Maintains that between 1848 and 1920 when the 19th Amendment was ratified, women repeatedly petitioned both state and federal governments for the right to vote. Presents a lesson plan on a women's suffrage petition submitted to Congress in 1869. Includes the background of the petition, the petition's text, and suggested teaching activities. (CFR)

Maintains that the primary goal of social studies instruction is the development of civic competence. Describes a Vietnam War interview project incorporating oral history techniques. Includes a grading sheet, a project description sheet, a list of interview questions, and a sample interview. (CFR)

Reports on a study of instructional strategies and beliefs among 18 middle-school U.S. history teachers and 60 middle-school students. Finds the most widely used strategies involve active learning, group projects, and student participation. Includes a table of the 10 most used strategies and 4 recommendations for instructional design. (CFR)

Maintains that a recent survey of historians reveals a love of history and of history teaching, and a commitment to civic betterment. Discusses the issue of cultural diversity and unity within the profession and contemporary historical writing. Outlines the discipline's relation to a larger public, including graduate students. (CFR)

Maintains that providing justice to people accused of a crime has evolved slowly over the centuries. Discusses the history of indigent defense in the United States. Includes vocabulary terms, a timeline, a list of "Heroes of Indigent Defense," reviews of significant court cases, and a discussion of legal services in five cities. (CFR)

Presents the history and activities of the Legal Aid Society of New York City, the largest and oldest provider of legal assistance for poor people in the United States. Presents a timeline of the society and suggested instructional activities. Provides an annotated list of six resource organizations. (CFR)

Asserts that most high school students are novices at historical research and have difficulty formulating a research question. Maintains that historical fiction can give students background and serve as a springboard for research projects. Provides a 15-item annotated bibliography of recommended novels. (CFR)

Asserts that the Watergate scandal during the 1972 presidential election altered the U.S. government and the very mood of the United States. Presents a content analysis of 5 middle school, 5 secondary, and 12 college-level textbooks. Finds that the texts exhibit weak historical discussion or analysis of Watergate. (CFR)

Outlines a lesson for high school students covering religious controversies in New York City schools in the 1840s. Issues pertain to Irish-Catholic immigrants' objections to public school religious instruction and attempts to obtain public support for parochial schools. Includes handouts concerning religious freedom, Bishop John Hughes' opinion,…

Provides lessons plans for teaching urban history through folk rhymes written by Chinese immigrants describing their early experiences in the United States. Includes eight folk rhymes from the early 1900s. Provides suggestions for teaching objectives, class activities, and classroom questions to enrich students' understanding of ethnic cultures…

Develops a lesson in which students analyze an 1894 petition to the federal government from Moqui women, asking that their matrilineal system of land use not be disturbed. Focuses on cultural differences between perceptions of land ownership. Highlights the Moqui's adjustment to southwestern aridity and John Wesley Powell's efforts to influence…

Discusses a survey of 56 advanced placement (AP) U.S. history teachers. Explores the scope of AP history and types of posttest activities used after Advanced Placement examinations. Concludes that public school courses developed more deeply into post-1960 events than the private schools did. Describes movies, debates, simulations, and local…

Recounts a Philadelphia Alliance for Teaching Humanities in the Schools (PATHS) oral history project developed by Pennsylvania State faculty members and elementary school teachers. Delineates the project's objectives. Explains that students from various ethnic and racial backgrounds interviewed family members and created a local history resource…

Explains a lesson in which secondary social studies or history students research origins of the freedoms to assemble and petition the government. Points out that the lesson provides students with an opportunity to examine how these freedoms evolved since the American Revolution. Reports that students discuss how to protect these freedoms during…

The Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy is a coalition of friends who share a vision of the potential of education. Founded in 1997 at a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar for College Teachers, the Hamer Institute conducts seminars and workshops for K-12 teachers and students that feature the role…