National Standards for History


Book Description

This sourcebook contains more than twelve hundred easy-to-follow and implement classroom activities created and tested by veteran teachers from all over the country. The activities are arranged by grade level and are keyed to the revised National History Standards, so they can easily be matched to comparable state history standards. This volume offers teachers a treasury of ideas for bringing history alive in grades 5?12, carrying students far beyond their textbooks on active-learning voyages into the past while still meeting required learning content. It also incorporates the History Thinking Skills from the revised National History Standards as well as annotated lists of general and era-specific resources that will help teachers enrich their classes with CD-ROMs, audio-visual material, primary sources, art and music, and various print materials. Grades 5?12







Course of Study


Book Description







Unschooling To University


Book Description

School is one option for education; homeschooling is the second, and unschooling is the third. Many parents are frustrated by the school system, perhaps because of bullying, crowded classrooms, and outdated, dull, online courses. Disengaged learners that have no say in their coerced curriculum tend to act out, tune out, or drop out. Education must change and unschooling is the fastest-growing alternative method of learning. Two decades ago, students registered with their local school based on their house address. Now, with the internet, students are borderless. Learning can occur anywhere, anytime, anyway and from anyone-including self-taught. Self-directing their education, unschoolers learn through: - Play - Projects - Reading - Volunteering - Video games - Sports - Mentorship - Travel - Life This book explores the path of 30 unschooled children who self-directed all or part of their education and were accepted by universities, colleges, and other postsecondary schools. Most have already graduated. What children need most are close relationships-parents, teachers, siblings, relatives, coaches, and mentors within a wider community, not just within an institutional school. Educational content is everywhere. Caring relationships are not. Families that embrace unschooling, do not have to choose between a quality education and a relaxed, connected family lifestyle. They can have both.










This Happened in America


Book Description

This long awaited biography of Harold Rugg is a dramatic and compelling story with profound implications for today’s educators. Harold Rugg, one of the leading progressive educators of the 20th century, developed an innovative social studies program and textbook series that was censured by conservative critics during the 1940s. Read the full story behind Rugg, the man and the educator, and the critics who attacked him. Harold O. Rugg was professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, and a key leader among the social frontier group that emerged in the 1930s to argue that schools should play a stronger role in helping to reconstruct society. He was author of a best selling social studies textbook series that came under attack from patriotic and business groups in the early years of World War II. The story of his rise and fall encapsulates a pivotal episode in the history of American education and reveals a great deal about the direction of schooling in American life, the many roads not taken, and possibilities for the future. This in-depth examination of Rugg's life and career provides historical perspective on the recurring struggles over education. It will be of interest to every citizen concerned about the future of our democracy. Includes more than 60 photos and graphics.