NCSS Teachers' Library

NCSS has selected a collection of classroom activities, teaching ideas, and articles from Social Education, Middle Level Learning, and Social Studies and the Young Learner. Browse the collection, or search by historical period and grade level using the search function below.
(Collections on other disciplines are under development.)

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Historical PeriodLevel

Teaching Presidential Impeachment

—Jean A. Luckowsi and James J. Lopach
An issues-centered approach to impeachment can help students to both appreciate the wisdom of our constitutional framework and understand why such strong differences over how to interpret the Constitution emerged in the recent debate over impeaching President Clinton.



Trend Alert: A History Teacher's Guide to Using Podcasts in the Classroom

—Kathleen Owings Swan and Mark Hofer
Podcasts may be useful in the classroom, but teachers need to consider the instructional purpose and context within which they are used.



Is Free Trade Out of Date?

—Dwight R. Lee
We may never achieve perfectly free international trade, but the struggle to reduce existing trade restriction is a noble one.



Robert E. Lee’s Demand for the Surrender of John Brown

—Daniel F. Rulii
John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry—considered treasonous by some and heroic by others—helped strengthen the anti-slavery movement. Students can gain a deeper understanding of this event by studying General Lee’s demand for Brown’s surrender.



Documents and Civic Duties

—Lee Ann Potter
A one-sentence letter from school boy Anthony Ferreira to President Ford stating, “I think you are half right and half wrong ” is one of several primary sources featured in this article that highlight for students the value of responsible citizenship.



Using Artifacts to Understand the Life of a Soldier in World War II

By Staci Anson
High school students in New Jersey practice artifact analysis and learn about soldier life in World War II when they interact with wartime relics, including medals, gas masks, ration coupons, and letters home.



George Washington’s Printed Draft of the Constitution and Mike Wilkins’s Preamble (Teaching with Documents)

By Lee Ann Potter and Elizabeth K. Eder
A work of modern art humorously highlights the 52 words of the Preamble to the Constitution. A historical document shows, however, that these well known words underwent many changes before reaching their final form.



Folk in the History Classroom: Using the Music of the People to Teach Eras and Events (Elementary Education)

By Michael G. Lovorn
The featured lesson uses Woody Guthrie’s “Dust Storm Disaster” to study the Dust Bowl from the perspective of those most affected.



The “Day in the Life of a Teenage Hobo” Project

—Justin Reich and Thomas Daccord
(Subtitled: “Integrating Technology with Shneiderman’s Collect-Relate-Create-Donate Framework”). In this multiple day investigation of teenage homelessness during the Great Depression, students use a range of technologies—search engines, blogs, and podcasting tools—to investigate the political, economic, and social history of the time.



The Crash of 2008: Causes and Fed Response

By James D. Gwartney and Joseph Connors
The current economic crisis is primarily a story about unintended consequences and what happens when the incentive structure is damaged by unsound institutions and policies.


COPYRIGHT NOTICE
These articles, in pdf form, are available to NCSS members only. They are intended for individual classroom use, not for distribution.

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