The landscape of education is dynamically evolving with the infusion of technology into classrooms, but it is not just math or science disciplines that are getting a digital makeover. Social studies education has entered a transformative phase as well. The "Computer Science for Social Studies" project, funded by the National Science…

When the author encountered the C3 Framework, she saw an opportunity to develop a different approach that she hoped would encourage all her students to reach their highest potential. The approach she created--The Deliberative Classroom--has pushed her as much as it has pushed her students. The benefits have been powerful: better academic…

The social studies curriculum travels through time and space and is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. To an outsider, the social studies curriculum is a single line on a program of studies, 45 minutes of a student's school day. Those on the inside, however, know that the field covers history, geography, civics, economics, and much…

This guided inquiry combines a structured approach to collecting and organizing data with substantial student autonomy in the important cognitive tasks of analyzing and drawing conclusions from the data. While the teacher decides on the compelling question, students are responsible for generating supporting questions. The detailed emphasis on…

Both "teaching" and "teaching" with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are "wicked problems," in the sense that they involve multiple variables that interact with one another. Effective teaching calls for both learning with understanding and transfer. The authors' own experience implementing a geography and…

In the pre-Internet world of 1992, a new organization called Project Vote Smart used the highest technology available--a toll-free Voter's Research Hotline--to help voters get the facts about candidates and elected officials. Designed to give voters the tools they needed to "Vote Smart," the Hotline connected voters with questions to 50…

Argues against the stereotype present in the United States that labels potatoes as a fattening food. Discusses why potatoes are really a nutritious food. Includes a list of questions, a recipe for making boxty pancakes, and ideas for other activities. (CMK)

States that two primary sources of historical information about the Great Irish Famine are newspaper articles and diaries. Provides six newspaper accounts about the Irish Famine from 1845 to 1848 and journal entries by Elizabeth Smith (a landowner's wife in Ireland) describing the conditions in Ireland in 1847. Includes questions. (CMK)

Presents the story of Megan O'Rourke and her family from their life in Ireland, the experience of living through the Great Irish Famine, and their journey to New York City. States that this is a work of historical fiction. Includes a glossary of terms, questions, and activities. (CMK)

Provides historical information on the potato in Ireland focusing on how the potato arrived in Ireland and the advantages and disadvantages of the potato as a food crop. Discusses the Irish potato famine in Ireland, effects of the famine, and the government's laissez-faire response. Includes a list of questions. (CMK)

Introduces the lessons offered in this issue of "Middle Level Learning" that are based on the materials prepared for the New York State Great Irish Famine curriculum guide in honor of the 150th anniversary of the worst year (1847) of the Great Irish Famine. (CMK)

This study attempts to gain some level of national understanding of what exactly is going on with social studies in elementary and middle schools. It focuses upon public elementary and middle schools, the educational institutions where formal history and civic education allegedly begins. A nationally representative telephone survey of 1,051…

Provides background information on whales focusing on their biological characteristics, the use and regulation of whaling, and the conservation of marine mammals. Offers ideas for teaching about whales. Includes a resource section of books, audio books, music tapes, and Web sites about whales for students and teachers. (CMK)

Presents a lesson plan on Pompeii (Italy) for middle school students that utilizes a teaching technique called interactive presentation. Describes the technique's five phases: (1) discrepant event inquiry; (2) discussion/presentation; (3) cooperative learning activity; (4) writing for understanding activity; and (5) whole-class discussion and…

Exemplary career education programs and materials for grades 7,8, and 9 are surveyed. A model program suggests content and activity emphases. (KM)