In this unit of study secondary students learn about Raoul Wallenberg, the human rights crusader who protected thousands of Hungarian Jews from Nazi persecution. A primary source document from the National Archives--a letter written to President Truman by Guy von Dardel concerning the disappearance of his brother--is provided. (RM)

Presents passages from the memoirs of Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev which reveal their recollections regarding the famous "Kitchen Debate." Provides activity suggestions which help students analyze the contrasting points of view presented. (JDH)

States that autobiographies such as Patricia Hampl's may be the best source of information for revealing the effects of the Cold War on the American psyche. Maintains that such works may help counteract the narrow and naive view of superpower relations youth gain from such movies as "Rocky" and "Rambo." (JDH)

Presents an activity for high school government or U.S. history classes on President Johnson's attitudes toward education. Students analyze and discuss four primary source documents--a speech, memos, presidential remarks on the signing of education amendments, and a political cartoon. They write a paragraph on Johnson's role in education. (AM)

Provides background information on an expedition up the Missouri River led by the German Prince Maximillian who hired the artist Karl Bodmer to record everything he observed. Includes various activities and a reproduction of Bodmer's artwork "View of the Stone Walls." Offers a description of the painting that he did on the expedition. (CMK)

In this article, the author describes a social studies class activity that uses primary sources to develop a soap opera based on the American Civil War. In the soap opera activity, students can watch historical characters as they grow, develop, and change. Not only do people in the soap opera develop over a long period, but their accumulated…

Students from the University of Montevallo, Alabama's public liberal arts university, re-created the Battle of Shiloh (April 6-7, 1862) approximately twenty miles north of Corinth, Mississippi. For ten weeks in a classroom environment, nineteen students studied strategy, operations, and tactics that affected events nearly 143 years prior. Then,…

The document offers practical and motivating techniques for helping students achieve economic literacy. The activities are designed to develop competency for effective citizenship as a consumer, a worker making occupational choices, and a voter on socioeconomic issues. The material in the elementary section discusses economic wants, scarcity and…

Specific competencies are outlined for social studies education in grades seven through 12 in the Philadelphia school system. The focus of social studies education is seen to be the transmission of knowledge and inculcation of skills and attitudes essential for good citizenship in an interdependent world. Five areas which contribute to good…

The pamphlet outlines the geographic, social, economic, and political status of Georgia in the 18th century and traces some of the events that led to the revolt against British rule. One of a series of materials about the American Revolution in Georgia, it is designed for junior or senior high school students. A brief teacher's guide is included.…

Suggesting that reading plays aloud is an effective way to promote literacy and history in the grade 4-8 classroom, this book presents 22 short, readers' theater plays about extraordinary American men and women. The plays in the book are designed to enrich classroom learning by building oral literacy, fostering a knowledge of American heritage,…

Intended for teachers of grades 5 and up, this unit on Florida history aims to help teachers satisfy two educational goals of the Florida State Standards for Social Studies. The first goal is to incorporate Florida history into the curricula. The second goal is to prepare students for assessment of their ability to interpret primary sources. The…

With the improvement of U.S.-Soviet relations in recent years, there is much reason to take a fresh look at U.S. foreign policy. This unit provides secondary students with an opportunity to examine U.S. policy toward the Caribbean and Central America. Composed of four chapters, the first chapter examines the economic and military concerns that…

This teacher's guide introduces secondary students to the study of constitutional government in the United States. It is designed to provide students with an understanding of how the Constitution came into existence, why it took the form it did, and how it has functioned for the past 200 years. Through the 31 lessons of the text, organized into…

This lesson plan utilizes poems and quotations of things said by women who served in the Vietnam War as a means of helping students to understand the War and its impact on those directly involved. Procedures for teaching the lesson, small group discussion questions, a 12-item list of references, and all materials containing the poems and…