A teacher who traveled to Japan on a Japan Institute for Social and Economic Affairs (JISEA) travel-study fellowship talks about the many problems facing Japan today, including resource scarcity and concern about global conflict. Characteristics of the Japanese people are also discussed. (RM)

The author, who over the years has taken many students abroad on study tours, shares some conclusions that he has reached. His thoughts, which include many practical tips on how to organize foreign travel, should be helpful to educators planning on undertaking such a venture. (RM)

A legal education course that teaches senior high school students how different cultures resolve conflicts is described. Students need to see that our system of justice is only one among many, all of which have shortcomings, external influences, and internal variance. (RM)

Reviews research on clarity, organization, and pace of presentation in social studies. Provides practical suggestions on how teachers can control each of these factors. Maintains that those who have mastered these techniques contribute much to the successful learning of their students. (JDH)

Provides information on how to organize and teach report writing skills in the intermediate grades. Divides the task into 8 steps, beginning with identifying a topic for research and ending with editing the final draft. Includes a list of evaluative questions which students may use to assess their work. (JDH)

Maintains that traditional history instruction may be expanded by including content based on community and family history, the role of personality in history, cultural history, quantification of history, and history of the people or masses. Shows how these can be integrated into traditional history content. (JDH)

Provides a collection of 11 activities, which when used together, result in a creative biographic book report. Each activity results in one or more pages of the finished report. Among the ideas presented are: (1) an advertisement activity, (2) a life line activity, and (3) a T-shirt activity. Includes illustrations and student instructions. (JDH)

Far too much time is spent in most elementary grades learning "What is where?" Far too little time is spent on learning "Why? and What of it?" Conceptual understanding is essential, and without it, isolated facts are only "fools gold." Provides a list of instructional questions based on 40 key geographic concepts which will aid students'…

Provides a simulation of the United States Constitutional Convention. The simulation involves students in re-creating the conflicts between the colonies, seeking compromise, and comparing the outcome of the simulation with the actual Constitution. (JDH)

Reviews definitions of critical thinking in social studies and literature on whether it is being taught. Cites studies indicating a lack of critical thinking ability among social studies teachers and the absence of critical thinking instruction in social studies classrooms. Concludes that a specific critical thinking methodology which teachers can…

Describes the current social studies curricula of India. Among other items, notes that class size in urban areas is 45+, and that the government-written textbooks stress national integration and the elimination of ethnic prejudice. Concludes that though there are significant differences, many of the same issues and concerns are shared by Indian…

Provides descriptions and ordering information for 8 ERIC documents. Included are units of instruction, collections of lessons, and a curriculum guide for teaching about citizenship rights and responsibilities in grades K through 8. (JDH)

This article provides an overview of how oral language and writing activities may be integrated into a typical kindergarten through sixth-grade social studies curriculum. (JDH)

Describes five units used to help students build the skills required for successful study of world history. The units focus on (1) geography, (2) note-taking and paragraph writing, (3) library and reference skills, (4) charts, graphs, and statistics, and (5) major world regions. (JDH)

This article describes the development process and products of a two-year project designed to improve basic skills instruction in existing secondary social studies courses. Includes a sample lesson plan and student handouts. (JDH)