A middle school teacher describes how his class actually practiced democracy by writing a classroom constitution. Students made rules by which they were governed within the classroom. (RM)

Believes that serious fun holds great promise for engaging special needs students in meaningful learning experiences in social studies. Describes how creative play with plastic action figures led to four students in a self-contained special education classroom collaborating on writing and illustrating their own book. (CMK)

Describes the use of a token economy in a fifth-grade classroom that teaches students economic concepts and helps develop their decision-making skills. States that students learn about scarcity, savings, price, inflation, insurance, rent, and utilities. Includes additional resources. (CMK)

Contends that geography teachers are always looking for ways to excite their students while engaging them in geographic skills development. Describes using "Wanted Posters" as a springboard to geographic learning in middle schools. Includes sources for obtaining wanted posters from government and social service agencies. (CFR)

Describes a collaborative project called "Mystery from History" involving a rural Indiana elementary class and a computer education college class at Indiana University. Explains that the university students sent a mystery via e-mail to the elementary students in which they continued to send clues and questions until the mystery was…

Describes the "Neighborhood Walking Tour" project in which gifted sixth graders worked with college students in Duluth, Minnesota to compile histories of buildings located in their neighborhoods. Evaluation results show that the project results in a greater awareness of appropriate sources for the collection of various types of data. (RM)

A global studies course focusing on the developing world uses computers to show middle school students how data can be used to understand phenomena. Students secure data for one or two countries and, using the programing language APL, create tables, make maps, visuals, and graphs, and manipulate computer-generated models. (RM)

Asserts that the United Nations, though often restricted by Cold War events, has had a resurgence as the hope for a true global forum for the world's pressing issues. Maintains that the need to teach about peacekeeping and model conflict resolution skills is crucial in today's world. (CFR)

Describes a broad variety of instructional ideas and activities designed to make history come alive for the intermediate grades. These include personal time lines, interviewing grandparents, and show and tell with personal artifacts. Includes a section of activities designed specifically to work with historical fiction. (MJP)

Maintains that using both formal and informal writing assignments is an effective method for learning social studies content. Discusses positive outcomes of writing such as acquiring tools for independent learning, identifying bias, and enhancing thinking skills. Provides suggestions for writing assignments and evaluation. (CFR)

Presents a dialog between an educational psychologist and a middle school social studies teacher concerning the integration of the arts into social studies curriculum. Both agree that the use of the arts can simultaneously enhance the presentation of content while providing multiple paths to learning. (MJP)

Describes the participation of four middle school students at the World Youth Conference on Human Rights. Discusses interdisciplinary efforts at a private school to celebrate the founding of the United Nations. Outlines student volunteer activities for both local and international causes. (CFR)

Presents five brief articles related to middle-level learning. The articles are, "Using Children's Diaries to Teach the Oregon Trail"; "Living the Geography of Joseph and Temperance Brown"; "The ABCs of Small Grant Acquisition for Social Studies"; "Isomo Loruko: The Yoruba Naming Ceremony"; and "Child…

Suggests fiction and nonfiction books that may help expand student's knowledge of the potential and hazards of nuclear power. Outlines learning activities and discussion questions that can be combined with supplementary reading. Includes an annotated bibliography of 13 fiction and nonfiction titles that can be used in the class. (MJP)

Presents a pull-out section that includes four brief articles and accompanying learning activities. The articles include an architectural examination of the move from medieval fort to Renaissance palace, interdisciplinary biographical writing assignments, a look at the portrayal of people with disabilities in juvenile literature, and material on…