K-12 Social Studies Beginning Teacher Webinar Series

On Wednesday, October 25th from 3:45-4:45 PM, NCDPI K-12 Social Studies will have the third webinar of the series for beginning teachers. The five-part webinar series is a way for us to continue to provide support on effective implementation of  the Standard Course of Study for social studies teachers. The webinars will feature some strategies to assist teachers with planning their lessons and/or units in a way that will not only help students gain a deeper understanding of the content, but also help teachers in the transition to conceptual teaching. 

The focus of this particular webinar is providing a better understanding of how to teach North Carolina Essential Standards' clarifying objectives written using  Disciplinary Literacy.

Click here to register for the webinar. 

Click here to access the webinar.

Did you miss the previous webinars? Access it today, here.

WORLD VIEW: K-12 GLOBAL EDUCATION SYMPOSIUM 2017

HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

October 26–27, 2017
Location: The Friday Conference Center
Cost: $175 per person, $600 for a team of four
CEU: 1.5 CEUs will be awarded upon completion of program study guide

Our global education symposium in Chapel Hill will feature short plenary talks and sessions on human rights issues to increase awareness of human rights and social justice issues and to provide pedagogical strategies and resources for integrating human rights and social justice issues into teaching.

World View’s symposia are planned three years in advance based on the needs and wants of educators to prepare students to be engaged in an interconnected and diverse world. This program is being designed to meet the global education needs of K-12 classroom teachers, administrators, media coordinators, specials and electives teachers, other school professionals, central office and all educators seeking the Global Educators Digital Badge.

 Register now!

Carolina Voices 

The William Friday Teachers Retreat

held in honor of Elizabeth Van Moore

November 9-11, 2017 | Edenton, NC

Funding for this event is generously provided by the North Caroliniana Society.

North Carolina history represents a tapestry of diverse and distinctive people & events, replete with rich heritage and resilient individuals who fought for a better way of life, showing courage and conviction, often in the face of extreme adversity. And where better to deep dive into a study of Tar Heel history than a quaint little town where history seeps from every nook and cranny: the beautiful Historic Edenton, NC.

UNC-Chapel Hill’s Carolina K-12, in partnership with Wilson Library’s North Carolina Collection, invite K-12 teachers to join us this fall for a dynamic two and a half days, during which teachers will enjoy a snapshot of some of North Carolina’s most captivating events and people, all the while celebrating each participating teacher and the important work you do. 

 SPACE IS LIMITED! REGISTER TODAY!

For more information about this opportunity, visit Carolina K-12’s Upcoming Trainings page. 

Hispanic Heritage Month

U.S. law (signed by President  Lyndon B. Johnson and then expanded by Ronald Reagan) designates September 15 to October 15 of each year as National Hispanic Heritage Month.

See the excellent hispanicheritagemonth.gov -- with its vast collection of resources -- which is a collaboration of the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. 

There are teaching resources in this collection that will be useful in almost any unit of study in U.S. or modern world history grades 6-12. And some of the historic sites and related exhibits at National Parks and Monuments may be close to your school.

  Click to access resources.

• National Archives and Records Administration
• National Endowment for the Humanities
• National Park Service
• Smithsonian Education – Hispanic Heritage Month

Mix It Up at Lunch Day

Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, launched the Mix It Up program in 2002. Mix It Up at Lunch Day is an international campaign that encourages students to identify, question and cross social boundaries. While schools can register to host a Mix It Up event on any day of the year, millions of students around the world participate on the official Mix It Up at Lunch Day, held on the last Tuesday of each October. It’s October 31st this year! Registration is free, and schools that register are eligible for special contests and giveaways. 

Students consistently identify the cafeteria as a place in their school where divisions are clearly—and harshly—drawn. Students are asked to move out of their comfort zones and connect with someone new over lunch. It’s a simple act with profound implications that encourages educators to include in year-round efforts to promote healthy, welcoming school environments. Studies have shown that interactions across group lines can help reduce prejudice. When students interact with those who are different from them, biases and misperceptions can fall away.

To get started, click here!

Is your school participating?

Register with Teaching Tolerance to keep stay up-to-date on new posters, exciting contests and the opportunity to be recognized as a Mix It Up Model School!

REGISTER YOUR SCHOOL

Veterans' History Month in North Carolina

On June 28, 2017, Governor Roy Cooper signed into law, An Act To Establish Veterans’ History Awareness Month In November.  The intent of this law is to enable students to gain a better understanding of the meaning and importance of the contributions of American veterans and, in particular, veterans from North Carolina.

The North Carolina State Board of Education ( NC SBE) is tasked with identifying recommended programs that schools can use during Veterans’ History Awareness Month.  This is an ongoing process.  Below are a few of these programs and ideas for honoring veterans.     

• Experience and Curate Veterans’ History

• North Carolina Museum of History - Take a field trip to the museum to experience the interactive multimedia exhibit on North Carolina and World War I.  Students will be able to understand North Carolina’s role in the War and experience a re-created trench warfare environment to discover what life was like for NC soldiers.  Teachers can engage students in rich conversations about NC’s participation through these resources.
  
  
• Veterans History Project: A Project of The American Folklife Center of The Library of Congress was created in 2000 as a result of Public Law 106-380.  The Project aims to make accessible, the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear these accounts directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.  Students in the 10th grade and above may participate in the Project by following the Guidelines for Students/Youth Participation.  Essentially, students will download the Veterans History Project Field Kit, prepare and conduct an interview with a veteran, then, send their collection to the Library of Congress for archiving.
  
  
• Korean Veterans Digital History Project:

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s (NCDPI) K-12 Social Studies Section, in connection with the Korean War Legacy Foundation, is working to collect and curate oral histories from Korean War Veterans.  We are seeking teachers and students who would be interested in working with us to conduct and transcribe interviews.  These interviews will be archived with the Korean War Digital History Project and on the NCDPI website. 

If you are a NC educator and are interested in working with your students on this project, please contact Fay Gore at fay.gore@dpi.nc.gov .

• Engage in Service-Learning Experiences:
• Corporation for National & Community Service (Serve.org) - has developed a list of 10 Ways to Support and Honor Veterans.  You can find that list here.
• Noblehour established Six Ways To Honor Veterans.  You can find the article here.
  
  
• Support Character Development:  
• The Medal of Honor Character Development Program is a teacher-designed resource that provides students with opportunities to explore concepts such as courage, commitment, sacrifice, patriotism, integrity, and citizenship with a focus on The Medal of Honor and recipients.

The Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government

The Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government, housed at the University of Central Florida, is excited to share with you access to its FREE online K-12 civics instructional and training materials through their Florida Joint Center For Citizenship (FJCC) and Civics360 websites. The FJCC provides FREE online resources for K-12 students and teachers for US History, US Government, and Civics. These online resources include lesson plans developed in collaboration with the National Archives (Students Investigating Primary Sources), short 15 minute lessons for K-5 around Civics (Civics in a Snap), and more. 

To access FJCC materials please visit http://floridacitizen.org/.

Civics360 is an interactive civics review tool to help students improve their understanding of civics and government. It includes student-friendly videos for most benchmarks, student friendly readings in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole, vocabulary tools, and more. 

To access Civics360 materials please visit http://civics360.org/.

To learn more about other programs and projects you may find useful from Lou Frey Institute please visit their website (http://loufreyinstitute.org).

The Lou Frey Institute is working hard to align the resources it has with standards and benchmarks in all 50 states. 

If you would like to know how LFI/FJCC resources can align with YOUR standards, or for general questions, please contact Dr. Steve Masyada at Stephen.masyada@ucf.edu.

Remember all registration and resources are always free!

FIRST VOTE

First Vote NC is teaming up with the UNC’s Institute for Politics “Civics in the Triangle” initiative to launch a pilot program that connects college students with high school classrooms.  Carolina student volunteers that are part of the Institute will be trained to teach two lessons in high school classrooms that will focus on registering to vote and why voting matters.  We believe these students may have a unique ability to inspire high school students to become civically engaged and ready. 

If you are interested in being part of this program or learning more about First Vote, please contact Hunter Buxton at 919-605-5317. 

Check out what a sample ballot looks like here

Explore the 10/10 election results, lesson plans, and more developed by Carolina K12 on the website

K-12 Social Studies Resources

K-12 Social Studies Essential Standards Wiki 

NCDPI's K-12 Social Studies Essential Standards Wiki website is a resource designed especially for educators to assist in the preparation of moving to the K-12 Social Studies Essential Standards. The North Carolina K-12 Social Studies Essential Standards are available, along with a number of other resources such as the Instructional Toolkit components and professional development material. 
 

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Sign-Up for Remind Today!!

NCDPI- Social Studies is proud to announce that we are able to communicate with social studies educators through http://www.remind.com. 

What is Remind?

•   A FREE web and app based communication tool that can connect North Carolina educators to the NCDPI- Social Studies Team
• Fast, easy, convenient and effective way for NCDPI- Social Studies Team to communicate the most recent social studies related legislative updates, resources, events, announcements, webinars, opportunities, etc.
• NCDPI- Social Studies Team can send or receive messages via text or email to help update, remind, 
  connect, and/or communicate last minute changes
• Flip phone, IOS, or Android compatible
• Won’t clog inboxes
• Everyone’s contact information stays private because cell number and/or email address are not shown to users
• Joining only takes seconds: Text @bc8e8c to the number 81010 OR CLICK here