Maintains that positive results are yielded to students and to society when controversial issues are dealt with in the social studies curriculum. Suggests that the role of the social studies teacher is to help students explore controversial issues in an open, nonbiased, and nonthreatening atmosphere. (Author/DB)

Suggests ways to use eight literary works in social studies teaching. Works include Sophocles'"Antigone," Shikibu's "The Tale of Genji," Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," Tolstoy's "War and Peace," Camus'"The Stranger," and Ellison's "The Invisible Man." Analyzes each work's theme, content, and style; relationship to social studies issues; and…

Reviews the status of competency-based high school graduation requirements in Oregon, Minnesota, and Alaska; explores problems of testing certain competencies; and presents a directory of 10 competency-based programs. (AV)

State standards for minimum competencies deal mainly with reading, writing, and mathematics. Testing is primarily a state function. Many programs include identification of students who need remedial assistance. (Author/AV)

The interview with the social studies coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Education discusses development of a competence-based graduation test, definitions of "selected educational learner outcomes" (SELOs), relationship of Minnesota's SELOs to national standards, and problems of testing skills and attitudes. (AV)

Reviews aspects of child development from various theoretical perspectives. Discusses developmental trends in pre-school years, early elementary years, and upper elementary years. (AV)

Excerpts from observational diaries kept by education students acting as anthropologists studying the conceptual tools of young children at home and in school. Notes describe children's rules for activities and games; individual projects; and reactions to social studies concepts presented from an "adultcentric" point of view. (AV)

Explains how teachers can initiate mapping experiences with young children by providing motor experiences inside and outside the classroom. Experiences should be followed by work with three-dimensional models, then with two-dimensional paper, and finally with lines. (Author)

Annotations of 13 children's books with social studies themes published in 1977. Topics include racial background, conservation and recycling, American history, medieval and Shakespearean cultures, and rural life in the 1940s. (AV)

Presents six social studies teaching materials comprised of filmstrips with accompanying cassettes and teacher's guides. Content and activities focus on life in the universe, ocean rights, the environment, foreign cultures, social problems, and listening and research skills. (AV)

Historical concepts can be taught through analysis of science fiction. Offers a class outline with science fiction resources to examine the boundaries of historical inquiry; six themes for student investigation based on specific resources; and a bibliography of 44 additional anthologies and books. (AV)

Excerpts from two propaganda leaflets distributed by Germany during World War I to demoralize American soldiers. Teaching suggestions encourage students to examine the leaflets' tone, guess who the authors might have been, and analyze the leaflets as examples of a propaganda technique. (AV)

Two high school students recommend a civics study program which would include (1) a required course on governmental structure, responsibilities, and the U.S. Constitution, and (2) elective courses on crime, juvenile delinquency, state and local government, and history of constitutional law. (AV)

Students can learn about the elderly by surveying themselves about their knowledge and attitudes; interviewing elderly people; analyzing cartoons depicting the elderly in our society; investigating volunteer opportunities for people over 65; working in nursing homes; and finding out about associations of elderly people. (AV)

Presents a teacher-developed handout intended to serve as a vehicle for discussion and the primary means of teaching the concept of ethnocentrism. The handout describes a fictitious foreign culture. (Author/AV)