March Social Science Newsletter

Western States Civics Coalition Webinar

Join WSCC on March 23, 4:00 - 5:30 PM Pacific for the next session in the Civics Series: Healthy Classroom Conversations. 

Registration is now open, reserve your spot now and hear from Joe Schmidt and Nichelle Pinkney, co-authors of Civil Discourse: Classroom Conversations for Stronger Communities (Corwin Teaching Essentials).

Nominate a Teacher for Gilder Lehrman's Oregon State History Teacher of the Year 2023

The Gilder Leherman’s Institute of History is seeking nominations for an outstanding Oregon K-12 Social Studies educator. This award will go to any full-time educator of grades K–12 who teaches American history (including state and local history). American history may be taught as an individual subject or as part of other subjects, such as social studies, reading, or language arts.

• The nominated teacher must have at least three years of classroom teaching experience and must be planning to teach for at least one year following the award year.
• National winners chosen from among state winners receive a $10,000 prize presented at an award ceremony in their honor in New York City.
• State winners receive a $1,000 prize, an archive of classroom resources, and recognition at a ceremony in their state.
• Deadline for 2023 nominations: April 30, 2023

Teaching African American Studies Summer Institute

(re)Centering the Narrative: Black Women’s Voices of the 19th and 20th Centuries. July 10–14, 2023

The National Humanities Center is partnering with the Ruth J. Simmons Center for Race and Justice at Prairie View A&M University to host the second annual Teaching African American Studies Summer Institute.

This week-long institute explores the voices of Black women in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Participants will engage with literature and poetry, primary sources, and the historical record to center Black women in the African American identity.

Open to all K–12 educators, each day’s sessions will include readings and viewings, primary source analysis, and expert scholarship from NHC Fellows and other scholars of African American studies. To learn more and apply, please visit the (re)Centering the Narrative webpage.

Public Programs: Educator & Student Discounts to the Mark O. Hatfield Lecture Series

The Oregon Historical Society presents an in-person and virtual lecture by Mae Ngai on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 at 7 PM.

Mae Ngai is the Lung Family Professor of Asian American Studies and a professor of history at Columbia University. She is a U.S. legal and political historian interested in the histories of immigration, citizenship, nationalism, and the Chinese diaspora. Her latest book, The Chinese Question: The Gold Rushes and Global Politics, was the winner of the 2022 Bancroft Prize. This distinguished history of the Chinese diaspora and global capitalism chronicles how a feverish alchemy of race and money brought Chinese people to the West and reshaped the nineteenth century. Drawing on ten years of research across five continents, Ngai narrates the story of the thousands of Chinese who left their homeland in pursuit of gold and how they formed communities and organizations to help navigate their perilous new world. Learn More. 

The Winter 2021 "Chinese Diaspora in Oregon" special issue of the Oregon Historical Quarterly also contributes to this growing body of work that documents early Chinese residents’ role in shaping Oregon’s development as well as reclaims their place in the history of the state. Three of the articles from that issue are now available for download in both English and Chinese. 

The Oregon Historical Society is offering tickets to educators ($10 per ticket with promo code HLS23EDUCATOR) and students ($5 per ticket with promo code HLS23STUDENT). All sales are final.

The Japanese American Museum of Oregon 

Saturday, March 4, 2pm
220 NW 2nd Ave, 8th Floor
Portland, OR 97209

In November 1944, American Legion Post 22 removed the names of 16 Nisei soldiers from the public honor roll, and hundreds of letters poured from around the country in reaction. The Legion held onto the letters for almost 80 years, donating them to the Japanese American Museum of Oregon in a Veterans Day event and public apology last year.

Historian Linda Tamura presents her work uncovering hidden histories in the Hood River Japanese American community and how that brought her to this unusual box of letters. Post Commander Carl Casey and Vice Commander Dennis Leonard of the American Legion Post 22 will also join the conversation.

A selection of the letters are on view now at the Japanese American Museum of Oregon as part of the exhibition A Long Road to Travel: The Service of Japanese Americans During World War II.

To learn more, please visit the Japanese American Museum of Oregon website

The Oregon Historical Society and the Japanese American Museum of Oregon Yasui Project Educator Workshop

Join OHS and JAMO in Hood River on April 15th. This workshop will highlight classroom-ready curriculum and other resources to teach about the experiences of Japanese Americans in Oregon, and culminates with a roundtable discussion featuring members of the Yasui family and Japanese American historians. Stipends are available for educators, and space is limited, so please register by April 3!

To learn more about the workshop, please visit: Yasui Project Educator Workshop

Exploring Voices in Education-Workshops for Educators & High School Students

March 18th, 8:30am-3pm, Oregon Islamic Academy-10330 SW Scholls Ferry Rd, Tigard, OR 

• Sparking & Sustaining Connections through Student Voice (for educators)
• Engagement in the Humanities through Student Interest, Inquiry, and Bravery (for educators)
• Oregon Islamic Academy Tour & Activity (for students)
• Gender Equity in Islam (for educators and students)
• Climate Refugee Role Play (for educators and students)

Professional Development Units: 6 for Oregon teachers 

Registration Link and More Info

Contact: Samara Chism-Winfield 503-306-5296

Jakob and Sala Kryszek Art & Writing Competition

The Jakob and Sala Kryszek Art and Writing Competition is open to Oregon and Southwest Washington students in grades 6-12. The competition encourages students to evaluate history, foster an awareness of the Holocaust, and make relevant connections to their life. The two Grand Prize winners — one for art and the other for writing — will win a trip to Washington D.C. to visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum for themselves, a caretaker, and their teacher! 

You can find this year's prompt and submission guidelines and last year's winning entries on the OJMCHE webpage. The submission deadline is April 28, 2023.

Civic Learning For A Strong Democracy

More than ever, civic learning is needed to ensure each and every person across this country has the necessary tools to engage as members of our self-governing society.

To help you prepare your class to participate, Civic Learning Week has launched a new resources page on their website. Check out these FREE classroom activities, community activities, and promotional materials.

Featured Events In March

• March 6: A Conversation with American Diplomat and Author Richard Haass

• March 7: Civic Learning Week Opening Forum at the National Archives

• March 7: Forgotten No More: Civic Seals and Re-Affirming the Civic Mission of Schools (Virtual)

• March 8: Gaming for Democracy (Virtual)

• March 9: Civic Education as a Matter of National Security (Virtual)

• March 10: Featured Conversation with Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor (Virtual)

SIGN UP FOR UPDATES

2023 Civics for All of US Teacher Institute with the National Archives

Teachers working with grades 3–12 are invited to apply for the inaugural Civics for All of US Teacher Institute with the National Archives taking place in Washington, DC, from July 17–21, 2023. This five-day institute includes hands-on sessions featuring strategies for teaching civics with primary sources, special tours and activities in the National Archives Museum, guest speakers, and site visits to additional landmarks and museums in the nation’s capital. Each participant will receive a stipend to help cover travel and other expenses. Learn more and apply by 03/31/23.

The 2023 Civics for All of US Teacher Institute is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation.

Educators may be interested in the free, virtual teacher workshops on teaching civics with primary sources.

Oregon Humanities Community Conversations

Reflective conversations are opportunities for people to share their experiences and beliefs and learn from one another. These intentional spaces for discussion allow participants to build trust and make stronger connections with other members of their community.

Oregon Humanities hosts events throughout Oregon. The next three Community Conversation Project events for March are in central Oregon. View upcoming community conversations on the Oregon Humanities calendar.

The Conversation Project offers organizations and community groups opportunities to host conversations in their communities led by trained facilitators. They also offer Toolkits and Discussion Guides to use in your own conversations.

• View the catalog of conversation topics
• Request to host a conversation

(Free) Guided Virtual Capitol Tours 

Spring Time Slots Still Available - Schedule Your Tour Today

Is your class studying Oregon history or civics this spring? Did you know that the Capitol offers (free) guided virtual tours that can support your lesson plans and engage your students without leaving your classroom? Simply accept our virtual meeting request and let one of our certified interpretive guides do the rest.

We're offering this personalized experience from 9:30 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. or 10:30 a.m. - 11:15 a.m., Tuesday through Thursday, from now until June 1. To schedule your tour, give the Capitol a call at 503-986-1388 or email

Spots are limited, so give us a call today!

Website: http://www.oregoncapitol.com

Oregon Open Learning: Explore New Resources in the Oregon Collections 

An OER Workshop for educators and school staff that will highlight two new Oregon collections (Sex Ed Open Learning and the Multilingual/English Learner Resource Bank) will take place on Thursday, March 9 from 4:00-5:15 pm. This virtual workshop will be an interactive professional learning event that will provide participants an opportunity to learn about open educational resources (OER) and the Oregon Open Learning Hub, Oregon’s K-12 repository for OER. Please register in advance for this learning opportunity. PDUs are available.

The session will be followed by OER office hours at 1 PM (PT) on the afternoon of Friday, March 10th. Whether you are new to the OER space or a seasoned advocate, your perspective is welcome and valued. Office hour sessions, facilitated by members of the Oregon Open Learning core team, will include space for questions, individualized support, and open discussion about OER and the Hub.