In this article, the author demonstrates how students can use biographies in developing their own personal strengths of character. Because biographies raise issues in context, they provide excellent material for thinking about character traits. Books like those discussed in this article show how people living in actual situations made decisions…

Most history books for children focus on people, places, and events. In a different approach, some authors focus on an object--an everyday item that might be ignored when it comes to writing history. They shine a spotlight on the item, and in the process, they add insight and interest to human history. This article looks at four outstanding books…

Understanding multiple perspectives--how different people see one another and events now and in the past--is often cited as a goal of social studies educators. This article describes one way to encourage children to consider a variety of perspectives on a person's life story, using a literary model as a guide to thinking about the past. The book…

Argues that the challenge of making history vibrant for students is one of placing their concerns at the center of the conversation. Describes a unit that uses a nonfiction book about plagues to help students to understand how historians think, and to use the past to better understand their present. (DSK)

Describes an elementary social studies class that studied children of the Great Depression in order to create empathy with people of different eras. The class used journal writing, mural painting, and poetry writing to consider the physical and psychological hardships experienced by Depression-era children. (MJP)

Outlines a sixth grade social studies project rewriting portions of outdated textbooks. Suggests steps by which students critically read, evaluate, and rewrite historical accounts of the Soviet Union to reflect recent changes. Explains how the project develops skills in evaluating information and making revisions. Emphasizes the active learning…