Tag:

Social Studies

Medal of Honor, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Seven US Military History Teaching Resources

by Miguel Guhlin November 3, 2023

written by Miguel Guhlin

With Veterans Day coming up on November 11, you might be looking for some great resources to teach US military history and give insight into the lives, work, and sacrifice of our Veterans and to honor their service. Let’s explore seven resources on US military history that cover everything from maps and battlefields to museums, memorials, Veterans, and more.

Teaching History

Wondering how to teach battle geography and history? Check out what educator Runie Aleema suggests. She advises history teachers in the Social Studies Network. Here are her suggestions from the conversation held August 26, 2023. Her remarks were edited and adapted for readability:

Start with a geography lesson with each major battle. One alternative is to begin with the use of new military weapons or strategies. For example, trench warfare in World War I, as well as the evolution of planes in war. Some more tips include:

Split each war into sections

Timeline or map out dates and/or reason(s) for a war

Discuss allies and enemies, including an introduction of major players, like generals

Highlight major battles, including geography

Explore new technologies and/or strategies employed

One great tip she suggests is spotlighting lesser-known people. This is true especially for those who played an instrumental role. Consider viewpoints such as:

African Americans
Women
Indigenous Peoples

Runie Aleema also suggests asking how these viewpoints impact either side of a conflict and what names need to be highlighted. She also includes in her suggestions (among others from contributors appearing below) covering:

The allowance for women into the armed forces
The integration of the military that happened in the 50s after WWII
Research groups such as The Red Tails, 442nd Regiment, Harlem Hellfighters
Other such noteworthy individuals/events often not spoken about
Analysis of propaganda
Using EduProtocols

Let’s take a look at a few resources that were presented in the Social Studies Network.

1. ESRI GeoInquiry Lessons

“There are map-based lessons for US History and wars here,” says M. Kate Sutter. The focus is on GeoInquiries for US History. These map-based accounts focus on assisting students in experiencing the past. Here’s what their website says:

Experience the past with this collection. It highlights critical map concepts in American history. This includes the original 13 colonies, expansion, and resettlement. Also covered are the World War I, World War II, and the Cold War.

You can find fifteen-minute activities designed to teach standards-based content. A student login is not required, and the installation of ArcGIS Online is not needed for Level 1 activities, but it is needed to access those in Level 2.

Here’s a breakdown of the various Levels available:

Level 1

13 Colonies (1700s)
The War Before Independence
The Second American Revolution
Westward, Ho!
Underground Railroad
A Nation Divided: The Civil War
Native Americans Land (1819-2015)
Steel and the Birth of a City
World War I
The Dust Bowl
From Compromise to Conflict
A Day that Lived in Infamy (Pearl Harbor)
Operation Overlord
Hot Spots in a Cold War
The Great Exchange

Each of the items in Level 1 offer some instructions for guiding the activity. See an excerpt below from the “Native American lands, 1819-2015” guide:

ESRI Native American lands GeoInquiries lesson — Screenshot by the author: Research Guide for History GeoInquiry #7

What’s at the heart of these activities is the geoinquiry:

GeoInquiry Map — Screenshot by the author of a GeoInquiry

Making geoinquiries of interest makes it easy to apply history to maps. For example, the map below focuses on Native American lands from 1819 to 2015, comparing land areas. You can also see sites of historic battles and trails:

Annotated GeoInquiry Map — Annotated screenshot by the author of a GeoInquiry

2. American Battlefield Trust

The American Battlefield Trust offers the promise of exploration. You can see military events and engagements. These are occurrences that “shaped America over the course of two centuries,” from the “beginning of the French and Indian War in 1754 to the end of World War II in 1945.”

American Battlefield Trust home page — Screenshot by the author: American Battlefield Trust, **Learn Page**

You will find a searchable website of educational resources. Popular areas of interest appear as well, including:

Fighting for Freedom: The Role of Black Soldiers in America’s First Century
The Emancipation Proclamation
Women in War
John Brown’s Harpers Ferry Raid
The Gettysburg Address
Battlefield Archaeology

What’s more, there are several historical periods covered. They include:

The Civil War
The Revolutionary War
The War of 1812

A special section for educators is available, and the website has a video library. The video library focuses on the different time periods. Here’s one example from “How We Became America: The Untold Story.” It is a video addressing the lives of the enslaved during the Civil War.

Google Classroom support is available, and you can share videos to Google Classroom and then assign them to students.

3. National Medal of Honor

These are actually two different resources about an important topic, the Medal of Honor.

National Medal of Honor Museum

This site offers a searchable database of resources. If you ever wondered who has received the National Medal of Honor, you can do a quick search by name, service branch (e.g. Army), or conflict.

History.com

You can find rich resources, including articles and other content, on this site. Here are just a few examples of many articles available:

Six Surprising Facts about The Medal of Honor
First Medal of Honor Action
Has Anyone Earned Two Medals of Honor?

There are many others, and each one provides rich opportunities for access to historical data.

4. Military Women’s Memorial

Military Womens Memorial home page — Screenshot by the author: Military Women’s Memorial, **Home Page**

“Her Service. Her Story. Her Legacy.” These are the first words you see when visiting the Military Women’s Memorial website. So often, men are the primary focal points of documentaries and histories. But women have had, and continue to have, a powerful role in conflicts.

You can visit the Memorial’s library in person to access a wealth of resources. I found the Military Women’s Memorial Oral History Collection to be more accessible. What a powerful collection to introduce young ladies and men to. You can complement these with children’s books from Military Family Books.

>> Learn more about Military Family Books.

5. The National World War II Museum

The National WWII Museum offers a variety of tools and resources for educators. Per their website, you will find rich historical exhibits and artifact collections. You can register for free to get access, and, like other resources on this list, professional development opportunities are available.

Students can also explore and gain access to recommended books, websites, research starters, and fact sheets. The Digital Learning Projects section offers insights into how teenagers experienced this time through digital collections and authentic yearbooks from WWII.

6. Veterans History Project

Available as a part of the Library of Congress, the Veterans History Project (VHP) offers collections, story maps, and more. The VHP Collections is particularly accessible due to audio and video interviews. With each collection, you get access to helpful research guides:

Research guides provide a curated starting point. Use them to explore the Veterans History Project collections online. Subject experts create research guides that range from deep dives into topical areas. They also highlight collections selected by VHP staff over the years. More curated explorations are available. These appear as Story Maps and through the “Serving: Our Voices” presentations (source).

Their D-Day Journeys offer personal geographies of D-Day Veterans seventy-five years later.

7. National History Day

National History Day Site resources for teaching history — Screenshot by Emily Horn: National History Day, **Home Page**

This final site makes many resources available to teachers. Educators can find the following on the National History Day website:

Classroom Tools aligned to content areas, developed by teachers for teachers
Teaching Research Skills resources
Courses that offer virtual programs for teachers
Institutes for study and additional professional development

The Classroom Tools section includes over 167 topics with a guide and resources (i.g. map analysis chart and exit ticket questions).

More Resources to Explore

But wait, there’s more! Here are a few other wonderful websites to aid you as a history teacher:

Do you have favorite resources for teaching US Military History? Please share them in the comments. Ready to get started? There’s a lot to process, but these seven US Military History teaching resources will assist you in getting off to a great start.

Featured Image: Medal of Honor, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Check out Five Veterans Day Activities for Your Classroom

November 3, 2023 0 comments

Digital Public Library of America Home Page

Back to School History Social Studies

Back to School: Primary Sources, Interactive Resources, and Maps for Teaching History

by Miguel Guhlin August 1, 2023

written by Miguel Guhlin

Are you teaching history or social studies this year and looking for new tools and resources to incorporate into your lessons? As you prepare to go back to school, you may find yourself looking for a few new arrows for your teaching quiver. If so, you will find this roundup of excellent tools and resources for teaching history useful. We’ll explore several categories:

Primary Sources
Teaching Maps
Interactive Resources

Let’s take a look at resources available for teaching history, and how you can learn more.

Did You Know?

EduProtocols resources are available for teaching social studies and history! Explore some resources and watch a conversation about using EduProtocols in Social Studies.

1. Primary Sources

Looking for primary sources to work with in history class? It never hurts to revisit “What is a primary source?”.

There are a lot of history and social studies resources featuring primary source material. Some include tidy searches like Gilder Lehrman Institute. Others require a bit more content curation. Let’s take a look at a selection of primary historical source data:

Some resources specific to Texas:

Pairing Primary Sources with Strategies

You can pair information from primary sources with specific strategies such as:

These strategies allow students to get more hands-on and process information.

Creating Historical Artifacts

What’s more, encourage students to create their own historical artifacts, such as:

Digital collections
Digital documentaries
Digital visualizations
Infographics
Maps
Multimedia essays
Social media essays

Digital tools that make the creation of these artifacts easier abound. These options “…allow students agency in demonstrating their knowledge” (source).

Not sure how to get started teaching history with primary sources? Read what Larry Ferlazzo has to say on the subject. He cites several different educators who offer their perspectives and methodology on teaching history with primary sources.

2. Terra Incognita: Teaching Maps

While traveling in England in my youth, I stumbled upon a map store in a small town. It featured beautiful maps and map replicas that captured my eye, whisking me away into the past. I studied the borders of the known world at the time the map was drawn with interest. There was something magical about seeking out dangerous beasts and mythical creatures at maps edge.

Students of history may also find reading maps from yesteryear and making their own maps of great interest. I couldn’t agree more with this quote from the History of Cartography website:

“People come to know the world the way they come to map it—through their perceptions of how its elements are connected and of how they should move among them…by situating the map at the heart of cultural life and revealing its relationship to society, science, and religion…. It is trying to define a new set of relationships between maps and the physical world that involve more than geometric correspondence. It is in essence a new map of human attempts to chart the world.”
—Edward Rothstein, New York Times, as cited at source

Additional Articles on Teaching Maps

You may already be familiar with teaching maps. If not, you might find this collection of TCEA blog entries helpful as resources for teaching history with maps:

Map Tools and Resources

With those ideas and resources for using maps for teaching history in mind, here are a few more tools. You will find these helpful and can apply many of the great ideas in the blog entries to these.

3. Interactive Resources

As an educator, I eschewed interactive resources as distractions from students doing and making. Over time, my perspective shifted as the available tools allowed for more interaction. Here is a list of great interactive resources for teaching history to explore, and you can also find lists of ideas for using interactive resources online.

Cool New Interactives from the National Constitution Center
Constitution Facts
Digital History
Finding a Sequence
Grid References
iCivics
Identify Countries on the Map
NASA Latitude/Longitude Finder
Scale Maps
Smithsonian’s History Explorer
Spotlight
Symbols and Keys
White Out/Black Out
World Capitals
Zoom In

Want to connect game-based learning with history and/or social studies? Be sure to explore Microsoft’s Minecraft and take advantage of virtual world-building with Minetest (free).

Bonus Tool: Use Curipod to Help Craft Lessons

Let’s take a moment to look at a technology tool replete with lessons, resources, and content. In fact, it comes highly recommended by educator Stephanie Howell who says, “I have recently fallen in love with Curipod” (source: email list message, 07/24/2023).

Want to write lessons with AI help? Wish you had a collection of lessons and resources for teaching history? You might check out the free Curipod website. You can sign up at no cost, and find a wealth of resources online. A search on history yields a host of “curipod” lessons for history and geography. Stephanie Howell shares a walkthrough of Curipod’s tools, and you can learn more about this tool via Curipod’s YouTube channel.

Explore Curiopod on your own and view free tier details

I hope you’ve found these tools and resources for teaching history and social studies helpful and interesting. Do you plan to incorporate some of these in the coming school year? Let us know how it goes in the comments. And if you have a favorite resource or tool to share, please let us know!

August 1, 2023 0 comments

Content Areas English Language Arts Reading (ELAR)Reading Robotics Science Social Studies

How to Integrate Robotics into Elementary Content Areas

by Laura Mackay June 7, 2023

written by Laura Mackay

Are you looking for a way to engage your students with content? Tired of the same old routines? Think about integrating touch-based robots into your curriculum. Most teachers, when they hear the word “robotics,” immediately think, “Nope. Not me.” or “I have no clue.” Coding a robot can seem daunting! That was our first thought when we were asked to integrate robotics into the regular curriculum. Luckily, kids have no problem trying something new! Here are some simple ideas for you to try as first steps to integrating robotics into content area instruction.

Types of Robots

First, there are so many different types of robots! Some are simple, like Bee-Bots, Code and Go Mouse, or VEX 123. With these types of robots, you simply push buttons and go. Many videos are available on YouTube to show how easy it is to program these. They help students focus on creating algorithms and learning executive functioning skills like critical thinking and problem solving. Additionally, you’ll see that the mats used with these robots can be very versatile! You can easily adapt them for whatever skill you want students to practice – from phonics to addition and subtraction.

Getting Started with Robots

Our first lesson is simply setting a structure and having students learn to program the robot and use the mat. We have them write their algorithm on a whiteboard or a planning guide, program the robot, press start, and see what happens. The key is classroom management. Set a structure of making students think and plan before touching the robot. This engages critical thinking. Once students have the planning and programming down, you’re ready to go. And they catch on very quickly!

Two photos of students using the VEX 123 robot for content practice — Notice students have a map to plan their algorithm before programming the robot. We are using the VEX 123 robot in these pictures with a plastic mat. You can also make your own mat with a poster printer or out of paper.

Many teachers will say they do not have time to teach the regular curriculum, much less to play with robots. The key is to incorporate both into lessons! I’m going to share some types of lessons we’ve had success with in my district. Most are done in the classroom, but some are in the library’s Makerspace. We are still in the pilot phase of integrating content and robotics, but hopefully, some of these ideas can work for you.

Example Activity Using Robots in Math

In math stations, students practice a variety of skills. Why not add robots? One favorite activity is rolling the dice and practicing addition, subtraction, and coding robots with One More, One Less, or Two More, Two Less. This lesson can be differentiated based on students’ personalized learning needs.

How to Play:

Two photos of students using the VEX 123 robot for math practice

First, students place the robot on the number 1 or a designated “Go” or “Start” square on the mat.
Students roll the dice. You can differentiate by using different types of dice or rolling more than one to make it more challenging.
Write down the number rolled (for example, 6).
Do the appropriate math (for example, if you’re playing Two More, you add 2: 6 + 2 = 8).
Find the number from the answer (8) on the mat.
Write out the algorithm for coding the robot to go from where it is on the mat, to the number in the answer (for example, straight 2, right 2, left 1, straight 3).
Program the robot to go from where it is on the mat (1 or “Go”) to the number from the answer (8). Press start!

If the student programs to the wrong number, they can take another turn, or another person can take a turn programming the correct number. Notice that sometimes we make cards to tape to the robot mat and other times we simply write numbers with an Expo marker. You do not have to be too fancy! Students are happy to simply engage with the robot. Can you think of other math concepts students could practice using robots?

Robotics and English Language Arts (ELA)

There are so many content ideas for ELA. In the lower grades, the focus can be on retelling a story or telling the beginning, middle, and end of a story. Simply change out the content cards on the mat and students become engaged in coding the robot to retell a story. Phonics practice is also important, and it is hard to make it fun. Teachers have created lessons helping students to learn contractions, CVC words, CVCE words, different word families, and diagraphs with robots. Once students learn a concept, it is easy to change the topic to practice a new one using the mat.

Image of Vex 123 mat used to retell a story — Heidi Danner at Ward Elementary created the ELA activity for Halloween using the VEX 123. In this activity, students practice retelling “The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything,” but the idea can be used with any book. Students code the robot to move to the images in the order they appear in the book and retell the story as they go.

Image of students using the Bee-Bot robot for sight word practice — Here, the Bee-Bot mat is used with students practicing sight words.

Science Review with Robots

Science started easy with students coding the robot to a picture that showed either a living or non-living thing. After teachers saw the engagement level with the students, they created a “Four Seasons” mat to review what type of clothing and weather goes with each season. Third graders practiced reviewing solids, liquids, and gases. Fifth grade students in Texas take the Science STAAR assessment, and teachers wanted a fun way to review material. Amanda Hughes at Ed White E-STEM created a Water Cycle mat with question stems to review important vocabulary and knowledge. The sky really is the limit to what you can practice!

Science challenge cards for robotics activity — Here are example challenge cards for the living a non-living activity.

Example science activity robotics mat for practicing solid, liquid, and gas — Here you see a printed mat with a practice review activity for solid, liquid, and gas.

Science challenge cards for the solids liquids and gases robotics activity — These challenge cards were used for the solid, liquid, and gas activity.

Using Robotics in Social Studies

Developing lessons in social studies has been fun for teachers. For one activity, we had students identify the continents. Images of the continents were placed on a mat, and students were tasked with locating a continent and coding the robot to move to it. In the first iteration of the lesson, we had the image of the continent labeled with its written name on the mat. The students simply had to match the card and code. To make it harder, we then used images of continents without their names. The students drew a continent card, found the continent on the mat, and then coded.

Image of students identifying continents using the VEX GO — Students are identifying the continents using the VEX GO.

The same structure works with a variety of topics. You could code the robot to important mountain ranges in Texas. Or code the robot to important cities or places in the United States. Upper grades had students design their own content-based robotics games about important places in the American Revolution.

Robotics is an engaging and fun way for students to learn the core content curriculum. Hopefully, a few of these ideas will inspire you to try something on your own!

Don’t miss Laura Mackay at TCEA’s Elementary Technology Conference in Galveston, Texas! She’ll be presenting two sessions: “Integrating Scratch Coding and Core Curriculum” and “Robotics for Littles – Using VEX 123.” Only a few days left to register!

Sign Up Today!

June 7, 2023 0 comments

Earth Day

Six Resources for Earth Day

by Peggy Reimers April 17, 2023

written by Peggy Reimers

Earth Day is coming up in April. How can we invest in our planet and celebrate Earth Day?

1. Five Ways to Help the Earth at School

There is a wide range of actions that we can take to make a small difference. If everyone participated, we could make BIG, positive change. Check out these five measures you can start today in your classroom and continue throughout the school year. Remember, taking care of the earth is an everyday occurrence, not just once a year!

Here are five actions you and your students can start today.

1. Use a reusable water bottle.

2. Use materials wisely. For example, not cutting a shape out of the middle of construction paper.

3. Add a student helper to be in charge of shutting off the lights when leaving the room.

4. When students are waiting on rides, encourage them to pay attention. Cutting down on cars idling in the car line is a big help.

Bonus: If you can, encourage carpooling with one or more families for drop off and pick up. If the neighborhood is walkable or rideable, encourage walking or biking.

5. Get in the habit of recycling.

2. Earth Day Digital Breakout

In honor of Earth Day, here is my newest digital breakout. The Earth Day Breakout has four digital locks, and just like all my breakouts, I can provide the four lock answers if you email me at preimers@tcea.org

3. Make an Earth Day Pledge

Every Earth Day, I make a pledge to change one thing in my life to help out my home planet. In the past, since I travel frequently, I have pledged to return my hotel key cards to the front desk and shut off the lights in the hotel room when I leave. I also walk to my neighborhood mailbox instead of driving. A few years ago, I discontinued my gas lawn mower and bought a battery-charged mower.

This year, my lofty goal is to bring my own container to restaurants instead of taking my leftovers home in a one-time throwaway styrofoam container. Think of this pledge like a spin on a New Year’s resolution, except it’s an Earth Day resolution. To help keep myself accountable, here is a pledge card in Canva, or you can make a copy of the Google slide deck and store your pledges digitally.

4. Canva Earth Day Resources

If you’ve been bitten by the Canva bug, like I have, check out these two resources.

1. Earth Day Activity Book: An eight-page, customizable booklet that offers a writing activity, vocabulary, fill-in-the-blanks, information on renewable and nonrenewable resources, and should or shouldn’t activity.

2. Earth Day Graphing Math Worksheet: Includes four customizable graphing activities for students

5. Earth Day Quizzes from EarthDay.org

EarthDay.org is a nonprofit organization that’s based in Washington, D.C. and has a worldwide reach. The website is a storage house for all things related to Earth Day. You might find the quizzes and fact sheet resources helpful!

The quizzes are broken into three topics:

Climate and Emissions Quizzes

Climate Change
Clean Energy
Regenerative Agriculture
Sustainable Fashion
Invest in our Planet

Individual Action Quizzes

Environmental Literacy
Upcycled Foods
Activism
Nature and Happiness

Conservation and Restoration Quizzes

Deforestations and Biodiversity
Protect our Species
Plastic Pollution
Whale Conservation
Endangered Species
Bee
Turtle
Fish

If you are searching for facts to make a point hit home. Check out these:

Plastic Pollution Fact Sheets

Disposable Plastics
Single Use Plastics
Ocean Plastics
Microplastics and Drinking Water
Facts: The Plastics Threat to Human Health

Conservation & Biodiversity Fact Sheets

Reforestation
Global Species Decline
Bees

Food and Agriculture Facts Sheets

Food Systems and Climate Change
degenerative Agriculture

6. National Geographic Kids

National Geographic is an American monthly magazine that was founded in 1888. This long-term establishment is great for exploring geography, cartography, and exploration, and it sponsors a website just for kids.

I found two articles for kids that you might like to use in your classroom. One article is on the History of Earth Day and includes additional tips to help the environment. Another article, Save the Earth Tips, offers five different slide deck galleries of beautiful animals threatened with extinction and ways you can help. Additionally, the Funny Fill-in for Earth Day digital mad-lib would be fun as a group, partnered, or individual activity for students.

Screenshot of a digital Earth Day madlib activity at https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/games/funny-fill-in/article/dreaming-green — **Source**

Remember, every small action we take as a human race will help us win in the long run. Happy Earth Day! Teachers, don’t forget, if you need answers to the breakout send me an email at preimers@tcea.org.

More Earth Day Resources

Earth Day Ideas to Inspire Young Eco-Heroes
Digital Resources for Earth Day
Get Ready for Earth Day
Resources to Celebrate Earth Day in Elementary
Earth Day Digital Breakout

April 17, 2023 0 comments

Online Tools and Apps Social Studies

Make History Interactive with HistoryMaps

by Miguel Guhlin March 7, 2023

written by Miguel Guhlin

Historians and K-12 students use historical maps for a similar purpose. Maps provide a window into the past. They enable us to see what people knew or understood at a particular time in history. You can find paper maps and digital maps in great plenty online, but one outlet for digital maps is the free, interactive site HistoryMaps.

Learn, Interact, Explore with HistoryMaps

HistoryMaps, available online or via the Android or iOS app, makes it easy to access historical maps. Additionally, the interface is available in multiple languages, including Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.

The founder of HistoryMaps, Nono Umasy, describes his goal in this way:

Once upon a time…I loved reading stories about far-off lands from picture books at the local library. Much of that same sense of wonderment still remains with me today. I still love History. I’m still curious about stories from remote places that happened a long time ago. So, when I decided to study again, I wanted to create something to help me. This was how HistoryMaps started.
About HistoryMaps

Explore HistoryMaps, and you’ll find a different aspect of history represented with each period offering interactive stories, images, and videos, like this one:

Periods Shared

HistoryMaps offers insights into various periods in history, including:

Ancient History
Medieval Period
Early Modern Period
Late Modern Period

As you find your way through each story, images of maps and various people from the time period appear.

For example, when you search for United States History, you’ll see this:

The videos that accompany each HistoryMaps are about twelve minutes long. There are embedded video advertisements that would appeal to student viewers. You will want to review these sponsored videos for relevance and appropriateness.

Mobile Apps Available

You might want to use the mobile app version of HistoryMaps website. Each HistoryMap on mobile features an opening page with content, characters, and text. The text source for characters is Wikipedia, so critical examination is a must.

In examining The History of California, you will find the mobile version. The images and maps are stunning, as is the cover art.

Critical Examination of Content

Watching The Colonial History of the United States, you will see references made to Paleo-Americans. More information appears to address concerns of Indigenous Peoples. You might want to pair student use of HistoryMaps with critical tools that look for bias in history.

Here are four blog entries that offer approaches that may assist you:

Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning. This blog entry also includes the Four Question Method.
Advancing Student Voice with Oral History Projects. Learn how to amplify student voices with oral history projects.
A PBL Approach to Texas History. This offers a project-based learning approach to exploring history. You could set students up to use PBL with HistoryMaps as one of several sources of information.
Critical Thinking and Writing in a ‘Zine Format. Explores critical thinking and offers heuristics you can share with students.

You will find Black History included as part of the Civil Rights Movement HistoryMaps.

Powerful content is available to fuel learning in the classroom. Be sure to learn, interact, and explore.

Feature Image Source

Screenshot by author, HistoryMaps website

March 7, 2023 0 comments

Announcements/Important Dates Culturally Responsive Social Studies

Resources for Black History Month

by Peggy Reimers February 1, 2023

written by Peggy Reimers

February is Black History Month. Each year, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History chooses a theme for the month. The theme for Black History Month in 2023 was “Black Resistance.” This theme explores how “African Americans have resisted historic and ongoing oppression since the earliest days of our nation.”

As a former elementary school teacher, it was always very helpful to me to have a list to sift through to find just the right resources for a lesson. Feel free to check out this list of resources I think you’ll find useful for Black History Month.

National Today

National Today is a website that lists individual and monthly holidays, and it is a great resource to draw from if you just need quick facts and information on Black History Month, such as:

History
timeline
FAQs
Activities for observing the month
Five interesting facts
Why it is important

34 Black History Month Activities for February and Beyond

This is a GOLDMINE! We Are Teachers has released 34 Black History Month activities for February and beyond. This site has a wonderful variety of ideas that covers a wide range of grade levels, and I think this is my best find! Here are a few of the options:

Recreate a civil rights freedom movement poster.
Virtually visit the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Watch “Kevin Hart’s Guide to Black History.”
Create a Black History Month playlist.
Check out online exhibits on Black History.

Black History Month Posters

Jen Bengel has shared her daughter Malaya’s artwork with a set of free posters. These are in the Teachers Pay Teachers marketplace. There are 15 prominent African Americans featured. Each person has two posters. One poster has a quote, and the other one has contributions from the individual. Selections include:

Harriet Tubman
Sojourner Truth
Rosa Parks
Crispus Attucks
Angela Davis
Barrack Obama
Barbara Jordan
Mae Carol Jemison
Coretta Scott King
Bryan Stevenson
Bessie Coleman
Alice Coachman
Shirley Chrisholm
Ida B. Wells
Martin Luther King Jr.

Teaching Mama

Angela Thayer’s blog, Teaching Mama, has free printable Black History Month posters. The author requests that you please visit her blog to download the PDFs. Look for the large pink “Download Here” box to download the posters.

Rise Vision

The Rise Vision Blog has ten free Black History Month posters for schools. You will need to enter your name and email address to receive the ZIP file. Among the honored are Shirley Chisholm, Elijah McCoy, and Barack Obama.

Education.com

Education.com has an 11×17 poster of Black changemakers featuring activists, artists, authors, and revolutionaries. You will need to create an account in order to download the poster.

We Are Teachers

We Are Teachers has two sets of posters: Five Free Black History Month Quote Posters for Your Classroom and Science Posters to Celebrate Black History All Year Long.

And, just in case you missed it, check out this blog post for all kinds of other free classroom posters.

Student Poster Creation

Adobe Expres

This next one is pretty cool. Adobe Express allows you to choose a template that highlights prominent Black leaders. Teachers and students can customize a poster with professionally designed images, graphics, fonts, and more. Do note that you will need to create an account.

Canva

If you or your students are using Canva in your classroom, try creating a poster or designing a quote with this online graphic design tool. With just a quick search, I found plenty of choices to help create a professional-looking design.

120 Inspiring Quotes for Black History Month

This article has 120 inspiring quotes from powerful public figures that have left a lasting effect on our country with their insightful words, historic speeches, and more.

Here is a sampling:

“Hate is too great a burden to bear. It injures the hater more than it injures the hated.”
– Coretta Scott King

“The need for change bulldozed a road down the center of my mind.”
– Maya Angelou

“Character is power.”
– Booker T. Washington

One more resource to pull quotes from is 99 Black History Quotes to Start 2023.

Can Kids Change the World?

In 2021, Scholastic released a seven-minute video that asks the question: Did the fight for civil rights include children? Watch the video to learn about seven year old Ayanna Najuma, who braved consequences to make her community more inclusive.

The 13 Best Places to Celebrate Black History Month in 2023

If you happen to live in LA, Houston, Kansas City, Missouri, or any of the other ten places listed in this U.S. News article, plan on a visit or field trip to these top museums or events.

Oprah Daily Black History Month 2023

If you are looking for a book to read? Check out the Oprah Daily on Black History Month 2023. The website lists the 21 best books by black authors you should read in your lifetime.

Featured image created in Canva by TCEA staff

February 1, 2023 0 comments

Social Studies STEM/STEAM

A Free and Open-Source (FOSS) Geographic Information System

by Miguel Guhlin December 29, 2022

written by Miguel Guhlin

Ever wish you could introduce your students to geospatial information? While there are tools that get the job done, they aren’t always usable by students outside of school. Let’s explore one solution currently in use in K-12 schools with several examples. Then, we will take a quick look at how to get started with a free and open-source (FOSS) option.

The Value of Learning Geospatial Tools

I couldn’t agree with my colleague, Andrew Roush, more when he writes on this topic.

Geographic literacy is a required part of many social studies standards. Using maps can also help learners make visual connections. Those connections can be with abstract thoughts, ideas, and facts that maps represent. Those cognitive links can include maps that address a variety of factors, such as:

population
physical landscape
economic factors
cultural factors

He makes this point (edited for readability):

The critical thinking that using maps creates can be a help for any teacher at any level and in any subject. Add data to geography to make maps even richer sources of inspiration. What’s more, they heighten understanding and analysis opportunities.

What Do Many Schools Use Now?

ESRI’s ArcGIS is in wide use at many K-12 schools. ESRI has been in K-12 education for many years. In fact, I remember encountering ArcGIS many years ago when a social studies teacher asked how she could get access to it for her students. This longtime presence has given ESRI an edge in connecting with students and staff. No doubt, there are students who learned it in K-12, then started using it when they got into college.

Example 1: Fire and Weather Alert Map

Tami Brass, TCEA member and Director of Instructional Technology at St. Paul Academy and Summit School, shared a Fire and Weather Alert map she created for her students:

Screenshot by author of **Tami Brasst share of this image via Mastodon**

What’s amazing about the online map is you can double-click on the various alert icons (such as a fire icon). This yields more information about alerts issued, as you can see in the screenshot below:

“One of the reasons we decided to implement [ESRI’s ArcGIS] is because it’s the industry standard for most of our state and local governments,” Tami says. She goes on to say, “Schools can set up #arcgis domains with no charge.”

Example 2: 2892 Miles To Go Project

Shana Peeples (Mastodon: @ShannaPeeples) expresses pride in the 2892 Miles to Go project:

Our Route 66 team created a #SocialJustice Story Map. We did this in partnership with National Geographic Education for the #2892 project. We’re really proud of it -  https://www.2892walk.org

One aspect of the 2892 Miles to Go project is the Tulsa Massacre project:

2892 Tulsa storytellers set out to tell a much more far-reaching and expansive story. The locales include Oklahoma, Tulsa, the Greenwood District, Black Wall Street. They share more about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre than what the world has come to learn in the last few years.

This group of academics, historians, activists, and educators want to share a deeper understanding of history. They do this to avoid repeating history. They also do it to advocate for those who are leading the efforts to heal, repair, honor, and rebuild.

It’s powerful work. You can find an educator’s toolkit for 2892 Miles To Go online. It offers suggestions for crafting place-based narratives. With ArcGIS Online Tool, you can create amazing Story Maps.

Did You Know?

You can now access a different type of map. The map is a map of the universe. Using a new tool, you can get a 90-degree view of the night sky that has all 13.7 billion years of the cosmos right there in front of them.
Explore the Map

Introducing ArcGIS Story Maps

As you can see from the 2892 project, your students can design “inspiring, immersive stories.” They do this by combining text, interactive maps, and other multimedia content.” The Story Maps website offers great suggestions for getting started, which you can adapt for use with your students.

Learn More about ArcGIS StoryMaps. ArcGIS for Students is available at $100 a year. Free accounts are for K–12 instructional use only. As part of your request, you must agree to the terms of use and meet the following criteria: Based in the US, engage in account management, and have no existing ArcGIS accounts. More on the criteria is available online.

Ready to get started? Follow these steps:

Create a free, public account with ArcGIS Online
Visit the Story Maps Apps website
View the Gallery of Examples

Need someone to introduce GIS to your students? Reach out to Dr. Aida Guhlincozzi. Her work incorporates community geography, among others, and qualitative GIS theory and methodologies. Presentations work with students as young as second grade through high school.

The Challenge

There is a challenge. ArcGIS, the tool Tami and Shanna used to create digital creations, can cost money if students are not in K-12 or in the United States. Students learn the tool when it’s free. This predisposes them to the tool when they get older and have money to spend. That presents a challenge some have chosen to overcome through the use of FOSS.

Choosing Free, Open-Source Alternatives

“I would want to reference the FOSS option, so our students are aware there are alternatives,” asserts Tami. Educator Dave Lane (Mastodon: @lightweight) wouldn’t disagree. He shares a concern with the academic use of proprietary tools. He puts it this way:

Have you ever used QGIS? It’s #FOSS (Free and Open Source Software). It’d be great for your students. That’s because then they could run it at home (if they have a computer) without having to try to find a way to use ArcGIS. Then they can take it as far as their interest carries them.

One solution, as Dave points out, is to use QGIS. This is a powerful tool to make available for students to use at home or school. He adds that it is free and open source. Students learn to use a tool that isn’t expensive, and it doesn’t predispose them to closed-source solutions. Free, open-source software often comes with a lot of community-based support, such as tutorials and tip sheets (as shown below).

Screenshot by author of available tips and tutorials

The Power of FOSS

Dave shares this video that explains the power, as well as the research, behind FOSS:

He explores his journey in a blog entry. It’s worth reading. His concern is that schools may be missing out.

“The amazing thing is that the cost of setting up and using the #FOSS stuff is negligible. We’re supporting 200,000 learners with our digital learning ecosystem. The entire IT infrastructure budget falls under $10k per year. I run it all solo.” (Adapted from Source: Dave Lane)

Digging into QGIS

“Yes! It’s [QGIS] a great tool. I’m actually working on a grant to develop a curriculum that would incorporate QGIS,” says Dr. Guhlincozzi. You can get started with QGIS right away since it’s a free download:

Here is a video tutorial on how to use QGIS:

No doubt, some educators may choose to use ArcGIS in Chromebook settings and in K-12. In addition, they may also offer students QGIS as a free, no-cost alternative.

Feature Image Source

Screenshot by author of QGIS software

December 29, 2022 0 comments

Announcements/Important Dates Social Studies

How Can We Thank Our Veterans?

by Emily Horn November 4, 2022

written by Emily Horn

My dad is a Veteran who served two tours in Iraq from 2002-2004. My grandfathers were Veterans as well. I have several friends who are either in the military or whose spouses are in the military. If you know of anyone who’s ever served, you understand – on some level – the sacrifices of serving. Of course, those of us who have not served will never fully fathom the depth and breadth of military service like a Veteran who experienced it themselves. Thinking about my own father’s sacrifices brings tears to my eyes even now. How do we even begin to honor our Veterans for their service and sacrifice? Here are a few ideas for ways you and your friends, family, students, and community can show up for Veterans on Friday, November 11, 2022.

Attend Local Events

What is scheduled in your community for Veteran’s Day? Is there a service or ceremony planned at the Capitol, or a parade? Will there be a 5K or fundraising event nearby? How are your city and community planning to celebrate and honor Veterans in the area? Make it a point to attend events and encourage students to attend also. If you can, schedule a field trip to attend an event or ceremony.

Veterans in uniform with American flags on a Veterans of Foreign Wars float in a Veterans Day Parade.

Interview Veterans

Ask students if they have a friend or family member who is a Veteran. Perhaps there are staff members in your school who are Veterans. Invite them to your classroom for a Q&A or to give a presentation. Or have students individually interview a Veteran to write an essay, make a video essay, or give a presentation about them. Brainstorm a list of questions with your students in advance to guide their interviews.

A Veteran speaking to a class of high school students.

Visit a Local VA Hospital or Nursing Home

Do you live near a VA Hospital or nursing home? Contact your local facility to see if there are any special events or services planned to honor Veterans. Ask how you can participate! If there’s nothing planned, students can write letters and deliver them to Veterans, hand deliver treats, or prepare songs or poems to perform. Making a visit just for students to talk to a Veteran about their service can be impactful. Also, look into any volunteer programs that may be available.

Participate in the Veteran’s Day Moment of Silence

Did you know that Public Law No: 114-240 passed in the 114th Congress on October 7, 2016 calls on the American people to “observe two minutes of silence on Veterans Day at 3:11pm Atlantic standard time”? You can participate with your students and encourage them to lift up thoughts of gratitude for Veterans and their service during this time.

Elementary students with flags bow their heads in a moment of silence for Veterans Day. — Source: **Defense Visual Information Distribution Service**

Support a Charity

There are many ways your students can show support through charitable giving. For example, Soldiers’ Angels has several opportunities for people to give back through campaigns like Treats for Troops, Holiday Stockings for Heroes, and Holiday Adopt-a-Family. You can also raise funds through student-led initiatives like bake sales for charities such as Wounded Warrior Project and K9s for Warriors.

These are just a few small ways to thank Veterans and educate students. What will you do to honor Veterans this year? What have you done in the past? Please share ideas with us in the comments so that we can support, honor, and thank our Veterans this November.

Additional Resources

Five Veterans Day Activities for Your Classroom (TechNotes)
Free Resources for Veterans Day (TechNotes)
2022 Veterans Day Teacher’s Guide (VA)
Veterans Day in the Classroom (NEA)
15 Inspiring and Informative Veterans Day Videos for Kids (We Are Teachers)
Take a Veteran to School Day (History.com)
Lesson Plan: Veterans Day and the Meaning of Sacrifice (PBS)
Free Veterans Day Reading Activities (Jennifer Findley)
Veterans Day Lesson Plan: Civic Ideas and Practices (BrainPop)

November 4, 2022 0 comments

English Language Arts Reading (ELAR)Libraries Social Studies

Six Popular Biography Series Featuring Women Heroes

by Peggy Reimers March 15, 2022

written by Peggy Reimers

When I was teaching, biographies were limited to encyclopedias or to a rainbow-colored covered book called “Biography Today.” (Yes, I am that old.) It was published once a year, and I located it in the school library. It said right on the cover, “Profiles of People of Interests to Young Readers.” But today, I visited my local library and searched the internet. WOW. The selection of biographies available today is astonishing. I am amazed and thrilled at what I found. Check out these six series that will have you celebrating Women’s History Month (WHM) every day of the year.

1. Ordinary People Change the World

Author Brad Meltzer and illustrator Christopher Eliopoulos were determined to create biographies highlighting American heroes. Brad’s motto is, “It’s a time in America where we need goodness, kindness, and Kermit the Frog lessons.” In this series of picture books and graphic novels for K-2 students, each biography includes influences, timelines, and photos. And each hero exhibits a trait that makes them a role model for the reader. Check out supplemental resources on their website. Here are some titles specific to WMH:

Marie Curie
Malala Yousafzai
Billie Jean King
Oprah Winfrey
Frida Kahlo
Anne Frank
Sonia Sotomayor
Harriet Tubman
Sacagawea
Harriet Tubman
Jane Goodall
Helen Keller
Lucille Ball
Rosa Parks
Amelia Earhart

2. Who HQ

This series of illustrated biographies written by multiple authors is packed with history, culture, and illustrations on each page. Appropriate for grades 3-7, each biography offers timelines to include personal life and world events. Check out the educator section on this website. The selection for female biographies is extensive, and here is just a small sampling:

Georgia O’Keefe
Celia Cruz
Selena
Coretta Scott King
Venus and Serena Williams
Princess Diana
Lucille Ball
Jacqueline Kennedy
Hillary Clinton
Julia Child
Rachel Carson
Dolly Parton
Abigail Adams
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Frida Kahlo
Michelle Obama
Maria Tallchief
Annie Oakley

3. Little Feminist Board Book Sets

If you’re looking for something to highlight women heroes to younger learners, these durable books are perfect for infants to age two. These board books, written by Emily Kleinman and illustrated by Lydia Ortiz, feature colorful portraits of women. And each woman has made a historical impact on the world. Here is a list of the sets offered, and each set comes with four books:

Little Feminist
Little Feminist Activists
Little Feminist Pioneers
Little Feminist Artists
Little Feminist Leaders

4. She Persisted

These picture and chapter books, written by Chelsea Clinton and illustrated by Alexandra Boiger, are great for students in grades K-3. Each picture book tells the story of more than 10 women who never took no for an answer. These women always, inevitably, and without fail, persisted. Chelsea and Alexandra invited other authors and illustrators to write a series of chapter books about women who spoke up and defied the odds. You can join the monthly book club for an author video and Q&A and get the downloadable guide here.

Picture Books:

She Persisted
She Persisted in Science
She Persisted Around the World
She Persisted in Sports

Chapter books:

Harriet Tubman
Claudette Colvin
Sally Ride
Virginia Apgar
Nellie Bly
Sonia Sotomayor
Florence Griffith JOyner
Ruby Bridges
Clara Lemlich
Maragret Chase Smith
Maria Tallchief
Coretta Scott King
Wangari Maathai
Oprah Winfrey
Helen Keller

5. Little People, Big Dreams

These biographies, by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara and various illustrators, are for younger readers in grades K-3. And they each have adorable illustrations for readers to enjoy. Each life is told as a story with facts and a photo section at the back of the book. There are more than 100 titles! A selection geared to WMH includes:

Kamala Harris
Yoko Ono
Iris Apfel
Aretha Franklin
Mary Shelley
Amanda Gorman
Ella Fitzgerald

6. You Should Meet

This nonfiction biography series was written by Laurie Calkhoven and various other authors. It focuses on inspirational people who have achieved amazing success in their field. These paperbacks are Ready-to-Read Level Three books for first grade and up. Female titles include:

Misty Copeland
Mae Jemison
Katherine Johnson
Roberta Gibb
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Shirley Chisholm
Yayoi Kusama

For more books with a STEM focus, check out this blog. Or for more WMH books, click here.

Featured image: designed by TCEA staff

March 15, 2022 0 comments

Content Areas Social Studies

Teaching with Primary Sources

by Miguel Guhlin March 3, 2022

written by Miguel Guhlin

I recently read Dr. James Loewen’s book, “Lies My Teacher Told Me.” With this book, I saw my illusions of history crumble. During my high school history classes, I loved the stories Brother Blake and Brother Sobel at Central Catholic High told. Unlike others in class, I made straight 100s on pop quizzes and tests. And like many Americans, I never gave those stories another thought.

History’s truths weren’t reflected in what I learned in history class, though.

I discovered these when reading works like Clint Smith’s “How the Word is Passed” and Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s “An Indigenous Peoples History of the United States.”

Teaching History Today

Now, in the midst of talks of banning books and tensions surrounding what can be taught and can not be taught, it’s not an easy time to be a history teacher. How do you teach the truth about history and meet the state standards using secondary sources that may or may not be factual? With this question in mind, I asked a regional education specialist as we sat at an Exhibit Hall table during TCEA 2022 Convention and Exposition. I’ve changed her name to keep her anonymous, and I will refer to her as Kristin.

Recommendations for Teaching History

“What’s the best approach, Kristin?” I asked.

“Want to teach history? You have to realize it’s a lot of ground to cover,” she said. “And teachers are legally required to teach the TEKS.”

“But are the textbooks even accurate? In these times, how can history teachers ensure they’re aren’t teaching stories that fall short of the truth?” I countered. Textbooks fall into secondary sources that retell and interpret events.

“Teaching out of a textbook…robs the students not only of critical-thinking skills, but also of the richness of history, and the other voices that are there,” says history teacher, Liz Ramos. (source)

Kristin recommends:

Focusing on a specific period, relying on the TEKS to guide you, and using tools like these:
- Lead4ward
- TEKS Resource
Encouraging cooperative learning and classroom discussions
Defining key vocabulary
Taking a hard look at the “raw materials of history”– primary sources

“The way to teach history is with primary sources,” Kristin said.

This makes sense, doesn’t it? Focus on primary sources and get students to discuss their perceptions and perspectives. It reminds me of how another teacher of mine taught religion class– never share your own opinion, only invite students to interrogate the information available.

Primary sources are the raw materials of history. They are original documents, objects, and artifacts that were created during the period of time being studied. They differ from secondary sources. Secondary sources are accounts that retell, analyze, or interpret events. Usually, these appear after the events and period of history being studied. (Adapted from source)

Approaching History with Primary Sources

But what’s the best way of approaching the oceans of human history?

A challenge I imagine one might have is uncovering how to best teach history using primary sources. Textbooks align with the curriculum but primary sources present an unvarnished version of what happened. Students plug that into their brains, discuss with peers, then draw conclusions. There’s real value for educators in becoming curators of quality primary sources.

“The truth of the matter is education is political,” says Tinisha Shaw. She suggests that each teacher create curated lists of materials they’ve vetted, “primary sources and secondary sources that hit particular themes [to be] discuss[ed].”

Dr. James Loewen suggests (source as cited) questions to apply to secondary sources:

When was the secondary source created?
Who created it, included or omitted from the account? Are they treated as heroes or villains?
Why was it created? What were their ideological needs and social purposes?
What was/is the intended audience? How does the account change if it includes powerful people or institutions? What do other sources say?
How could the story differ if a different group had told it? How is the story received? Forgotten or remembered? Accurate account or less than accurate?

This is a lot of questions and perspectives to juggle. It’s the perfect situation to rely on two powerful high-effect strategies. Those include the Jigsaw Method in the context of a Problem-Solving Teaching lesson.

With all this in mind, the teacher’s role becomes one of “orchestrator.” The teacher organizes the sources and then has a process– a process that involves students comparing perspectives. Here are three approaches you can take to teaching with primary resources.

Image Source: Matt Doran, Historiography for the Secondary Social Studies Classroom

Approach #1: Historiography

This approach involves understanding changing interpretations of past events. In this case, students can follow a step-by-step guide to creating a historiography. Those steps may involve:

Identifying a Topic. Students can create a concept map to explore past events and how others have interpreted them. You can use concept mapping tools like CMAP Tools that make it easy to embed links, and links can go directly to primary sources.
Creating a bibliography. This can include book reviews, books, article anthologies, videos, and periodicals.
Assessing Perspectives. Map out the perspectives presented. Be sensitive to how authors represent events and determine and identify bias.
Crafting a historiography. Create a chronological timeline, tracing changes over time, and identifying perspectives. Make a note of each topic and how interpretations have changed over time. (Adapted from source.)

Approach #2: Four Question Method (4QM)

In the 4QM, students work to engage in four acts:

Narration
Interpretation
Explanation
Judgment

Each act comes with a question:

Narration- What happened?
Interpretation – What were they thinking?
Explanation – Why then and there?
Judgment – What do we think about that?

This approach enables students to process key information. Students make connections. They link what they are studying and their own thoughts on what’s happened. Explore the Four Question Method (4QM) online on the authors’ website.

Approach #3: Curating a Collection

Create and curate a collection of trusted primary courses with students. Know about the APART method (watch video)? It’s an approach that involves looking at:

A – Author

P – Prior knowledge

A – Audience

R – Reason/purpose

T – The message

Another approach you could choose to use is the OPVL technique (watch video) and the OPVL site:

O – Origin

P – Purpose

V – Value

L – Limitation

Where Can I Find Primary Sources?

Now that you have some ways of analyzing historical documents, what primary sources are available? Ample resources exist for teaching with primary sources, and you can find a list in this Wakelet collection.

View Wakelet Collection – https://tinyurl.com/yd2rmoak

Teaching history with primary sources works. It works because it focuses on what happened, who did what, and why. And, more importantly, it challenges students to think in a critical manner about how interpretations of history have changed to fit the needs of the powerful. How have you used or will you use primary sources in your history class?

March 3, 2022 2 comments

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