In this article, the authors share a unique and unfolding story about a program in Virginia that allows districts to opt into a series of Inquiry Design Model (IDM) performance assessments in place of the state-developed multiple-choice test. In the Rockingham County School District, this initiative was piloted in ninth-grade World Geography…

For many high school students, the benefits of civic education seem irrelevant and take place in their future lives. Student performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in Civics is stagnant. In 2018, the average civics score for eighth-grade students was not significantly different from 2014 and had only increased by 3…

While empirical studies on the use of hip-hop music in social studies spaces is limited, the work that has been done offers encouraging perspectives. Some research suggests that incorporating hip-hop lyrics into the classroom leads to increased student engagement and greater curricular relevance. Other scholars have centered hip-hop as a way to…

The "College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards" (NCSS, 2013) places inquiry at the center of good social studies teaching and learning. Instead of social studies courses that emphasize rote memorization through the use of textbooks and lecture-based instruction, the C3 Framework asks teachers to…

The Federal Reserve (the Fed) is the central bank of the United States. It has a congressional mandate to promote maximum sustainable employment and price stability. In normal times, the Fed seeks to achieve this mandate by setting the position or "stance" of monetary policy, primarily by managing the level of short-term interest rates.…

High school can be stressful for any student. For resettled refugee youth, there are often the additional demands of a new language and customs, the challenge of fitting into a new community and culture, and the need to support their family emotionally, logistically, and even financially. Many of the newcomer youth arrived in Durham, North…

Teachers in the trenches have led the charge to bring civics back in Illinois. Teachers played a leading role in the creation of a state civic education task force, were active participants on it, and ultimately worked with their students to advocate for action on its recommendations. Teachers are at the center of efforts in Illinois to implement…

AP World History is the ideal history course. It introduces students to 10,000 years of world history, and demands critical reading, critical writing, and critical thinking skills on the part of both the teacher and the students. It requires students to build their expertise in reading their textbook, and places demands on the teacher to assign…

The author started teaching world history during his first year of teaching at Harlingen High School. To be given such an assignment, because of the breadth of the course, in one's first year might be considered a great misfortune. However, looking back, the author would not have preferred it any other way. World history quickly became his…

The conversation starts quickly as two students come together in a 10th grade social studies classroom, half-way through a role play activity a symposium begins. Both students are sporting "Hello, my name is…" stickers on their shirts, and each attempts to speak in character. One represents an anti-whaling activist. Helen stands holding…

The world has changed rapidly since the end of the Cold War. Globalization demands a much higher intellectual standard of people in a country. At the same time, the trend toward pluralistic cultures in many countries has lessened confrontations among peoples of different ideologies. Compared with the twentieth century, in this new era, the peoples…

This article presents an interview with Edward Biester, an attorney and a member of the ABA Section of Antitrust Law, who recently led the Section's initiative to develop a curriculum for high school students. In this interview, Biester discusses the history of American antitrust laws, looks at some of the contemporary issues, and highlights the…

This article describes 10 recommendations for creativity, higher-order thinking, and meaningful learning activities that can be used to guide teachers in constructing an engaging AP course: (1) Be on the committee that decides how students will be selected for AP; (2) Maximize time and connections through blocks of time with an English colleague;…

This article describes the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. This Arizona high school magnet law program offers the ideal 21st century education--one that teaches skills through core subjects and interdisciplinary themes, uses innovative learning methods, and emphasizes higher order thinking skills. Students agree that the program has helped…

History matters. It matters not only because people can learn from the past, but because the present and the future are connected to the past by the continuity of a society's institutions. Today and tomorrow's choices are shaped by the past. And the past can be made intelligible only as a story of institutional evolution. This story focuses on the…