| Social Studies – Preparing Students for College, Career and Civic Life |  |
| Teaching & Learning
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- History teacher's doomsday party idea sticks with students
Ramapo Ridge Middle School history teacher Randy Fuchs a decade ago made a promise to his students to have a party if the world was still intact on Dec. 21, 2012, the Mayan calendar's supposed end-of-the-world date. More than 100 students, now in their 20s, came from as far away as California to celebrate with the Mahwah, N.J., teacher, overwhelming him with their kind words and gratitude. "It blows me away. It really does," said Fuchs, who was stunned that so many of his students remembered his promise. NorthJersey.com (Hackensack, N.J.) (free registration)
(12/21)
 
| Standards & Assessments
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| Technology in the Classroom
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- Why "visual literacy" can improve student learning
 Widely available technology -- such as projectors, computers and Internet access -- makes it easier for teachers to incorporate full-color images into their lessons and enhance learning, visual-literacy proponent Lynell Burmark says in this interview. Because humans process images 60,000 times faster than text, teachers can use images to help students master concepts faster, she said. "When you see that image later anywhere, all my words will come back to you. That's making education stick," Burmark said. T.H.E. Journal
(12/19)
| Social Studies & Civic Life
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- Principal of Newtown High School tweets words of comfort
Charles Dumais, principal of Newtown High School in Connecticut, is using social media, such as Twitter, and blogs to help promote perseverance in the wake of the shooting in his district that has rattled the nation. "I know that you are tired," he wrote in a recent article. "I know that you are emotionally drained and don't know if you have the energy to go on. I know that you are afraid of how you feel, how you don't feel, how you might feel, and how others feel. We all do (including me), each in a unique way that, unfortunately, is hard to predict or anticipate. Each day will test us." New Haven Register (Conn.)
(12/20)
- Archaeologists find what may be ritualistic burial sites in Md.
Archaeologists working along the Patuxent River in Anne Arundel County, Md., have found hundreds of Native American artifacts over the past three years, and now they say what they have discovered this year indicates the site was used for ritualistic burials. "It looks like this was ritual central for 850 years or more," county archaeologist Al Luckenbach said. "This casts all the things we discovered in the first three years in a completely different light." The Capital (Annapolis, Md.)
(12/24)
| NCSS Updates
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International Social Studies Conference
Understanding the Near East is important for today's social studies classrooms. To help social studies educators get a first-hand understanding of the region and issues, NCSS has partnered with Maryville University of St. Louis and the Moroccan Center for Civic Education to host "Education for Democracy and the Arab World." This conference will include three days of sessions and speakers, featuring Moroccan officials, U.S. Embassy personnel, regional experts, and classroom teachers and students. More information.
| SmartQuote
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 | In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy."
--William Blake,
British poet and painter
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NCSS SmartBrief Issues:
- Friday, December 21, 2012
- Wednesday, December 19, 2012
- Monday, December 17, 2012
- Friday, December 14, 2012
- Wednesday, December 12, 2012
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