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…

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…

In this article, the author talks about the updated National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Standards that are directed toward those meaningful units and engaging lessons. The revised standards set guiding questions and provide strategies and "Snapshots of Practice" which can be used to combine extensive use of content with suggestions for…

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;…

Explains how teachers can initiate mapping experiences with young children by providing motor experiences inside and outside the classroom. Experiences should be followed by work with three-dimensional models, then with two-dimensional paper, and finally with lines. (Author)

Points out that children have difficulty learning time concepts. Presents instructional activities for concepts associated with clocks, calendars, and chronology. Outlines Jerome Bruner's three different stages of representation for each concept: enactive, iconic, and symbolic. (DB)

Describes four suggested junior high or senior high school teaching activities to use in conjunction with a letter written to Giuseppe Garibaldi during the Civil War. Activities encourage skills such as information gathering, reading and oral skills, creative expression, and critical thinking. (CK)

Practical suggestions to help K-12 teachers implement studies about local government are provided. Included are a list of goals, program activities, tips for involving the community, a sampling of questions concerning the government that students can research, steps for developing a local government simulation, and a bibliography of resource…

Argues that well-intentioned government policies, such as the Endangered Species Act, can actually cause harm to endangered species by creating disincentives to preserving the habitat for endangered species. Maintains that the use of incentives can lead to voluntary species protection. Includes instructions for an in-class teaching activity. (MJP)

Discusses recent research in cognitive psychology that identifies how students are likely to respond when controversial issues are included in course content. Points out that controversial material may lead to misunderstandings and forgetting. Provides teaching ideas to enhance student learning and remembering, to deal with emotions, and to foster…

This teaching example shows how to use students' own experiences to help them learn social studies terminology. The example must be told as a story spoken to the class. The teacher's responsibility is to guide and facilitate the students' presentations. (JDH)

Provided are activities which will help secondary students analyze statistics, recognize valid generalizations, find cause-and-effect relationships, distinguish relevant from irrelevant information, recognize unstated assumptions, analyze points of view, and recognize inferences. (RM)

Two strategies for teaching elementary students to distinguish relevant from irrelevant material are described. The word associates strategy provides students instruction in writing or stating a generalization that expresses the criteria for relevance. The defending a point of view strategy provides instruction in developing relevant arguments to…

Differentiates vocabulary learning from concept learning. Provides two activities designed to help students invent new concept labels or rename existing labels after examining the substance and meaning of the underlying concepts. (JDH)

Social studies should help children answer the question: Why do people act the way they do? Ways in which elementary teachers can help children see a connection between the personal events in their own lives, inner feelings and senses, and the world beyond the classroom are described. (RM)