiveness for both elementary students and…

Provides an overview of Cold War years from President Kennedy's inauguration to end of Soviet Union on December 31, 1991. Recommends six questions to provide a structure for studying or teaching about the Cold War era. Concludes that the Cold War remains one of the premier forces in shaping the world during the second half of the 20th century.…

Presents a secondary lesson plan based on primary sources recently released by the Central Intelligence Agency on the Cuban Missile Crisis. Provides a background essay on the event. Includes five maps and three documents, all of which have been declassified from top secret or secret status. (CFR)

Contends that the pledge by President Kennedy to land a man on the moon and return him safely "before the decade is out" was a Cold War tactic designed to bring national unity. Presents a lesson plan, a chronological chart, three primary documents, step-by-step implementation procedures, and related student activities. (CFR)