Poverty most likely will always be a concern in the United States, particularly in at-risk populations of the public schools. Many students in poverty enter public schools behind in academic and social skills due to a lack of quality early learning experiences. Regular education teachers work diligently to catch these children up in vital skills;…

In this article, the author addresses classroom teachers, department heads, and supervisors who have direct contact with students and what they learn. They need to tell students, parents, policymakers, and everyone else that social studies is critical and that the NCSS mission statement is not just a nice set of words, but absolutely crucial to…

Current agendas of the California State Department of Education, the California State Board of Education, and the California State Legislature are examined. Some part of each agenda has potential for impact on the social studies area of instruction. (RM)

This social studies guide is designed to serve as a companion document to the New York Framework and State Standards. The guide provides teachers with a wealth of information, strategies, learning experiences, sample assessments, research, and specific discipline materials to be used in the social studies curriculum development process within each…

During the past 10 years, there has been a movement among state education departments to develop academic content standards, standards-based assessments of student achievement, and standards-related high school graduation requirements for students. This Digest discusses: (1) state content standards in history; (2) standards-based student…

Over the past two decades, interest in Holocaust education has grown substantially as individual states, starting in the 1980s, began to mandate and/or recommend Holocaust studies as part of the social studies curriculum. As a result, these mandates and/or interest in the Holocaust have spawned any number of curriculum products, some of which seek…

The Utah 1991 revised social studies core curriculum guide specifies standards that must be completed by all students in grades 7-12 in order to meet Utah graduation standards. A review of the K-6 social studies curriculum also is included. The core curriculum is intended to represent ideas, concepts, and skills that provide a basic social studies…

This paper attempts to provide some guidance to school administrators, school boards, social studies teachers, and others about the key components of citizenship education and its relationship to social studies education. The paper defines citizenship education as the primary purpose of the social studies and provides three key characteristics of…

This document is a revision of the California History-Social Science Curriculum first published in 1988. The framework represents an effort to strengthen education in the history-social science curriculum while building on the best practices contained in the previous document. The book addresses the goals of knowledge and cultural understanding…

This document presents recommendations of the Social Studies Content Team appointed by the State Superintendent of Schools of Maryland to define core learning goals in government, U.S. History, and world History. The learning goals are to serve as the basis of high school assessment. To obtain a high school diploma in Maryland, students will have…

Investigates the role of social studies department heads and principals in five schools involved in a project studying higher-order thinking skills. Identifies similarities and differences between department heads and administrators. Develops indicators of the success of the five schools in promoting higher-order thinking in social studies…

This guide is designed to provide direction for school districts required to develop their own competency-based education programs in social studies. The ultimate purpose is to enhance the quality of social studies learning in the state of Ohio. The introductory sections, while useful for social studies teachers, also are designed to provide…

The Utah social studies curriculum for grades K-12 is divided into three levels: K-6, 7-8, and 9-12. For K-6, mastery of core concepts is required; for grades 7-8, 1.5 units of United States History and Utah studies are required; and for grades 9-12, three units of world cultural geography, ancient world civilizations, European history, United…

Maintains that, despite great strides in geographic education, many social studies methods professors still are using outdated geographic materials, methods, and techniques. Describes an intensive four-day conference bringing together social studies methods and geography professors. (CFR)

This manual contains ideas for integrating service learning into various disciplines for grades K-8. The integration of activities can add real-life experiences to the academic curriculum and help create the capacity for students to improve their school and community. The three types of service activities include: (1) direct activities that…