These materials were developed for use in a "Survey of the Far East" course offered at Mount Vernon Nazarene College, Mount Vernon, Ohio. This curriculum project focuses on the "Bhagavad Gita," with reference to its influence on and use by Mahatma Gandhi. The "Gita" may be used as a text, or may be included on a…

These units of study and learning activities for use in secondary social studies classes will help students better understand the complex situation in South Africa and prepare them to make wise and effective decisions about U.S. policy toward South Africa in the crucial years ahead. (RM)

In this curriculum unit, elementary school children read information about two neighboring countries, Israel and Jordan, to make comparisons not only between the two countries but also about their own neighborhood as well. The unit uses a variety of strategies, from reading and responding to writing prompts, to creative activities, to active video…

This curriculum unit, intended to be used with elementary school students, provides information about two neighboring Middle Eastern countries, Israel and Jordan, to allow comparisons not only between the two countries but also about the students' own neighborhood. The unit presents objectives, strategies, materials needed, background notes,…

Between 1845 and 1850, more than a million Irish starved to death while massive quantities of food were being exported from their country. A half million were evicted from their homes during the potato blight. A million and a half emigrated to the United States, Britain, and Australia, often on board rotting, overcrowded "coffin ships."…

This paper provides activities to help in teaching elementary students about Indonesia. Grade 1 activities focus on family life in Indonesia along with a map and flag to help teach students about the country. Grade 2 activities involve learning of the Indonesian community and how people might live, work, play and learn. Grade 3 activities focus on…

This document is a sub-unit teaching plan for world history teachers who want to use multicultural concepts in the world history curriculum. The objective explored includes a student response to the Turkish question of "Who are we"? Teacher preparation involves defining social and cultural roots and outlining periods of Turkish history.…

Teaching materials for a comprehensive and integrated study of Mexico at the elementary level are presented. Emphasis throughout is on developing cross-cultural comparisons between Hermosillo and its sister city, Phoenix, for whom the program was created. Mexican geography, history, current events, politics, art, entertainment, education, people,…

Lessons to help primary grade students learn about the Chinese culture are presented. Focus is on the following two generalizations: culture is learned, and humans in time and place exhibit a commonality of behaviors. (RM)

An activity-based curriculum enables intermediate-grade children to pretend to be explorers who have discovered land. Students create a country by constructing a land map, formulating a constitution, determining an appropriate form of rule, and so on. Students learn how each aspect, from terrain to climate, creates ramifications leading to a…

This four-lesson unit, designed for use with high school students, examines economic development in Africa. Lesson 1, "What Is Development?" has students investigating terms such as development, third world, North, and South. In lesson 2, "Resources and Culture," students learn that people define resources based on their own…

This teaching outline for studying the significance of the Middle East to religious history and world history provides lesson suggestions for the study of geography, political science, philosophy, religion, anthropology, economics, archaeology, and history. Twenty-seven learning objectives focus on the students' acquisition of critical thinking,…

The New York City Board of Education's unit on Latin America (Global Studies Grade 9) is a welcome and useful aid to teachers seeking to develop a social studies curriculum with a global perspective. Besides the contemporary relevance, the methodology of the curriculum closely adheres to current thinking on teaching social studies. The lessons and…

This three- to four-week unit for use with secondary students in courses in politics or modern world history generates a basic understanding about the origins, development, and status of the revolution in Iran. (RM)

Emphasizes the need to present students with conceptual frameworks that will enable them to understand and deal with changes, continuities, uncertainties, and contingencies. Describes a textbook that approaches the future of U.S.-Soviet relations from a framework of four different possible futures. Discusses programs using the text in teaching…