New research points to the future of education as online, student-centered, collaborative, and community-based--all largely absent from today's educational landscape. This timely guide shows middle, high school, and college students how to undertake research to address challenges in their curriculum and communities. The approach is deliberately…

One of the challenges that social studies educators face daily is how to make student learning relevant. Digital technologies can play an important role by connecting what happens in the classroom to the world beyond. One way to do this is by turning students into producers of information and having them create content rather than simply consume.…

This lesson plan features a classroom simulation that helps students understand a command economic system. The lesson plan states a purpose; gives student educational objectives; suggests a time duration for the activity; lists materials needed; and outlines a step-by-step teaching procedure. Instructions for a research and writing homework…

On January 1, 1863, Daniel Freeman, a Union Army scout convinced a land office clerk in St. Louis (Missouri) to open the office shortly after midnight so that Freeman could file a land claim. In doing so, Freeman became one of the first to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the Homestead Act, a law signed by President Abraham Lincoln…

To better understand the economic aspects of early Florida and to gain an understanding of the continuity of history and economics, students analyze the economic origins and evolution of St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest city in the United States. This lesson plan involves taking the students on a field trip to St. Augustine where they form teams…

Discusses communication in history, the theme for National History Day in 1993. Presents a list of approaches to the theme that could be taken as topics for study. Includes informational media, rhetoric and social change, transmission of cultural values, technology, and miscommunication. Contains a bibliography for each topic. (DK)

Suggests methods for teaching about Yugoslavia. Recommends assigning students to maintain journals of news clippings about developments in Yugoslavia. Proposes forming cooperative-learning groups for researching the country's various regions. Offers activities for teaching about language arts, fine arts, reading and literature, religion,…

Described are methods that secondary students can use in social science research projects. They include case studies, interviews, questionnaires, and participant observation. (RM)

This lesson plan is concerned with early humankind and its development into human societies. It presents four topics for Unit I: (1) cave art; (2) paleontological discoveries; (3) evolution from hunting-gathering to farming; and (4) development of language. It also suggests completion time for each topic; addresses the uses and significance of the…

Provides directions for teaching high school students about world religions through the convening of a mock ecumenical council. Discusses objectives, activities, student presentations, the ecumenical council, and sample rules. Explains that groups of students are assigned to research particular religions and offer presentations about them before…

Describes a teacher education program that utilizes an internship that includes an ethnographic research project. Explains that the teacher intern is required to conduct an in-depth analysis of the social studies being taught in their school as contrasted to that described in their textbooks. Includes resulting suggestions for improvement in the…

The suggested assignments in this manual were written to provide the high school economics teacher with ideas for projects and exercises that students might do as homework or as long-term activities. They range from very simple assignments that should take only a few minutes of the student's time, to projects that might require several days or an…

This document is a guide for teachers to integrate civic values and service learning into their social studies classes. The curriculum includes 17 ready-to-use lessons that can be adapted to United States history, government, or civics classes. A vital part of the unit is a group project in which students identify a real political problem,…

This primary source kit offers history teachers the opportunity to use primary sources from the Maryland Historical Society to activate student interest in United States history and to encourage participation in National History Day. This source kit features original documents, images, maps, oral histories, broadsides, and a variety of other…

This middle school unit of study on archaeology is designed so that students become part of the process of historical discovery. The unit aims to bring history alive by revealing parallels between everyday life in ancient times and everyday life today. Students are asked to investigate and interpret artifacts from their own lives and homes.…