Decades of research into which instructional strategies are successful in K-12 history and social studies conclude that having students write is extremely important. Effective writing assignments--whether a 3- to 5-paragraph essay, a longer term-paper-style assignment, or even a fictional short story based on a historical period or event--require…

Many workers are employees of companies. These workers agree to do what the companies' owners tell them to do. In return, the companies pay the employees a wage or salary. This relationship, or contract, is an example of a principal-agent agreement: The company is the principal and the worker is the agent. The principal-agent agreement is the most…

In this article, the author reviews the "Presidential Timeline" and 12 existing presidential library websites that will help teachers and students to focus on the presidency. The author found that some were much more "teacher-student friendly" than others. All of them had sections for educators, students, or researchers, but many include lesson…

For several years, advocacy groups have recognized the need to strengthen financial education in the K-12 schools. Current statistics support their concerns. Financial illiteracy in the United States is astoundingly high. From 1992 to 2000, disposable personal income for Americans rose by 47 percent, but personal spending rose by 61 percent. In…

Elementary Teachers today are under enormous pressure to teach children to read better. Teachers sometimes lose sight of the fact that if we can inspire children to want to learn, to want to read more about a topic, everyone wins--even the people whose sole interest is reading test scores. In the social studies, we want students to be thirsty for…

Pursuing a doctoral degree represents a major life change for students, is incredibly demanding, and the process is complex. Although surviving the PhD process is difficult, it can be done. The authors are both recent graduates of a social work doctoral program and have compiled a brief list of inter- and intra-personal tips that they believe…

During the season of political campaigns scores of bumper stickers, posters, and other items with slogans supporting one candidate or another suddenly appear and quickly multiply around neighborhoods and towns, with stickers plastered on cars, and posters hanging in windows, or posted in front yards. From George Washington to George W. Bush,…

Congress, Black, and Strom-Gottfried cover the gamut of values and ethics issues affecting social work curricula at the BSW and MSW degree levels, as well as those complying with CSWE's 2008 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards. This book's course outlines, interactive learning techniques, technological resources, and extensive…

Preservice teachers are often amazed at the wealth of print and Internet resources available. They look forward to selecting appropriate ones to make people and events in the past seem real to children. In addition to these, perhaps some of the most meaningful sources might be those they and their future students locate and/or create themselves.…

Over the past two decades, interest in Holocaust education has grown substantially as individual states, starting in the 1980s, began to mandate and/or recommend Holocaust studies as part of the social studies curriculum. As a result, these mandates and/or interest in the Holocaust have spawned any number of curriculum products, some of which seek…

How students and teachers in a private secondary school started a chapter of Amnesty International, the international human rights organization that received the 1977 Nobel Prize for Peace, is described. The many positive results of the experience are discussed. (RM)

In this unit of study secondary students learn about Raoul Wallenberg, the human rights crusader who protected thousands of Hungarian Jews from Nazi persecution. A primary source document from the National Archives--a letter written to President Truman by Guy von Dardel concerning the disappearance of his brother--is provided. (RM)

Senior high social studies students discuss how people who lived during the Great Depression viewed the future and then, coming back to the present, predict how 13 new industrial inventions of today may affect life a hundred years from now. (RM)

This primary source document can be used to teach secondary students about the rock 'n' roll era that emerged in the 1950's. The document is a letter written in 1958 by three teenagers to President Eisenhower concerning the induction of Elvis Presley into the U.S. Army. Class activities are also suggested. (RM)

Identifies six winners of the 1990 Carter G. Woodson Book Awards. Includes book title, author, publisher, and year. Provides a brief description of each book. (SG)