When John Lewis sought to change segregation laws in 1960 Nashville, Tennessee, he did so through nonviolent sit-ins. Throughout U.S. history, activists like John Lewis have turned to social change tactics outside of the institutions of democracy from which they have been largely excluded. However, social studies curricula rarely frame these…

In the early twentieth century in the American South, Black women teachers were especially dedicated to the creation of community and local institutions. They not only supported and taught Black history, but also created key texts that enabled a more accurate accounting of Black history. Educational leaders such as Nannie Helen Burroughs, Mary…

The nation's classrooms have become more diverse, and children of Hispanic heritage represent a large and an important part of this multicultural mosaic. Events such as the commemoration of Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon's historic voyage offer teachers the opportunity to reflect on important events of the past and connect them to students'…

In this article, the authors describe three specific activities in which they have integrated mini-camcorders in their units on the American Revolution, Civil War, and Post-Reconstruction and Progressive eras that they believe provide outlets for creative middle school students and engage students in authentic intellectual work. The three…

The Federal Writers' Project was an arm of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Franklin Delano Roosevelt's massive program to put the unemployed back to work. The Writers' Project was charged with producing an extensive guidebook for each of the 48 states; and more than 6,000 local newspaper writers, novelists, poets, college professors, and…

The First Amendment's guarantee of an independent press that may freely collect and disseminate news is often considered the bedrock of American democracy. Yet more than a century and a half after the "New York Herald's" John Nugent became the first American reporter jailed for refusing to identify a confidential source, reporters…

Used wisely, academic technology empowers students to take responsibility for their own learning. "In Leonardo's Laptop," Ben Shneiderman provides teachers with a powerful framework, "Collect-Relate-Create-Donate" (CRCD), for designing student-centered learning opportunities using computers. Shneiderman developed his model by…

Presents a lesson about frontier life in Texas and is based on the National Register of Historic Places registration file "Castolon Historic District" and other source materials about Castolon and ranching in the Big Bend region. States that the lesson could be incorporated into units on westward expansion or U.S. geography. (CMK)

Offers an introduction to children's history. The remaining articles are devoted to children's history. Provides general guidelines for teaching children about children's history and shows, in four photographs, American children from the 1800s with their tricycles, toy baby carriages, and dolls. (JDH)

A major purpose of the study of history is to give students a context beyond themselves and the times in which they live. This article describes how to use children's history to achieve this purpose, provides titles of numerous resources for teaching about children's history, and recommends a process of supplementing historical fiction to…

Provides a review of historical trends and recent experiences which shape the issues that dominate current immigration policy debates. Gives special attention to the employment status of illegal aliens and the impact this labor force may have on future legislation. (JDH)

Describes the use of Scott O'Dell's two novels, ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHIN (1960) and ZIA (1976) to enhance the study of local history in a teacher's third and fourth grade class. Provides ideas for activities which extend this use of historical fiction. (JDH)

Describes the content, format, and use of a teacher-made slide tape presentation which is written and produced from the perspective of a child living on a plantation in the southeastern United States in the middle 1800s. Follow-up activities are presented. (JDH)

Notes the decrease in programs and courses on women's studies at the high school level and attributes this decrease to the national drive for educational reform. Provides an overview of recent efforts to increase teaching about women's history, and includes an introduction to the theme articles in this issue of SOCIAL EDUCATION. (JDH)

This article illustrates changes in the thinking which have occurred over the past 15 years about how to incorporate women into the discipline of history. It identifies five different phases of feminist scholarship and illustrates how women's studies have influenced the author's and other teachers' thinking about history. (JDH)