Outlines objectives and methods for writing an extended family history. The case study of one American immigrant family is presented and a sample questionnaire is included to help students understand the kinds of questions which might serve as the basis of a personal family history. Activities involving data collection and analysis are described.…

Identifies aspects of family life which can be compared cross culturally. Information for teachers on developing case study materials for the cross-cultural approach and a case study of a Hopi Indian family are presented. (Author/DB)

Suggests learning activities for teaching elementary school students about the family. Activities include drawing pictures, role playing, interviewing older family members and relatives, and making charts of positive and negative aspects of family life. (Author/DB)

Presents a teacher's guide to accompany an educational television series on the American family from 1880-1900. The guide includes background information, motivational questions, recommended reading, and various case study and role-playing activities. (Author/DB)

Suggests reasons and methods for learning about the elderly. Nine information-gathering activities for children are described, including tombstone reading, interviews of older persons, book reports, and attitude analysis. (Author/DB)

Presents a copy of a ship's manifest from 1847 and describes five learning activities to help students identify and organize information found in the document. Students answer questions about the ship's passengers based on information given in the manifest, draw conclusions about immigration in mid-nineteenth century, and write a family history…

Briefly reviews the history surrounding the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. Presents a facsimile of Delaware's 200 year-old ratification document and suggests six activities for its use with secondary level students. (JDH)

Offers a lesson which is designed to help twelfth grade American Government students understand the process and dilemmas of congressional reapportionment or redistricting. Includes objectives, teaching procedures and a map of an imaginary state showing districts and their populations. (JDH)

Presents four universal game grids, which may be used to help junior high students learn various kinds of information. Describes the kinds of games which can be played with each grid and includes a sample drawing of the grid's lay-out. (JDH)

How elementary and secondary social studies teachers can use nature--plants, animals, habitats, and environments--to provide students with a global perspective is discussed. An interdisciplinary science, language arts, and social studies unit entitled "Microtrek Scavenger Hunt" for use in grades four through six is presented, and…

In this learning activity senior high social studies students examine and discuss specific parts of the Soviet Constitution and learn that there is often a big difference between theory and reality. (RM)

Senior high social studies students discuss how people who lived during the Great Depression viewed the future and then, coming back to the present, predict how 13 new industrial inventions of today may affect life a hundred years from now. (RM)

History textbooks usually read like dictionaries and encyclopedias--compact, fact-filled, and dry. To help senior high school students get meaning from this kind of text, teachers can use graphic techniques to preview the text, to guide students during reading, and to review the text after the students have read it. (RM)

Two strategies for teaching elementary students to distinguish relevant from irrelevant material are described. The word associates strategy provides students instruction in writing or stating a generalization that expresses the criteria for relevance. The defending a point of view strategy provides instruction in developing relevant arguments to…

U.S. history is an ideal subject in which to inculcate skepticism and to teach critical thinking skills. High school students who read and analyze rival interpretations of history come to expect that there is more than one viewpoint to most historical topics. Sample lessons are presented. (RM)