Presents a lesson plan to help students understand that political advertisements often mislead, lie, or appeal to emotion. Suggests that the lesson will enable students to examine political advertisements analytically. Includes a worksheet to be used by students to analyze individual political advertisements. (DK)

Notes that there have been no studies of student teachers' learning how to use primary sources to teach history. Generates general characteristics of the task based on discussions among historians and philosophers. Uses these to frame an investigation of difficulties encountered by student teachers while learning to use primary sources. (DSK)

This paper aligns with educators and historians who argue that certain aspects of expert historical thinking are excellent tools for democratic citizenship. The paper focuses on specifically contextualized understanding of the past, as opposed to presentist attitudes, which assume the past is just like the present. It presents a framework for…

Suggests that by making quilt squares with tangrams, children link geometry and children's literature. Provides background on quilts and tangrams, and provides guidelines for teachers. Points out that children gain communication and mathematical thinking skills as they manipulate and explore relationships among pieces. Contains an annotated…

This study assessed the influence of emphasizing historical investigation with fifth graders through documentation of classroom activities and students' analysis of historical documents and images before and after the design experiment. Data suggested that the investigative approach holds promise for teaching fifth graders how to analyze…

Describes steps in a method for transferring critical thinking skills during a regular history lesson plan. Calls upon the instructor to ask how the skill to be transferred is a part of the lesson, when it can be used, what examples can be given, and how students will reflect on their practice. Emphasizes the necessity of consistent terminology.…

Discusses the application of critical thinking skills to teaching about the Columbus quincentenary. Suggests having students explore multiple perspectives on the event and examine coverage in textbooks and other books. Urges teachers to assess critically their own teaching practices and whether they foster racial justice. (WYN)

Advocates teaching critical thinking through showing students the logic of a subject. Uses one example of instruction in history that allows students to think their way through the logic of the subject rather than memorize bits and pieces of someone else's thought (never grasping its logic). (VWC)

Recent research on children's historical thinking has produced rich descriptions of instruction. However, the research literature is largely lacking a theoretical model of learning. This article asserts that developmental constructivist theory informs research design and interpretation, provides explanatory power, and promises more useful…

"Greater Expectations": A New Vision for Learning as a Nation Goes to College", a recently published national report by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, calls for a radical restructuring of liberal arts education in American colleges and universities. Rather than defining liberal arts education in terms of…

In this article, the author reviews his unsuccessful and successful strategies for teaching research and analytical skills, which illustrate changes in his assumptions about and attitude toward teaching. Older and perhaps wiser as well, the author no longer assumes that students already know how to do what teachers expect them to be able to do by…

Describes a series of 10 video programs and accompanying print materials that are designed to enhance citizenship education. Expresses the basic tenet that geographic learning is essential to the sound teaching and learning of history. Includes outcome goals, program content, structure, and a description of each of the 10 programs, emphasizing…

After participating in an eight-week project-based, technology-supported investigation about westward expansion, gains in knowledge and understanding of historical content for 28 students with learning disabilities were not as large as those of peers (n=59), but both groups showed comparable gains in self-efficacy as learners and their…

Inquiry-based teaching and assessment approaches are superior to standardized tests for measuring students' progress. Historical thinking skills employed in Leopold von Ranke's 19th-century seminars have been refined to consider point of view, credibility of evidence, historical context, causality, and multiple perspectives--benchmarks of…

This article describes one of many inquiry investigations the author designed for her fifth grade students in order to provide real and meaningful reading experiences through primary documents. There are two main goals for such a lesson: students will comprehend historical events accurately and in a way meaningful to them, and they will develop…