Discusses the value of structured simulation games in elementary social studies. Suggestions are given for using simulation games in the classroom, stressing the importance of the briefing and debriefing activities. Teaching instructions for four role-playing simulations are included. (AM)

Compassion, according to Nancy Rue (1991), is not pity. Compassion, Rue asserts, "involves a mixture of feeling one's kinship with others, being purely selfless (at least for the moment) and having the courage to get involved." P. M. Oliner (1983) wrote that "Prosocial content needs to show people behaving in giving and helping ways toward others.…

Discusses the role of social technology in the elementary social studies curriculum. Describes three strategies designed to enhance the social and emotional well-being of students. Explains the Magic Circle, dilemma discussions, and role playing. Suggests that such social technology methods of teaching will teach students to behave responsibly…

A simulation is offered as an example of how it can improve dialogue, encourage valuing, and stimulate student participation in real world experiences. (Author/KM)

Describes methods for helping students to overcome their inhibitions in social studies role-playing exercises. Techniques include warm-up exercises, side-coaching, and structured improvisation. (AM)

Presents a role-playing activity for Canadian upper-elementary and secondary social studies classes on the debate which led to the entry of Newfoundland into the Canadian Confederation in 1949. Historical background, role-cards, and procedures for organizing the activity are included. (AM)

Art becomes "moving life" as students portray characters in museum works of art. (Editor/SJL)

For adolescents, fiction can be an effective source of social information. The material is experienced through subjective involvement in the lives of other people. The student accumulates the historical or background information incidentally from the narrative itself. A variety of teaching methods, including discussion, role playing, and student…

Presents a lesson designed for secondary economics classes. Students role play adults in selected occupations, create personal budgets, and make investment and savings decisions. Student directions and questions are included. (CFR)

When students are passive and disinterested, teachers find that role playing fosters active participation and increased interest in learning. The article outlines procedures for implementing both structured and semi-structured kinds of role play activity for use in social studies classrooms. (Author/JR)

Foreign Currency Exchange is the largest business in the world. The New York Institute of Finance estimates that somewhere around 1.5 trillion dollars changes hands every 24 hours. The trading of international currencies has made overnight millionaires. No other marketplace in the world can give a person more significant opportunity to make money…

The League of Women Voters/Tallahassee responded to an opportunity to research the concerns of Florida's judiciary following the disrupted general election of 2000. It received a grant for the Judicial Independence Project, a project supported by a grant from the Program on Law and Society of the Open Society Institute, from the League of Women…

Presents a lesson plan for a second-grade class project. Suggests that the students will learn to identify the word "famous," complete a timeline for a famous person, learn facts about the person, and express individual thoughts and feelings. Explains the steps involved in the presentation of a living museum where students portray famous…

Case studies which can be used in secondary social studies classes to teach students about the rights of persons with physical, mental, and emotional disabilities are presented. Examples of questions which can be used to stimulate discussion of the case studies are also included. (RM)

Describes a role-playing activity to help junior high school social studies students understand prejudice and South African apartheid. Students are divided into one large and one small group for a discussion on apartheid. The teacher gives candy only to the smaller group. Students discuss their feelings about being privileged or deprived. (AM)