It is important for students to have a feel for some of the key numerical and size characteristics of their country, and often graphic blackline masters permit easier, quicker learning than many chapters of text. For this purpose maps, tables, and graphs depicting various characteristics of the United States' population have been compiled in this…

This paper describes and analyzes the demographic characteristics of the Pre-Mariel Cuban American population living in the United States as presented in the 1980 U.S. Census of the Population. Information is not provided for the Mariel entrants, who began arriving from Cuba on April 21, 1980, because the data were derived from a one-in-a-thousand…

The study measures student attitudes toward certain subject matter and teaching methods in the social studies. Three hundred ninety-one seventh and eighth graders from suburban and rural areas of Cherokee County, Georgia, participated in the study. Two rating scales were developed from responses to an open-ended questionnaire which asked students…

Urban adaptation patterns of male and female American Indians were investigated via comparison of premigration statistics (48 Navajo and 40 Oklahoma families) with postmigration statistics on a sample of 23 Navajo and 21 Oklahoma families now living in Los Angeles. The premigration variables were residence patterns; population density;…

This guide to the series of seven, thirty-minute, color, television programs developed for the middle grades deals with the topics of urbanization, culture clash, mobility, nationalism, morality, ideology, and privacy. The films are designed around the inquiry/discovery approach and utilize introductory, simulated situations followed by three…

An alternative to existing methods for teaching elementary economic geography courses was developed in a game format to teach the basic process of trade through role playing. Simplifying the complexities of multilateral trade to a few basic decisions and acts, the cognitive objectives are to develop in the student: 1) an understanding of regional…

This study syllabus on the Near East and North Africa is divided into twelve units. Designed to familiarize government personnel assigned to the area with the region and people, each unit consists of a statement of the main objectives to be studied, questions for consideration, and a list of suggested readings from books and periodicals. Units…

This recourse guide is one of a series of units on the theme Communities Around the World for grade 3. Background material on Paris, France is given for the teacher describing urban characteristics, French culture, and the physical site of the city. Objectives and goals related to concepts, generalizations, skills, and attitudes to be developed…

One way geographical educators can help local communities understand their environment is to offer a course focusing on local regional geography using the concept of regional synthesis. Describes specific mechanics and evaluates short-term outcomes of such a course in Hawaii. Discusses potential uses. Journal availability: see SO 507 262.…

Reintroduces and updates the geographic profile as a visualization technique for representing and analyzing the structure of geographical information. A computer software-generated profile focuses on specific information (persons per square mile in selected cities) and represents that information spatially on a graph. (MJP)

Describes a study where college students studying political geography ranked the geopolitical importance of 55 countries of the world with populations of at least 15 million. The students consistently emphasized the importance of Western Europe, Russia, China, and Japan over less developed countries. (MJP)

Presents a social studies lesson, Head-Smashed-In, based on inquiry and cooperative learning principles, that asks students to hypothesize about the mystery of an Indian buffalo jump. Provides clues and topographical maps for the Head-Smashed-In jump in Alberta, Canada. Objectives include understanding the relationship between physical environment…

For now, it appears that both the New Orleans district, Louisiana's largest, and the nearby St. Bernard public schools could be largely out of commission for the whole school year, state Superintendent Cecil J. Picard said. With officials estimating that more than 230,000 public and private school students from Louisiana had been displaced by the…

This packet is designed for middle school classrooms. The four lessons correspond to the typical curriculum pattern of world cultures, geography, and government. The materials focus on national studies and state studies from a comparative U.S./Germany perspective. The lessons include: (1) "Culture and Perspective Taking on the Federal…

This book presents demographic data about a variety of U.S. public policies, social problems, and environmental issues. The issues and problems that the statistics illustrate (such as overflowing garbage dumps, homelessness, child poverty, and smog and water pollution) are connected with, and the consequences of, the expanding U.S. population. The…