Teaching history should not be reciting an endless list of dead men, entombed between the covers of a textbook. Instead, "Breaking Away from the Textbook" offers a fascinating journey through world history. Not a comprehensive, theory-heavy guide, this book focuses on active classroom activities, methods for students to grapple with humanity's…

Teaching history should not simply be an endless recitation of irrelevant facts, entombed between the covers of a textbook. Instead, "Breaking Away from the Textbook" offers a fascinating journey through world history. Not a comprehensive, theory-heavy guide, this book instead focuses on exciting classroom activities, methods for students to…

In the fall 2005 semester, the author designed a course in the history of America's modern wars hoping to encourage students to criticize and oppose the country's current aggressions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Surveys of student attitude change suggest that the course did promote criticism but did far less to facilitate student activism. The author…

In this article, the author points out that in this increasingly visual world, outstanding films can engage classes and lift the curtain on the cultures and modern history of Latin America. He recommends some of the most gripping and perceptive films on this topic, and offers advice on how teachers can provide the background to these dramas and…

Describes the efforts of Henry Crowell, developer of Quaker Oats, to develop a market for breakfast cereals using market research and advertising. Examines how innovations in communications technology have been brought about by the struggle to control the material economy in the face of industrialization. Traces the development of the information…

The seven books analyzed here reflect clear and often exasperating prejudices. However, when taken as a whole, their individual perspectives yield a wealth of information, material, and ideas that can increase understanding of both the complexities of America's involvement in Vietnam and the questions surrounding such involvement. (RM)

On March 11-12, 2006 the FPRI's Marvin Wachman Fund for International Education hosted 44 teachers from 16 states across the country for a weekend of discussion on teaching about India. Sessions included: (1) Why It's Important to Know about India (Ainslie T. Embree); (2) Early Indian History (Richard H. Davis); (3) Modern Indian History (Marc…

The roots of American involvement in Vietnam, which stem from the ending of World War II, are examined. (RM)

When used to supplement print materials, explore dimensions of interpretation, and raise questions about bias, films can prove valuable aids for arousing students' curiosity about the past. Films that can be used in secondary classes to teach about the sixties are described. (RM)

Oral history, a method of collecting historical information through preplanned tape recorded interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge of an historical event, is a viable learning activity at the high school level. This methodology was conceived and later institutionalized by Alan Nevins in the 1940s as a way to counter the loss of…

This is the second in a series of six kits that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is publishing to help teach through stamps the history of the 20th Century and the people, places, and events that have shaped this nation during the past 100 years. Each kit is designed as a complete and independent unit. This kit, covering the decade of the 1960s,…

This is the first in a series of six kits that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is publishing to help teach through stamps the history of the 20th-century and the people, places, and events that have shaped our nation during the past 100 years. Each kit is designed to be taught as a complete and independent unit. This kit, featuring the 1970s,…

This is the first in a series of six kits that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS)is publishing to help teach through stamps the history of the 20th century and the people, places, and events that have shaped this nation during the past 100 years. Each kit is designed as a complete and independent unit. This kit, covering the decade of the 1950s,…

Using the "Celebrate the Century" stamp series, this U.S. Postal Service series commemorates the 20th-century and teaches students about the people, places, and events that have shaped this nation during the past 100 years. Each kit is designed to be taught as a complete and independent unit. This kit, which focuses on the 1990s,…

A secondary history teacher describes how he uses rock and roll music to help students study and interpret modern American history. Besides being a lot of fun to teach, a rock unit makes students realize that even contemporary music has a place in history. (RM)