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,…

Discusses problems with existing social studies curriculum, including the dichotomy between in-depth studies and coverage studies, lack of correlation with other fields of instruction, and uncertainty about the appropriate sequential development of concepts. A master plan for social studies curriculum, focusing on grades five through eight, is…

Like religious studies, Jewish studies is an academic exploration of literature, ritual, history, philosophy, and experience across disciplinary boundaries. As with all area studies, Jewish studies balances itself--often precariously--as a bridge across that range of methodological options. The breadth of theories employed by each has complicated…

Understanding U.S. culture is difficult, because the information explosion creates an increase in the number and complexity of various cultural relationships. American Studies is a valuable and unique discipline because it directly addresses this problem, the basic purposes of education, and the relationships that shape students' culture. This…

Teaching materials for a comprehensive and integrated study of Mexico at the elementary level are presented. Emphasis throughout is on developing cross-cultural comparisons between Hermosillo and its sister city, Phoenix, for whom the program was created. Mexican geography, history, current events, politics, art, entertainment, education, people,…

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)

This curriculum unit on textiles is intended for middle school students who have previously studied the cultures of modern and ancient Latin America. The unit does not employ Spanish language skills. Its lessons apply to individual, small group, and whole group work, and may take from 30 minutes to three class periods. The guide lists necessary…

An activity-based curriculum enables intermediate-grade children to pretend to be explorers who have discovered land. Students create a country by constructing a land map, formulating a constitution, determining an appropriate form of rule, and so on. Students learn how each aspect, from terrain to climate, creates ramifications leading to a…

This paper, a summary of a multi-carousel slide presentation, reviews literature on the cultures, religions, and art of African people. Before focusing on West Africa, highlights of the lifestyles, religions, and icons of non-maskmaking cultures of North, West and South African people are presented. Clarification of West African religious concepts…

Oceanic art has long been recognized for its quality and its influence on Western art. This CD-ROM presents over 100 of the finest examples of art from the Pacific region in the form of museum photos, contemporary video segments, and music. The CD-ROM includes such artifacts as masks and carvings from Melanesia, canoes and storyboards from…

This publication was developed to encourage United States educators to add a significant Canadian dimension to their social studies teaching. Though there is a growing teacher interest in Canada, teachers are often not adequately prepared. The 10 authors of the articles contained in this volume view Canada from a wide variety of perspectives; they…

This curriculum unit, intended for students in grade 6, covers the Mayas, Mayan history, and ancient civilizations. The unit was developed using Roger Taylor's collaborative team model "Connecting the Curriculum: Using an Integrated, Interdisciplinary, Thematic Approach." The unit addresses multiple intelligences, brain research,…

This teacher's guide contains six lessons, including eight folktales, for using folktales from Japan and China in the elementary classroom. Specific objectives, materials, background notes, discussion questions, follow-up activities and a bibliography also are included. Each lesson takes approximately 1-3 class periods but are flexible for use.…

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 unit lessons are designed to supplement a study of India. The lessons provide enrichment activities in history, mythology and religion, social customs, and demographics. Though originally designed for ninth-grade world geography students, the lessons are appropriate for use in grades 6-12 by students with a variety of skill levels and…