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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Beyond La Niña, La Pinta, and La Santa María: The Invention and Mental Mapping of the New World
Submitted by Jennifer Bauduy on Thu, 02/28/2013 - 11:47am--Luis Martínez Fernández
Approaching the encounter between Europe and the Americas as an intellectual rather than a physical discovery enables students to go beyond memorization to gain an understanding of Medieval and Renaissance ways of acquiring knowledge.
* http://publications.socialstudies.org/se/7701/77011307.pdf
Printer-friendly versionCharting the Land of Flowers: Exploration and Mapmaking in Spanish Florida
Submitted by Jennifer Bauduy on Thu, 02/28/2013 - 11:57am--Rodney Kite-Powell
Two key maps that show the “known world” from the European perspective before Christopher Columbus’s voyages illustrate the knowledge of intellectuals of that period and reveal tales of exploration, conflict, and change.
* http://publications.socialstudies.org/se/7701/77011314.pdf
Borderlands of the Southwest: An Exercise in Geographical History
Submitted by Jennifer Bauduy on Thu, 02/28/2013 - 12:00pm--Stephen J. Thornton
Standard accounts of U.S. history present a chronology of events that begins in the East and moves west. An alternative approach traces Spanish exploration and settlement in what is now the American Southwest.
* http://publications.socialstudies.org/se/7701/77011319.pdf
Operation Pedro Pan: The Flight to Neverland for 14,000 Cuban Children
Submitted by Jennifer Bauduy on Thu, 02/28/2013 - 12:02pm--Bárbara C. Cruz
Learning about the 1960s exodus of Cuban children to the United States can engage K-12 students in the study of immigration and U.S.-Cuba issues. A sidebar by Mario Minichino offers mapping activities, guided imagery, and other teaching suggestions.
* http://publications.socialstudies.org/se/7701/77011323.pdf
Spielberg’s Lincoln Defines the President’s Emancipation Legacy
Submitted by Jennifer Bauduy on Thu, 02/28/2013 - 12:10pm--David Wolfford
The film Lincoln spotlights Abraham Lincoln’s character and leadership and raises questions about the legislative process that enabled politicians to pass the Thirteenth Amendment that abolished slavery.
* http://publications.socialstudies.org/se/7701/77011344.pdf
Robert E. Lee’s Demand for the Surrender of John Brown
Submitted by rich on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 11:55am--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.
