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Of special interest to: Fourth-grade teachers and administrators
Re: New curriculum for fourth-grade social studies! Plus apply to be a Teacher Leader in Montana History
Montana: A History of Our Home
A few weeks ago, advance copies of Montana: A History of Our Home* have arrived. This week, I sent the teacher's guide to the printer. I am beyond thrilled to announce that our new fourth-grade curriculum is posted online and ready to use--and that our distributor, Farcountry Press, is standing by to take your order. Learn more here or read on.
As you probably know, in 2021, the Montana Board of Education approved new standards for social studies. These standards mandate that fourth graders:
- Understand tribes in Montana have their own unique histories,
- Identify events and policies that have impacted and been influenced by tribes in Montana,
- Explain how Montana has changed over time given its cultural diversity and how this history impacts the present,
- Define sovereignty for tribes in Montana,
- Identify key foundational documents in Montana's government,
- Identify basic elements of Montana's state economic system including agriculture, business, natural resources, and labor,
- Identify and label the tribes in Montana and their indigenous territories, and current locations, and
- Investigate the physical, political, and cultural characteristics of places, regions, and people in Montana.
It's a lot! The new Montana: A History of Our Home curriculum is specifically designed to help your students meet these new standards. It includes a 96-page textbook that offers a quick tour through 13,000 years of Montana history and a 320-page teacher's guide that offers engaging, interdisciplinary, activity-based lessons that integrate the readings from the student book.
Not only do these lessons align with the new social studies standards and the Essential Understandings Regarding Montana Indians, most of the lessons are interdisciplinary, integrating ELA, math, and fine art. That means that you can teach social studies while providing opportunities for students to practice ELA and math skills.
I want to pause here to thank EVERYONE who tested a lesson or provided feedback. I've integrated (almost) all of it, including last minute changes to a math lesson on the shrinking reservation that teachers attending our spring workshop said was too hard for their kids.
You can access PDFs of Montana: A History of Our Home and the Montana: A History of Our Home Teacher’s Guide for FREE on our website.
And if that works for you, great. You can also order student books for next school year by contacting our distributor, Farcountry Press, at 800-821-3874 or sales@farcountrypress.com. A FREE 320-page, spiral-bound teacher's guide will accompany each order.
As longtime readers of Teaching Montana History know, this curriculum has been several years in the making. I hope you'll agree it's been worth the wait.
Become a Teacher Leader in Montana History
We've extended the deadline to apply to join our Teacher Leader program. Attend our all-expenses paid July 27-29, 2022, summit. Meet with amazing colleagues, share and learn best practices, discover and share Montana history resources, become part of the MHS Teacher Advisory Board, and make an impact!
Teaching Montana History is edited (and mostly written) by Martha Kohl, Outreach and Interpretation Program Manager at the Montana Historical Society.
*Funding for Montana: A History of Our Home was provided by the Bill and Rosemary Gallagher Foundation, the Montana Professional Teaching Foundation, and donations from many individuals to numerous to name.
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