This book describes how one New York City middle school social studies teacher challenged the traditional, textbook-driven curriculum, kindled the students' interest, and ultimately transformed both teaching methods and learning experiences through process drama. Drawing from a blend of narrative reflections and classroom-based research, the book illustrates how the teacher introduced drama into the social studies curriculum, inviting students to become participants in history rather than mere observers of it. The students investigate primary source documents, maintain journals, write letters, reconstruct events through role-play, and create scenes and tableaux. Engaged with the subject and with each other in ways previously unimagined, their curiosity and creativity are aroused as they, along with the teacher, generate a curriculum that reflects their potential and celebrates their strengths. More than just an innovative approach to teaching social studies, the book is the story of a teacher engaged in classroom-based inquiry, critically examining his pedagogical beliefs and practices in response to the realities of his classroom. As the book progresses, readers can see the teacher become empowered as he responds to, and learns from, the questions and challenges posed by his students. (BT)