This study examined an 11th grade high school class as they played the game Civilization III. Over nine class sessions students played the game in support of other activities related to several predetermined and emergent topics in U. S. history. Gameplay was whole-class oriented and involved students taking turns at the computer controlling…

As I began my career as a teacher, I assumed leadership education would naturally be integrated into the elementary classroom curriculum because I was intrigued by this topic. However, as I spent more time in the classroom I quickly realized leadership skills were not part of regular classroom learning or practice for elementary age students. I…

In this article, the author shares her experience and her observations as a Roving Scholar of American Studies in Norway through the Norway Fulbright Foundation grant. The author visited upper secondary schools all over Norway, teaching lessons to both students and teachers on topics related to U.S. history, government, culture, and geography. She…

The use of video iPods in middle schools was explored through research in two social studies classrooms. This study measured achievement differences in Spring 2007 between two groups of eighth-grade social studies classrooms. Groups were chosen for similarity between numbers of IEP's and/or 504 classifications, and relative class size. Both groups…

This multiple case study explores how three online, high school teachers used technological tools to create meaningful learning activities for their students. Findings reveal that teachers use a wide variety of tools and approaches to online learning. Tools are categorized as content, communication, and management tools. Approaches include…

In 2004, an upper Midwestern school district received a grant to administer content-specific professional development to teachers of American history. A series of nine master's level, degree-eligible courses were developed and administered by the local university's history department. At the conclusion of the grant activities in spring of 2008,…

The announcement of the mandate for Constitution and Citizenship Day shortly before September, 2005, probably led to groans of dismay. Not another "must-do" for teachers and schools already stressed by federal and state requirements for standardized tests, increasingly rigid curricula, and scrutiny from the public and officials. But the…

The writ of habeas corpus has been a critical tool for balancing the rights of individuals with the government's responsibility to protect the nation's welfare. In this article, the authors discuss the writ of habeas corpus and how it affects the federal government and hundreds of prisoners who are held as enemy combatants. Elementary, middle, and…

The popularity of VHS and DVD over the past two decades has greatly expanded the influence of history movies, watched by millions of adolescents in homes and classrooms. This paper examines two secondary U.S. history teachers' instructional uses of history motion pictures in their classrooms. Ray used The Patriot (2000) to teach history as stories…

Recent writings on visual culture and art education emphasize contemporary artists, artworks, and objects from everyday life as an avenue for exploring the images school-aged students confront. The use of contemporary images is a vital and significant curricular need. However, the relevance of historical artworks can offer avenues for analyzing…

Human history is often shaped by the outcomes of arguments, not only in the sense of disputes between people or governments, but in the sense of the more rational pursuit of trying to convince others to accept or do certain things by offering reasons that are presented as compelling for so doing. Yet history teachers have done little to help…

Used wisely, academic technology empowers students to take responsibility for their own learning. "In Leonardo's Laptop," Ben Shneiderman provides teachers with a powerful framework, "Collect-Relate-Create-Donate" (CRCD), for designing student-centered learning opportunities using computers. Shneiderman developed his model by…

This study focused on the relationship between students' Advanced Placement Program[R] (AP[R]) performance in AP English Language, Biology, Calculus, and U.S. History, and their subsequent college success. For each AP Exam studied, students were divided into three groups according to their AP Exam performance (no AP Exam taken, score of 1 or 2,…

This study focused on the relationship between students' Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) performance in AP English Language, Biology, Calculus, and U.S. History, and their subsequent college success. For each AP Exam studied, students were divided into three groups according to their AP Exam performance (no AP Exam taken, score of 1 or 2, and a…

This article describes four picture books ("Mississippi Morning" written by Ruth Vander Zee, "Dad, Jackie, and Me" written by Myron Uhlberg, "Freedom on the Menu" written by Carole Boston Weatherford, and "A Sweet Smell of Roses" written by Angela Johnson) that provide a concise (yet nuanced) chronicle of the civil rights movement--from the Jim…