To prepare students for participation in a pluralistic, democratic society, history curriculum should help them develop mature ideas about why multiple accounts of the same events exist. But how can we know if we are successful? In this article, we describe work on the design, validation, and piloting of a paper-and-pencil instrument called the…

The number of middle school students with learning disabilities (LD) taught social studies in general education classes continues to rise. Providing general education teachers with additional ways to support students with LD as they navigate social studies reading materials could help planning and teaching for all students. In middle school, when…

Elementary students can learn to appreciate their own and other cultural backgrounds through a four-stage process of observation. The process involves taking a careful look at home environment, participation in food exchange with classmates, observation at friends' homes and other schools, and followup discussion. (AV)

Develops an alternative to traditional genealogy assignments in order to bring this type of project into line with the increasing trend of blended families, those with stepparents or stepsiblings. Posits that this project allows students from all family backgrounds to gain valuable historical information in a meaningful and nonthreatening context.…

Discusses the importance of assessing instructional programs by looking objectively at the interrelated factors of student performance, teacher performance, and program effectiveness to determine their relationship to the achievement of goals. Suggests methods that teachers can use to assess whether social studies activities and materials have…

Offers practical suggestions about how teachers can use skills that they already have to combine their daily history or social studies lesson with an opportunity for students to develop decision-making skills. (Author/AV)

Contains suggestions for lesson planning and instructional strategies that are based upon individual student needs and high teacher expectations within increasingly diverse classrooms. Discusses planning around the concept of a planning pyramid of student learning. Presents a sample lesson plan about immigration to the United States. (DSK)

Provides a strategy for teachers to use to help students relate their concrete nonschool experiences to the abstract content of social studies textbooks and nonschool learning to school learning. Suggests use of a Nonschool Activity Student Profile to provide teachers with information about their students so that this may be achieved. (AEM)

Describes a learning activity in which preservice social studies teachers determine the prior historical understanding and attitudes of secondary students through class discussions, questionnaires, and other techniques. Discusses the implication of the findings regarding historical knowledge, concepts of time, and student interest in history. (CFR)

Maintains that children's ability to understand and use narrative precedes their ability to understand and use other genres. Asserts that the link between history and narrative is overlooked in discussions about children's historical understanding. Argues that children should use narrative. (CFR)

Argues that educators have not developed curriculum and instruction models tailored to lower-achieving students. Discusses characteristics of lower-achieving students and to teaching methods and instructional materials. Presents suggestions for making history and social studies more relevant for these students. (CFR)