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…

This curriculum unit introduces students in grades K-8 to an important Mexican holiday, the Day of the Dead (November 2). The unit provides an overview of the celebration and is divided into two lessons: (1) "Classroom Altar" (with seven typical art and food preparation activities); and (2) "Day of the Dead Procession" (with…

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…

This collection of lessons was developed as a result of a study/travel seminar undertaken during the summer of 1999. The goal of the project was to develop and disseminate exemplary lessons for teaching about the role of the Federal Republic of Germany in the European Union. These lessons are designed so that they may be used individually via…

This Digest guides the elementary teacher in choosing accurate and appropriate works of fiction for teaching about Japan. It suggests important content to watch for and includes a checklist of questions to be used when selecting a book. The questions deal with literary qualities, accuracy, authenticity, stereotyping, language, and morals. Contains…

This curriculum project about the history and culture of Hungary and Poland is intended for secondary school students. The project features a unit called "Heroes in Our Lives" and points out the sacrifices a few individuals have made for the betterment of all. Students identify heroes and learn about the impact these heroes have made on…

Developed to help young people prepare for 21st-century challenges, this book is part of a project to produce a series of instructional units about German for implementation in K-12 classrooms and to offer staff development activities that facilitate the implementation of these units. This volume's main focus is Germany and social studies, but it…

This lesson, one of four stand-alone lessons that examine Australia as an aspect of world history, points out that Australia's unique geographic characteristics and history serve as a useful case study of key global concepts. The lesson focuses on exploration and control of trade routes during the Age of Discovery. The lesson has two parts. In…

Evaluates six U.S. western civilization textbooks' treatment of the Baltic region. Reports that the books devote little or no attention to the region, emphasize larger nations, and ignore Baltic social history. Suggests that social histories may continue to neglect small countries, whereas reaction against "Eurocentrism" may result in…

Suggests methods for teaching about Yugoslavia. Recommends assigning students to maintain journals of news clippings about developments in Yugoslavia. Proposes forming cooperative-learning groups for researching the country's various regions. Offers activities for teaching about language arts, fine arts, reading and literature, religion,…

The Americas conventionally are divided into two continents, North and South America, with the place of demarcation at the border between Panama and Colombia. Yet a generation of students is growing up with the broad but imprecise term Latin America, referring to all of those countries south of the United States, while North America has come to…

The East Asian Curriculum Project (EACP) of Columbia University is a national effort whose goal is to support education about Asia at the secondary and elementary levels. The project has developed a variety of curriculum resources and collaborated with state and local educators in designing teaching units about various countries. Each of these…

This ERIC Digest considers: (1) why U.S. students should learn about Canada; (2) where course content on Canada belongs in the curriculum; and (3) useful strategies and resources to improve the teaching of Canadian studies. The United States and Canada share the world's largest undefended border, and the United States trades more with Canada than…

This curriculum project is designed for high school classes in Spanish, social studies, or global studies. The project's lesson plan lists materials needed; poses seven key questions about Mexico and Monterrey; outlines background notes on Mexico; and provides a detailed, step-by-step procedure for classroom implementation during three days. Also…

Since the end of the Cold War, and more recently since September 11, 2001, relations between the United States and Russia have reached new levels of cooperation and accommodation. At the same time, many important developments in Russia remain cloaked by government intrigue or obscured by the complexity of Russia's political and cultural past. This…