Learning about local government seems boring and irrelevant to most young people, particularly to students from high-poverty backgrounds. The authors explore a promising approach for solving this problem, Storypath, which engages students in authentic learning and active citizenship. The Storypath approach is based on a narrative in which students…

This document describes how to construct and compare choropleth maps for selected Iowa communities and the construction and use of scatter diagrams as a supplement to map comparisons. These tools can be used to compare social, economic, and political variations between neighborhoods and to determine if associations exist between selected…

This guide is intended to assist teachers in organizing and preparing a field trip to Bodie State Historic Park (California). Although it is intended to assist in the trip to Bodie, it also provides information for organizing group tours or family outings to other areas. Activities include before, during, and after visit exercises focusing on the…

A discussion of the loss and maintenance of second language skills beyond the formal education process provides information about skill loss and a variety of strategies and suggestions for language skill maintenance. The book begins with an overview of the subject of language loss and maintenance (Jean Berko Gleason and Barbara Alexander Pan),…

This guide, a revision of the 1985 manual, Archeology Is More than a Dig, is designed to help teachers use archaeology in the classroom and can be used with several disciplines to integrate learning in the elementary classroom. Designed for fifth-grade students, the lessons can be adapted to fit the appropriate skill level of students. Divided…

Summarizes methods from a high school geography class that used examples from local geography to teach basic geographic concepts. Maintains that these illustrative examples can be used even in courses where the content is not local geography. Provides examples of local landscapes illustrating concepts applicable to the Brazilian rain forest. (MJP)

Vincent Scully, Yale art historian, discusses urban architecture, classical influences, and the role of technology. He argues for a public architecture that expresses and supports the concept of communities, and discusses the decline and rebirth of American cities. (MJP)

A compilation of five journal issues describing facts and daily life in the Soviet Union, the documents are intended to help people of the United States know about the people of the Soviet Union, their hopes, fears, and facts of their daily lives. Among the topics included in the publications are: Soviet consumers and the law; public health…

Intermediate and junior high school students learn about the social history of Vermont by studying events and trends during a 30-year period of the life of a famous Vermont native, Calvin Coolidge. Although designed for students in Vermont, materials can easily be adapted for use in other states, particularly those in the New England area. In…

A values exercise suitable for secondary school students is divided into three sections. The first section, an introduction to students, explains the concepts of and interrelationships between basic human needs, culture, values orientation, and global perspectives. The intent of the exercise, to help students appreciate how a set of value…

The spring special theme issue of English Heritage's, "Discover Your Heritage," celebrates half a million years of history. The publication contains a poster and timeline (from Boxgrove to the Channel Tunnel) which should be a useful classroom resource. In the center of the issue is a unique pullout aimed at younger students which…

Presents "C.U.B.E.: Creating Understanding of the Built Environment," a unit focusing on a community's built environment. Discusses the interdisciplinary goals of the unit. Provides four samples of activities from within the unit. (CFR)

A collection of photographs published by the Heart Butte Bilingual Program depicts student life in Heart Butte on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in northern Montana. Each photograph is captioned both in first-grade English and in Blackfeet. Included are Photographs of the community center, a general store, a church, the Heart Butte school, a…

One of a series of student booklets on the Canadian environment, this unit covers the national and regional transportation systems in Canada and a comparative study of six localities. Student groups adopt another community somewhere in Canada and plan a trip from there to their home town. In the course of their activities, they learn about their…

This document presents a program designed to provide students with a comprehensive and interesting way to study their community. Although developed for secondary students, the program activities, with slight modification, should be equally successful with intermediate-level students. Using the community as the area to be studied, a major focus of…