 February is Black History Month. While the stories and experiences of Black Americans should be part of teaching Social Studies year round, we are pleased to offer these resources to ensure educators have access to high quality resources for teaching during Black History Month and year round.
"February 19th is a significant date for the Japanese American community. On this day in 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which gave the U.S. Army the authority to remove civilians from the military zones established in Washington, Oregon, and California during WWII. This led to the forced removal and incarceration of some 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast, who had to abandon their jobs, their homes, and their lives to be sent to one of ten concentration camps scattered in desolate, remote regions of the country."
Read more about this important day in history (Japanese American Citizens League)
View Executive Order 9066 (National Archives)
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News Release
TACOMA, Wash – Washington State Historical Society (WSHS) will feature two free online lectures to celebrate February’s Black History Month, and is also working with an advisory committee to implement Washington Black History Project initiatives that will educate and enlighten throughout every month of the year.
Listen to A History of Hip Hop in Seattle on Thursday, February 4 at 6:00 PM, a free program hosted by WSHS on Facebook Live (@historymuseum). Dr. Daudi Abe will talk about the development and influence of Seattle’s hip hop and rapper culture. Abe is a graduate of University of Washington and a professor at Seattle Central College, and is the author of the newly published Emerald Street: A History of Hip Hop in Seattle (University of Washington Press). Participants will be able to ask Abe questions via the Facebook comments function.
From Migration to Mark Making: George Bush, Jacob Lawrence, and the Impact of Black Pioneers in Washington State will be presented free in a Facebook Live program on February 23 at 6:00 PM.
Read more about these events from WSHS
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Edutopia is offering a free online special event on Monday, February 22, at 4pm. They will share important new research, real stories, and resources that support project-based learning.
Learning We Need: The Case for Rigorous Project-Based Learning will reveal how project-based learning can work for all students across grade levels and subject areas, within diverse settings—increasing student learning and improving equity. Students, teachers, and researchers will share research and the impact and inspiration that young people experience with project-based learning.
Dr. Walter Parker's team’s work on the project-based high school government course is among the handful of studies involved in the workshop mentioned above. View the Open-access article by Dr. Parker: Projects as the Spine of the High School Government Course
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"The more you know, the more you CAN know!"
- Ashley Rogers Berner
How to Raise Informed Citizens is a clever little comic illustrated by LA Johnson, about the study of civics and how you can teach your kiddos through fun & games, daily chores, and healthy conversations. You can also listen to a short podcast by the comic writers, Ashley Rogers Berner and Hasan Kwame Jeffries; produced by NPR Life Kit.
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"The first 100 days of a presidential administration is considered by many to be an evaluation period of the chief executive’s productivity and effectiveness as it relates to the accomplishments of his policy agenda.
In the beginning of any new administration, high hopes exist for new presidents to be able to affect positive change as they attempt to move the country towards their vision and fulfill electoral promises."
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Cool Ideas for Teaching US History
This month, the Case Method Institute is starting to identify a new group of teachers to participate in their next online professional development workshop, which will be held Saturday, April 3. Interested teachers can complete the online application.
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WSHS wants to share this opportunity:
As you know, challenging history is hitting us all every day at this moment in American history, including the classroom.
Museums want to provide better tools for you, and you can help by taking this 6-minute educator survey.
As a thank you, there is an opportunity for you to win one of four $100 Amazon gift cards!
At the end of the survey you will also be given an opportunity to enroll in follow-up research which could earn you a $75 gift card to Amazon.
Why this survey and research?
We at the Washington State Historical Society care deeply about history and how the public, including students, makes sense of a past that is complicated. How do we share events of the past in ways that both engender pride or connection as well as acknowledges harms suffered by many?
But we need your help. In these tumultuous times, we need to understand your frustrations, challenges, and needs.
Simply go to the survey to get started, share your thoughts, and (if you choose), opt-in to the follow-up research panel being conducted by Wilkening Consulting.
Note: all responses to this survey will be kept confidential. If you have any problems with the survey itself, please contact the survey administrator, Susie Wilkening, at susie@wilkeningconsulting.com.
Thank you in advance for your time and thoughts!
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The Office of the Secretary of State has updated a booklet about the State of Washington called Simply Washington. It includes information about our state history, government, natural resources, industries, culture, and more.
If you are interested in receiving a classroom set for your library, please email info@sos.wa.gov with the appropriate contact information and where the booklets should be sent. Requests will be processed on a first come, first served basis. Since the booklets are in such short supply, it is requested you speak with your teachers to make sure they are truly interested in using the booklet and are only able to do so with a print version. The booklet can also be viewed online at sos.wa.gov.
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In an effort to support continuous student and educator learning and implementation of the “Since Time Immemorial” Tribal Sovereignty Curriculum during this time of “many adjustments,” the Office of Native Education will be offering training webinars beginning on February 4 and going through May 2021 focusing on STI “Ready to Go” lessons; and in June, three grade level focused “Teacher to Teacher” curriculum implementation ideas to assist educators infuse this curriculum into their classroom lessons.
Read more about STI webinars
“READY TO GO” WEBINARS (February-May, 2021)
These 2-hour webinars will provide an introductory overview of the STI curriculum and a guided navigation through the website. Two free clock hours will be offered depending on which sessions you attend.
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UCF, in partnership with the Library of Congress, offers the Lou Frey Institute webinar series next month with a session featuring Dr. Scott Waring and Dr. Tina M. Ellsworth. This free webinar will feature a scaffolded SOURCES-based examination of blockbusting.
When: Wednesday, February 17 | Noon PST (3:00 pm EST)
Registration for Teaching with Primary Sources is required.
Apply today for a National Society of Colonial Dames of America Washington scholarship for continuing education in American history. Applications and scholarship guidelines are available at www.nscdawa.org. New this year is scholarship funding for subscriptions for editing video platforms, purchase of technological equipment, League of Women Voters Civics textbooks, oral history projects, virtual and otherwise workshops, conferences, and seminars, and virtual Advanced Placement courses and teacher certification. Submit your application by March 7, 2021.
Scholarship recipients should expect to be notified by March 31, 2021.
Any teacher who teaches or will teach American history to Washington State students in grades 5-12 is eligible to apply for one or more scholarships. Examples of funded projects are:
- American history or social studies curriculum development and implementation with books, website design, costumes or media
- Subscriptions for editing video platforms
- Oral history project funding
- Purchase of technological equipment including camcorders, video recorders, and lighting enhancement
- League of Women Voters civics textbooks (The State We’re In: Washington) for grades 3-5 & high school edition
- Virtual or otherwise professional development workshops and teacher conferences such as the Williamsburg Institute, The Freedoms Foundation seminars, the Gilder Lehrman conference and other history/social studies classes
- Virtual Advanced Placement courses, including Advanced Teacher Certification
- Supplies and materials relating to history/social studies
- ELMO presenter for the deaf
Since 1998, the Colonial Dames have granted over $450,000 in scholarships to Washington history teachers across the state, many of whom have used their awards to support Washington History Day which has received over $500,000 from the Washington Colonial Dames. Consider how a scholarship would help you to continue your education and to improve your teaching of American History.
To learn more and to access the online application, visit NSCDA.
Dear Members of the Greater K12 Community,
Your thoughts and perspectives are important to us. The SEL Data and Evaluation subcommittee is seeking feedback from community, especially from members of groups who have been historically or systemically marginalized. This feedback will help us learn what young people need to thrive. This might include:
1) examples of how children/students bring their whole self to their education, and
2) developing an understanding what a thriving community looks like.
Our subcommittee is also seeking feedback from the educational field (e.g., districts, charter schools, tribal compact schools, and other learning communities) for examples of how they address collect and review SEL data with the ‘shared power’ concept and the below four considerations in mind.
Complete this 3-question survey by Feb. 19 at noon (extended), regarding the following questions:
Question for community: What do educators need to look for and put in place to make sure that your young people are thriving socially and emotionally and bringing their whole self (e.g., being able to be themselves, who they are, feeling like they belong where they learn) to their education?
Question for the educational field: What examples do you have that address SEL data collection and review? What examples do you have that address the ‘shared power’ concept and the above four considerations?
- Share links of materials, narrative, and/or other feedback.
Click here for learn more about SEL.
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Department of Health Update
The latest updates from the Washington State Department of Health have been posted and are summarized below, as of January 25, 2021:
• Requirements guiding K-12 performing arts activities have been added.
• Quarantine language has been updated to include recommendations for people who have recently been in countries where the new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, 501Y.V, has been identified.
• An additional screening question has been added to the Health Screening at Entry section of this document to align with the DOH Employer Screening guidance.
For more details and links, view the full document: K-12 Schools Guidance 2020-21.
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OSPI annual reporting for Educational Technology, Health/PE, Arts, and Social Studies instruction and assessment is continuing this year. Reports are being modified and streamlined to reflect the challenges districts face this year. OSPI will contact districts when reporting templates are available. Save this webpage for future updates.
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