Political history lends itself to traditional patterns of teaching and learning in social studies such as students memorizing facts presented in lectures or textbooks. This article presents a recurring activity structure for teaching U.S. political history--Consensus Circle Presidential Rating (CCPR)--which requires students to read across…

Democratic societies require a citizenry skilled in argumentation. At present, the written argument maintains primacy among communicative modes. Because of its cognitive demands, written argumentation is often difficult to teach. A multimodal approach to writing instruction carries the potential to assist struggling learners. This article outlines…

To seriously consider one's rights under the US Constitution, one must grapple with the realization that many rights are not absolute. Instead, they are contested. But how to introduce younger students to such a complex concept, given short attention spans? In this article, we discuss the opportunities, pitfalls, and planning logistics of the 2013…

This article aims to broaden the ways we conceptualize citizenship and implement citizenship education in social studies. To do so, the authors explore media texts as a curricular and pedagogical site for teaching lessons about citizenship. Specifically, the authors investigate how media drafts the boundaries of citizenship for Latin@ youth, and…

Presents a paper delivered in Poland in 1989 and in five additional Eastern European cities in 1990. Defines democracy and suggests ways to teach about democratic government. Explores education's role in a democracy. Encourages student participation in student government, classroom discussion, community service, and research projects to give them…

Advocates an activist, child-centered learning environment which will allow young children an opportunity to develop communication skills, rudimentary skills of critical analysis, and citizenship values such as responsibility and respect. Describes learning activities which will foster early citizenship development and provides two lesson plans…

Presents results of a survey of high school seniors exploring what instructional activities they preferred as a means of learning citizenship education. Explains that the eight citizenship education activities used were derived from eight citizenship teaching approaches. Reports that students preferred activities based on current events,…

Provides a brief history of Nigeria and describes the origin and development of present-day social studies instruction. Concludes that while Nigerian social studies instruction appears to be changing from the traditional passive approach to modern activity methods, instruction continues to be organized by traditional disciplines and motivated by…

Explores the design, purpose, and experiences of the Improving Citizenship Education Project (ICE) which is currently being used by elementary and secondary social studies classroom teachers in Fulton County, Georgia, to contribute to civic and political awareness of students and prepare them for responsibilities of democratic citizenship. (DB)

How television can be used to develop and reinforce important citizenship traits is discussed. Described are student activities dealing with acquiring and using information, assessing information, making decisions, making judgments, communicating ideas to others, cooperating with others, and promoting and protecting one's interests. (RM)

Presents a simulation in which students take the roles of legislators and lobbyists in a debate over the minimum drinking age. Explains that the activity is limited to key elements of the legislative process. Suggests that the activity will help give meaning to abstract processes by providing motivation and relevance for students. Includes…

Maintains that law-related education provides the four basic components of social studies: (1) knowledge; (2) skills; (3) values; and (4) participation. Presents five teaching activities about personal injury law. Provides hypothetical situations and discusses how they probably would be decided in the courts. (CFR)

Offers an evaluation of the computer simulation game "SimCity." Suggests possible uses for the game at different age and experience levels. Recommends the program as challenging, humorous, and an excellent aid in teaching about the problems and solutions facing city government. Explains that students serve as public officials. (DK)

Reports on an evaluative study of a secondary level civics curriculum in the Netherlands. Finds a discrepancy between the curriculum plans of the developers and the classroom implementation of the curriculum. Recommends an implementation-oriented development strategy with emphasis on early and intensive formative evaluation. (CFR)

Discusses recent pedagogical recommendations for cross-cultural lessons that are available in professional journals. Concludes that a large variety of learning activities recommending methodological approaches to cross-cultural education are available to teachers. Suggests that more intensive research in promising learning activities for an…