To support the hypothesis that much misinformation and many stereotypic attitudes are presented about Africa to elementary school pupils, the article analyzes 10 readers for African content and assesses effects of an African content intervention strategy on elementary school students. (DB)

Discusses a study undertaken to assess the status of social studies teacher education. The study involved a survey which asked 58 teacher educators about their views concerning current and emerging issues, trends, needs, programs, and practices in social studies teacher education. Findings and recommendations for action are presented. (DB)

Presents and briefly explains 31 African proverbs which are used to guide the behavior of growing childern and to help them to mold their characters. The proverbs deal with knowledge, experience, hard work, and human relations. The author believes that a study of language and literature, including proverbs, can help students understand other…

To help high school students understand their political world, particularly in an election year, the article describes a teaching approach based on a comparison of political terminology to the transmission shift on an automobile. (DB)

Suggests an interview approach which junior high and high school social studies teachers can use to increase the interest level of students in history classes. It is suggested that the teacher role play an historical figure. Objectives of the exercise are to make history come alive, teach the basic principles of the oral history interview, and…

The article discusses a study to measure the readability of eight junior high school American history textbooks including "American History for Today" (Ginn and Company, 1977), "America! America" (Scott, Foresman, 1980), "Quest for Liberty: Investigating United States History" (Addison-Wesley, 1974), and "The American Adventure" (Allyn and Bacon,…

Suggests how to incorporate conventional textbooks into innovational teaching in high school social studies courses. Suggestions include: ask students to alter time lines in textbooks according to their own interests, examine bias of textbook author, react to author's language, and focus on daily life during a particular historical period. (DB)

Explains how the pictures in history textbooks are potentially useful as teaching aids in social studies courses. Illustrations (reproductions of paintings, historical photographs, woodcuts, lithographs, and engravings, etc.) are important because they may be the only primary source materials to which students will be exposed. (Author/DB)

Explains how social studies pupils can use an awareness of textbook design to become better students. Suggestions include reproducing the collage on an American history textbook as a large poster for classroom use and directing students to design a graphic unit opener in the same style as the ones in their textbooks. (DB)

Presents tips to teachers of slow-learning junior high and high school students in social studies courses. To help teachers make the material in the textbooks more interesting to students, the article suggests developing an instructional strategy and creating reading guides geared to their students' reading level. (DB)

Considers learning activities that may be successfully used with most social studies textbooks. Activities include introducing chapters using illustrations, hypothesizing for directed reading, distinguishing fact from opinion, creating examples of glossary term usage, recreating illustration formats, writing editorials, role playing, debating, and…

Discusses and presents data from an examination of coverage and treatment of Native Americans in 20 secondary United States history textbooks published in the 1970s. Findings indicate that publishers are moving away from the more established historical interpretations of U.S. history and including content which promotes multiethnic education. (DB)

Stresses the importance of critical reading skills for high school students in social studies courses. Suggests that educators develop social studies materials dealing with critical reading and that they undertake research to develop better methods of instruction in critical reading. (DB)

Suggests ways in which social studies educators can take a more active role in advocating social studies education: involve professionals and the media in a systematic advocacy program, distribute materials produced by the National Council for the Social Studies, develop social studies themes, and present an advocacy position for social studies at…

To help elementary and secondary school social studies classroom teachers develop and implement units on China, materials and information are presented on review outlines and examinations on Chinese history and politics, classroom exercises on Chinese character writing, vocabulary terms, and resource materials. (DB)