Despite limitations and challenges, teaching about difficult histories is an essential aspect of social studies courses and units across grade levels. This practical resource highlights stories of K-12 practitioners who have critically examined and reflected on their experiences with planning and teaching histories identified as difficult.…

Teaching the Declaration of Independence can be a challenge. This article presents a lesson plan based on an explication of the title and the first three lines of the Declaration intended to make the American founding era relevant to today's college students. Assuming civic education is a major goal of teaching American Government, assuming…

Since the founding of this nation, Americans have lived by the belief that wars have laws. Even in the most morally-challenging times, the principles of international humanitarian law (IHL)--which provide basic protections for the vulnerable, such as civilians, prisoners of war, and sick and injured combatants--have been championed by leaders like…

As the school year begins, staff at the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) would like to offer all school personnel (including educators, administrators, counselors and support staff) the opportunity to use their many resources for schools! Their resources were created to highlight issues related to trauma, to explain how trauma can…

Sierra Leone is only one of the more than 50 armed conflicts currently going on around the world. It is estimated that 20 million children were either refugees or displaced internally, and some 300,000 children under the age of 18 were used in hostilities at any given time as government or rebel soldiers, with about one-third reportedly fighting…

Written in an engaging style, this comprehensive text prepares K-12 teachers to address a wide range of contemporary social issues--such as violence, gender, war, terrorism, child labor, censorship, and disabilities--through multicultural children's literature. Each chapter includes sample lessons plans designed to encourage critical and creative…

There is a connection between personal and social violence. Described is a project which made elementary children aware of this connection. Children were involved in discussions that focused on their personal experiences and asked to express their feelings in pictures. (RM)

By reading literature about wars, secondary students can learn about the values of different cultures and societies. Teaching approaches are suggested, and specific titles are discussed. (RM)

Although some people believed that the end of the Cold War would herald a new age of peace, the 1990s have seen more than five million people die in over 35 deadly conflicts. New technologies have made warfare ever more deadly. There is, however, a breadth of options available to prevent or control deadly conflict in the world. This curriculum…

Peace education as an educational reform originally responded to international threats of violence and wars. Since the end of the Cold War, peace education has directed its efforts to many different aspects of violence that plague both teachers and students. This paper reports on the efforts of one school district in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to…

Maintains that history teachers must challenge simplistic romantic notions about war. Proposes two approaches to teaching about war: the use of personal war narratives; and examining the relationship between warfare and society. Discusses literature related to these approaches. Contends that only through realistic assessments of war can peace be…

Facing History and Ourselves is a nonprofit educational organization whose mission is to engage students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of racism, prejudice, and antisemitism in order to promote a more humane and informed citizenry. As the name Facing History and Ourselves implies, the organization helps teachers and their students make…

Explores the recent scandal concerning Canadian paratroopers' conduct during the United Nations relief and peacekeeping efforts. Three soldiers from an elite commando unit tortured and murdered an unarmed Somali teenager. Government investigation of this incident has focused on racist ideology, socialization of recruits, and chain-of-command…

The number of peace studies programs on campuses in the United States has grown dramatically since the first such program was begun in 1948. At the beginning of the 1990s, the world is experiencing a renaissance in peace related activities that include tearing down the Iron Curtain, nonviolent revolutions in Europe's East Bloc and the Philippines,…

In a world where countries vie with one another for power, where religious extremism breeds hatred, where school shootings are becoming commonplace, and where children are routinely exposed to violent images and texts, is it any wonder that teachers feel frustrated as they try to help students deal with a culture of violence? Terrorist attacks…