This article describes a method--Collaborative Civics Conference Protocol (3CP)--that teachers can use with any civics education program to engage students in meaningful collaborative assessment of each others' thinking and writing and to make connections between civics activities and essential social studies content. Borrowing from the Writer's…

Since the inception of mandated testing in reading and mathematics, social studies instruction has been marginalized in elementary and middle schools. After the genesis of several state-mandated testing programs and nearly a decade after the launch of the No Child Left Behind legislation, the effects of limited K-8 social studies instruction are…

A local educational agency in St. Louis, the Citizenship Education Clearinghouse (CECH), works with schools to make real participation in community civic, governmental, and political affairs a possibility for students. Three CECH models for student participation in issues of national concern, in state politics, and in local issues are described.…

A schema is presented for analyzing curriculum plans and materials related to values and moral education. The plan reviews six aspects of the materials: antecedent conditions, rationale and objectives, descriptive characteristics, pupil activities, teaching strategies, and diagnosis and evaluation needs, procedures, and data. (Author/AV)

The Educational Testing Service reports that little is being done by school districts to implement the new social studies for high schools. Discussed are some specific courses and programs being offered students in the new social studies. These examples in curriculum change are intended to serve as models. (Author/RM)

Although at present the school is the primary vehicle for institutionalization of education, it very well may not be the only vehicle for achieving that purpose in the future. The total learning environment of the child, including both school and non-school environments, is examined. (RM)

Basic characteristics of the more influential curriculum development models in social studies are discussed. For a curriculum development model to be effective, it must provide for extensive teacher involvement. The most successful school practices are those that are school-based and collaborative. (RM)

The major objective of the Improving Citizenship Education Project (ICE) of the Fulton County (Georgia) school system was to improve the knowledge and attitudes of K-12 students about political science and citizenship. The ICE program is described as a model for other school systems. (RM)