This study examined elementary teacher candidates' understanding of how history is "made" by historians and how texts are analyzed in the process of historical inquiry. Interviews with three elementary student teachers enrolled at a large southwestern state university indicated that they all had a markedly limited background in academic history.…

This document is a text dealing mainly with Ethiopia's rich cultural heritage and current lifestyles. It gives students the opportunity to go beyond the media coverage that has led to the perception of the whole of Ethiopia as a famine stricken land, and to discover the realities of this new nation, that about 15 percent of the population, mainly…

U.S. educators recognize that the study of history is a vital part of a child's overall education and that parents are in the best position to encourage their children's natural interest in history. This booklet is designed as a tool for parents to use in stimulating their children's active involvement in learning about history. The booklet…

Students learn little about some aspects of U.S. history, such as the history of science, technology, art, religion, and everyday life. What they most often learn about are the "big events" of political and military history. This document seeks to address that problem through its 30 lessons. The first two lessons, "There's an Old Trunk in My…

Describes a year-and-a-half-long history project that involved elementary students in exploring their community's past. Students took field trips, interviewed community persons, taped oral histories, painted murals, and produced a dramatic musical based on their community's history. (RM)

Reports on the results of an experiment testing 58 elementary school students tasked with chronologically ordering a set of nine historical pictures and thinking aloud about their efforts. Provides increased evidence regarding the kind and sources of children's historical knowledge and how they deploy that knowledge. (MJP)

Discusses the Pocketful of History project, which uses historical fiction and biographies to fill in gaps in student knowledge and engage children in meaningful learning experiences. Presents examples of seven historical figures featured in the project. (CFR)

Describes a classroom project in which elementary students bake homemade bread to learn about the settlement period in Canadian history and the early history of the students' community. Maintains that students learn to compare the lifestyle of the past with the present. (CFR)

Contends that elementary students' interests and imagination can be enhanced by using a variety of children's literature in the classroom. Asserts that students grasp an interdisciplinary sense of historical periods and trends by studying narratives. Presents a bibliographic essay and suggested instructional activities on the topic. (CFR)

Maintains that storytelling is one of the world's oldest teaching tools and belongs in every social studies classroom. Recommends the use of Korean folk tales to help students understand Korean culture and gain insight into their own lives. Includes a list of classroom techniques, teacher's resources, and recommendations for folk tales. (CFR)

Uses data obtained from a national survey of middle school teachers, conducted in the 1989-90 academic year, to examine questions on the topics covered in the American history curriculum in public middle schools, the academic background and experience of middle school history teachers and teachers' views on what should be changed for a more…

This unit is one of a series that presents specific moments in history from which students focus on the meanings of landmark events. The lessons included in this unit attempt to make slavery comprehensible to students, showing its oppressiveness and yet explaining how white Southern culture rationalized and sustained it. The unit also explains how…

This investigation is designed to help students learn landmarks and possible dangers for settlers who traveled down the Ohio River in 1789. The document describes a simulation in which the students attempt to survive a flatboat trip from Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) to Losantiville (Cincinnati, Ohio). Along the trail are points of historical…

Part of an international series of amply illustrated, colorful, small size books designed for children ages 5 to 10, this volume talks about Japanese culture, modern life style, geography, music, arts, sports, and traditions. There is a brief description of how Japanese children learn to read and write. Japanese hot baths, school books, the…

The social studies curriculum for grade 6 in Manitoba, Canada, is presented. The objective of the guide is to introduce students to aspects of Canadian history. Students learn how people lived and interacted with others and with their physical environment. The units include: The First Inhabitants, The Coming of the French, The Coming of the…