This seventh grade unit is one of a sequential learning series of the Focus on Inner City Social Studies (FICSS) project developed in accordance with the needs and problems of an urban society. A description of the project is provided in SO 008 271. This unit studies ways in which political parties are both the source of many of our values and the…

The objectives of this Conference included an examination of new approaches to citizenship education and an evaluation of the teaching materials produced by the Charles P. Schwartz Citizenship Project (CPSCP), and an examination of the attitudinal studies on citizenship values conducted under the auspices of CPSCP. Major sections of the Report…

This study is an examination of black and white preadults' cognitive and affective orientations to their nation, social power, government, authority, and laws. The data were collected by means of tape recorded interviews with 96 students attending public schools in Buffalo, New York, which were transcribed, coded, and analyzed in an attempt to…

The primary purpose of the Georgia Anthropology Curriculum Project is to present the organizing concepts of anthropology in curricula suitable for use in elementary and intermediate grades. The philosophic premise of the Project is that a conceptually structured curricula is the most effective means of helping students to acquire a base of…

Recommended procedures and essential facts for a planned student registration campaign in New York City Schools, as well as suggested teaching strategies and instructional aids supporting a broad-based senior year preparation for the 18-year-old franchise comprise this document. The suggested teaching strategies involve large and small group…

This unit is intended to provide the student with clear understanding of the function of interest groups and lobbyists in the American Democratic political system. It has been designed to be used for 12-17 days of class work. However, it is possible to alter this time by several days depending upon the individual situation. "Why Lobby"? is divided…

Four interrelated questions in this paper provide a framework for examining the rationale of a model for developing a political laboratory which would fulfill meaningful objectives for civics and government instruction. The first question, why make the school the focus of the laboratory, offers reasons for preferring the school over the classroom…

Contends that citizenship and democracy are two of the most overused words in social studies classrooms. Maintains that schools must walk a tightrope between those fostering patriotic attitudes and those fostering critical-mindedness and protest. Includes four suggestions for critical thinking in social studies. (CFR)

Asserts that preparing students to be rational decision makers in a democracy and productive participants in the economy are major goals of education. Argues social studies education must provide opportunities for analysis and decision making related to current major issues. Identifies the National Issues Forum in the Classroom program as an…

Social studies educators must marshal all creative resources to meet the global, national, and personal challenges that face them as members of the major social studies professional organization, the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). Based on a continuation of current policies and lifestyles, dramatic global changes such as…

The essay provides background material for a junior high school unit, The Emergence of the New American. The unit deals with the colonial period in America in terms of the evolution of the political American. Separate sections of the paper discuss the format of the course, the Englishman in the 17th century, the lure of the new world, changes over…

This social studies curriculum guide for grades 5 and 6 is a product of the American Values Exemplary Center directed by Ralph H. Davis. The introduction describes a model program to introduce students to the functioning of local and national government through a student government program set up as an essential part of the social studies…

Social studies programs in the Fresno City Unified School District are evaluated as part of PROJECT DESIGN, funded under ESEA Title III. This report surveys the scope and sequence of the social studies program and assesses how well the needs of learners are being met. Visits were made to 16 elementary, junior high, and senior high schools, and…

Distinctions between political socialization as beliefs about ideals, beliefs about the realities of governmental structure, as attempts at cognitive consistency, and as affective orientations toward the system, map out most children's political orientations. The objects of these orientations are: 1) America as a nation and patriotic attachment;…

This report from the Committee on Civic Education at the University of California, Los Angeles, discusses the origin, activities, and future plans of the committee, whose major aim is the acquisition of intellectual skills rather than large amounts of factual knowledge or the development of "democratic attitudes" in the study of civics. The…