Thousands of educators are using America's most important historic documents to help students learn the story of their nation and its citizens, thanks to the Our Documents initiative. This was one of the main objectives of Our Documents, which is part of the "National Initiative on American History, Civics, and Service," launched by President…

This document includes the following issues of this journal: volume 18, number 3, Summer 2002; volume 18, number 4, Fall 2002; volume 19, number 2, Spring 2003; and volume 19, number 3, Summer 2003. The summer 2002 issue of "The Bill of Rights in Action" views problems related to victims of war. It focuses on the internment of Japanese…

This teacher's and student's guide is part of a series of content-centered packages of supplemental reading, activities, and methods adapted for students who have disabilities. Parallel Alternative Strategies for Students (PASS) materials are designed to help these students succeed in regular education content courses. The content in PASS differs…

Since any good citizen wants to know how his Government works, as an initial experience it is necessary to become acquainted with the setting--Washington, D. C. This bulletin serves as in introduction to the Capital. It provides an historical and a present-day background for appreciating the city. What kind of a community is Washington? Why does…

Describes a high school U.S. history class that combines experiential learning with local history. The class models their historical inquiry after a fictional character in, "The Secret of Gumbo Grove," who uncovers her hometown's secrets. A class trip to the local cemetery provides opportunities for historical research. (MJP)

Describes a high school oral history project where the students investigated the culture, attitudes, and experiences embedded in the 1950s. The students discovered a harsh reality behind the popular nostalgia, a reality that included racism and sexism. Provides sample questions and quotes from the transcripts. (MJP)

Describes an undergraduate course that draws parallels between the immigrant and ethnic experience of the students with similar issues on a national scale. The students write papers exploring their ethnic heritage and, if possible, collect oral histories from other family members. This research complements the assigned readings. (MJP)

Outlines letter writing exercises for fifth grade social studies units on the U.S. Revolutionary War period. Students write letters as fictional and nonfictional historical characters from trade books described in article. Objectives include understanding viewpoints and historical events, writing to persuade, and share or seek information.…

Maintains that during World War II the nature of elementary social studies changed significantly. Concludes that, as a result of enhanced and broadened activity during the war years, elementary social studies emerged as an important curricular field. (CFR)

Examines the U.S. Supreme Court "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka" decision and its impact on education and national history. Includes 16 photographs representing various aspects of the history of public school desegregation. (CFR)

Presents a high school lesson plan illustrating the breadth and scope of German anti-Semitism before and during World War II. Includes four lists describing anti-Semitic and German Jewry laws. Includes student objectives, instructional procedures, and instructions for students. (CFR)

Presents a map of Europe identifying the location of major concentration camps, extermination camps, and massacre sites during World War II. Maintains that only a few of the over 400 sites in the former Soviet Union where entire Jewish villages were exterminated are shown. (CFR)

Reports on efforts to develop "Crossroads," a K-16 articulated, content-based, spiral curriculum in United States history. Discusses the historical framework underlying the curriculum. Presents the curriculum's 12-era chronology and 8 substantive themes. (CFR)

Presents a secondary school lesson plan to help students recognize the status of Native American religious rights in the United States. Includes a list of presentation topics for student research. Provides learning objectives, step-by-step teaching procedures, and three student handout masters. (CFR)

Describes the historical role and rationale of music education. Outlines the contribution of musical knowledge to the development of the individual and society. Concludes that, if music is to assume a central place in schools, a political philosophy of music education, including ideas of freedom, democracy, and social values, must be forged. (CFR)