This article explores the use of ironic performance in education, particularly around issues of human rights. I examine my own efforts to engage audiences with the history of domestic espionage and sabotage by the intelligence agencies of the United States. This is a history well known to some marginalized counterpublics (see Fraser, 1997), but…

The author decided to minimize the stressful emphasis on assessments in learning in his 11th grade American History and Government classes and put the fun back into teaching. Tired of the repetitive aspects of teaching the required state standards related to the U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court cases, the author switched gears from simply…

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the nation's largest living history museum, in partnership with the Social Science Education Consortium, scholars, educators, and teachers, has developed engaging learning materials for social studies classrooms. One such program is the Colonial Williamsburg History and Civics Project, which is based on…

Given the overt political nature of this topic, an additional theoretical postulate, the Triadic Theory of Power was also presented as another framework to conceptualize the external and internal forces which shape the formation of contemporary education policy. Predicated upon the scholarship of Nobel laureate James Q. Wilson, Andrew McFarland…

"Naturalization Test Redesign Project: Civics Item Selection Analysis" provides an overview of the development of content items for the U.S. history and government (civics) portion of the redesigned naturalization test. This document also reviews the process used to gather and analyze data from multiple studies to determine which civics…

To help students meet the demands of society, the University of Houston is using the framework of learning communities and constructivism to create a cross-disciplinary approach to teaching to provide media-rich thematically linked courses to engage a diverse student population. A case study investigated three semesters of thematically linked…

Twelve lesson plans on the Bill of Rights are featured in these materials for Nebraska senior high school students. The 12 lessons include: (1) The Bill of Rights--Introductory Unit; (2) Freedom of Speech; (3) Freedom of the Press; (4) Free Press/Fair Trial; (5) Freedom of Religion; (6) The Right to Keep and Bear Arms; (7) Due Process; (8) Search…

This 8-week interdisciplinary unit for fourth- and fifth-grade students helps children address the U.S. westward expansion in the 1840's using the interactive software program, The Oregon Trail. The unit provides connections to literature, geography, computer/mathematics skills, language arts, and research skills. The work is done in cooperative…

This book describes teachers' work in urban New York City (New York) schools during a time of intense school reform in the 1920s. Teachers and schools coped with an ever-growing and diverse student body. Extensive interviews of teachers from this era shows the complexity of teachers' work, their problems with reform implementation, and the…

This document from the Virginia Department of Education reports on a project to enable public schools to meet requirements of two laws. The first law required public schools to emphasize instruction on the documents of Virginia and United States history and government. The second requested that all public schools be urged to display copies of the…

Prepared for middle school students, this magazine provides a historical overview of 150 years of medicine in Iowa. Focusing on practitioners, early medicinal practices, and common ailments, the articles include: (1) "Health in Iowa"; (2) "Horse and Buggy Doctors"; (3)"Dandy Home Remedies" (P. Stolt); (4)…

Developed as an aid to Oklahoma educators, these easily duplicated learning activities can be used as a supplement in elementary and secondary social studies courses. Some of the teacher-developed activities are self-contained, while others require the use of publisher-available books and films. There are three major sections: Elementary; Middle…

Designed for teachers and researchers, this comprehensive outline of the history of North Carolina traces the state's history from its earliest Indian occupants to political events occurring during the 1960's. Over 40 chapters are included in the outline. In general, topics deal with expansion and settlement, agriculture and industry,…

This simulation allows students to pretend to go to a one-room schoolhouse in the last half of the 19th century. Students work to earn points in order to graduate from Apple Valley School. A sense of history is developed as students learn about a "school of long ago" and compare it to today's schools. Role play, writing activities, and critical…

This educational packet contains information about Wilson's Creek National Battlefield (Republic, Missouri), the site of a bitter 1861 struggle between Union and Confederate forces for control of Missouri. The packet contains the following materials: (1) Educational Group Reservation Form; (2) Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Movement Maps (six…