Presents three activities adapted from the "How Big Is Africa?" Curriculum Guide developed by the African Studies Center of Boston University. Includes activities designed to make students aware of the diversity extant in Africa and the vastness of the continent. Targets students at the upper-elementary and middle school levels. (DSK)

Presents a series of questions designed to provoke students to think about their location in the world, the effect of global connections on their local culture, and current global problems and their implications. Includes Internet contact information for some United Nations agencies that provide information useful to students. (DSK)

Discusses the development at Bowen High School (Chicago, IL) of firsthand experiences to create connections for students between their local and global worlds. Outlines the course, explains specific projects, and discusses links between the classroom and community. Includes a list of helpful teaching resources. (DSK)

Argues that expanding the global perspectives of students requires strategies focusing on knowledge and point of view. Provides four exercises used in a Mexican high school to allow students to identify, express, and understand their own global perspectives. Includes a small-group exercise, two mapping exercises, and a political-cartoon exercise.…

Argues that textile arts offer opportunities for students to explore other cultures and to illustrate themes contained in the National Council for the Social Studies Standards. Describes the use of Hmong "paj ntaub" textiles to teach elementary students about the Hmong people of Laos and Hmong immigrants in the United States. (DSK)

Suggests that increasing student awareness of the impact of international changes on their lives requires new sources for teaching foreign policy. Reviews print and Internet resources available to teachers from the United States Department of State. Includes a side column on the process of becoming a foreign-service officer. (DSK)

Highlights the Cable News Network's (CNN) documentary series "The Cold War." Interviews executive producer Jeremy Issacs and producer Martin Smith about the series and its usefulness for educators. Includes a broadcast schedule for the 24 episodes. Notes that the series is endorsed by the National Council for the Social Studies. (DSK)

Outlines the history of the ideals and enactment of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Includes a discussion of the origins of the concept of human rights, the impact of World War II, the role of nongovernmental organizations, and the process of drafting and adopting the UDHR. (DSK)

Provides a selective list of 19 associations that offer resources for teachers. Includes contact and Internet information, and a list of selected publications for each association. Incorporates a review essay by Ron Herring and Jonathan Weil entitled, "The Contemporary World History Project for Culturally Diverse Students." (DSK)

Argues that the high public interest in contemporary international issues has opened a window of opportunity for effecting change in the national global-studies curriculum. Develops guidelines that summarize what concerned scholars and educators recommend as the international dimension of education for K-12 students. Includes an extensive topical…

Reviews the worker's theater movement of the 1930s that attempted to unite actors and audience in devising solutions to societal problems. Maintains that re-enacting its dramatic forms is a thought-provoking way to introduce students to the issues of the time. Includes instructions for suggested activities. (MJP)

Suggests fiction and nonfiction books that may help expand student's knowledge of the potential and hazards of nuclear power. Outlines learning activities and discussion questions that can be combined with supplementary reading. Includes an annotated bibliography of 13 fiction and nonfiction titles that can be used in the class. (MJP)

Discusses the "Epic of Sundiata" which chronicles the rise of the Empire of Mali in the grasslands of northwestern Africa in the 13th century. This work is a compelling drama that bears comparison to such other hero tales as "The Iliad" and the Arthurian legend. Includes suggested teaching activities. (MJP)

Maintains that creative writing should be no less a part of the elementary social-studies writing program than other expository forms. Discusses using the poetic form, the cinquain, to teach about Mexican vaqueras and vaqueros in an elementary unit on the American Southwest. Includes illustrations and instructional materials. (MJP)

Presents an annotated bibliography of children and young adult's books notable for their emphasis on human relations, sensitivity to cultural diversity, originality, scholarship, and high literary quality. The books are arranged by categories and themes and keyed for their usefulness in implementing thematic strands of social-studies curriculum…