Suggests study of the drug problem in Iowa during the 1800s to help put early drug legislation into perspective. Provides a basis for discussion of the recent drug problem. Includes a bibliography, articles from the Iowa press of the time, and a list of objectives such as understanding drug use, racism, and the media. (DK)

Comments that multiple-choice tests are objective, test some knowledge, and are easy to grade, but often ask for little more than rote recall. Offers a structure for multiple-choice questions that require evaluative thinking skills as well as knowledge of the facts. Includes discussion of objectivity, preparation, and memorization. (DK)

Provides a partial listing of documents and journal articles in the ERIC database on the status of U.S. history instruction and history education reform. Includes items concerning curriculum guidelines and development, the study of democracy, teaching methods, and history versus social studies. (DK)

Profiles Maria Israel who served as Assistant Keeper for the Point Loma Lighthouse at San Diego (California) harbor in the late 1800s. Maria's husband, Robert Decatur Israel, was the lighthouse keeper and wives often filled the position as assistant. Discusses the role of the United States Lighthouse Service and includes several photos. (MJP)

Explains that using a document that belonged to Evelyn Lincoln, the personal secretary of John F. Kennedy from 1952-1963, can provide the basis for a case study for teaching high school and college students about the process of verifying historical evidence. Discusses the process of verifying Ms. Lincoln's document. (CMK)

Discusses rules used in the House of Representatives from 1836 to 1844 to suppress discussions of slavery. Presents a lesson using primary documents that allows students to assess the role of the "gag rule" in creating sectional tension and to follow the transformation of an individual in the growing dispute. Includes documents. (DSK)

Describes "Teaching the JAH" (Journal of American History), which offers online teaching packages demonstrating the use of JAH articles within the U.S. history survey course. Offers a sample of the material available in the teaching package for the article "Evolution for John Doe: Pictures, the Public, and the Scopes Trial Debate." (CMK)

Provides five rules teachers should abide by when using primary sources: (1) material must be age appropriate; (2) selections should be readable and accessible; (3) background information is necessary to help students decode the documents; (4) students should be arranged in groups of two or three; and (5) purpose and motivation must be given. (CMK)

Focuses on the work and role of public historians and the National Council on Public History (NCPH) addressing specific topics such as the beginning of public history and NCPH, the impact of public history sites, activities to help teachers utilize resources of the public history community, and resources provided by NCPH. (CMK)

Explores teaching about the Underground Railroad from a public history perspective exploring: (1) cultural history in relation to the songs of the Underground Railroad; (2) natural history in terms of people, their situations, and use of places/resources; and (3) "brick and mortar" history that focuses on specific places. (CMK)

Focuses on the curriculum entitled "Echoes from the Wall: History, Learning and Leadership through the Lens of the Vietnam War Era." Discusses the purpose of the materials. States that the curriculum incorporates primary resources into the classroom while making history more immediate to students. (CMK)

Addresses the impediments involved in teaching the economic history of the Gilded Age. Presents six attributes of industrialization to use when teaching about the Gilded Age that concentrate on the fundamental components of economic change: (1) technology; (2) railroads; (3) corporations; (4) finance capitalism; (5) labor; and (6) retailing. (CMK)

Presents a lesson that centers around the 1847 article "Little Men and Women." Helps students confront myths about the absence of childhood in the past and provides a context about notions related to growing up. Discusses four areas of understanding needed when teaching the history of childhood. (CMK)

Presents a lesson on the origins of adoption, focusing on the work of the Children's Aid Society in New York City (NYCAS) and the Children's Aid Societies (CAS). Asks students to compare modern notions of adoption to the historical attitudes revealed in a document from 1913. Includes document. (CMK)

Presents a lesson on Betsey Sompayrac, a free woman of color living in Natchitoches, Louisiana. Focuses on her will and its contents and historical issues surrounding the will. Students transcribe the will and write a paper, drawing conclusions from the document. Includes a transcription of the will and the document assignment. (CMK)