Google and other online search engines can provide immediate answers to empirical questions about history. However, this immediacy may undermine higher-level historical reasoning and student engagement in historical research. It is important that teachers continue to develop strategies that support students' active engagement with online…

Community workers and community services are a typical part of the second grade curriculum in many American schools. However, the content provided in textbooks often lacks depth and the personal connection that students need to make their learning meaningful. How many times have seven year olds already learned about fire fighters and mail…

This study examines peer collaboration among four pairs of seventh graders who read online to determine what caused the downfall of the Mayan civilization. More and less productive collaborative interactions are presented through snippets of dialogue in which pairs negotiated complex texts. Few examples of how teachers can skillfully facilitate…

This activity packet addresses technology in the classroom, specifically using the Internet. It presents three activities that use the Internet as a resource: (1) "Whose Point of View" (the transfer of Hong Kong to Chinese control); (2) "Where to Look" (an earthquake in Afghanistan); and (3) "Research Project: The Pros and Cons of Free Trade."…

Social studies educators have promoted inquiry learning as a valuable method of instruction. Research into the use of inquiry methods in the teaching and learning of history has demonstrated that this method has much to offer. Recently, the use of technological tools, including the Internet, has received attention as a means of transforming social…

The History Channel worked with the Smithsonian National Museum of American History on the permanent exhibition, "The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden," and developed this teacher's manual for grades 4-12. The manual provides creative guidelines, useful resources, and teaching ideas. Teachers will find primary sources, suggestions…

StoryWeb is a teaching technique that combines elements of the short story and the Internet to provide an interactive simulation for students using differentiated content, product, and process. This paper describes one StoryWeb unit and indicates how one could implement the unit in a middle school U.S. History course. A StoryWeb unit uses the…

In this lesson, student teams research one of the species of early humans. Teams will create presentations that include information on physical traits, habitat, era, means of survival, culture, and relationship to modern humans. Students are provided with background information, detailed instructions, on-line resources, and reflection questions.…

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,…

Demonstrates the connections among authenticity, technology, and geography by discussing the use of the Internet and a Geographic Information System (GIS). Describes an online community-based project in a three-step process (research a local issue, create a Web site, and submit the site to an online community). (CMK)

Describes an action research study designed to examine high school students' use of the Internet, their evaluation of it as a learning tool, and their personal satisfaction at using the Internet for educational research. Presents the findings in detail and concludes by discussing the need for information literacy in the social studies curriculum.…

Describes a series of four lessons that integrate social studies, language arts, and life science for high school students. Explains that students participate in a wildflower collection activity, interview a person from another culture to collect interesting facts and wild stories, research a flowering plant, and make wildflower bookmarks. (CMK)

This article discusses the benefits of using the Internet to enrich the social studies curriculum and the need to teach students to evaluate every Web site they visit according to three criteria: reliability, authorship, and purpose. Questions are listed to aid students in this evaluation process, along with Web sites. (CR)

This lesson plan imagines the student as part of a delegation to a special meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-sponsored Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council being held in Brussels, Belgium, where the topic of discussion is a proposal by several NATO members to invite independent republics of the former Soviet Union to become…

In this lesson, students role-play as members of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia that will bring to trial "Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law." Students represent the following groups: International Criminal Tribunal; Prosecution; Defense; Serbians; Croatians;…