Yom Hashoah Day of Remembrance

The passage of SB 664, Holocaust and genocide education requires K-12 social science educators to address nine learning concepts. ODE’s Social Science webpage includes resources and guidance documents to help educators implement the learning concepts into all grade levels. 

April 17th-18th, 2023, is set aside for Yom Hashoah, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day. All over the world, communities uphold the memory of victims of the Holocaust through the Reading of the Names, a public recitation of Holocaust victims’ names, ages, and birthplaces. On Tuesday, April 18, The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education will sponsor the Reading of the Names at Pioneer Courthouse Square. A selection of community members and elected officials will be reading the names of those murdered in the Holocaust.

The US Holocaust Memorial Museum has numerous resources for teaching about the Holocaust and human rights. Resources are also available in Spanish.

OHS Presents TheHatfield Lecture Series With Guest Douglas Brinkley

Author of Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening

Tuesday, April 18, 2023, at 7pm

At the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall or Online

The Oregon Historical Society offers $10 tickets for educators $5 tickets for students  to attend any in-person or virtual lecture. Sign up for the OHS Educator Newsletter for access to discounts codes and fantastic resources.

In Silent Spring Revolution, Brinkley tells a highly charged story of an indomitable generation of activists who combated environmental destruction under the leadership of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon. In a fast-evolving era when the nation is witnessing new types of environmental crises due to climate change and resource exhaustion, Brinkley’s meticulously researched book reminds readers of the passionate grassroots work that still needs to be done. Learn More

Western States Civics Coalition: Teaching Difficult Histories in Difficult Times 

April 27, 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM PT

Join WSCC on April 27 from 4 to 5:30 PM for more great civics conversations. This time, OER Project Senior Engagement Manager (and former Social Studies lead for the state of Nebraska) Ebony McKiver will be interviewing Arizona State University Associate Professor Lauren MacArthur Harris on her recent publication, Teaching Difficult Histories in Difficult Times.

Register

2023 Minoru Yasui Student Contest 

Jamo is pleased to announce the 2023 Minoru Yasui Student Contest for middle and high school students. This year’s contest theme is responsibility and asks students to express their community responsibilities through a visual art piece and artist statement. The contest has a Junior Division (5th-8th grade) offering a $500 grand prize and Senior Division (9th-12th grade) offering a $1,000 grand prize. 

Organized by the Minoru Yasui Legacy Project and the Japanese American Museum of Oregon, the Minoru Yasui Student Contest offers students the opportunity to explore societal topics in connection with the legacy of Minoru Yasui, the only Oregonian to have been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

To view the full details of the contest, visit the Minoru Yasui Student Contest webpage. Submissions must be completed and uploaded by 11:59pm PT on Sunday, May 14. 

Minidoka Teacher Workshop

The Japanese American Museum of Oregon, Minidoka National Historic Site, and Friends of Minidoka are accepting applications from Oregon educators to participate in a 5-day teacher workshop in Twin Falls, Idaho. The workshop, entitled “Minidoka: The Legacy of the WWII Japanese American Incarceration,” will take place on July 5-9 at Minidoka National Historic Site. 

A group of 8 Oregon educators (K-12) will be selected to participate. The application period ends April 14, 2023. Successful applicants will be notified by April 22, 2023.

Learning More About Asian American & Pacific Islanders 

On Friday, April 28 and Saturday, April 29, K-12 educators and community members will join with University of California Teacher Academy to learn more about Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) at Teaching for Justice: Bridging Communities for AAPI Belonging and Well-Being!

2023 Guiding Questions:

• How has belonging manifested in AAPI communities in the past and today? How does it impact our well-being?  

• How can we cultivate communities in which AAPI belong and thrive? 

Last year, hundreds of educators joined learned and celebrated Asian American history and stories of joy, resilience, and solidarity at the Teaching Asian American Studies Across the Curriculum. 

We hope you can join us this year: Register Here.

Teaching Lessons of the Holocaust 

July 11 - 13 | 22 PDUs

This three-day program is for 4th-12th grade educators in Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Lane, Linn, and Benton counties. 

Selected educators* will come to OJMCHE to connect and learn about the resources and learning opportunities we offer to support the implementation of Oregon’s Holocaust and genocide education requirement (SB664).  

*Selected educators will receive two nights (July 11 and 12) accommodation, two breakfasts, three lunches, and one dinner. Additionally, selected participants agree to organize a student learning opportunity with OJMCHE during the 2023-2024 school year.

Applications for the programs are due April 28, 2023

Lessons from the Past: Understanding the Holocaust and Human Rights Violations by (TOLI) 

August 1-5 | In-person

This intensive professional development seminar will provide educators the opportunity to expand their awareness and understanding of the Holocaust, historic and more recent genocides, and human rights violations. Participants will explore ways to integrate instruction on racial and ethnic discrimination in Oregon, specifically within the context of the Native American experience, and will learn strategies for how to address the Holocaust and Genocide, Tribal History/Shared History, and Ethnic Studies mandates here in Oregon. In addition, the seminar offers an orientation on general Jewish history and culture, and the specific Jewish experience in Oregon.

Application and Information

The Library of Congress

Live and recorded webinars and workshops facilitated by education resource specialists. As sessions are added, LOC posts them on their webpage. Educators may also access materials and recordings from previously held webinars.

Recent and upcoming webinars:

Sanborn Maps Collection 

Chronicling America

Datasets and Oral Histories in the Classroom

If you have questions or comments regarding Library of Congress educator webinars and workshops, please email us at: teachinglcsummer@loc.gov.

Sapiens for Elementary

Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens was a surprise bestseller about human origins, world history, and the power of stories to shape social behavior. Director Ridley Scott even optioned the non-fiction book for a movie. The ideas and histories in the Sapiens are a fascinating read but remain inaccessible for many students. However, new versions of the book are available for younger readers. A two-volume graphic novel aimed at middle and high school students and now a planned multi-volume book, Unstoppable Us, specifically for younger readers from grade 2 and up, is also available in Spanish. The books all begin with our collective origin story in Africa and move through the forming of more complex societies, competition with other species, the impact of humans on the environment, and the "fictions" required of modern society. The change in reading level does not diminish the compelling explanation or reduce the complexity of questions readers may ask. The Sapiens collection provides helpful examples supporting the Oregon Social Science Standards. 

American Experience: Celebrating Earth Month

Since pre-colonial times, Americans' relationship to the natural world has shaped and has been shaped by politics, policy, commerce, entertainment and culture.

In this collection, delve into our complicated history with the environment through American Experience films exploring wide-ranging topics, from our struggles to exert dominion over nature to our attempts to understand and protect it.

You'll find streaming films like The Sun Queen and Flood in the Desert, conversations like Water Wars, digital shorts like The Price of Feathers, and articles like The Marvelously Inventive Life of Mária Telkes and Damming the American West. 

Explore the Collection Here

Grant for K-5 Civics

The Educating for American Democracy (EAD) Initiative is now accepting applications for grants up to $200,000 to support high-quality history and civic education for students in grades K–5.

Pilot projects can include a wide range of work:

• Lessons, curricular units, and/or curriculum development
• Professional development (in-service and pre-service)
• School strategies
• District policies
• Assessments or other student evaluation
• State standards documents or other state policies

Application Deadline: Wednesday, May 31, 2023, 11:59 p.m. ET

More Information and Proposal