Believes that teachers should use a literature-enhanced curriculum to teach geography because this approach allows them to meet the National Geography Standards, bridge geographically distant worlds for their students, and promote multiculturalism. Stresses the importance of carefully choosing literature and provides an appendix that lists…

Believes that there has been a return to the definition of citizenship forwarded by educational reformers of the 1890's that characterizes the reform efforts of the 1990's. Reviews the ongoing debate in reform efforts of whether citizenship education should be integrated into the social studies as opposed to the history curriculum. (CMK)

"Tora no Maki" or "Scroll of the Tiger" is a teacher's guide designed to aid in teaching appropriate standards for social studies content and skills, using a contemporary focus on Japan's culture and economy. The 19 lessons are divided into three grade levels: elementary school, middle school, and high school. Topics of the…

This paper examines the content of the proposed national standards for U.S. history and world history. The document suggests shortcomings of the developed standards as being without an emphasis on the themes of democracy and western civilization and an overemphasis on multicultural ideas. Specific standards in each of the areas are addressed with…

We present a fundamentally new coding procedure and a two-dimensional Curriculum Tool that reclassifies culturally diverse storybooks for the purpose of teaching cultural understanding. The reclassification results in 9 "cultural voices"--the joining of a book theme and its complexity of cultural content--used as the basis of various…

Teachers of world history are placing less emphasis on Western culture and rote memorization in favor of more global, diverse, and creative content. This book is intended to serve as an example of some of the innovations that are occurring in today's classrooms and as encouragement for future exploration. The book presents new subject matter, new…

This teaching guide is comprised of four interdisciplinary units dealing with the expeditions of conquistadors in the New World: (1) "Cortes and the Aztecs: Different Views of the World"; (2) "Pizarro and the Incas: The 'What Ifs?' of History"; (3) "Orellana and the Amazon: Human and Environmental Issues"; and (4)…

This executive summary is an overview of the complete study of current national and state standards documents pertaining to history and social studies, focusing on the teaching about religion. The complete study analyzes the standards and program frameworks in seven national curriculum documents and the academic standards documents and curriculum…

In 1995, the American Psychological Association commissioned a task force to develop standards that identify what students in an introductory high school psychology course should learn. The task force's mission was to prepare a document that could be used by policymakers, educators, curriculum developers, parents, and other stakeholders to…

Maritime history is an important part of this country's past and provides a critical foundation for understanding the settlement and development of the North American continent over the past five centuries. Teachers, historians, and maritime experts have worked together to create this manual, providing educators with materials to incorporate the…

In 1893, in just 184 days, 28 million people, about one-third of the U.S. population, visited the World's Colombian Exposition in Chicago (Illinois). This lesson focuses on petitioning the federal government, peaceably assembling, and exercising freedom of speech and religion, all of which are protected by the First Amendment to the U.S.…

Long before he was a Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin was world famous for his work in electricity. He challenged the prevailing idea that there were two distinct kinds of electrical fluid, proposing that there is one kind of electricity and two charges. He invented the lightning rod which is still used today and so found a highly practical use…

Designed for preservice elementary and/or middle school teachers, this methods and resources volume compiles well-researched information on social studies education. It uses the standards recommended by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) as a foundation, thoroughly discussing the core disciplines and thematic strands. The book…

Reports the results from a 1999 survey conducted through phone interviews to identify which states were using assessments in social studies and to describe the types of assessments being used. Finds that two-thirds of the states conduct assessments in social studies while most assessments use objective questions. (CMK)

Focuses on using an integrated approach to furthering both literacy and social studies goals. Provides an annotated bibliography of children's literature that helps students become informed citizens. Includes suggested activities and discussion questions with each entry and links these activities to goals listed in the national standards. (DSK)