The Geographic Information System (GIS) is a tool for effective teacher-centered instruction, powerful student-centered instruction, and engagement in historiography. GIS tools have existed since the 1960s, but only since the 1990s have educators explored their application to social studies. Proponents expect GIS to have a dramatic impact upon…

One of a series of booklets designed to make available to a wide audience thoughtful perspectives on issues of domestic and foreign policy, this booklet contains two essays which provide a solid base for elementary and secondary teachers to communicate the nature of America's place in the world, its responsibilities, ideals, and traditions to…

Maintains that the challenges of multicultural education include providing reliable information about civilizations for which reliable information is difficult to find. Offers an overview of the history, culture, and significance of the ancient African civilization of Kush. Provides a list of student and teacher references. (CFR)

Presents a brief study of the Spanish Borderlands (the southern tier of the United States from California to the Carolinas) and their hold on various cultural and historical imaginations. Discusses the groundbreaking work of historian Herbert E. Bolton and those historians who have continued and/or criticized his interpretation. (MJP)

Investigates the situations surrounding, and events involved in, the United States's massive western land acquisition from Mexico in 1845 and 1848. Presents a challenging, thorough, and insightful lesson plan that includes numerous background materials, learning activities, maps, and handouts. (MJP)

Reports on efforts to develop "Crossroads," a K-16 articulated, content-based, spiral curriculum in United States history. Discusses the historical framework underlying the curriculum. Presents the curriculum's 12-era chronology and 8 substantive themes. (CFR)