This theme issue of "The Goldfinch" presents the story of Iowans at work beginning with the Ioway Indians before 1830 through the Great Depression of the 1930s. One article looks at how children worked to help their families buy food and clothing. Organized labor helped all workers in Iowa by providing better working conditions. Women in…

Focuses on the use of trade books in the social studies classroom. Presents different trade books on human rights, child laborers, and different cultures for use with intermediate grade students. Includes lesson ideas for each topic and provides unit culminating activities. (CMK)

Describes the social studies curriculum at Oceanside School District in Long Island (New York) that focuses on the concept of essential questions. Explains that the teachers wanted the questions to reflect an awareness of current world problems that students could identify, discuss, and debate in a creative and age appropriate manner. (CMK)

Focuses on the use of primary sources to help students learn about children from the past. Offers resources and teaching ideas on topics such as children living during the frontier, the American Revolution, the U.S. Civil War, slavery and civil rights, and immigration. (CMK)