Teaching & Learning

Social Studies Club archives the history of their Ill. high school
The Social Studies Club at Normal Community West High School in Illinois is working hard to maintain their school's history through the Normal West Archive Project, spearheaded by social studies teacher John Bierbaum. The project includes binding agreements with donors of artifacts, such as sports equipment of former players. Students, who worked on the project after school and on weekends, even received instruction on archiving from McLean County Museum of History. The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Ill.) (5/13)

3 ways to improve reading comprehension
Students need to learn how to digest what they read rather than simply scan text for the answer to a question, science educator Fred Ende writes in this blog post. Ende notes many exams seek responses that allow students to "scavenge" texts, and he proposes three ideas -- including rewording questions -- to help teachers ensure students gain a deeper understanding of reading material. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Education (5/9)

Other News

Standards & Assessments

Minn. school districts await social studies curriculum changes
Minnesota lawmakers made changes to its social studies curriculum, including the phasing out of ancient civilizations classes to make way for Minnesota state history. School districts are awaiting more information before implementing any changes, which include an updated social studies curriculum for high-school sophomores and more civics classes throughout all grades. Stillwater Gazette (Minn.) (5/10)

W.Va. students begin testing in social studies, other subjects
Some West Virginia students are spending most of this week taking the West Virginia Educational Standards Test 2, also known as the WESTEST, to determine their knowledge of social studies, science, math and language arts. All of the state's public-school students in grades 3 to 11 are being tested this month, though the specific dates of the tests may differ with each district. The Journal (Martinsburg, W.Va.) (5/12)

Technology in the Classroom

Kan. high-school students to post research project on iTunes
High-school students in Kansas today will reveal the work they put into their semester-long research project about the Vietnam War to their classmates, a public showing in the school cafeteria and then to the world, posting the completed work on iTunes through the You Are There program. Students met in small groups to conduct research on the Vietnam War, pop culture from that era, the Ho Chi Minh trail and more for the project, which were completed on iPads. The Topeka Capital-Journal (Kan.) (5/12)

What to consider when using iPads for classroom reading
Tablet computers such as iPads can help students share their reading insights with others, but students need to learn discipline for sustained and focused reading on such devices, writes Justin Reich, a fellow at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society. In this blog post, Reich suggests teaching "attention" as a skill and helping students strike a balance between focusing on their assigned text and following links about the text. KQED.org/Mind/Shift blog (5/8)

Other News

Social Studies & Civic Life

Wis. community's suicide prevention effort includes letters to all eighth-grade students
Community leaders in New Richmond, Wis., recently reached out to support eighth-grade students via handwritten letters. As part of the "We Care About Our Incredible Kids Mentoring Project," adult volunteers have written letters of inspiration to each eighth-grade student in the community to let them know that the town cares about them and wants them to have happy and successful futures. "If we could just catch one kid who is having bad thoughts..." said Patty Schachtner, who helped organize the project as a response to the area's youth suicide rate. New Richmond (Wis.) News (5/12)

Ala. students seek speed-limit change after tragic car wreck
Students from several schools in Lawrence County, Ala., have united to support each other and to seek legislative support to lower the speed limit near the site of a car wreck that killed a high-school student and critically injured her younger sister. Students from Hatton Middle School, Hatton High School and R.A. Hubbard High School have started petitions and are writing letters and e-mails to state legislators, one of whom has said he will talk with the Alabama Department of Transportation about possible safety improvements for the intersection of the crash. WAAY-TV (Huntsville, Ala.) (5/10)

NCSS Updates

May/June TSSP
The May/June issue of The Social Studies Professional is out. This issue features John Moore's final "President's Message" as well as information on NCSS Summer activities, and other news from around the nation. Download TSSP.

Conducting Socratic seminars: A leader's workshop with a focus on primary source documents from U.S. history
This NCSS Summer Professional Development Workshop, taught by nationally recognized Socratic seminar trainer John Zola, will help participants develop skills as Socratic seminar discussion leaders. Socratic seminars are teacher-led classroom discussions that promote higher-level thinking, more careful reading of texts, and increased skills of classroom and civil discussion. The workshop will be held Aug. 5 to 7 in Washington, D.C. Get more information.

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Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself." -- Miles Davis, American jazz musician Share: