In "History and Imagination," elementary school social studies teachers will learn how to help their students break down the walls of their schools, more personally engage with history, and define democratic citizenship. By collaborating together in meaningful investigations into the past and reenacting history, students will become…

This article discusses how local history can be used by teachers to help develop historical thinking skills such as source analysis, the collection of data, and the creation of historical arguments. Using New York City as a case study, this article argues that urban spaces and local communities provide historical evidence that can be read and…

This study contributes knowledge about how a digital badge system integrated into an online, subject-matter-specific, and competency-based professional development (PD) program affected teachers' experiences with and perceptions of the program activities. The report presents findings from a one-year exploratory study of an online PD program, and…

Elementary and secondary school teachers interested in developing a local history unit can adapt this fourth grade program created for three school districts in Cortland County, New York. Material is divided into 13 chapters. Chapter 1 charts the New York fourth grade curriculum by concept and content and outlines specific community study…

Reports a New York State Education Department mandated government participation course. Course requirements were to examine public policy issues and to incorporate a participatory element. Describes four programs that were implemented by school districts: Effective Participation in Government Program; The Community Service Corps; National Issues…

For new educators, the obstacles of high-stakes testing, curricular mandates, and their own inexperience and self-doubt can render teaching for justice and equity overwhelming, seemingly impossible ideals. However, as students are increasingly tied to prescriptive curricula and academic performance standards, the goals of social justice and…

The educational program offered by the Craft Museum in Niagara Falls, New York is described. Anthropology students were brought to the Museum to make porcelain, pinch and coil pots and other tools using 18th century techniques. The museum has produced free loan kits for teachers. (Author/RM)

Audiovisual materials available for a social studies unit based on local, primary sources are listed in this guide, a supplement to the Age of Homespun (ED 018 323). Teachers designed, produced, and tested these instructional aids which are intended to provide a flexible, interdisciplinary unit readily adapted to differing grade levels. Local…

Community and area resources -- consisting of persons, places, or objects -- gathered from the regions comprising Chenango, Delaware, and Otsego Countries, are listed in this directory. Teachers, local historians, and PROBE staff identified resources which could be introduced to K-12 teachers. In addition to a brief introduction, the book contains…

Background readings and project ideas to involve elementary and secondary school students in fundraising for the restoration of the Statue of Liberty are provided. Materials can be divided into two sections. The first section, background readings, contains President Ronald Reagan's opening remarks at the ceremony introducing the Statue of…

The history of Amityville, New York, compiled by 11th and 12th grade advance placement history students, is presented in journal form. Six papers focus on: (1) South Oaks: The Long Island Home; (2) A History of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Amityville; (3) Amityville: A Vacationland; (4) Amityville School System from 1904 to Present;…

This report of PROBE (Planning Resource Opportunities for Better Education) summarizes and evaluates activities from the time the project began its operation in March, 1967, through May 1968. Major objectives are: 1) to involve teachers in the enrichment of their curriculum programs; 2) to bring together the faculties in colleges and school…

The flow chart outlines the division of content within social studies courses for each grade (K-12) in New York State public schools. It is strictly an outline of content; it does not reflect emphasis on concept development or use of the inductive mode which are stressed in state teacher's guides. In kindergarten and grade one, social studies…

In this article, the author features the "Clearwater," a full-size working replica of a 19th century Hudson River cargo sloop. The "Clearwater" has been serving New York state students as a link to both local history and the environment, helping them to learn lessons about the history of the Hudson River and the environment,…

This document presents learning materials designed to support school and community activities dealing with the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, and particularly with New York State's role in the nation's constitutional history. The following materials concerning school and community activities are included: "'Congress Shall Make No…