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CIRCLE Working Paper #72 addresses whether efforts to systematically incorporate media into school curricula increases several elements of civic engagement, including students' media use, political knowledge or their sense of being able to understand and influence politics (internal political efficacy). In "The Classroom-Kitchen Table Connection: The Effects of Political Discussion on Youth Knowledge and Efficacy," the authors find that the combination of reading news articles and discussing them at home and school related to increased information-seeking and political knowledge among students who were not in advanced placement and honors classes. Moreover, they find that students who were assigned to discuss articles at home with parents and who had parents who scored low on measures of political knowledge and efficacy, were the most likely to have increased scores on both dimensions by the end of the experiment. These results could provide guidance to practitioners looking for ways to involve parents in reinforcing what happens in the classroom by extending political discussions to the home as well. Appended are: (1) Student Questionnaire; (2) Parent Questionnaire; and (3) Weekly Discussion Guides. (Contains 11 tables and 7 footnotes.)

This report describes how an innovative curriculum promoted the civic development of high school students along with parents by stimulating news media attention and discussion in families. Evidence is based on a three-year evaluation of Kids Voting USA, an interactive, election-based curriculum. Political communication in the home increased the probability of voting for students when they reached voting age during the 2004 election. Thus, the interplay of influences from school and family magnified curriculum effects in the short term and sustained them in the long term. This bridging of the classroom with the living room suggests how Kids Voting offers a model for reforming civic education in the United States. Data are derived from a series of natural field experiments, beginning with interviews of 491 student-parent pairs in 2002. The authors evaluate the curriculum as it was taught in the fall of that year in El Paso County, Colorado, with Colorado Springs as the largest city; Maricopa, County, Arizona, which includes the Phoenix region; and Broward/Palm Beach counties, Florida, the epicenter for the ballot-recount saga of 2000. Students who were juniors or seniors in 2002 were interviewed in the fall/winter of 2002, 2003, and 2004. They were all of voting age by the fall of 2004, allowing the authors to determine whether participation in the curriculum in 2002 affected turnout in the presidential election two years later. The authors also interviewed one parent from each family each year. The voting records in the four counties were examined to provide a definitive assessment of whether the curriculum increased the likelihood of voting. Finally, the panel survey data was supplemented with qualitative insights obtained from focus group interviews. An appendix provides: (1) Electoral Contexts; (2) Data Collection Procedures; (3) Item Wording & Coding for All Measures; and (4) three supplemental tables. (Contains 7 tables and 7 figures.) [This Working Paper was produced by CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement). For CIRCLE Working Paper 48, see ED494024.]

Representatives at the school, district and state levels, as well as scholars and researchers, have been working with the Education Commission of the States' National Center for Learning and Citizenship (ECS/NCLC) to define citizenship education expressed in terms of three strands forming a "braid" of civic competencies. This updated version of the original paper released in 2004 responds to an interest among policymakers and advocates for further background information and policy frameworks to encourage, support, and reward or recognize quality citizenship education in American schools. The first version of this paper was disseminated to all attendees of the Second Annual Congressional Conference on Civic Education (December 2004) and to attendees at a Congressional Staff Briefing on the Decade of Behavior in Democracy (May 2005), and presented as a resource to participants in state forums to promote the civic mission of education. Beginning with the rationale and recommendations presented in the Civic Mission of Schools report, this paper: (1) explores the existing research and professional work in the area of civics and social studies standards; (2) explains how ECS/NCLC developed the three strands of civic competencies; (3) outlines detailed examples of how these competencies might be used across grade spans; (4) provides recommendations for state policymakers; and (5) describes a Web site that includes assessment materials to measure student civic outcomes and school and classroom climate as it contributes to civic education. The paper is designed to help state policymakers incorporate civic skills, knowledge and dispositions, along with a developmental approach beginning in the early years of schooling, into state policies that support citizenship education. (Contains 4 tables, 10 boxes, and 3 endnotes.) [This paper was developed by the Education Commission of the States' National Center for Learning and Citizenship (ECS/NCLC). For the original version of this paper released in 2004, see ED484891.]

The Working Paper begins with a brief discussion of why the civic education received by America's youth compels the nation's attention, and then moves on to a review of the previous literature on civic education, including an emphasis on the contributions offered by this analysis. Next, the paper describes the IEA Civic Education Study in detail, and discusses the civic outcomes to be analyzed. The analysis itself follows in two parts. First, it is shown how the classroom environment affects both civic proficiency and the degree to which adolescents anticipate being politically engaged when they reach adulthood. Second, it is shown what factors lead young people to report that their school has an open environment. The paper concludes with an overview of the results' significance and implications. (Contains 4 tables and 19 endnotes.) [This Working Paper was produced by CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement).]

The purpose of this paper is to examine different facets of trust in the political system or civic realm and how they are correlated to the expected civic or political engagement of young people. The nature and effects of trust in social and political institutions have been studied in adults, distinguishing between various types of trust (in institutions compared with more generalized trust in people). Few studies have focused on how trust affects the political socialization of children and adolescents, who are in the process of developing their attitudes towards government and other social institutions. This analysis uses data collected in 1999 from the IEA Civic Education Study of 14-year-olds to examine trust at three levels?trust in institutions with which individuals have little or no daily contact (those delegated as representatives in institutions such as the national legislature), trust in institutions with whose representatives individuals interact frequently (schools), and trust in other people. First in this analysis, levels of these three types of trust are compared in five democracies whose levels of political stability vary (Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, England and the United States). Second, correlates of individuals' levels of trust (including school climate and experiences with family) are examined. Third, trust, civic knowledge, school experiences, and family variables are used to predict levels of three types of civic or political engagement (voting, conventional political participation that goes beyond voting, and community participation). Levels of trust relate to the stability of democracy in the countries examined and to participation, suggesting a ?threshold? of trustworthiness which a political system needs to establish in order to foster civic and political participation in young people. Additionally, different types of civic engagement are influenced differentially by trust and by other aspects of experience in schools. Civic knowltorThe purpose of this paper is to examine different facets of trust in the political system or civic realm and how they are correlated to the expected civic or political engagement of young people. The nature and effects of trust in social and political institutions have been studied in adults, distinguishing between various types of trust (in institutions compared with more generalized trust in people). Few studies have focused on how trust affects the political socialization of children and adolescents, who are in the process of developing their attitudes towards government and other social institutions. This analysis uses data collected in 1999 from the IEA Civic Education Study of 14-year-olds to examine trust at three levels?trust in institutions with which individuals have little or no daily contact (those delegated as representatives in institutions such as the national legislature), trust in institutions with whose representatives individuals interact frequently (schools), and trust in other people. First in this analysis, levels of these three types of trust are compared in five democracies whose levels of political stability vary (Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, England and the United States). Second, correlates of individuals' levels of trust (including school climate and experiences with family) are examined. Third, trust, civic knowledge, school experiences, and family variables are used to predict levels of three types of civic or political engagement (voting, conventional political participation that goes beyond voting, and community participation). Levels of trust relate to the stability of democracy in the countries examined and to participation, suggesting a ?threshold? of trustworthiness which a political system needs to establish in order to foster civic and political participation in young people. Additionally, different types of civic engagement are influenced differentially by trust and by other aspects of experience in schools. Civic knowltor

Representatives at the school, district and state levels, as well as scholars and researchers, have been working with the Education Commission of the States? National Center for Learning and Citizenship (ECS/NCLC) to define citizenship education in terms of three strands forming "a braid" of civic competencies. Beginning with the rationale and recommendations presented in the Civic Mission of Schools report, this paper: (1) explores existing research and professional work in the area of civics and social studies standards; (2) explains how ECS/NCLC developed these competencies; (3) outlines detailed examples of how these competencies might be used across grade spans; and (4) provides recommendations for state policymakers. The paper is designed to help state policymakers incorporate civic skills, knowledge, and dispositions, along with a developmental approach beginning in the early years of schooling, into state policies that support citizenship education.

This report examines the effects of exposure to various elements of a civics curriculum on civic participation, two forms of political knowledge, internal political efficacy, political cynicism, news elaboration, discussion elaboration and various forms of interpersonal and mediated political communication behaviors. The data are based on a longitudinal study of high school students in a challenged large urban school district in Ohio. Two approaches to instruction are contrasted: stimulating political communication by discussing media sources and engaging in political debate; and rote learning of traditional civics content. Both approaches correlated "negatively" with civic outcomes, but there could be several interpretations of that correlation. Fifteen appendices are included: (1) Correlation Table for Dependent, Mediating and Control Variables; (2) Summary of Intraclass Correlations (ICC) and Significance of Level of Variance Accounted for in Random Effects (Empty) HLM Models; (3) School Contextual Model for Factual Political Knowledge; (4) School Contextual Model for Civic Participation; (5) School Contextual Model for Cynicism; (6) Classroom Environment Contextual Model for Newspaper Use; (7) Classroom Environment Contextual Model for Factual Political Knowledge; (8) Classroom Environment Contextual Model for Knowledge Structure Density; (9) Classroom Environment Contextual Model for Civic Participation; (10) Classroom Environment Contextual Model for Cynicism; (11) Course Contextual Model for Newspaper Use; (12) Course Contextual Model for Discussion Frequency; (13) Course Contextual Model for Factual Political Knowledge; (14) Course Contextual Model for Civic Participation; and (15) Course Contextual Model for Discussion Elaboration. (Contains 3 figures, 2 tables and 3 footnotes.)

The goal of this project was to produce a set of civic measures with sound psychometric properties appropriate for use with young people ages 12-18. Measures selected tap aspects of adolescent civic behaviors, opinions, knowledge, and dispositions. The measures are easy to administer and can be used by educators, staff of community-based organizations, program evaluators, and scholars. The data used to derive the civic measures were gathered from two waves of surveys with 1,924 students ages 12-18 from 88 social studies classes in the Northeastern United States. These data were collected during the 2004 election campaign with the pre-survey occurring 4-6 weeks prior to the election and the post-survey occurring 4-6 weeks after the election. All constructs in the report are based on student self-assessments. It is also important to highlight the future orientation of many of the items in the constructs. Several of the questions ask students to estimate the likelihood that they will engage in various community and political activities after high school. Other items ask students to rate their perceived ability to respond to a hypothetical scenario. The constructs were created by either calculating the mean score of the individual items or by summing the frequency. In this project summary, authors note the psychometric properties of constructs, item stems, response formats and, where appropriate, the sources from which items in scales were derived or adapted. The constructs included in this report were evaluated both for face and measurement validity: constructs were created so as to maximize the meaning of the scale and the statistical reliability. (Contains 2 endnotes and 1 figure.) [This report was produced by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE).]

A collection of resources for high school history and government teachers and their students, this volume treats core ideas on constitutional government in the United States. James Madison's ideas as found in "The Federalist Papers" are examined in conjunction with their counterpoints in essays of the Anti-Federalists. This volume contains three main sections. Part 1 includes three papers that provide background information and ideas for teachers, "The Federalist Papers in the Curriculum" (John J. Patrick); "James Madison and the Founding of the Republic" (A. E. Dick Howard); and "The Constitutional Thought of the Anti-Federalists" (Murray Dry). Part 2 of the volume includes six lesson sets for high school students of U.S. history or government. Each lesson set consists of a teaching plan and accompanying lessons for students. Part 3 contains 13 primary documents: 7 papers by Madison in "The Federalist" and 6 papers by leading Anti-Federalists. A selected annotated bibliography (Earl P. Bell) provides teachers and students with additional information on Madison and "The Federalist Papers." (DB)

This paper considers how well today's young adolescents are prepared for their future roles as citizens, noting that the public schools have a unique opportunity to positively affect their students' civic knowledge, values, and behaviors. The paper contends that recent research suggests that the next generation of citizens may lack the knowledge, attitudes, values, and social awareness that were once viewed as crucial. It discusses what civic literacy means and outlines the basic requirements for citizenship. The paper advocates using an interdisciplinary civics curriculum to teach students how to grasp the essential elements of a problem or issue, consider the consequences of various alternatives, and make decisions that are based on a concern for society as well as individual self interest. The paper contends that the educational system and curricula must do a better job of helping students to think critically, resolve conflicts, cooperate, communicate, and gather and synthesize information. Eight recommended curriculum goals are outlined and then discussed in detail. The paper also suggests nine effective instructional strategies to help ensure the success of the civics course. According to the paper, students who complete such a multidisciplinary course should achieve a substantial number of learning goals. For example, they should know the historical foundations and the structure of U.S. political, legal, economic, and social systems; they should understand basic societal goals and values; and they should have improved attitudes toward democracy and their future roles as citizens. Contains 14 references, and 2 lesson plans with student handouts. (BT)

As schools guide students in acquiring the skills and knowledge necessary to become responsible citizens, the question arises as to how they can better go about providing them with a well-rounded education: academically, socially, and emotionally. Providing Resource Opportunities with Learning (P.R.O.W.L.) suggests the following solutions: (1) create a partnership within the middle school community that accomplishes three goals: (fosters a relationship among local business firms, community service organizations, and adolescent students); (2) integrates public school curriculum with the business world; and (3) provides relevancy for students' lives. At Sarasota Middle School (Florida), P.R.O.W.L. provides an environment for relevant thinking, problem solving, and an awareness of the knowledge and skills leading to quality employment and post-secondary education. This booklet outlines the P.R.O.W.L. program in five sections: (1) "Proposed Pilot Program"; (2) "PROWL Team Responsibilities"; (3) "Forms"; (4) "Explorer Team PROWL Project 'So You Wanna Build Something'"; and (5) "PowerPoint Notes." A brochure explains the school perspective, the business perspective, and the community perspective of P.R.O.W.L.; and suggests desired outcomes for students, businesses, and schools. (BT)

This paper discusses service learning, arguing that the pedagogy of service learning offers a framework in which students can remember and apply more of what they learn than in traditional content based and faculty centered curriculum. Service learning strategies recognize that we retain 60% of what we do, 80% of what we do with guided reflection, and 90% of what we teach or give to others, as opposed to remembering 10% of what we hear, 15% of what we see, and 20% of what we see and hear. In service learning courses, real life enters the classroom as students service experiences provide the content for purposeful dialogue leading to real understanding of academic concepts. This paper offers a breakdown of student, community, and faculty member benefits. The author offers 10 steps for executing service-learning strategies in the classroom. These steps are aimed at assisting faculty of Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC) (Florida), and include information about how to work with the MDCC Center for Community Involvement. The author points out that faculty should consider their goals and motives in using the application, explain and promote the ideas behind service learning in the classroom, work with students to develop specific service and learning objectives, and link the service experience to academic course content. Contains annotated bibliography with seven sources. (Author/NB)

This paper suggests that for students to become accustomed to democratic habits of thought and conduct, they must continually practice them throughout the course of their school career. The daily interaction between the teacher and the pupil can influence the formation of attitudes and habits essential to democratic citizenship. For teachers, the challenge lies in conducting the classroom as democratically as possible within the parameters of the authority that the state exercises over students to meet this challenge, the teacher must practice democratic leadership in the classroom. For example, the teacher can involve students in devising classroom rules, perhaps in the form of writing and signing a classroom constitution and can provide students some choice in assignments related to particular purposes or subject matter. In a problem-or-issues-focused unit the teacher can allow for student discretion in the matter of selecting problems to study. If relations among students or between teachers and students are not going well, the teacher can solicit student suggestions about the source and possible solution to the problem. The democratic classroom provides structured conditions for students to develop habits of reflective thinking that enable them to make informed decisions about pending personal and social actions. In a democratic classroom, all students are entitled to equal and fair treatment and to equal opportunity to contribute to group decisions and class discussions. Commitment to the principle of individualism requires that the democratic classroom experience dignifies the integrity of the individual learner. The teacher cultivates self control and self discipline in students by providing them structured opportunities to exercise these habits. Contains 11 references. (BT)

This paper attempts to provide some guidance to school administrators, school boards, social studies teachers, and others about the key components of citizenship education and its relationship to social studies education. The paper defines citizenship education as the primary purpose of the social studies and provides three key characteristics of the "good citizen" in society, namely, that he/she must: (1) be literate and informed; (2) accept responsibility for self and others; (3) have a commitment to a democratic society. Further, the four essential elements of social studies are identified as knowledge, skills, values, and participation, and philosophical beliefs regarding the necessary components of each of these elements in educating the "good citizen" are outlined. This philosophy provides the basis for the state's common curriculum goals in social studies, and hopefully, will stimulate considerable thought and discussion among Oregonians as they undertake the challenge of educating their children for tomorrow. (DB)

This 21st Century Skills Map is the result of hundreds of hours of research, development and feedback from educators and business leaders across the nation. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills has issued this map for the core subject of World Languages. [Funding for this paper was provided by EF Education.]

This paper provides an overview of U.S. Department of Education programs authorized and funded under federal law. It includes information as well on the laboratories, centers, and other facilities funded by the Department that provide important resources for education. Readers will find funding information, contact information, and a web site for more information about each program. Each entry, which gives a brief overview of a program or resource, is listed initially by a broad topical heading. The "Guide" is organized alphabetically according to these topical headings, and then alphabetically by program title within each heading. The program title and any commonly or formerly used names for the program come next, followed by the name of the principal office that administers the program. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) or ED number follows. Programs that do not have CFDA or ED numbers assigned are listed as "None" in this field. After the CFDA or ED number, information is provided about the entities that are eligible to apply to each program. Next comes information on any current competitions and the types of assistance available. Funding levels for fiscal year (FY) 2010 and the previous two fiscal years follow next. Most of the programs in the Guide received funding in FY 2010. Programs covered in this Guide are presented in the areas of: (1) Academic Improvement; (2) Adult Education; (3) Assessment; (4) Career and Technical Education; (5) Child Care; (6) Civics; (7) Correctional Education; (8) Disability and Rehabilitation Research; (9) Disadvantaged Persons; (10) English Language Acquisition; (11) Federal Student Aid; (12) Foreign Language Instruction; (13) Higher and Continuing Education; (14) Impact Aid; (15) Indian Education; (16) International Education; (17) Migrant Education; (18) Postsecondary Improvement; (19) Professional Development; (20) Reading; (21) Rehabilitation; (22) Research; (23) Safe and Drug-Free Schools; (24) School Improvement; (25) Special Education; (26) Statistics; (27) Teacher and Principal Quality; (28) Technical Assistance; (29) Technology; and (30) Telecommunications. This guide also includes the following indexes and related websites: Program Title Index; Subject Index; Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Index; Education Level Index; Index of Programs Funded Under the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009"; and Related Web Sites.

To help teachers get off to a good start, this paper presents the updated "Back-to-School Guide" that is brimming with new-media ideas and resources. It outlines ten tips, along with easy-to-use tools, that will help teachers build their classroom community, survey students to bring out their ideas, and make learning more collaborative. Links to resources for incorporating everything from infographics to citizen science projects are included.

Community schools foster a learning environment that extends far beyond the classroom walls. Students learn and problem solve in the context of their lives and communities. Community schools nurture this natural engagement. Because of the deep and purposeful connections between schools and communities, the curriculum is influenced and enhanced, removing the artificial separation between the classroom and the real world. Coalition for Community Schools' vision for community schools is that they are places where "all" students engage in learning, achieve to the best of their ability, and become productive citizens and participants in the nation's democracy. This paper underscores the need for a concerted and intentional effort to engage all students in learning. Numerous approaches to community-based learning are already in use and it highlights six models with a particular emphasis on community problem solving: academically based community service, civic education, environment-based education, place-based learning, service learning, and work-based learning. If all students are to succeed, much more attention must be paid to community-based learning as a strategy for engaging and motivating students and for strengthening the relationship between schools and communities. Appended are: (1) Theoretical Foundations of Community-Based Learning; (2) Community-Based Learning Approaches; and (3) Resource Organizations and People. (Contains 68 endnotes.)

The process of political socialisation of adolescents includes more than the acquisition of knowledge about society, citizenship and the political system. In a democracy, citizens are expected to participate actively in the political process. Active participation, however, requires citizens to believe in their own ability to influence the course of politics, in other words, to feel politically efficacious. Therefore, enhancing control beliefs and the willingness to act politically could be viewed as important areas of civic and citizenship education. This paper examines changes in levels and relationships regarding efficacy and expected participation using data from students at different stages of political socialisation. It uses data collected during the two surveys of the IEA Civic Education Study and comprises two age groups: 14-year-old lower secondary students (grade 8 or 9) and upper secondary students (grade 11 or 12). Data from lower and upper secondary students in ten countries show that levels of political efficacy and expectations to participate politically as an adult change during the process of political socialisation. Self-confidence in dealing with politics increases and so do expectations to participate in elections in later life. However, beliefs in the responsiveness of the political system weaken and older students have lower expectations to become actively involved in politics in adult life. (Contains 9 footnotes, 7 figures and 17 tables.)

This paper is a guide for determining how to measure the goals of citizen education programs. It presents a procedure by which educators or evaluators can identify program goals and determine what types of measures can best assess achievement of the goals. It does not suggest specific tests or measurement instruments; those can be developed or selected on the basis of the procedure outlined in this paper. The opening sections discuss four categories of possible program goals: knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors. Each type of goal must be measured in a different way, based on clarification of the goal's content and determination of the appropriate measurement format. For example, skill goals should be measured with performance tests whereas behavioral goals should be assessed by observational procedures. A lengthy appendix presents 16 sample outlines for reviewing measurement criteria for various goals in each of the four areas of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors. Each sample outline states a goal, clarifies its content, relates it to citizenship, and explains its implications for the type of measurement best suited to it. (AV)

The materials presented here are visual aids used in a presentation on citizenship instruction for older and physically challenged adults. They consist of a series of "screens" containing information on: demographic information on samples of citizenship students in 1995 and 1997, illustrating changes in the population; motivations of and barriers faced by the new population; effects of aging that have implications for the classroom; visual, hearing, and learning challenges for older learners, and classroom solutions for them; challenges from other sources, including poor study skills and literacy problems; the citizenship teacher's challenge; ways to address physical issues in the classroom environment; ways to address motivation and lifestyle challenges; a performance contract for students; a sample letter to the student's family affirming participation in citizenship learning; a sample unit outline; notes on possible classroom learning aids; sample visual aids for a unit on the three branches of the federal government; classroom procedures for dictation, testing, and use of realia; and a brief list of World Wide Web resources. (MSE) (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse on Literacy Education)

This resource guide is intended to facilitate cooperation and exchange of knowledge among civic educators around the world. The guide is divided into six parts. Part 1 consists of three civic education papers: "Education and Democratic Citizenship: Where We Stand" (Albert Shanker); "Civil Society and Democracy Reconsidered" (Charles Bahmueller); and "Civil Society and the Worldwide Surge of Democracy: Implications for Civic Education" (John J. Patrick). Part 2 features an annotated bibliography of materials about civic education from July 1996 through July 1997 selected from the ERIC database. Part 3 contains nine ERIC Digests on civic education published between 1994 and 1997. Part 4 is an annotated bibliography of books that address key topics about the work of civic educators. Topics covered include comparative politics in democratic societies, Western political philosophy on civil society and democracy, U.S. political/constitutional history, contemporary U.S. civil society, and civic education in the United States. Part 5 is a selective list of Internet resources about international civic education and features information useful to civic educators. Part 6 is an international directory of civic education leaders, programs, organizations, and centers. The entries include names, addresses, telephone numbers, electronic mail addresses, and World Wide Web sites. An appendix concludes the guide and features information about CIVITAS, an International Civic Education Exchange Program and documents and journal articles in the ERIC database. (JEH)

This paper is a collection of learning activities that can be used by social studies teachers from K-12 to enrich the social studies curriculum. Field trips and excursions are discussed as ways to utilize community resources and resource persons. Community service by various groups is suggested as a way of focusing on participatory citizenship. Focusing on field based studies introduces students to aspects of the total lifespace environment, so that they begin to understand better the composition of natural and social or human-made elements of the community. Cultural and social events allow students either to observe events happening within the context of the community lifespace, or to participate in the events directly. Social studies classes can be taken to museums, art galleries, or theaters to observe art objects or performances, or they can be involved in the creation of exhibits and displays. Students can be introduced to diverse careers and occupations found within the context of the local community. Real-to-life situations include audiovisual presentations, technology, role playing, and simulations. A section on environmental education is included, emphasizing an environmental rift that occurs when people and nature cannot coexist within the context of cooperative living habitats. In such instances, humans and nature fail to benefit mutually from their associations. (DK)

This document suggests that the movie "Schindler's List" be used as an instructional resource in order to provide criterion situations for teachings. The film opens multiple routes into complex questions that raise universal and immediate meanings, yet also generates idiosyncratic understanding. Learning history in an authentic way is more powerful than merely understanding the events of a particular story or even reading about them in a reputable textbook. Because of this, a teacher should strive to help students to begin to understand what the experience of history is and for what purpose it is included in the school curriculum. "Schindler's List" provides ample opportunities for students to raise questions about the world of the Third Reich. The important issue is that students need to be curious themselves, to raise the issues to be pursued, and to construct new meanings through their own work. At the same time, broader concerns of learning history need to be addressed through the goals of classroom instruction. The film provides opportunities to teach critical thinking and the pursuit of supportive argument. The story of the Oskar Schindler survivors underlines that history is vitally related to human actions and a sense of sequence and time. This paper addresses the issues raised in the film and how they can be used to develop skills that serve the learner as citizen and human being. Teaching programs that have been successful in dealing with such complex issues as those presented in the film are discussed. (DK)

Using the newspaper to provide opportunities for students to learn current events and further develop writing skills is described. Seven activities outline how to use cooperative learning to teach current events. Four types of assignments based on newspapers develop various types of writing skills: (1) personal writing; (2) descriptive writing; (3) expository writing; and (4) persuasive writing. The next activity focuses on the triangle style of writing. Social studies activities provide active involvement in speaking, writing, listening, and reading skills. Practice locating specific details in newspaper articles develops reading skills. Political cartoons and comics provide ideas for using humor in student activities. An example of a bio-historical poem shows an unrhymed poem that gives each student an opportunity to listen or read and then write about a figure in the news without the difficulties of composition. The final idea for using a newspaper is to create a file box of 14 activities listed. A student contract for studying the theme of using the newspaper provides students the choice of contracting for certain requirements and the agreement of teacher and parent. (CK)

This Resource Management Resource Guide is intended to help teachers implement Ohio's Work and Family Life Program. Course content focuses on the practical problems related to managing human and material resources, making consumer decisions, and feeding, clothing, and housing the family. These practical problems are posed through case studies and shared experiences and examined using critical questions that lead to ethical decisions and reasoned action. The guide provides teachers an overview of the course content (practical problem, process competency or competency, competency builders, supporting concepts), teacher background information and references, learning activities, and assessment ideas (paper and pencil, classroom experience, application to real-life setting). All handouts are provided. The guide includes one teaching module for each process competency and each content competency in the Personal Development and Process Competency units of Ohio's Competency Analysis Profile. Four process modules cover these topics: managing work and family responsibilities, solving personal and family problems, relating to others, and assuming a leadership role as a responsible citizen. Nine content modules cover the following: achieving personal goals, making consumer choices, creating a living environment, evaluating types of housing, maintaining a living environment, taking responsibility for a global environment, making clothing decisions, maintaining clothing, planning food choices, and preparing and serving nutritious foods. (YLB)

This Personal Development Resource Guide is intended to help teachers implement Ohio's Work and Family Life Program. Course content focuses on the practical problems faced by adolescents at the critical stage of their development. These practical problems are posed through case studies and shared experiences and examined using critical questions that lead to ethical decisions and reasoned action. The guide provides teachers an overview of the course content (practical problem, process competency or competency, competency builders, supporting concepts), teacher background information and references, learning activities, and assessment ideas (paper and pencil, classroom experience, application to real-life setting). All handouts are provided. The guide includes one teaching module for each process competency and each content competency in the Personal Development and Process Competency units of Ohio's Competency Analysis Profile. Four process modules cover these topics: managing work and family responsibilities, solving personal and family problems, relating to others, and assuming a leadership role as a responsible citizen. Nine content modules cover the following: enhancing personal development, enhancing self-esteem, managing stress, achieving career goals, forming family relationship, form peer relationships, managing conflict, expressing sexuality responsibly, and parenting responsibly. (YLB)

This curriculum guide sets forth what the Mississippi State Board of Education believes should be the outcomes of social studies education in the public schools. For each of the grades K-8, and for each of the courses taught at the 9-12 grade levels, an overarching goal statement is listed. For example, for kindergarten, the goal statement is: the child will develop greater self-awareness, learn to work with others, explore past and present, and acquire communication skills. Each grade or course also is composed of several strands--the areas of learning in the social studies--such as history, geography, political science, and economics. Within each of the strands listed for a particular grade or course, more specific goals are stated. For example, under the geography strand for kindergarten, the strand goal is: the student will understand geographic concepts of location, human interaction, environment, and movement. After each strand goal core objectives are listed. Core objectives describe the body of material that must be taught. For example, under the kindergarten geography strand goal, the core objectives include: recognize a globe as a model of the earth, identify different types of waste (paper, plastic, glass), and describe geographical features of one's community. (DB)

This presentation suggests some examples of what is being done to further international education in community colleges around the United States. Reasons why community colleges should be involved in international education are presented. A central goal of the nation, and educational institutions in particular, is the development of global citizenship. Unique among postsecondary education institutions, community colleges are dedicated to building good citizens as part of their mission. (DB)

Argues that middle-school social-studies educators should teach students skills to deal with the tremendous power of television in their lives. Discusses television viewing, television as a "good-bad" information source, and its connection to the middle-school curriculum. Discusses 11 media literacy activities that can be integrated into social-studies units. Notes 21 print and Web resources. (SR)

This guide is intended as an aid to elementary school classroom teachers in Vermont as they develop and implement legal education programs. It presents background materials for the teacher, 22 sample lessons drawn from various curriculum projects, and a bibliography of law-related resources. The document is presented in three major sections. In the first section, the guide is introduced and a rationale for law-related education is presented. In addition, the teaching strategies used in the sample lessons are introduced. The second section offers sample lessons on five topics--the need for law, freedom, authority, fairness, and conflict. Students are involved in a wide variety of activities, including playing educational games, roleplaying, analyzing literary works such as "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" for relevant legal concepts, filling in charts and graphs, answering questions orally and in writing about case studies presented as part of several lessons, and devising rules to regulate class behavior. For each activity, information is presented on background, objectives, procedures, and reading selections. In the final section, suggestions are made to help teachers obtain and use a variety of outside resources for teaching law-related education. Suggestions refer to curriculum packages, ideas for using law-related resource people, and field-work in the school and/or classroom. The document concludes with a bibliography of children's books that lend themselves to teaching legal concepts. (Author/DB)

These curriculum materials about various aspects of the United States Constitution are designed as supplements to high school courses in history, civics, and government. They include 60 original lessons for students, accompanied by lesson plans for teachers, and are divided into five chapters. Chapter I, "Documents of Freedom" includes the Constitution, amendments to the Constitution, amendments proposed but not ratified, and selected Federalist papers. Chapter II, "Origins and Purposes of the Constitution" covers the concept of a constitution, state constitutions, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitutional Convention, federalists and anti-federalists, the Bill of Rights, and the timetable of main events in the making of the Constitution. Chapter III, "Principles of Government in the Constitution," deals with the concept and operation of federalism, separation of powers, the judiciary, and civil liberties. Chapter IV, "Amending and Interpreting the Constitution," deals with amendments, constitutional conventions, political parties, and challenges to the Constitution. Chapter V, "Landmark Cases of the Supreme Court," analyzes 20 crucial Supreme Court cases. (IS)

Children's literature is a rich source of information for teachers to use in helping elementary school students learn to become knowledgeable and active citizens. Seventy-four children's books are described in terms of their citizenship or law-related content. Lesson ideas and, in some cases, complete lesson plans are offered that creatively focus on the citizenship building potential of each book, and a variety of motivational teaching methods is suggested. The citizenship concepts of authority, justice, responsibility, privacy, property, participation, diversity, and freedom are highlighted; and a table of contents, organized into three grade level groupings (kindergarten through grade 8) and presented in the form of a grid, indicates which concepts appear in each of the 74 selected books. A second table of contents similarly organized shows which of 35 subject areas are covered by the books. A citation, citizenship concepts, subject areas, grade and reading levels, and a synopsis of the story are presented for each book. Specific lesson ideas include use of discussions, films, role playing, and literature reviews. Three cartoon strip illustrations are included. (JHP)

Lessons and learning activities to teach children in the primary grades about citizenship responsibility and social decision making are provided. Active learning is emphasized. Section I contains five lessons, for use in kindergarten and grade 1, that deal with the themes of freedom and responsibility. The activities focus on home life and the classroom. Students select team captains, make up rules, learn about service workers in the school and select tasks appropriate for a classroom helper in their own classroom, learn about sharing and taking turns, and are acquainted with property rights. The five lessons in the second section are intended for students in grades 2 and 3 and deal with rules and civic responsibility. The activities focus on the neighborhood and community. Students study about traffic rules and signs, the reasons for laws, and the responsibility of citizens to improve public property in their community. Teaching methods vary and include guest speakers, field trips, role play, oral presentation, small group work, classroom discussion, and surveys. The guide also contains additional ideas for activities that can be adapted for use in several grades. (RM)

Social studies fairs provide opportunities for citizenship education and for involvement in activities that emphasize thinking and inquiry skills. The Louisiana local, regional, and state social studies fairs present exhibitions of projects prepared by elementary and secondary school students to portray applications of basic principles, generalizations, or research in studies of people in relation to their environment. This document presents: (1) the social studies fair goals; (2) fair rules and regulations for teachers and students; (3) an explanation of various social studies disciplines; (4) information about local and regional fairs; (5) a description of awards; and (6) information for regional fair directors. Forms for fair entries and judging are included. A guide to social studies projects includes information about: (1) project design; (2) displays; (3) size and weight requirements; (4) research papers; (5) oral presentations; and (6) parent involvement. Titles of 1986 fair projects, a map of Louisiana regional fair areas, a list of fair directors, and charts are also included. (JHP)

This paper emphasizes the relationships between middle school science, social studies, and service learning, showing how service learning supports many national science and social studies content standards. Positive results from research on the National Science Foundation service learning project are included. (SM)