Reviews the articles included in this issue of the journal. Describes the tremendous changes in the United States since the American Revolution. Contends that the drama of history can be interesting and exciting to students if presented well by teachers. (CFR)

Contends that many students reject historical study because they see no connection between factual information and their own needs and interests. Suggests that this epistemology of the self can be used to analyze historical information. Recommends helping students see that historical fact is subject to individual and group interpretation. (CFR)

Reviews criticism of history instruction and historical knowledge in the United States since 1939. Contends that critics have shared almost identical concerns during that period. Suggests that, although efforts must continually be made to strengthen history instruction, the "crisis" in history is ephemeral and usually linked to…

Presents an annotated bibliography of Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) resources related to the history of the United States Supreme Court. Materials selected include books, academic journals, theme issues, workbooks, and curriculum guides. Includes information on locating, ordering, and reproducing these resources. Also provides…

Summarizes the events leading up to and the investigation that followed the Watergate break-in. Presents a lesson plan using primary documents that allows students to explore the workings of congressional investigations, the key figures in the scandal, and the arguments of the different participants. Includes copies of the documents. (DSK)

Provides background information on the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) focusing on the educational programs for the CCC. Presents a lesson on the censorship of the booklet "You and Machines" from the CCC programs. Includes excerpts from "You and Machines," copies of newspaper articles about the booklet, and a student handout.…

Provides a list from the ERIC database of teaching materials and information on family history. Topics include the role of oral history in documenting and interpreting family history and the use of genealogy and family history when teaching about immigration. Offers directions for obtaining the full text of these materials. (CMK)

Describes a living history museum called Old Sturbridge Village, located in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. Includes samples of student's work, a description of the three-week teacher inservice program on social history, and original source material on the day-to-day lives of the Pliny Freeman family during the late 1700s and early 1800s. (JDH)

Provides an example of a role-playing exercise which takes place as a result of an imaginary caucus of women's groups meeting in the fall of 1912. The purpose of the caucus is to determine which of four presidential candidates--Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Eugene Debs--will receive the endorsement of the women's…

States that many students enroll in the introductory history survey course soley because of curricular requirements. Discusses assignments and content of the course, including topics and teaching strategies. Focuses on group activities that engage students and prompt them to participate. (CMK)

Summarizes a teaching document that is part of "Teaching the JAH" (Journal of American History) which corresponds to the article, "Empires, Exceptions, and Anglo-Saxons: Race and Rule between the British and Unites States Empires, 1880-1910" (Paul A. Kramer). Provides the Web site address for the complete installment. (CMK)

Describes research that students can undertake while studying history in a cemetery. Explains that, for example, students can study the changes in the cemetery, select a tombstone and write a biography of the person identified on the headstone, and learn about the memorial park and what it says about society. Includes a bibliography. (CMK)

Explains that teachers should educate their students about images of witchcraft using sources other than those from popular culture. Reviews literature published on the topic of witchcraft including books on the Salem (Massachusetts) witchcraft trials. Includes a bibliography of resources. (CMK)

Presents a lesson plan in which the teacher and students participate in a mock trial of Katherine Harrison, who was accused of witchcraft in the seventeenth century. Provides background information about the trial, as well as primary sources of the testimonies given by witnesses during the trial. (CMK)

Provides citations with abstracts from the ERIC database focusing on using film to teach history. Includes background information and teaching materials on topics such as using documentary films, the use of film and television to teach history, and teaching history using the film,"JFK," by Oliver Stone. (CMK)