A wave of the future in education is the inclusion of service activities in the school program with the accompanying expansion of school/community relationships. This book considers how to incorporate aspects of service into the ongoing academic program in middle school. The book contends that all middle school educators should become…

These lesson plans are designed for use by middle school social studies teachers who take their students on a tour of the regional airports of Louisville, Kentucky. Twelve lesson plans are included: "Let's Go There Next, Mom"; "Who Wrote That?"; "The Games They Play!"; "You Flew on What?"; "I Wonder…

Describes Discover the USA, an interdisciplinary unit for middle school students that uses trip-planning software and World Wide Web-based resources to teach organizational, research, writing, computer, and practical math and geography skills. Students plan a 1-month road trip in the United States, then take the trip, keeping records of routes,…

This document consists of a final report and executive summary. The report is that of a project involving eight college and university faculty who were given the responsibility of developing new versions of introductory level geography courses. The plan of the project involved bringing together college or university professors, local school…

This brochure introduces Environmental Citizenship in Florida's Middle Schools, which is a school-wide exercise aimed at making middle school students more aware of the natural world around them and their effect on that world. As many school-study areas as possible are used to help students learn how the environment can affect all aspects of their…

This paper contains a variety of instructional strategies and a review of research related to different learning styles. A learning styles inventory, style profiles, and information regarding some types of activities for students with different learning styles are included. Two sample lesson plans introduce and describe the inductive learning…

This paper responds to several social studies teachers' complaints that students are not reading on grade level, and therefore, not able to engage in classroom activities. The paper describes the development of sample lesson plans for middle school students and identifies effective assessment alternatives for teachers to use. Solutions presented…

This staff development handbook is intended to help teachers and other professionals prepare, design, and lead staff development programs for middle school educators interested in augmenting their curriculums with service. Designed to be used as a comprehensive guide to planning and delivering staff development training, the book suggests a…

Service learning can help students learn specific skills and concepts, particularly in social studies. The article examines characteristics of good middle school service learning projects, explains how to begin a project, discusses the benefits of service learning, presents an example of service learning in Wren Middle School, Piedmont (South…

At the turn of the 19th century, the United States was a rapidly growing nation. When the United States acquired territories in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean, the job of maintaining open sea lanes fell to the U.S. Navy. To maintain a strong and well-trained force, the Navy needed to attract personnel to work onboard their ships. It used…

This instructional packet is intended to help classroom instructors introduce fascinating quandaries rarely featured in history textbooks about the ancient and medieval eras. Most of the 13 lesson plans require only 1 or 2 class periods to complete, permitting the teacher to enhance the presentation of a particular unit without fear of devoting…

Discusses the use of primary resources in the teaching of middle school social studies. Describes a lesson in which students were given a copy of the Declaration of Independence, written in everyday language, and were asked to discuss and evaluate it. Suggests another activity based on Thomas Jefferson's writings. (SG)

This paper presents seven lessons intended to increase the cultural awareness of middle school students concerning life in Bulgaria, Romania, and other parts of the world. The lessons include: (1) "Getting Acquainted, Letter Writing"; (2) "Learning English as a Second Language"; (3) "Newspaper Sharing"; (4)…

This unit was designed by a certified Media and Social Studies teacher to help middle school students in Prince George's County, Maryland, plan a trip to East Africa and specifically to Kenya and Tanzania. Each school has a 90 percent African American student population in grades seven and eight, and both are magnet schools. The teacher has had a…

This curriculum guide, suitable for a wide range of students from elementary to high school, offers an interdisciplinary approach to law-related education (LRE) intended to assist teachers with introducing LRE into courses for gifted and talented students and all types of learners. Each lesson identifies how many of the seven intelligences (Howard…