This article summarizes a quasi-experimental study, which demonstrated that integration of historic and ethnic music into the American history curriculum may lead to increased knowledge of the cultural and physical geography of the United States as well as enhanced student engagement. An experiment (n = 215) conducted with eighth grade students…

Seafloor exploration being done by scientists is an ideal way to introduce students to technology as a tool for inquiry. The same technology that allows scientists to share data in near real time can also provide students the tools to become researchers. NOAA's Ocean Explorer Explorations website is a rich research data bank that can be used by…

This article is based on a doctoral dissertation study, "Expanding Geographic Understanding in Grade 8 Social Studies Classes through Integration of Geography, Music, and History: A QuasiExperimental Study" that took place in a high-achieving, suburban middle school in Southern California. The study compared learning as a result of nine…

Explains how studying a floodplain can help students analyze the interactions between humans and the physical environment. Analyzes data from two cities in California to demonstrate that housing prices did not rebound after a flood. (GG)

Presents a landscape historian's perspective of California's Yosemite National Park in which is described the history behind the names and places of Yosemite amidst descriptions of the landscape and significant people. Includes accounts of military ventures, native cultures, gold rush confrontations, and relationships between Native Americans, the…

Reviews a research project in which, using library and computer resources, students compiled a comparison profile of selected physical, social, and economic characteristics of Morocco and California. The students evaluated the relative role of environmental variables in influencing the human geography of the two regions. (MJP)