2020 Best Practices Institute Registration Open
The 2020 Best Practices in Social Studies Institute will take place June 29-30 at Grand View University in Des Moines. The institute is free and open to any social studies teacher or to those who support social studies teachers.
The elementary keynote speaker is Dr. Katy Swalwell from Iowa State University. She will discuss creating inquiry-based units using Iowa’s social studies standards. The secondary keynote is Nate Otey from Harvard University. He will discuss creating evidence-based arguments using argument mapping. Participants will also get the chance to attend breakout sessions. More information can be found at https://iowacore.gov/content/professional-learning-events-social-studies.
To register go here. Registration closes June 1st.
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Registration Open for Free Workshop on the Holocaust
Echoes and Reflections, part of the Anti-Defamation League is sponsoring a two-day workshop in Waukee this summer. The workshop will take place July 29-30 at the Caspe Terrace (33158 Ute Ave.).
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Day 1 (July 29th): Choices Matter: Complicity and Action During the Holocaust
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Day 2 (July 30th): Analyzing Propaganda and Teaching Media Literacy
Please note that you can attend just attend for one day, but will need to register for both days if you want to be eligible to receive license renewal credit.
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Social Studies Webinar Learning Series
The last webinar in the Social Studies Webinar Learning Series takes place April 14th from 3:30-4:30. The topic will be Taking Informed Action. You can view connection information for this webinar and view recordings of past webinars here.
Do you have students interested in law? The Constitution? Maybe one day running for political office?
The University of Northern Iowa Social Science Teaching program and the UNI Department of Political Science are excited to offer you and your middle school, junior high and/or high school students a unique opportunity to engage in the We the People program.
This summer, July 14 & 15 UNI is offering a 1 hour graduate credit workshop called: “We The People: Rights and Challenges”, for the cost of $100.
At the workshop teachers will work with We the People curriculum. After completing the workshop teachers are expected to work with their students and prepare them to participate in simulated congressional hearing using the We the People curriculum.
Interested? Questions?
Contact Chad Christopher at chad.christopher@uni.edu by April 15.
Iowa Teachers of Psychology Conference
The Iowa Teachers of Psychology Conference is taking place April 17 at Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo. The keynote speaker is Linda Woolf from Webster University who will be discussing "Tackling the Teaching of Sensitive Topics. Check out more information here.
Iowa Council for the Social Studies Conference
This year's Iowa Council for the Social Studies conference will take place on September 28 at the Prairie Meadows Events Center. There will also be a chance to attend pre-conference workshops on September 27th. Interested in presenting? Go here. For more information go to http://www.iowasocialstudies.org.
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Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs Upcoming Events
- April 2, 2020: Teacher Appreciation Night and Resource Fair (5:00 - 7:00 pm) at State Historical Museum
- Connect with lots of exhibitors, free food, raffle prizes, etc. Check out more here.
- Teacher Professional Development Workshop
- June 23-24, 2020
- Description: Explore the best practices for using primary sources in your classroom with staff from the State Historical Museum of Iowa. Participants will receive exclusive access to the museum’s primary sources-both archives and collection objects-and learn how to incorporate Iowa specific primary sources into the classroom. Participants will walk away with resources and lesson plans to implement into their classrooms. License renewal credit is available.
- More information
Chief Justice Roberts on the Importance of Civic Education
In his end of year report on the state of the judiciary, Chief Justice John Roberts discusses the importance of civic education for the future of our democratic republic and pointed to iCivics as an important partner in helping to ensure civic education for K-12 students.
ICYMI: March 3rd was Statewide High School Voter Registration Day
On Tuesday, March 3, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate encouraged all high schools to conduct voter registration drives. The Secretary of State's Office wants to make sure all schools are included.
A new state law allows 17-year-olds the right to register to vote in Iowa. With the 2020 election cycle underway, now is a great opportunity to engage all eligible students in the electoral process. Under Iowa law, any registered voter who will be 18-years-old on or before the November 3, 2020 general election may participate in the June 2, 2020 primary elections.
How can you conduct a voter registration drive? Here are a few examples to get started:
- Print voter registration forms and organize a table during the lunch period.
- For 1:1 schools, send students a link to the Iowa DOT’s online voter registration portal.
- Via student e-mail, send students a link to the Iowa Secretary of State’s website.
- Allow teachers to share in class why voting is important and how local elections, such as a school board and city council elections, affect students directly.
- Provide voter registration forms and links to students in homeroom, advisement periods, and study halls.
If you plan on participating or would like more information, please contact Kendall.Antle@sos.iowa.gov or (515) 725-1012.
GeoInquiries
ESRI has hundreds of geoinquiries available on their website. Geoinquiries are short, standards-based activities for teaching map-based content. topics include American lit, earth science, government, U.S. history, human geography, world history, and more.
International Outreach Consortium Resources
The University of Texas at Austin has several curriculum resources that might be helpful to you if you teach global studies/world history. These include 15 minute history podcasts, a digital speakers bureau, full units on various global issues topics, and more. Check it out here.
New White Paper Released on the Study of Religion
The Religious Freedom Center recently released a new "white paper" that highlighted eight major action items to improve religious studies education.
Americans and the Holocaust Exhibit Coming to Iowa
From May 11-June 22, 2020 the Marshalltown Public Library will host an exhibit entitled Americans and the Holocaust. The exhibit raises questions about what could have been done to stop the rise of Nazism in Germany. You can check out an online version of the exhibit here.
Provide Feedback on Iowa History Project
As educators seek to incorporate Iowa history into Social Studies lessons, resources are being developed by members of the Governor's Iowa History Advisory Council to support educators. Teaching Iowa History is a state-wide, multi-partner initiative led by the Iowa Museum Association to support educators in teaching the new Social Studies standards by creating instructional resources for grades K-12 built around the use of historical inquiry and primary sources from museum/archive collections. The project provides an opportunity for pre-service teachers to learn to teach with primary sources in fulfillment of the new standards, and raises awareness of the benefits of museum/school educators working in partnership, as well as highlighting the role of museums as stewards of the historical and cultural fabric of Iowa. Please provide feedback in this short survey.
Article: What Happens When Society Treats the Humanities as Irrelevant?
This article from the Dallas Morning News examines the impact on society when the humanities are treated as irrelevant.
A Look Back at the Iowa Caucuses
Mikva Challenge brought a group of students from Washington, D.C. to Iowa so they could see the Iowa caucus process first-hand. CNN showcased their story while in Iowa. Check it out here.
High School Students Invited to Attend the World Food Prize Iowa Youth Institute
Registration is now open for the 2020 Iowa Youth Institute, hosted by the World Food Prize Foundation and Iowa State University. This year's event will be held on Monday, April 27th in Ames.
This event aims to inspire the next generation of global leaders to pursue meaningful careers in policy, science, education, and communications by connecting students with supportive mentors, industry experts, and leading researchers who are working to address critical issues in global food security.
To participate, students are challenged to research a topic affecting food security within a specific country and propose their own unique solution to improve the lives of families living within the country. Students will present their ideas to world-renowned experts and engage in field immersions on Iowa State’s campus, all designed to prepare them for hunger-fighting career paths beyond high school.
All students who submit their idea and participate in the day-long event will automatically receive a $500 scholarship to Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and are also eligible to apply for paid fellowships through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The top Iowa participants will also be selected to join award-winning scientists, policy experts, and industry leaders from around the world at the World Food Prize Global Youth Institute in October.
*New for 2020: Iowa State University has generously committed to providing an additional $2,000 scholarship for all students selected to move on to the Global Youth Institute!
Students and their teachers can find helpful resources and register at www.worldfoodprize.org/iowayouth. The deadline to register is Monday, March 30th. All questions can be directed to Kelsey Tyrrell at ktyrrell@worldfoodprize.org.
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ICYMI: Eyes on the Prize
Facing History and Ourselves now has the entire 14-part Eyes on the Prize documentary available on their website for streaming. They have also produced a guide to accompany the documentary. Check out these resources here.
Launch of World History Project
If you teach world history, you might want to check out the new World History Project from the Big History Project. As an overview, check out this video from Professor Bob Bain about what makes history usable. Check it out here.
Seven Resources for Teaching about the 2020 Election
This blog post from Glenn Wiebe (History Tech) outlines seven great resources for teaching about the 2020 Election. This includes PBS Learning Media, iCivics, Teaching Tolerance, and more.
Frederick Douglass Newspapers, 1847 to 1874, Now Online
This online collection, from the Library of Congress, presents newspapers edited by Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), the African American abolitionist who escaped slavery and became one of the most famous orators, authors, and journalists of the 19th century. Check out the collection here.
Coronavirus Response
Model Diplomacy has produced a "pop-up" case about the coronavirus response. Check it out here.
Kids Taking Action
Inspire My Kids is all about kids taking action. The site includes examples of kids taking action by subject area, ages, etc. This could be a great site or examples of taking informed action, which shows up in the social studies standards.
GeoCivics
GeoCivics (https://www.uccs.edu/geocivics/) offers a foundation for discussing apportionment and redistricting, an understanding of which is fundamental prior to considering issues of gerrymandering.
Each state has a set of interactive materials for use in the classroom. Here are the links for Iowa:
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“Iowans On the Move" lesson which engages participants in discussing the history of the state by identifying the 15 largest cities in three time periods – this activity can be done using National Geographic’s Giant Map of Iowa or with small blocks / LEGOs and paper driving maps.
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Background educational materials on apportionment and redistricting with a culminating deliberation about redistricting criteria using flashcards from "Draw the Lines PA.
- Self-contained online redistricting mapping exercise using Census data and state features- instructions in a Word document can be found on the Iowa page.
2020 Census Resources
The United States Census Bureau has created several new activities designed specifically for the 2019-2020 school year spotlight the 2020 Census and the importance of making sure everyone is counted, especially children. The decennial count impacts the federal funds that communities receive for special education, classroom technology, teacher training, after-school programs, school lunch assistance, and more. Check out these resources here.
Teaching WWI using 1917
This guide from the national World War I Museum might be helpful if you are using teaching about WWI using 1917, a recent Hollywood movie about the war.
Teaching about the Vietnam War- FREE Materials
The USA Vietnam War Commemoration is a Department of Defense office authorized by Congress in 2008 and launched by the President in May 2012 to honor the service and sacrifice of America's Vietnam War veterans and their families. The organization’s History and Legacy Branch’s professional historians and educators have developed materials to aid educators and students in contextualizing the importance of the Vietnam War and the Vietnam veteran in U.S. history.
These materials include:
The teachers’ toolkit is a booklet sized lesson-planning aid filled with Vietnam War websites, primary and secondary sources, links to education plans, films, books and more. It may be downloaded at https://www.vietnamwar50th.com/history_and_legacy/educator_resources/
The organization also collects veterans’ oral histories. These may be viewed at bit.ly/vwcoralhistories. These oral histories provide unique insights into wartime experiences from broad perspectives. Additionally, the VWC creates themed compilation videos to commemorate the shared contributions of veterans.
Visually engaging and easily digestible full-sized posters (each panel is 24 x 36 inches) are also available. With a host of topics that include POWs, the Home Front, Gender and War, Race and War, Medicine, Sensors, Allies, Counterinsurgency, and Helicopter warfare, these works will aid teachers in introducing students to the Vietnam War. New posters are added every few months. To view the current poster listings, please visit https://www.vietnamwar50th.com/history_and_legacy/educator_resources/
Physical copies of posters and the teachers’ toolkits may also be requested by emailing whs.pentagon.wso.mbx.vnwar50th-edu@mail.mil. When requesting materials, please include your name, address, the number of teachers’ toolkits required, and the names and numbers of poster sets requested; the Vietnam War Commemoration will ship these materials for free.
Media Literacy Resources
Civic Online Reasoning (COR) is a new website from the Stanford History Education Group. This website includes hundreds of tools for teaching media literacy and is a must for any social studies teacher. Speaking of media literacy, the Media Literacy Project has released a new app called Informable. You can download the new app from the Apple or Google Play store. A few other media literacy resources:
New Book Titles to Watch
Check out this list of 23 book titles to watch for ALA awards. Many of the titles have social studies connections. For example, Fry Bread tells the story of a modern Native American family and the memories fry bread brings. Dancing Hands tells the story of Teresa Carreno, a child piano prodigy who played in front of Abraham Lincoln.
Recently, the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA) identified the following books as award winners of the Freeman Book Awards.
- Young Adult, High School
- Patron Saints of Nothing, Randy Ribay
- The Weight of Our Sky, Hanna Alkaf
- Indigo Girl, Suzanne Kamata
- Young Adult, Middle School
- All the Ways Home, Elsie Chapman
- A Place to Belong, Cynthia Kadohata
- Girl of the Southern Sea, Michelle Kadarusman
- Children's Literature
- The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota's Garden, Heather Smith
- The Moose of Ewenki, Gerelchimeg Blackcrane
- Magic Ramen: The Story of Momofuku Ando, Andrea Wang
- When Spring Comes to the DMZ, Uk-Bae Lee
Ten Free Geography Games
Check out this recent post by Free Technology for Teachers that lists 10 free geography games for teachers.
Future Voters Project
Check out the Future Voters Project from Teaching Tolerance. This project supports schools and teachers who want to help eligible students register to vote.
Teaching about the Middle East?
TeachMideast has launched several new resource guides about the Middle East. Topics include Islam, Syria, Arab and Muslim Americans, Women in Islam, and more. Check them out here.
Iowa State University Launches New Website to Support Inquiry in Social Studies
This new website provides several great resources for using an inquiry-based approach in social studies. The website also includes teacher voices that describe how they have implemented inquiry within their own classrooms. As part of this website, this counter-narrative document was created. Check it out here.
New Course from the Center for Civic Education
The Center for Civic Education has launched a new (and free) course called Strengthening Democracy in America. The course includes sections on the framers intention in creating the Constitution, the history of the development of our democratic institutions, the American political system, and more.
Teaching with the News
The Choices Program offers several free lessons called Teaching with the News. These lessons cover such topics as the US-Iran crisis, refugees, U.S.-China trade tensions, and more. Check out all the lessons here.
Teaching about Anti-Semitism
Anti-semitism is on the rise. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) recently released a lesson plan to teach about the rise of anti-semitism and hate speech. Check it out here. Another great resource from the ADL is their Calendar of Observances. This includes calendars for 2020 and 2021 that identify key religious or cultural dates of importance.
New "Advisory" Curriculum from Facing History and Ourselves
This new curriculum from Facing History and Ourselves contains a year’s worth of activities, student handouts, and best practices to help you build student-centered spaces to promote honest questioning, discussion, and social and academic growth.
Globalization
If you are a 7th grade teacher, this resource might be particularly helpful to you. This is a module from World 101 that breaks down globalization and gives lots of examples that would be intriguing to students such as tracing the manufacturing of sneakers and medicine.
Hexagonal Thinking
Hexagonal thinking of all the rage. Hexagonal thinking is a strategy to help students see connections among ideas. You can give blank hexagons to students and ask them to write on ideas and sub-ideas and then connect these to look for connections. You can also give hexagons with pre-filled words, or some pre-filled words, and ask students to connect like ideas. As a reflection, students can write about why they chose the connections they did and make arguments (with evidence of course) about why they made those decisions. You can use color-coded hexagons or different sizes to symbolize different things. The possibilities are really endless. Here are some tools that might be helpful if you are going to do this in your own classroom:
Check out this blog post from History Tech for even more information on this strategy.
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Classroom Exchanges, a new online program from the National Constitution Center, gives your students the opportunity to connect with other students across the country for a real-time face-to-face videoconference, discussing meaningful and eye-opening constitutional topics that matter to them, and your teaching goals!
This FREE program empowers students to have healthy civil dialogues with their peers from across the country around relevant constitutional issues that matter in their daily lives. Be one of our select group of 400 teachers nationwide to participate in the Classroom Exchange and share vital information about the classroom experience.
What are Classroom Exchanges?
Real-time, civil dialogues about constitutional issues between your class and another class across the United States via video-conference. The Classroom Exchanges build student confidence in sharing their voice and provide them the skills to disagree without being disagreeable. Thousands of students from all over America have already joined the conversation. Now it is your turn!
How does it work?
Step 1: SIGN UP FOR AN EXCHANGE
- Sign up online, via a short survey, and we will get the ball rolling.
- All educational resources— including lesson plans, civil dialogue materials, and other educational resources— will be emailed to you. You can also check them out here.
- We will match you with another classroom based on the date, time, topic, and grade level you indicate.
- Need some guidance? The NCC's master teachers— all pros at prepping for and participating in the Exchanges— are ready to support you, if needed, ensuring a positive experience for all. Email us at Exchange@ConstitutionCenter.org.
Step 2: TEACH THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONTENT—Deep Understanding
- Complete the lesson plan on the constitutional content to be discussed in your exchange. We'll send you the topic-specific materials!
Step 3: PRACTICE CIVIL DIALOGUE SKILLS—Skills for Life
- Have your students engage in an in-class, civil dialogue about constitutional questions directly related to the content in the previous lesson. This will provide them the tools for how to engage in healthy, civil dialogue.
Step 4: ENGAGE IN AN EXCHANGE—Behaviors for Citizenship
- At your assigned time, log into the Zoom session setup up for you by the Center. The other classroom, the moderator, and the future of the Republic will meet you there.
When are the exchanges?
- Every Tuesday and Friday throughout the school year.
- On Civic Holidays (here are some coming up)
- Monday, April 13– Thomas Jefferson's Birthday
To sign up for a Classroom Exchange, fill out this survey to match your class. If you have questions before signing up, email Exchange@ConstitutionCenter.org. We will help you every step of the way!
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Share My Lesson Virtual Conference
Share My Lesson offers a three day virtual conference that is FREE. The conference takes place March 24-26, 2020. The virtual conference is not just for social studies teachers, but there are several presentations related to social studies such as teaching about current events, instructional strategies, student action, etc. Find out more information here.
Advanced Placement® Teacher Training Institute at the University of Iowa
The Advanced Placement® Teacher Training Institute (APTTI) provides comprehensive preparation for developing and teaching an AP® course. APTTI takes place June 29 – July 2, 2020 at the University of Iowa’s Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development. Registration is now open!Please click here to register
Each workshop includes: preparation of course syllabi and lesson plans; examples of classroom materials applicable to the particular AP® subject area; and preparation for the new College Board Audit, required for every AP® teacher. The AP® Teacher Training Institute is designed for teachers who want to learn to teach AP® courses in one of the content areas, current AP® teachers, and educators who wish to strengthen the core curriculum.
Courses offered in 2020 include: AP® Biology, AP® Calculus AB, AP® English Language & Composition, AP® English Literature & Composition, AP® U.S. History, and AP® U.S. Government. For more information, visit www.belinblank.org/aptti or email aptti@belinblank.org.
C-SPAN 2020 Summer Educators' Conference
This July C-SPAN will host two conferences for middle and high school teachers. Each conference is a day-and-a-half long and will be held at C-SPAN's offices in Washington, DC. Airfare to and from Washington, two nights' hotel stay, and meals during the conference are all provided by C-SPAN. The conferences will bring middle and high school educators (grades 6-12) to Washington from across the country. Participants will learn about C-SPAN and our online resources, as well as how to better integrate these materials into their classroom. If you have not attended one of our previous conferences, and you are interested in learning more about the free resources that C-SPAN provides for students and teachers, we invite you to apply to attend one of our conferences. Apply here. The deadline to apply is Friday, April 3rd.
Workshop on the European Workshop
"The European Union Center at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, invites K-12 educators to take part in a 3-day summer curriculum workshop aimed at developing a more effective curriculum on the European Union. These materials may be incorporated into courses such as geography, government, politics, civics, foreign languages, world/U.S. history, and economics. Teachers will receive 2.0 non-credit Continuing Education Units (CEU) for participating in this workshop. The 2020 summer curriculum workshop will run from Monday, June 22 to Thursday, June 25. The workshop theme is “From Conflict to Peace: The European Union Explained — How the EU Came to Be, How It All Works Today, and Its Greatest Challenges.” For more information and a tentative schedule, see here. The cost of attending the workshop is $90, payable by check to “University of Illinois.” Included in the workshop fee are three nights of lodging at Illini Tower and parking for the duration of the workshop. Breakfast and lunch will be provided June 23-25, and dinner will be provided on June 22. Participants will be expected to cover their own dinners on June 23 and 24. The EU Center will also provide a travel reimbursement of up to $150 based on mileage. Register here by April 19. Questions may be directed to Sydney Lazarus (lazarus5@illinois.edu)."
National Geographic Online Courses
National Geographic’s free online courses for educators equip teachers with powerful tools to transform their classrooms. Through these courses, educators build their own skills and knowledge so they can foster the mindset of a National Geographic Explorer in their students. National Geographic online professional learning courses vary in their lengths and schedules so that busy educators can find a program that fits their needs. Check out more information here.
Ecotour of Iowa
This is an opportunity for educators to visit natural and cultural history sites in Iowa. The ecotour takes place June 15-16, 2020. Teachers will travel by coach bus to Muscatine and Buxton. Participants receive travel (begin and end to Waterloo), overnight in room with two beds, access to experts, two meals. Cost is $100. Questions? Email Stacey Snyder at snyders@waterlooschools.org. License renewal will be available for $25. Find out more here.
Historical Thinking with Sam Wineburg
Sam Wineburg will be delivering a free webinar about the intersection of historical thinking and writing on March 26th from 4:00-6:00 pm Pacific time. Check out more information here.
Summer PD Opportunities around the Country
There are still several opportunities to attend workshops around the country (and world). Many of these opportunities cover travel costs and some even pay you! Check out the list here.
Teaching Black History Conference
The Teaching Black History Conference will take place July 24-25, 2020 in Kansas City, MO. The theme of this year's conference is Teaching Black Herstories. There will be over 50 sessions offered at this conference. Registration is $75. To register go here.
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2020 Iowa Map Contest
The 2020 Map Competition for Iowa middle and high school students is open. Students in grades 4-8, and in grades 9-12 are invited, with their teachers, to participate in this year’s mapping contest sponsored by Esri, the Iowa Geographic Information Council (IGIC), and William Penn University. This year’s theme is Mapping Iowa’s Tourist Attractions.
Participants can be students in any K-12 public, private, or home schooled program, or may be part of a formal youth club. All are eligible for free ArcGIS Online and Organization accounts, but all entries to the contest must use an account through an Iowa school.
Students submitting the five top middle school map entries (grades 4-8) and the five top high school map entries (grades 9-12) will receive a $100 cash prize and certificate. The top entry from each state will be submitted to the national competition hosted by Esri.
Schools must submit their winners to the state for judging by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13, 2020. Iowa GIS professionals will judge the entries so Iowa awards may be announced, and send winning entries on to Esri for the national competition. Esri will announce the national winners on June 1, 2020. National winners will receive a travel grant to the Esri Education GIS Conference held in San Diego in July.
Esri,is the world’s leading mapping and location analytics platform. Esri supports numerous applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Education, Business, Transportation, Conservation, Healthcare, Recreation, and much more. Schools often use mapping applications to engage students in subjects like science, social studies, reading, and even math. Esri partners with interested states to promote geospatial education, including providing cash prizes for the top 10 student maps submitted to the map contest from each state.
Know an Iowa teacher? Share this announcement with him/her. Full details, tips, and contact information are available on the Iowa Map Contest website: https://sites.google.com/site/iowamapcontest/home. Questions? Contact Debbie Stevens at stevensde@wmpenn.edu, or call 641-673-2173.
March is Women's History Month. In addition to celebrating women's history, we are also celebrating the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage in 2020. Here are several resources:
Teaching Iowa History Newsletter
The Teaching Iowa History newsletter is put together by the Iowa Museum Association. Check out the February edition here and the March edition here.
Robert Ray and Refugee Resettlement
Check out this podcast from Iowa students (Animesh and Connor). The podcast provides an overview of former Governor Robert Ray and his work on refugee resettlement.
Other Resources
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Stefanie Rosenberg Wager
Social Studies Consultant
21st Century Skills- Civic and Financial Literacy
World Languages
Iowa Department of Education
Grimes State Office Building
400 E. 14th Street
Des Moines, IA 50319
Phone: 515-725-7842
Cell: 515-419-2876
Fax: 515-242-5988
Email: stefanie.wager@iowa.gov
Social Studies standards, website, Iowa Core Social Studies, newsletter, calendar, Pinterest
Financial Literacy website, newsletter, Pinterest
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