We are all our history. Yet in Canadian classrooms, students are often left questioning how they can study a past that does not reflect their present. Despite curricular revisions, the mainstream narrative that shapes the way we teach students about the Canadian nation can be divisive, separating "us" from "them." Responding to…

These essays were written to assist teachers in the task of making Russian history intelligible to young U.S. students. In "An Approach to Russian History," Edward Keenan proposes that students need to gain a better understanding of how Russians perceive themselves and their history. In "Pre-Petrine Russia," Andrzej S. Kaminski…

A pragmatic approach to implementing a Canadian studies program in secondary U.S. schools is described. The approach offers two great strengths: financial practicality because it does not require purchasing curriculum materials and interdisciplinary involvement among social studies and science teachers and the school librarian. (RM)

The purpose of this role-playing activity is to acquaint secondary students in a Canadian history class with the problems of politics in New France shortly after it became a Crown colony. The activity is designed for three 70-minute classroom periods. (RM)

There is currently a shortage of students and funds in colleges around the country for Southeast European studies courses. Proposes ways to solve this problem through the more efficient use of existing resources. (RM)

This three- to four-week unit for use with secondary students in courses in politics or modern world history generates a basic understanding about the origins, development, and status of the revolution in Iran. (RM)

Presents a lesson plan and performance assessment for teaching about Korea. Explains that the lesson teaches history by giving students interesting problems to work on using the facts they discover about the country. Discusses preparation and research, performance assessment, and writing assessment on whether the two Koreas will unify. (DK)

This ERIC Digest discusses how, by studying Japan, the larger context of the Asia-Pacific region can be explored and students can be introduced to current realities. The top 5 competitive countries for 1994 were the United States, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, and Germany. Because of the increasing interdependence between the United States and…

Area studies programs, with their increasing demands for relevance and revision, have brought new, fresh, multi-faceted interpretations to what history is and what function it should perform. Area studies is a bold concept that calls for subject matter to move across previously sacred discipline lines. (RM)

These curriculum units were developed in a National Endowment for the Humanities 1994 summer seminar "Mexico in Transition." The 23 lessons are written in Spanish. Lessons are entitled: (1) "La Migracion Mexicana Vista a Traves del Cuento 'Paso del Norte' de Juan Rulfo" (Jose Jorge Armendariz); (2) "Los Grupos Indigenas de…

This document contains an annotated listing of instructional aids for Russian and East European studies that are available for loan or rent from Indiana University (Bloomington). The materials are divided into nine sections: (1) slide programs; (2) filmstrips available from the Indiana University (IU) Russian and East European Institute; (3) audio…

This study assessed the extent to which information about Japan is taught in secondary world history classrooms in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. The sample used for this study was 475 world history teachers, randomly selected, in K-12 school districts scattered across Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. A 21-item questionnaire was mailed to each of…

Recommends including geography in history instruction. Suggests that the theme of time is implicit in the five fundamental geographical themes of location, place, relationships within places, movement, and regions. Observes that maps enable students to visualize historic events. Concludes that geography can help students connect past and present.…

Visiting the Temple of Kali in Calcutta, India, one understands the importance of an Afro-centric methodology in describing the complex nature of the Mother Goddess in ancient India. Discoveries of ancient female figurines indicate an early Indian concept of the female role in the creation of civilization and culture and of the notion of the…

Illustrates a method to introduce students to foreign countries and cultures by having students choose a country in which they would like to live and give a class presentation about it. As a result, students become resource persons, research skills are refined, cross-cultural information reservoir is created, and history and geography become real.…