A planning manual for teachers, parents, administrators, and students working on K-12 social studies curriculum development is presented. The manual discusses six problems facing social studies educators and then presents 12 sequenced group activities corresponding to the steps in the planning model. The six problems involve student learning and motivation; the focus on classroom management and control; lack of a variety of teaching and evaluation methods; a focus on specific facts and broad conclusions rather than on critical thinking and values; disagreement on goals and objectives; and insufficient public support. Instructions for participating in the 12-step model form the major portion of the document and include planning to plan, deciding on a rationale, selecting goals and objectives, modifying objectives, mapping the curriculum, and determining the scope of the program. Participants then engage in choosing content, identifying and selecting materials, tying program objectives to text objectives, planning for program evaluation, installing and maintaining the program, and modifying the program. Each step contains background information, an activity, and reproducible handouts. A list of resources, sources of instructional objectives, sample formats for scope-and-sequence statements, publishers of social studies materials, and a paper on evaluation as an instructional tool complete the guide. (KC)