Guilds are defined as associations of craftsmen and merchants formed to promote the economic interests of their members as well as to provide protection and mutual aid. As both business and social organizations, guilds were prolific throughout Europe between the eleventh and sixteenth centuries. Guilds were organized so that workers would learn…

Teaching about China can often be difficult because Chinese culture is very different from the culture of most American students. Students in social studies classes can find it hard to relate to such a distant and unfamiliar country. As China becomes a more and more integral part of the social studies curriculum, teachers must find effective…

Getting students involved in the process of inquiry takes much more than pointing out a problem, offering sources, and setting them on their way. Fortunately, there are a number of teaching strategies that can be instrumental in engaging students in the process of inquiry. As a teacher of world history in the seventh grade, House of Avalon, at…

Historical reenactments are a frequently utilized active learning strategy that encourages students to engage in historical thinking. They require students to critically read and synthesize information, consider multiple perspectives, and write a coherent narrative demonstrating an understanding of the time period, event, and the individuals…

Are middle schoolers capable of discussing the war in Iraq in meaningful ways? Can seventh graders develop informed ideas about presidential candidates' positions on health care? Should young adolescents discuss controversial public issues, interpret primary sources, and analyze social problems? Thoughtful social studies educators disagree. While…

In this article, the authors describe three specific activities in which they have integrated mini-camcorders in their units on the American Revolution, Civil War, and Post-Reconstruction and Progressive eras that they believe provide outlets for creative middle school students and engage students in authentic intellectual work. The three…

Numerous educators have noted that Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a powerful tool for social studies teaching and learning. Yet the use of GIS has been hampered by issues such as the cost of the software and the management of large spatial data files. One trend that shows great promise for GIS in education is the move to cloud computing.…

On their visit to the National Archives Experience in Washington, D.C., students in Jenni Ashley and Gay Brock's U.S. history classes at the Potomac School in McLean, Virginia, participated in a pilot program called "The Constitution by Cell." Armed with their cell phones, a basic understanding of the Constitution, and a willingness to participate…

What students remember about their 8th grade study of American history is the historical simulations and the roles they played in them that stick in their memories. Other teachers across America have had similar successes implementing role-plays. Of course, these role-plays have an important place in the curriculum; to understand the controversies…

In the pre-Internet world of 1992, a new organization called Project Vote Smart used the highest technology available--a toll-free Voter's Research Hotline--to help voters get the facts about candidates and elected officials. Designed to give voters the tools they needed to "Vote Smart," the Hotline connected voters with questions to 50 student…

One of the primary goals of social studies education in the United States is to prepare students for civically active, politically informed, and socially engaged democratic citizenship. Too often, however, the curricula fall short of this goal. Textbooks and state curriculum standards tend to portray citizenship as a static concept rather than an…

Both "teaching" and "teaching" with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are "wicked problems," in the sense that they involve multiple variables that interact with one another. Effective teaching calls for both learning with understanding and transfer. The authors' own experience implementing a geography and geospatial inquiry project with middle…

Schools in the late sixties and early seventies had many options and were engaged in implementing a variety of programs rooted in the social science disciplines with effective pedagogy drawn from social studies educators. With the implementation of the "No Child Left Behind" Act, one can observe the drastic changes made in the way social studies…

The history of the United States includes myriad examples of courage and selflessness as well as instances of prejudice and discrimination. Many students believe that prejudice and discrimination are limited to individuals and do not realize that these can form part of government or national policy. In this article, the authors highlight the…

The writ of habeas corpus has been a critical tool for balancing the rights of individuals with the government's responsibility to protect the nation's welfare. In this article, the authors discuss the writ of habeas corpus and how it affects the federal government and hundreds of prisoners who are held as enemy combatants. Elementary, middle, and…