(1976). Differential Patterns of Information Acquisition from the Mass Media: The Effects of Interest. | | The purpose of this study was to compare subjects' degree of interest with educational level to determine the better predictor of knowledge acquired from the mass media. Interest in and knowledge about two topics (impeachment and the National Football League strike) were determined from a 1974 survey of 253 adults. Knowledge was measured in terms of two components (factual and structural) and interest was studied in terms of salience to self and salience to social milieu. Social interest, especially when combined with anticipated interpersonal communication, proved to be a better predictor of knowledge overall. Further, greater interest was found to correlate with use of more than one mass medium and a resulting higher level of knowledge. Some sex differences are noted. (Author/KS)… [PDF]
(1974). The Newspaper in the American History Classroom. | | This teacher guide contains 14 sample lesson plans based on issues faced throughout American history and still being headlined in today's newspaper. The lesson plans include exploration and National Pride, Jefferson and Hamilton, Checks and Balances, Supply and Demand, Presidential Impeachment, Voting Rights, Historical Analogies, Predictions and History, The Industrial Revolution, The Growth of Government, The Panama Canal, The United States and Isolationism, Theodore Roosevelt and Trust-Busting, and Locating Assumptions Underlying Arguments. Each lesson plan offers the rationale, educational objective, and teaching strategy for using material from a newspaper to illustrate or amplify the specific topic of American history. Using these as a starting point, the social studies teacher is encouraged to develop additional lesson plans. The three appendixes include information on the objectives of newspaper programs, reading comprehension, and classroom dialogues. (Author/TS)… [PDF]
(1980). High School Law Awareness Curriculum Guide, 1980. | | Instructional materials, activities, and lesson plans used to teach high school students about the law, the legal process, and the legal system are presented. The materials are intended to be incorporated into the U.S. history curriculum. The following topics are covered: procedure for trial simulation; the Boston Massacre; the debate over ratification of the Constitution; power of the Presidency; the right of the individual vs. national security, alien, and sedition acts; treatment of Native Americans; Civil War–questions of constitutionality; Presidential impeachment; the 1894 Pullman Strike; the issue of presumed innocence; the Homestead Strike–a legal approach; war powers; Roosevelt's court packing case; rules of war–World Wars I and II; internment of Japanese-Americans during World Wars II; the Nuremberg trials; freedom of speech and the Nazis; the McCarthy era; draft laws; the United Nations; and freedom of religion. (DB)… [PDF]
(1976). Popular Names of U.S. Government Reports. A Catalog. | | Although many government publications become known by popular names, they are usually indexed under institutional names. This catalog lists government reports alphabetically by popular names. Most entries have the Library of Congress record as a bibliographic description. This third edition of the catalog is the first to include citations to the Checklist of United States Public Documents, the Document Catalog, and the Monthly Catalog, where applicable, to assist in further searching. Superintendent of Documents classification numbers have also been cited in response to requests from librarians. A section on the impeachment inquiry lists all reports, hearings, and miscellaneous documents printed by the Government Printing Office pertaining to the Watergate Affair; an additional section lists unidentified reports for which the editors have only minimal bibliographic information. A subject and corporate entry index to publications and series is included. (Author/KP)…
(2002). Constitutional Issues–Watergate and the Constitution. Teaching with Documents. | | When U.S. President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 in the wake of the Watergate scandal, it was only the second time that impeachment of a president had been considered. Although the U.S. Constitution has provisions for a person removed from office to be indicted, there are no guidelines in the Constitution about a President who has resigned. The document used in this lesson plan deals with a specific question: should the Watergate special prosecutor seek an indictment of the former President? The lesson plan presents a historical overview of Richard Nixon and Watergate; reproduces three documents, including the Watergate special prosecution force memorandum and a chronology of events; cites correlation to the National History Standards and the National Civics and Government Standards; and suggests two activities for classroom implementation. Also contains a written document analysis worksheet. (BT)… [PDF]
(1990). Great Trials in History. | | Designed as a supplementary resource for any classroom that incorporates global education, this workbook describes the issues and outcomes of 12 famous historical court cases. The court cases familiarize students with recurring controversial social issues. Each reading section begins with a brief outline of the time period and background of each trial, setting the stage for introductory classroom discussions of the geographic region and other relevant historical events. Following the description of the court case, the workbook provides reading comprehension worksheets. Other suggested activities involving writing, listening, oral reading, and critical thinking also are included. Six of the cases occurred in Europe and six in the United States. The twelve trials are: Socrates (399 B.C.); Joan of Arc (1431); Galileo (1633); Salem Witchcraft (1692); Peter Zenger (1735); Impeachment Trial of Andrew Johnson (1868); Lizzie Borden (1893); Alfred Dreyfus (1894, 1899); Edith Cavell (1915);…
(2001). CNN Newsroom Classroom Guides, June 2001. | | These classroom guides, designed to accompany the daily CNN (Cable News Network) Newsroom broadcasts for the month of June 2001, provide program rundowns, suggestions for class activities and discussion, student handouts, and a list of related news terms. Top stories include: Indonesian President Wahid faces impeachment (June 1); suicide bombing attack at a Tel Aviv disco, AIDS 20th anniversary, Democrats gain control of the Senate, British elections, and global warming (June 4-8); Gulf Coast floods, Timothy McVeigh execution, President Bush in Europe, and President Bush announces an end to military activities on Vieques (June 11-15); Russian President Vladimir Putin proposes a Balkan peace initiative, U.S.-Russia relations, a congressional hearing begins on the problems surrounding the Ford Explorer and Firestone tires, a Patients' Bill of Rights is considered in the Senate, and California's energy crisis (June 18-22); extradition of Slobodan Milosevic, U.N. AIDS conference,…
(1978). Speech Communication and Communication Processes: Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations Published in "Dissertation Abstracts International," October through December 1977 (Vol. 38 Nos. 4 through 6). | | This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 18 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: a comparison of mother/child and father/child interactions; state anxiety responses in high and low speech anxious subjects; variables that predict listening performance; tactics used in the controversy over the impeachment of President Nixon; persuasive communication elements in the 1974 re-election campaign of Congressman Marvin Lionel Esch; learning strategies used in Toastmasters International; communication skills of socially isolated elementary school pupils; effects of an intercultural communication workshop on cross-cultural attitudes and interaction; functional verbal communication performance of adult aphasics; implications of Susanne Langer's philosophy of mind for speech communication theory; the effect of socioeconomic group composition on small group interactions; organizational… [PDF]
(1990). Linking Law and Social Studies, Grades 9-12: An Interdisciplinary Approach with Social Studies, Science and Language Arts. | | This curriculum guide offers an interdisciplinary approach to law-related education (LRE) intended to assist teachers with introducing LRE into a variety of social studies courses. The guide begins with a definition of LRE, its objectives and methods, and its place in the general school curriculum. The introductory section includes a description of the University of Puget Sound School of Law's Institute for Citizen Education in the Law (UPSICEL) and a history of this curriculum project. The lessons cover a broad range of legal issues including the environment, juvenile justice, property rights, rights of Native Americans, international relations, presidential impeachment, voting rights, immigration, crime, and even the future of law in outer space. The lessons encourage interactive and cooperative learning through the methods of brainstorming, hypotheticals and case studies, role playing and simulation, political cartoons, group activities, games, and opinion polls. Each lesson plan… [PDF]
(1975). Watergate: The Waterloo of a President. ETC Simulation Number 1. | | This simulation involves secondary school students in a reenactment of the political period of 1971-1974 and the Watergate scandal. By taking on the roles of the various persons and committees involved with Watergate and by representing their views, students (1) learn about the pre-Watergate political atmosphere of divisiveness in the United States brought on by the Vietnam War; (2) examine the significance of the Watergate scandal, discussing how the break-in has affected U.S. election laws; and (3) become involved in the impeachment process. Students are assigned roles two days to a week prior to classroom enactment of the simulation so that they can research the personalities that they are to play. From 19 to 50 students can complete the simulation in three hours. A classroom discussion follows the simulation. This publication lists the simulation objectives, provides step-by-step instructions for the teacher to follow, contains questions for review, supplies summarization and…
(1999). Introduction to United States Government Information Sources. Sixth Edition. Library and Information Science Text Series. | | This book provides an account of the general and specialized sources, in print and non-print formats, that make up the bibliographic and textual structure of federal government information. This edition has been revised to reflect the many changes that have occurred in the production and dissemination of government products within the last five years of the final decade of the twentieth century. Chapters are: (1) "The Transformation of Government Information"; (2) "Government Printing Office Programs and Services"; (3) "The Federal Depository Library Program"; (4) "General Finding Aids and Selected Reference Sources"; (5) "Legislative Branch Information Sources"; (6) "The Presidency"; (7) "Administrative Law: Regulations and Decisions"; (8) "Legal Information Sources"; (9)"Statistical Sources"; (10) "Intellectual Property"; (11) "Selected Departments and Agencies by…
(1977). Watergate: A Teaching Unit. Curriculum Project Report No. 4040. Experimental Edition. | | Because Watergate tested the strength of the U.S. constitutional system and proved that it worked, this unit could serve as a focal point for study of the U.S. Constitution. The three objectives of the document are: (1) to expand knowledge of the governance process through study of the separation of powers, the impeachment process, the right to privacy, and the electoral process; (2) to develop skills that promote critical thinking and analysis of issues by using reference sources; and (3) to develop attitudes congruent with citizen participation in a democratic society by affirming belief in the ideals of U.S. democracy and in the democratic process as a way of achieving those ideals. The first theme, "Presidential Power in the United States," presents events that culminated in the "imperial presidency," and the resulting corrupt practices in trying to gain and hold that position. The second theme, "Curbing the Powers of the President," discusses the…
(1982). Watergate. Documents from the National Archives. | | The documents in this package focus on the three basic questions raised by Watergate: (1) Should President Nixon have been impeached?; (2) Should he have been prosecuted?; and (3) Should he have been pardoned? These documents do not begin to tell the whole story of Watergate, but they do suggest some of the issues involved. "Suggestions for Further Reading" will help readers sharpen their understanding of Watergate. The documents in this series include: (1) Richard M. Nixon's letter of resignation, August 9, 1974; (2) House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary Report on Impeachment of Richard M. Nixon, August 20, 1974; (3) Transcript excerpts from Hearings before the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, June 23, 1972; (4) Memorandum by Vernon Walters, Hearings Before the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, June 28, 1972; (5) Memorandum from Carl B. Feldbaum and Peter M. Kreindler to Leon Jaworski about factors to consider in… [PDF]
(1977). Self and Social Interest in News Events and the Knowledge Gap Hypothesis. | | This study attempted to clarify the interplay of self/social interest and education level as factors in the "knowledge gap" hypothesis, which states that knowledge of heavily publicized topics is accrued faster over time by better educated persons. In each of two telephone surveys in the Lansing, Michigan, area, the same 253 adults were measured for their knowledge of two news events of varying interest (the National Football League strike and the Nixon impeachment developments). The respondents also provided data about their self-interest in each news event (how it influenced their lives), their social interest in the news event (whether they talked about it with anyone), and their level of education. When respondents' interest and education levels were correlated to knowledge about the news events, social interest in the events emerged as the best single predictor of knowledge, and the multiple correlation of education/interest to knowledge was only slightly better than…
(1987). Separation of Powers. Bill of Rights in Action, v3 n3 Win | | The dimensions of the separation of powers principle are explored through three lessons in the subject areas of U.S. history, U.S. government, and world history. In 1748, a French nobleman, Baron de Montesquieu, wrote a book called "The Spirit of the Laws," in which he argued that there could be no liberty when all government power was held by one person or even one group of rulers. Montesquieu described a political system that separated power into three branches of government. He believed that a government based on the "separation of powers" plan would ensure liberty by preventing the establishment of an absolute ruler like Louis XIV. The impact of absolute rule is illuminated through a short discussion of the French Huguenots' oppression during the reign of Louis XIV. The principle of separation of powers is depicted through a discussion of the Radical Republicans in Congress and the impeachment proceedings against President Andrew Johnson. The last lesson… [PDF]