Classroom experience for social studies students in simulation, role-playing, and sociodrama provides not only an interesting way of learning, but also an appreciation for the complexity and interdependence of social systems in the modern world. Role-playing requires a student to assume an identity other than his own to increase his understanding of another person; sociodrama adds the element of problem solving for the role-players, usually in a simple verbal model; and simulation, the most complex, incorporates both techniques into a game structure. In preparing any of the techniques the teacher first must select the social process to be reproduced and the concepts and objectives to be comprehended and achieved, and secondly he must determine whether the illustrative situation will be hypothetical or a replication of actuality. The situation must be thoroughly researched by the teacher, who is responsible for constructing the model and making his students aware of the purposes and theory related to their experience. For simulation, the game as well as devices to indicate power relationships must be designed. An annotated bibliography is included to provide the teacher with background information on the theory of the techniques, concrete examples and instructions concerning its uses, and materials enabling him to analyze a political process and construct a verbal model. (LP)