Built as a national effort to promote excellence in history and civics for all learners, Educating for American Democracy (EAD) brought together content experts, civic education organizations, and school district leaders to identify and outline disciplinary concepts that are essential for robust civic education. The EAD steering committee sought…

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…

Part of media education is showing students other ways of being, knowing, and making change away from social media. Such experiences can allow youth to reflect not only on the benefits and drawbacks of social media, but how they change the flow of our lives. They are then better positioned to choose when to use, or not use social media. Educators…

As young children engage in their play and daily activities, they show a natural interest in the world around them. Early childhood educators may capitalize on these interests and carefully plan a variety of experiences with social studies in mind, cultivating and extending young children's diverse skills and abilities to form and voice opinions,…

"One who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount," says a colorful proverb from an earlier time. This may be an apt saying for the situation facing the new head of the Federal Reserve, Janet L. Yellen, who takes over at a time when successive rounds of Fed policy have taken the central bank into uncharted territory. By historical standards,…

Everyone under the age of 20 who has grown up in North America has lived in the common market created by NAFTA--the North American Free Trade Agreement. In a zone linking the United States, Canada, and Mexico, most goods and investments flow freely across borders to users, consumers, and investors. In 1994, NAFTA created the largest relatively…

Central banking in the United States has a long and controversial history dating back to the earliest days of the republic. One of the most widely presented arguments against a central bank has been that the U.S. Constitution does not expressly grant the federal government power to charter a bank. Recently, this issue has received new scrutiny in…

In a recent poll that asked American adults to identify "the single most significant event that has happened in their lifetime, in terms of its importance to the U.S. and the world," 46 percent of the respondents cited the attacks of September 11, 2001, as the most significant occurrence in their lifetime. In light of this result, it is not…

Maintains that social studies facts are worth teaching and suggests how to teach them to pupils in elementary school social studies classes. Topics discussed include definition of facts, ways in which facts encourage communication, and the importance of facts in reasoning. Several sample fact lessons are presented. (DB)

Students need the thinking skills necessary to function in today's complex society and in an ever increasingly interdependent world. Social studies, through its various disciplines, is the appropriate place in the school to develop and practice the critical thinking skills needed to evaluate government policies and possible solutions to…

Stresses the importance of critical reading skills for high school students in social studies courses. Suggests that educators develop social studies materials dealing with critical reading and that they undertake research to develop better methods of instruction in critical reading. (DB)

Argues that map skills instruction is among the broadest skill applications in the elementary school curriculum. Identifies problems encountered by elementary school children in dealing with maps and describes tasks designed to address such problems. Suggests that what teachers and curriculum developers learn from working with students can be used…

Traces the increasing concern among Americans over the energy situation and the state of the economy. Stresses the responsibility of the schools in educating students in matters of energy and the influence of energy on economic growth. A conceptual structure for an energy curriculum in social studies is presented. (DB)

Discusses a study to determine the effects of furnishing taped alternatives to textbook learning in social studies classes on the junior high school level. Results indicated that listening alternatives are useful addenda to instruction in social studies classes. (DB)

Presents a review of research literature that was undertaken to determine the extent to which research about teaching and learning history supports the current reform movement. Examines history's status in the schools, surveys recent trends in the history curriculum, explores how teachers use textbooks, and questions the appropriateness of history…