This document, part of the lesson plan series, "Teaching with Historic Places," examines Spanish influences on the history of California through an exploration of one building, Rancho Los Alamitos. Located in the midst of what is now metropolitan Los Angeles, Rancho Los Alamitos began as a simple adobe house on a hill overlooking…

The Bay Area Reference Center (BARC) held a workshop to present some bicentennial ideas for librarians. Speakers discussed possible librarian involvement in the American Issues Forum; a bicentennial reading, viewing, and listening list for children; press criticism of such a list produced for adults; black American attitudes toward the…

Describes how advanced placement students at Gunn High School (Palo Alto) achieve a higher than average pass rate on the advanced placement final exam required in California. Attributes their success to the focus on expository writing and provides examples of both good and bad essays. (JDH)

This lesson plan begins with an overview of the age of enlightenment and those ideas that influenced the founders of the United States. The lesson plan provides information sheets about five enlightenment thinkers: John Locke (1632-1704), Mary Wolstonecraft (1759-1898), Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755), Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1788), and John…

An annotated list of readings is suggested for high school teachers of U.S. history and geography at grade 11 and for teachers of courses in the principles of democracy at grade 12. The list was designed for use in California where the 11th grade curriculum emphasizes 20th century U.S. history and the 12th grade concentrates on the institution of…

This document is an outline for a module which can be inserted, in whole or in part, in community college courses on California and/or Southwest United States history, Mexican-American or Chicano history, Mexican history, and United States history. The module examines the close ties--political, economic, and social--between Mexico and California…

Examines the content of social studies curriculum in 10 California school districts. The findings are that "variety" is the key word to describe what is being offered and that there is no standard social studies curriculum in California. (Author/DB)

When George Washington was sworn in as the first President of the United States on April 30, 1789, the U.S. Constitution had already been ratified, yet the future of the new country was at risk. Some people wanted a bill of rights added to the U.S. Constitution to guarantee individual liberties. Two groups opposed each other--the Federalists…

Describes the National Park Service's Environmental Living Program for elementary school children in the San Francisco Bay Area, where teachers, parents, and children stay overnight in a historic fort and schooner, experience living in a past age, use candles and oil stoves, and engage in mock military and shipboard activities. (MF)

Presents a lesson plan about the Keys' Desert Queen Ranch, located in the Joshua Tree National Park (California), that can be used in a unit on U.S. western expansion or desert environments. Explains students learn about life on a homestead and Ralph Waldo Emerson's ideas on self-reliance. (CMK)

The geographies of Hollywood are multiple, contradictory, ephemeral and tangible. Our preconceived conceptions of space and place play a dynamic role in what elements we tend to focus on when discussing the cultural industry of American cinema. This essay uses Hollywood as a metaphor for the American film production industry and a historical…

The author describes a California studies course that integrates history, geography, culture, and current events. (DE)

In grade 11, students use the life and work of Cesar E. Chavez as a case study to trace the major historical eras and events of the 20th century. Students start by studying the Chavez family at the beginning of the 20th century, learning about them as they struggled to acquire a farm in Arizona and raise a family. They also learn how they faced…

This unit focuses on California's growth as an agricultural and industrial power in the 20th century and includes the impact of key people and key historic events. The unit is divided into 4 overlapping topics and should take 10 weeks to implement. Students examine how California became a power by tracing the transformation of the California…

California State Standard 5.3 is delineated as: Students describe the cooperation and conflict that existed among the Indians and between the Indian nations and the new settlers. North American Indians once had inhabited regions now contained in the United States that stretched from far north to south and from the east to the west coasts. The…