The C3 Framework prompts middle school and high school students to assess the ways people have worked to promote the common good. The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework. It also summons students to take informed action. One way that Wendy Harris, a high school social studies teacher at a Deaf school in Saint Paul, MN, advance this goal…

For almost three quarters of a century, advocates have worked to give comparable federal stature to September 17, the day on which we celebrate the anniversary of the 1787 signing of the U.S. Constitution by the nation's founders. As President John F. Kennedy noted in his 1961 Constitution Day proclamation, it is a day for…

Recent research on civic learning shows that students' civic identity--the sense of who they are in relation to the nation--is shaped by their lived experiences. Yet, efforts to integrate civic learning into the social studies curriculum do not generally build on this notion. A high school U.S. history course was developed to test this very idea.…

Civic education in public schools faces major challenges. Under No Child Left Behind, many schools have favored teaching math and English rather than civics, which undermines one of the purposes of public schools--to educate students to be responsible and active citizens in democracy. A second challenge comes inside the classroom: engaging the…

Reviews a fascinating lesson plan designed to acquaint students with the methods and devices used to deny blacks the right to vote in the pre-Civil Rights era south. Students take the same test that Alabama required of resident blacks to vote. Includes a copy of the exceptionally difficult test. (MJP)

Reviews the political history surrounding the development of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Includes a shortened and simplified version of the major articles of the Ordinance. Identifies three instructional resources for teaching about the Northwest Ordinance in secondary schools. (JDH)

Argues that teaching about the United States Constitution can stimulate thinking about key political issues and citizenship values. Offers a list of constitutional issues and questions which students and teachers should address. Concludes that continued study and discussion are essential to the preservation of the ideals contained in the…

Examines monolithic integration, ethnocentric pluralism, and pluralistic integration as three alternative conceptions of how the United States might best accommodate immigrants and how these theories have shaped treatment of immigration in the social studies curriculum. Pluralistic integration is presented as the approach which best matches…

Explains how social studies classroom teachers can use a biographical approach to citizenship education. The approach is often successful with upper elementary and junior high school students because they are generally interested in new and different ideas at this stage and are beginning to be able to handle reading material such as biographies.…

Points out ways in which concepts from the discipline of political science can be useful in teaching American government and history. Emphasis is placed on helping students understand basic political action choices and decision-making strategies through group work in the social studies classroom. (DB)

Suggests that Benjamin Franklin's autobiography contains many useful messages for today's students. Discusses Franklin's list of virtues that he followed in an attempt at attaining moral perfection. Includes temperance, industry, justice, tranquillity, and humility. Describes the message of Franklin's lesson as one of achieving through effort…

Discusses "Eyes on the Prize," a series of video programs on the history of the civil right movement. Describes the basic themes of the series including the movement as a force for democracy for all, ordinary people who carefully planned, organized and sustained the movement, and the continuity of protest in African-American history. (DK)

Argues that the National Commission for Social Studies 1989 report, "Charting a Course: Social Studies for the 21st Century" is too conservative. Notes the trend-setting recommendation to integrate U.S. and world history, sequencing through grades 9-11 may be impractical. Points out the proposal for intensive study of local history at…

Provides an annotated bibliography of instructional materials for teaching about the United States Constitution. The materials span the grades K-12 and are drawn from non-commercial publishers and documents in the ERIC system. Included is a list of 12 organizations which provide technical assistance and instructional resources. (JDH)

Provides a brief historical and conceptual background for understanding the challenges which the "new" immigration places on traditional approaches to social/political/civic education. Includes summaries of other articles on immigration in this issue. (JDH)