The later part of the nineteenth century through the early twentieth century has many monikers in U.S. history textbooks, such as the "Gilded Age," the "Progressive Era," and the "Second Industrial Age." What it is rarely called, but should be known as, is the "Nadir of Race Relations." One topic in this…

History education rests at the junction between historical content, disciplinary literacy, and educational psychology. To understand the sources and strategies that facilitate historical thinking, more inquiries are needed. How do students respond to different historical topics, texts, and tasks? Which sources and strategies best facilitate…

This essay addresses the challenges of teaching to myths and misperceptions through a discussion of two books that the author uses to frame her course on the history of women and gender in the modern Middle East: (1) Geraldine Brooks' "Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women" (1995); and (2) Heather Raffo's "9 Parts…

Our social studies classrooms are filled with students from many different backgrounds. This article aims to help middle grades (grades 6-8) social studies teachers consider how trade books that feature the global South can be paired with primary historical texts in order to help students develop perspective consciousness. Social studies educators…

Ji-li Jiang's extraordinary memoir "Red Scarf Girl" transports readers to a tumultuous time in Chinese history--the first two years of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Caught between conflicting forces--joining the Revolution's call for rebellion, protecting her family, and fitting in with her peers--Jiang describes how her…

The goal of this handbook is to introduce a way of teaching history that will stimulate student interest and facilitate learning. Trade books, which include both fiction and nonfiction, provide a way to supplement the use of the textbook and allow the teacher to design a program that provides both structure and the freedom to meet the child's…

Contends that, in acquainting history students with the concept of how people viewed their world, the idea of periodization becomes suspect. Asserts that the film, "The Return of Martin Guerre," is a significant learning resource for students of the Renaissance and Protestant Reformation. (CFR)