War is one place where the complexity of victory and defeat should be explored more deeply. Unfortunately, war--whether experienced directly as a soldier in Afghanistan or a Syrian in an Aleppo suburb, or indirectly through a news item on the Internet or American television--is a near inescapable aspect of most people's daily life. Yet unless…

2015 marks the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta. For Americans, this iconic document is a formative element of our own legal and political heritage. This "Lessons on the Law" column offers an overview of the "Great Charter," why it is significant, and what students and teachers should know about it. The article also highlights…

The author argues that in order to create space for authentic multicultural engagement in the face of Eurocentric norms, teachers should form discussion groups that follow five basic guidelines: engage, don't enrage; be comfortable with negative emotion; watch for and change unproductive language; talk about everything; and engage in classroom…

The topics of Columbus's voyages of exploration, the first encounters between Amerindians and Europeans, and the ensuing collision of their respective worlds provide ample opportunities for creative and stimulating pedagogical approaches that go beyond the stale memorization of dates, places, and names. This essay and accompanying classroom…

For more than a decade, the world history course taught in the public high schools of Texas has provided the only comprehensive overview of the story of humanity to millions of students, most of whom are of Mexican descent. The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills curriculum standard for world history has been foundational for textbook selection,…

This U.S. history curriculum guide, based upon the historical essays written by Richard B. Bernstein, is intended for students in grades 9 - 12 and refines and extends the understanding of U.S. history that students have acquired to date. Students are challenged to venture into historical explorations and analyses in order to compare and contrast…

This U.S. history curriculum guide, based upon historical essays written by Richard B. Bernstein, is intended for students in grades 7 and 8, and is the keystone of the 'Crossroads' project. The guide introduces students to the chronological structure of U.S. history and to the eight overarching themes of U.S. history as defined by the…

This guide to the social studies was developed for use in the senior high schools of Duval County, Jacksonville, Florida. Topics covered are United States government, United States history, anthropology, bible history, comparative institutions, European history, Florida history, human relations, political science, economics, psychology, sociology,…

Provides a lesson plan, complete with readings and teaching procedures, for teaching students about the revisionist interpretations of Cold War history. Students are challenged to think critically about the differences in the traditional and revisionist interpretations. (JDH)

This lesson plan begins with an overview of the age of enlightenment and those ideas that influenced the founders of the United States. The lesson plan provides information sheets about five enlightenment thinkers: John Locke (1632-1704), Mary Wolstonecraft (1759-1898), Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755), Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1788), and John…

These interactive curriculum-based study programs in U.S. history, world history, European history, and global studies were created by teachers to align with national and state frameworks and curriculum standards. The interactive programs include graded tests, document-based questions, essays, and skill development projects. Each CD-ROM based…

In this interdisciplinary curriculum unit, students work in groups to examine, role play, and report on how the United States should have responded to England in the War of 1812. Students take on the roles of news reporters to explain and evaluate U.S. policy and are provided with background information, detailed instructions, on-line resources,…

Provides discussion questions, activity suggestions and sample quotes to provoke further examination of the Cold War era values evidenced in the baseball subculture (see SO 515 377, "Baseball and the Cold War: An Examination of Values). (JDH)

George C. Marshall (1880-1959), head of the U.S. Army in World War II, Secretary of State (1947-49), Secretary of Defense (1950-51), and Nobel Peace Prize winner (1953), was one of the late people as a child. He liked to play and was reasonably athletic, anxious to try out new ideas, and was particularly interested in history, but he was not…

Provides 10 reasons why the study of Germany and the European Community should be taught in U.S. social studies. Argues that the cultural interrelationships between the United States and Germany are historically significant. Contends that the experiences of post-World War II German reconstruction and the reunification after the Cold War can serve…