Ancient times comes to life when a student can hold in his/her hand or read about an artifact, such as a coin of the Greek or Roman era. Students are familiar with coins, and this commonality helps them understand the similarities and differences between their lives and times in ancient Greece or Rome. Many symbols on the ancient coins can be…

This paper considers the possible impact of market forces on educational achievement in English and Welsh secondary schools. A major argument made by market advocates in favor of extending programs of school choice was that this would drive up standards. However, despite 12 years of relevant experience in the United Kingdom, it remains very…

Developed through the collaborative efforts of cohorts of English Language Arts (ELA) educators from across Louisiana, this publication is based on core concepts identified in regional, consortia, and/or district-level ELA curricular documents submitted to the Department of Education. The publication includes key components of the Teacher's Guide…

This unit planning grid outlines the expectations of Delaware high school students for basic music studies. The grid identifies nine standards for music: (1) students will sing, independently and with others, a varied repertoire of music; (2) students will perform on instruments, independently and with others, a varied repertoire of music; (3)…

This unit planning grid outlines the expectations of Delaware high school students for advanced music studies. The grid identifies nine standards for music: (1) students will sing, independently and with others, a varied repertoire of music; (2) students will perform on instruments, independently and with others, a varied repertoire of music; (3)…

This document is designed to show the connection between the required state-written curriculum (courses of study) and the state-tested curriculum (the Alabama High School Graduation Examination and the Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition [Stanford 9]) in Social Studies. The document illustrates that courses of study content standards embody…

"Save Our History" is The History Channel's national campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. As part of the campaign, The History Channel produces a videotape, "America's Most Endangered," based on a list developed annually by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The videotape focuses…

Many people believe that America's public schools can be saved by instituting high standards for academic achievement. Strategies for achieving this goal are presented in this book. The text explores the standards movement, examining its importance and asking what it will take to bring every student up to high standards, irrespective of where the…

This lesson focuses on the power of the U.S. Congress to pass laws related to issuing patents. Using Eli Whitney's 1812 Congressional petition to extend the patent on his cotton gin as an example, the lesson correlates to the National History Standards and the National Standards for Civics and Government. It contains two primary source documents,…

In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson guided a piece of foreign diplomacy through the U.S. Senate, the purchase of Louisiana territory from France. Jefferson chose Meriwether Lewis, his personal secretary, who possessed frontiersman skills to explore the territory. Lewis, in turn, solicited the help of William Clark, whose abilities as a draftsman…

Recognizing that the literacy demands that students now face require their active involvement in their own learning, this book considers a wide variety of ways to encourage that involvement. The book describes how teachers' practices foster literacy communities in their classrooms that can help students achieve the standards for the English…

This activity plan for fifth graders posits that the student is an agent for the King and Queen and are authorized to make a journey to the New World on behalf of the kingdom. The mission is to claim all land for the monarchy, locate a new trading route across the ocean, look for the Northwest Passage, and bring back gold, silver, spices, new…

This brief examines critical issues that charter schools and their authorizers will face as states respond to the No Child Left Behind Act's (NCLB) new accountability provisions. The first section provides a context for the NCLB and summarizes its major accountability provisions, discussing timelines for states to put these systems into place and…

The Assessment Bridge uses four major components to span the gaps between testing, curriculum, and change. The book focuses on the context in which educational testing operates and suggests a view of testing, not as a narrowing of the curriculum, but as a way to deepen teachers involvement in creating the ideas that must be assessed so that…

The primary purpose of the "2007 Mississippi Mathematics Framework" is to provide a basis for curriculum development for K-12 teachers. The framework provides an outline of what students should learn through competencies and objectives/benchmarks. Suggested teaching strategies and assessments for those strategies are correlated to the…