Focusing on elementary education, this article examines some of the pitfalls found in textbooks dealing with global interdependence. Suggestions are made to avoid these mistakes and involve students in activities outside of the textbook. (DE)

This study, undertaken in 1963, analyzed the references made to religion in elementary social studies textbooks. The report was intended to inform authors, publishers, and teachers and enable them to correct errors, supply omissions, and omit irrelevant material. The textbooks used in the study consisted of 120 elementary (grades 1-6) public…

Current editions of texts for elementary students reflect, more than did older texts, the pluralistic nature of American society. However, questions still remain regarding the inclusion of minorities in texts, the extent to which males and females are represented, and the proportion of representation of these two areas. (Author/EB)

Criticizes the organization, emphases, scope, and intellectual challenges of basal social studies textbooks widely used in elementary schools. Includes recommendations for improving such textbooks and social studies curricula. (MCG)

Stresses the importance of recognizing bias in written language (often referred to as critical thinking/reading) and suggests activities to help elementary school social studies teachers improve their bias recognition skills. A multiple choice quiz is presented in which teachers are directed to analyze bias in quotations from newspapers and social…

Article adapted from a talk to the Connecticut Council for Social Studies on May 3, 1968.

This is a report of the Japan/United States Textbook Study Project the goal of which is to improve each nation's textbooks, especially in regard to the treatment of Japan in U.S. textbooks, the treatment of the United States in Japanese textbooks, and the treatment of relations between the two countries in each nation's textbooks. Panelists from…

The analyses of 31 social studies materials are based on the way the developers have dealt with the intents of the products, the organization of the contents of the products, the methodology for the use of each product, and the means of evaluation of learning that each product provides. (Author)

Discusses steps taken to eliminate bias and misrepresentation from history textbooks and examines how descriptions of historical events can be affected. Describes how groups can question textbook material and states that, if the goal of textbook writing is to offend no one, then history will cease to exist in the schools. (GEA)

Authors contend that a viable alternative exists to the use of social textbooks which do not meet the needs of minority students. (CB)

Describes textbook bias found in Canadian social studies textual materials prejudiced against the American Indian and lists 10 criteria to be used in evaluating texts. (HOD)

The second installment of comments from the Task Force on Social Sciences Textbooks: Grades five through eight is presented in this document. The first comments, covering part of the textbooks, were attached as an appendix to "Report and Recommendations: Task Force to Evaluate Social Science Textbooks: Grades Five Through Eight" offered in related…

Because American history and social studies textbooks are "official chronicles of the nation's past and influence the next generation's social understanding, content controversies abound. This article discusses the editorial ahistoricism, arid language, and disembodied figures characterizing most texts, reviews past successful models, and suggests…