| Social Studies – Preparing Students for College, Career and Civic Life |  |
- N.Y. school district brings critical thinking to social studies
Sweet Home School District in New York plans to deepen middle- and high-school students' understanding of history and current events by emphasizing critical thinking, instead of memorization, in preparation for college. The three-tier approach focuses on helping students identify the people, places and events, exploring how events affected society, and using critical-thinking skills by forming arguments about the events. Students also will research a societal problem, proving it exists using data, interviews and statistics. The Buffalo News (N.Y.)
(9/19)
 
- Teachers share, sell lesson plans online
Georgia kindergarten teacher Deanna Jump is one of 26 teachers who have earned more than $1 million by selling their lesson plans on the TeachersPayTeachers website, writes Andrew J. Rotherham, co-founder of the nonprofit Bellwether Education. He writes that other sites allow teachers to collaborate and share their lesson plans for free. "Regardless of who foots the bill for more-effective lesson plans, this sort of professional sharing is long overdue," Rotherham writes. Time.com/Ideas
(9/20)
- History, art teacher to share lessons learned in Paris with students
Kathleen Kennedy, a global history and art teacher at West Bronx Academy for the Future in New York City, was one of 14 teachers to travel abroad this summer to study art and architecture and gather lesson ideas to share with students this school year. Kennedy, who spent two weeks in Paris thanks to the Fund for Teachers organization, said she plans to hold similar workshops at her school to help her students link art and history. The trips are funded through the Fund for Teachers organization. Daily News (New York)
(9/18)
 |
The USC Rossier School of Education offers a Master's of Education in Advanced Instruction delivered online. The program blends live, online classes with coursework that can be applied in your own classroom. Choose from a range of content areas to meet your goals, and earn a Special Education Credential or a Gifted Education Certificate. Learn more. |
|
| Policy Watch
|  |  |
|
- Report details use of 2009 stimulus funds
States with higher needs and higher-performing students were the most likely to receive 2009 federal stimulus funds, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Education. The report seeks to assess whether the funding achieved the goal of improving academics in struggling schools. The findings were much different in the school district-level grants competition, where districts with low-performing schools and high-poverty students were likely to receive more funding. Education Week/Inside School Research blog
(9/18)
| Technology in the Classroom
| | |
|
- Understanding students' freedom of speech in the digital age
A growing number of states are policing students' online behavior, including in North Carolina, where students can be convicted of misdemeanors for posting comments online that "intimidate or torment" teachers and other school employees. Supporters say the law -- apparently the first to focus on students who cyberbully teachers -- is intended to curb cyberbullying by regulating students' behavior on and off campus. Some observers, however, say the issue raises questions about students' freedom of speech and suggest the issue could end up before the Supreme Court. The Wall Street Journal
(9/17)
- Creating connected learning for students, educators
 Teaching students to manage their digital resources is essential to keeping them engaged -- rather than distracted -- in today's connected classrooms, says educator and blogger Sam Patterson. In this interview, Patterson describes strategies for engagement, suggests mobile applications to support literacy in the classroom and offers tips for educators on enhancing their own continuing education through personal learning networks. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Education
(9/14)
| Social Studies & Civic Life
| | |
|
- Predicting the future of urbanization
Areas such as tropical Africa and eastern China are expected to be hot spots of urbanization during the next several years, according to researchers, who used satellite imagery and other data to project future urban expansion through 2030. "We're not forecasting population, we're forecasting the expansion of urban space," said Yale University geographer Karen Seto. Their efforts could be used to assist conservation initiatives, Seto noted. Nature
(9/18)
- Neb. archaeologists help uncover ancient Roman mosaic
 Archaeologists from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln helped discover a 1,600-square-foot mosaic in a remote area of southern Turkey that was ruled by the Roman Empire during the 3rd or 4th centuries AD. A 25-foot-long Roman bath has also been excavated alongside of the mosaic, said Michael Hoff, the university's professor of art history and director of the excavation. "This is a gorgeous mosaic, and its size is unprecedented -- so large, in fact, that work crews have uncovered only an estimated 40% of its total area," Hoff said. International Business Times
(9/20)
| NCSS Updates
| | |
|
-
International Social Studies Conference in Morocco
There is less than a month left to submit a proposal to present at the 2013 International Social Studies Conference, "Education for Democracy and the Arab World." The deadline for submitting a proposal is Oct. 15. Learn more about the conference and how to submit a session proposal on our website.
-
Become an NCATE program reviewer
NCSS seeks members to serve as reviewers of university social studies teacher education programs for the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Teams of reviewers examine social studies teacher education program reports and conduct reviews. Review work is completed online. Learn more.
| SmartQuote
| | |
|
 | Even if you fall on your face, you're still moving forward."
--Victor Kiam,
American businessman
|
| |
| |
|
Read more at
SmartBrief.com |
|
|
|
| |
| |
| | Recent
NCSS SmartBrief Issues:
- Wednesday, September 19, 2012
- Monday, September 17, 2012
- Friday, September 14, 2012
- Wednesday, September 12, 2012
- Monday, September 10, 2012
| | | Lead Editor:
Trigie Ealey
Contributing Editor:
James Roland
Mailing Address:
SmartBrief, Inc.®, 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004 | |
| |
|
| © 1999-2012 SmartBrief, Inc.®
Legal Information |
|
