Twenty successfully field tested learning activities are designed to help junior high school students develop skills in reading social studies materials, critical thinking, geography, and history. Each self-contained activity includes background information, examples, and student exercises. Activities for improving content readings focus on key…

Instructional materials from the Milwaukee Public School System's elementary school German immersion program are presented. The contents and authors of the materials, some of which were developed by the Multi-Language School, are as follows: (1) German immersion program first grade curriculum (Paula Trulen); (2) 4 German reading worksheets for…

One of a series of student booklets on the Canadian environment, this unit presents Canada from a geomorphological perspective of the six major regions: the Western Cordillera, the Interior Plains, the Canadian Shield, the Far North, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands, and Appalachian Canada. Intended to help secondary students understand the…

The booklet is designed to help upper level elementary school students research and write their family history. Part of a series of seven instructional materials dealing with the culture and history of American Armenians, the document provides readings and assignment sheets for students and lesson guides for teachers and parents. In the first…

The paper describes a study of the scope of geography achievement tests and the social studies components of national achievement tests. The research examined whether the tests' items were (1) directed primarily toward testing knowledge at the recall/memory level, and (2) comprehensive in their treatment of the discipline. Ten tests were analyzed,…

WAYS OF USING AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS AS RESEARCH TOOLS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SOCIAL STUDIES CLASSES ARE DISCUSSED. INSTEAD OF USING FILMSTRIPS OR PHONOGRAPH RECORDS AS WHOLE CLASS LESSONS INDIVIDUALS OR SMALL GROUPS CAN WORK WITH THEN BY MEANS OF TABLE VIEWERS OR EARPHONES WITHOUT DISTURBING CLASSMATES ENGAGED IN OTHER ACTIVITIES. WHEN USING STILL…

This guide is designed to provide seventh-grade social studies teachers with materials needed to present instruction in reading skills and to teach those facts, concepts, and attitudes which are the aim of social studies education. Entries on the subject of westward expansion and transportation in New York State are arranged by topics, and…

Designed to acquaint students at Triton Regional High School (Massachusetts) with the importance of the salt marshes and marine environment around Triton, this outdoor education curriculum guide includes three sections emphasizing an interdisciplinary approach to physics, ecology, and history. The unit is designed for 50 students and 5 teachers…

The self-study unit for intermediate grades treats population growth in the United States and Mexico. The major objectives are to improve skills in using graphics and to teach about population growth. The teaching method used is the Forced Inferential Response Mode (FIRM). The students are presented with data through maps, graphs, tables,…

Five resource units constitute the Kindergarten level of the Project Social Studies curriculum. The five units, on the theme of earth as the home of man, are preceded by a grid showing the concepts, generalizations, sequential development of skills, and attitudes appropriate to each unit. All the units follow a similar format, consisting of an…

One of the recent developments in camping is "orienteering", a program using a map and compass. Orienteering can be dovetailed into an overall camping program and used to "point up" the entire program, or it can be confined to a single simple game. The arrangement depends on the situation. The minimum age of the participants should be about 9 or…

Prepared as a basic reference for in-service programs designed to improve geography instruction at the elementary and secondary levels, the Handbook gives one concise summary of the discipline for curriculum directors, social studies supervisors, and education faculty members in colleges and universities. The stated basic need in geography…

This experimental unit consists of developmental activities for grades 1-3 to help children become more aware of their environs. The three main areas of emphasis are: distance, direction, and symbols. The specific goals in each of these areas are: 1) Distance--to measure, compute distances and finally understand simple scales; 2) Direction--to…

Orienteering has been described as being "either a serious sport, or a relaxing recreation". Orienteering can be a family affair or an individual fight against the clock. In its simplest form, orienteering can be described as a cross-country run, jog, or walk on a predetermined course, using a map and a compass to find several control…

Every 10 years since 1790, the U.S. government has taken a census to enumerate the population to apportion seats in the House of Representatives. In each decennial census, citizens from the famous to the unsung and the infamous appear. They include favorite figures of literature, such as Laura Ingalls and Almanzo Wilder, who were not just…