Describes the efforts of Henry Crowell, developer of Quaker Oats, to develop a market for breakfast cereals using market research and advertising. Examines how innovations in communications technology have been brought about by the struggle to control the material economy in the face of industrialization. Traces the development of the information…

Discusses the use of novels in studying social history. Proposes that the contents of novels be accepted not as a set of answers about a society, but as a set of questions, plausible hypotheses as to how the historian might organize his evidence. (Author/JK)

This document addresses the importance of teaching contemporary history. The failure to teach contemporary history leaves students ill equipped to deal with the present and the future, and also ensures that they will have little interest in the history of other times. Because memory is the central organizing principle in peoples minds, the…

This teaching unit represents a specific "dramatic moment" in history that can allow students to delve into the deeper meanings of selected landmark events and explore their wider context in the great historical narrative. Studying a crucial turning point in history helps students realize that history is an ongoing, open-ended process,…

This information packet is intended for student use in research about the life of President Herbert Hoover. The packet is divided into three sections. Part 1 is "The Herbert Hoover Chronology," which sequences Hoover's accomplishments along with world events from his birth in 1874, until his death in 1964. Part 2 is "A Boyhood in…

Describes an assignment for an undergraduate U. S. history class that combined role playing and research. The class was directed to use depression-era materials (newspapers, magazine articles, pamphlets, cookbooks) and plan a menu to feed a family of five on $2.50 a week (the amount provided by relief agencies). (MJP)

This digest addresses the uses of oral history projects in the secondary U.S. history classroom. The document advocates that oral history is a stimulating classroom process designed to increase student involvement in a United States history class and improve student understanding of a relatively recent historical period. Oral history also involves…

Defines oral history as the act of talking to another person about the past. By obtaining the common man's view, a more complete interpretation of the past results. Outlines an oral history unit on the depression. Activities include tape recorded interviews and use of letters, pictures, diaries, newspapers, films, music, and books. (KC)

Discusses the role of oral history in the documentation and interpretation of family history. Gives information for constructing and managing information in interviews. Stresses that oral history permits analysis of materials in terms of shared conceptions. Emphasizes ways family histories can be used in research projects and classroom teaching.…

Teaching the Vietnam War in high school history courses is a challenge to the instructor, and study that relies only on textbooks may neglect the controversy surrounding the War and the issues that faced the nation. This paper discusses how to use songs about the Vietnam War as an instructional tool to investigate the role of songs during the War…

Profiles an interdisciplinary college course studying the history of Route 66, as well as the material and popular culture associated with the highway. Students studied the history of roads in the United States, traveled the length of Route 66 in Illinois, wrote personal essays, and conducted oral interviews. (MJP)

Describes the political struggles of the Teacher's Educational League in Buffalo, New York, and its founder, Mary A. O'Conner. Discusses the issues and problems women teachers encountered in attempts to reform teacher administrator relations. Traces the league's challenge to the Board of Education and the state of New York; explains that many of…

Describes a year-long elective film course in modern U.S. history for twelfth grade students. Explains course methodology and objectives. Analyzes selected films to illustrate how the course elucidates the consensus-conflict theme in U.S. history since the 1930s and enhances student understanding of Hollywood's perspective on gender, race, and…

Analyzes the literature of two groups of urban historians. Contends the focus has changed from pre-1960 when the quantitative group, rooted in Marxist theory, studied nonelites in working places. Observes many historians use a variety of approaches to their analysis of cities' social and cultural problems. (NL)

This unit is a collection of lessons for teaching about cultural clashes. Based on primary sources, the unit contains teacher background materials and three lesson plans with student resources. These lessons deal with the United States between World War I and World War II. The United States emerged from World War I with seismic faults in its…