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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Remember The Alamo? Learning History with Monuments and Memorials
Submitted by Jennifer Bauduy on Tue, 06/01/2010 - 10:12am--Alan S. Marcus and Thomas H. Levine
Studying monuments and the political, ideological, or social perspectives they represent advances students’ historical thinking skills while highlighting for them the subjective nature of history.
Printer-friendly versionMemorandum about the First Nixon-Kennedy Debate (Teaching with Documents)
Submitted by Jennifer Bauduy on Tue, 10/19/2010 - 10:33am--David L. Rosenbaum
A memo from John Kennedy’s press secretary to Richard Nixon’s press secretary prior to the first televised presidential debate in history serves as a jumping off point for studying the major issues of the 1960 election.
Supreme Court Review (Looking at the Law)
Submitted by Jennifer Bauduy on Tue, 10/19/2010 - 10:40am--Charles F. Williams and Catherine Hawke
Recent Supreme Court decisions generated surprising controversy, from gun control to First Amendment issues. In 2011, the Court will weigh in on cases dealing with the hiring of illegal immigrants, protests at soldiers’ funerals, and selling violent video games.
* http://publications.socialstudies.org/se/7405/7405243.pdf
The Bystander’s Dilemma: How Can We Turn our Students into Upstanders?
Submitted by Jennifer Bauduy on Tue, 10/19/2010 - 10:54am--Lauren Woglom and Kim Pennington
By studying moments in history where bystanders made a difference, teachers can motivate students to think critically in the face of social dilemmas.
* http://publications.socialstudies.org/se/7405/7405254.pdf
Even Wars Have Laws: Upholding an American Tradition
Submitted by Jennifer Bauduy on Tue, 10/19/2010 - 12:16pm--TJ Adhihetty
The earliest American leaders upheld basic protections for civilians, prisoners of war, and sick and injured combatants. Such principles can serve as a guide today as we address difficult questions like the treatment of detainees and the issue of torture.
* http://publications.socialstudies.org/se/7405/7405259.pdf
Advocating for Abolition: Staging an Abolitionist Society Convention
Submitted by Jennifer Bauduy on Tue, 10/19/2010 - 12:22pm--Andy Robinson and Joan Brodsky Schur
This simulation illustrates for students that the most complex debates in American history are not necessarily between those for and against social change, but among those who agree on the goal, but disagree on the means.
*http://publications.socialstudies.org/se/7404/
Cloture Motion to Cease Debate on 1964 Civil Rights Bill (Teaching with Documents)
Submitted by Jennifer Bauduy on Wed, 01/19/2011 - 12:19pm--Lee Ann Potter
Students will gain a deeper understanding of legislative tactics like the filibuster when they study the featured document—the Senate motion that broke a 55-day filibuster against the Civil Rights Act.
* http://publications.socialstudies.org/se/7406/740610288.pdf
Draft of the Constitution (August 1787) and Schedule of the Compensation of the Senate of the United States (March 1791) / TWD
Submitted by Jennifer Bauduy on Wed, 01/19/2011 - 12:30pm--Michael Hussey and Stephanie Greenhut
The two featured documents can serve as a starting point for a lesson on public service while students debate the amount of pay that public servants should receive.
* http://publications.socialstudies.org/se/7501/75011107.pdf
Teaching about Racial Segregation in Postwar America using [em]Black Like Me[/em]
Submitted by Jennifer Bauduy on Wed, 01/19/2011 - 12:54pm--Richard L. Hughes
The memoir of a white journalist who disguised himself as an African American in the pre-civil rights South provides students with greater insight into the evolution of segregation in American society.
* http://publications.socialstudies.org/se/7501/75011122.pdf
Political Civility in the Age of Reagan
Submitted by Jennifer Bauduy on Wed, 01/19/2011 - 1:10pm--Janet Tran with Tony Pennay and Krista Kohlhausen
The centennial of Ronald Reagan’s birth offers an opportunity to engage students in lessons about the importance of political civility.
* http://publications.socialstudies.org/se/7501/75011145.pdf
