Describes an exercise for helping students evaluate the veracity of primary documents, and considers two kinds of knowledge that documents can give about the past: information about events that occurred; and insight into the perceptions and thoughts of those who lived in the past, including those responsible for the document's creation. Discusses…

Describes a Montessori class project involving the building of a model of the ancient Briton monument, Stonehenge. Illustrates how the flexibility of the Montessori elementary curriculum encourages children to make their own toys and learn from the process. (JPB)

This study uses the tools of functional linguistics to illuminate the writing requirements of the history curriculum in the context of Australian secondary schools. It shows how the resulting linguistic description was integrated into a sequence of teaching and learning activities through collaboration between linguists and content/pedagogic…

This quarterly publication of the State Historical Society of Iowa features articles and activities for elementary school students. This summer issue focuses on the topic of lake life. The issue includes the following features: (1) "Where the Lakes Are Map"; (2) "Letter from the Lake"; (3) "Lake People"; (4)…

The 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's voyage to the Americas has raised a debate over how historians and teachers should portray this moment in history. Some view Columbus as a hero whose courage helped to provide a foundation for modern civilization in the Americas, while others see him as a villain who exploited indigenous people and…

Describes an activity in which high school students learn about the Depression through the Pop Art of that era. Activity has students interview a relative or other person who lived at the time of the depression, produce five drawings depicting the experiences related to them by the interviewee, and exhibit the drawings in the classroom. (AEM)

Asserts that state history and geography can become dull if the textbook is not supplemented. Suggests that the study of state history should include (1) the student's sense of value in their own region; (2) awareness of significant events there; and (3) an appreciation for the region's uniqueness. Illustrates several classroom activities to…

Describes a grade eight course which focused on the neighborhood surrounding an inner city school. The course's objectives were to have students identify architectural features and their relations to architectural styles; ascertain the dominant style and date of probable period of construction; and make a composite map of the area, showing…

Strategies to help social studies teachers integrate writing into their classes are suggested. These include student journals, focused freewriting, written assignments used for review, creative book reports, poems, short stories, and songs. (RM)

Illustrates specific ways to help students think about history within the framework of a lecture-discussion format that postulates selective coverage while relying upon the textbook as a source of information. Includes lesson plans and additional teaching ideas. (LP)

A world history course is molded around broad instructional goals in which citizenship education can and should be included. Learning activities dealing with ancient Greece illustrate teaching strategies which can be used in high school world history courses to foster citizenship knowledge, skills, and attitudes. (RM)

Recommends using primary sources for historical information and education rather than depending entirely upon the chaptered textbook method of learning. (RK)

Special class activities for September are suggested. Historical events that took place during the month, observance of holidays and other special days, and the change in the seasons can provide ideas for launching class projects. (PP)

Presents a learning activity to involve 9-11-year-old children in history writing. Children toured Portsmouth, N.H., interviewed residents, inspected historical documents and artifacts, kept field notes, and wrote a final narrative. Applicability to other sites is favorably assessed. Reference materials for a case study of Portsmouth are supplied.…

Describes preparation and implementation of a lesson using student activity, material in the textbook, and the concept of the time line to teach the chronological order of events in history. The lesson is designed for use by junior high school students during one class period. (CK)