SELECTED KEY IDEAS CONTAINED IN THIS BULLETIN ABOUT LATIN AMERICA ARE ORGANIZED AROUND SIX CATEGORIES AND ARE MEANT AS SUGGESTIONS FOR CURRICULUM BUILDING AND EMPHASIS IN A SOCIAL STUDIES CLASS. THE SIX CATEGORIES ARE--(1) THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT, (2) HISTORICAL BACKGROUNDS, (3) CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY AND THE FAMILY, (4) CONTEMPORARY CULTURE, (5) CONTEMPORARY ECONOMIES, AND (6) CONTEMPORARY POLITICS, GOVERNMENT, AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS. SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHERS AT BOTH THE ELEMENTARY OR SECONDARY LEVEL SHOULD FIND THESE IDEAS A USEFUL BASIS FOR THEIR CURRICULUM SINCE MANY OF THE TOPICS CAN BE INTRODUCED IN A SIMPLIFIED FORM IN EARLY GRADES AND DEVELOPED PROGRESSIVELY THROUGH SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL. ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL ASSUMPTIONS OF THIS PROJECT IS THAT THE TEACHER IS THE FOCAL POINT OF ANY PROGRAM WHICH PURPORTS TO STRENGTHEN INSTRUCTION ABOUT LATIN AMERICA AND THAT NEW CURRICULA AND NEW MATERIALS WILL BE OF LITTLE CONSEQUENCE UNLESS TEACHERS THEMSELVES ARE WELL INFORMED. A SUGGESTED TEACHING STRATEGY ADVISES THE INDUCTIVE APPROACH, STARTING WITH FACTS AND THEN MOVING TOWARD CONCEPTUALIZING AND GENERALIZING. THE BULLETIN EMPHASIZES ENDS AND NOT MEANS, GENERALIZATIONS AND NOT DETAILS, LATIN AMERICA AS A WHOLE AND NOT INDIVIDUAL COUNTRIES. RELATED REPORTS ARE ED 012 365, ED 012 832, AND ED 012 833. (PM)