Discusses methods for teaching students to evaluate an argument, focusing specifically on identifying and evaluating both stated and unstated assumptions. Includes sample activities to help illustrate the approach. (BSR)

Presents an exercise that can help students understand the concept of national interest and deal better with foreign policy issues. Students use a chart with information about the United States and 10 other countries to answer questions such as what criteria the United States should use to select allies. (SR)

The Omaha Platform tells us a great deal about the objectives and character of the Populists. In this unit, the platform is converted to a problem format that U.S. history teachers can use to promote critical thinking skills in finding relevant information and evaluating inferences. (RM)

U.S. history is an ideal subject in which to inculcate skepticism and to teach critical thinking skills. High school students who read and analyze rival interpretations of history come to expect that there is more than one viewpoint to most historical topics. Sample lessons are presented. (RM)

Presents a lesson plan which allows students to grapple with significant questions about the U.S. Constitution while they develop important critical thinking skills. Entitled "The Constitution, the Public, and Voting," the plan encourages skills such as evaluating generalizations, evaluating reasoning by analogy, and recognizing unstated…

Provides a lesson plan, complete with readings and teaching procedures, for teaching students about the revisionist interpretations of Cold War history. Students are challenged to think critically about the differences in the traditional and revisionist interpretations. (JDH)

Presents a lesson in which students are asked to analyze a preindustrial New England town according to its social and economic characteristics. Students are then asked to make hypotheses about how the town might have changed socially and economically with industrialization. Gives instructions for implementation. (KO)

These curriculum materials in U.S. history are part of a series designed to teach critical thinking skills systematically. The teacher's guide presents a series of supplementary ready-to-use lesson plans for teaching high school students about the Spanish-American War, the Depression era, the cold war, and post-World War II issues. The…

Teacher developed U.S. history curriculum materials involve high school students in analyzing rival historical interpretations. Students learn how to deal with arguments through the booklet "A Guide to Critical Thinking" and then analyze and debate interpretations. Appendices include sample materials and a matrix of content with associated…

One of a series of curriculum materials in U.S. history designed to teach critical thinking skills systematically, this teacher's guide presents high school students with supplementary lessons on the Reconstruction period, industrialism, labor and immigration, and progressivism and populism. The student booklet begins with a guide to critical…

This is one of a four-volume series intended to improve students' (grade 6-adult) critical thinking through evaluation of conflicting viewpoints of United States history. Each lesson is a self-contained problem that can be integrated at any point in a corresponding history unit. The book represents both analytical and narrative history. Unit One…

This is one of a four-volume series intended to improve students' (grade 6-adult) critical thinking through evaluation of conflicting viewpoints of United States history. Each lesson is a self-contained problem that can be integrated at any point in a corresponding history unit. The book represents both analytical and narrative history. Unit One…

One of a series of curriculum materials in U.S. history designed to teach critical thinking skills systematically, this teacher's guide presents supplementary lesson plans for teaching high school students about the new Republic, the Jacksonian era, slavery, and the Civil War. The booklet begins with a guide to critical thinking which offers an…

One of a series of curriculum materials in U.S. history designed to teach critical thinking skills systematically, this student booklet presents high school students with supplementary lessons on the new Republic, the Jacksonian era, slavery and the Civil War. The student booklet begins with a guide to critical thinking which offers an explanation…

One of a series of curriculum materials in U.S. history designed to teach critical thinking skills systematically, this teacher's guide presents supplementary lesson plans for teaching high school students about the Reconstruction period, industrialism, labor and immigration, and progressivism and populism. The booklet begins with a guide to…