The role of literacy in social studies education has been greatly elevated over the last decade. The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) models through the indicators of its C3 Framework how to strengthen K-12 students' disciplinary thinking, literacy, and argumentation skills in the four core social studies disciplines: civics,…

Black experiences and discourse concerning citizenship are unique. Moreover, Black access to full citizenship is often a matter of life and death. The civic purposes driving this pursuit are often negated in conventional curriculum and pedagogy, especially in early childhood settings. Still, it is essential for educators and policymakers to…

Imagery and sounds from television, film, music, the Internet, and other media bombard American youth; dictating to them how they should act, think, or what they should believe. They often do not realize that they find much of their identity and belief systems in messages put forth to them by popular culture (Du Gay 1997; Hall 1997). Young people…

Roswell has long been synonymous with aliens and UFOs, and people have been arguing over what happened that night in 1947 for many years. It is a topic left out of most textbooks and neglected in many social studies classrooms. However, Roswell has found a permanent place in American culture, and teaching about Roswell can be valuable to social…

This document, part of the lesson plan series, "Teaching with Historic Places," examines roadside attractions of the United States. Following introductory material the document sets out student objectives and teaching activities. Among the instructional suggestions are sections on "Setting the Stage"; "Locating the…

Examines popular music as a historical resource and classroom teaching tool to help students better understand and learn about social diversities that affected the United States. Five subthemes with 77 songs are cited: (1) fun; (2) music; (3) traditional/patriotic; (4) patriotic and pro-American; and (5) social statements. A five-step student…

Looks at how young people use historical knowledge, gained from media sources, to deal with current situations. A group of young African Americans draw on behavioral examples from the film, "Panther," instead of school-based learning, to give them ways to deal with the Ku Klux Klan in their neighborhood. (DAJ)

Points out that movies from the 1930's, 1940's, and 1950's are excellent resource materials for the history and social science classroom. Suggests some ways particular films can be used to study mainstream, white, middle-class attitudes toward various issues and groups. (RKM)

This publication contains teaching ideas generated by classroom teachers. For grades K-5, newsletter editor Laurel R. Singleton explains how students can explore the quilt as a metaphor used in literature to represent American values and ideals (the lesson is adaptable for all age groups). For grades 5-8, social studies teacher Claire McCaffery…

What and how do students learn from motion pictures, and how does this knowledge interact with the history they learn in school? This is a complex problem-space and one that has seen little empirical research. To lay the groundwork for exploring these questions, a pilot study utilized a qualitative methodology in which high school students viewed…

Examines the use of recorded music to teach about the civil rights movement of 1955-68. Barnes uses a combination of spirituals, popular and protest songs that were adapted to civil rights needs to introduce, review, or heighten students' interest in the 1950s and 1960s. Includes song list, learning activities, and questions to stimulate critical…

This teaching guide reflects the belief that popular music is an effective tool for teachers to use in presenting social studies lessons to students. Titles of songs representative of popular music from 1955 to 1982 are listed by subject matter and suggest a possible lesson to be used in teaching that particular issue. Subject areas listed…

Describes activities that enable students to study the history of the Korean War and its impact by researching local history and the popular culture of the time. Explains that students learn how to collect and analyze historical sources that offer different viewpoints. Provides discussion topics and Internet resources. (CMK)

The document describes a research project studying the effects of using popular music in a high school contemporary U.S. history course. The hypothesis was to ascertain whether popular music can increase student interest and performance in the social studies. Two sections of senior high school students were studied. Section I, the control group,…

Illustrates a method for demonstrating historical chronology using popular songs that comment on a variety of social, political, and economic concerns. Provides an audio time line which uses U.S. recordings from 1955 to 1987 as musical time markers, highlighting such issues as racial discrimination, urban decay, political chicanery and women's…