| Social Studies – Preparing Students for College, Career and Civic Life |  |
| Teaching & Learning
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- How to teach social studies more effectively
 Social studies teacher Larry Ferlazzo turns over this blog post to three other educators as they answer the question, "What's the best advice you can give to Social Studies teachers who want to be more effective?" Social studies teacher Stephen Lazar said teachers should remember to teach students, not content. Fifth-grade teacher Sarah Kirby-Gonzalez and former high-school social studies teacher and author Bill Bigelow also offer advice. Education Week Teacher/Classroom Q&A blog
(4/24)
 
- School-museum partnership brings art to the social studies classroom
A partnership between the North Carolina Museum of Art and four Salisbury, N.C., middle schools will provide teachers with training on how to incorporate the arts into any subject area, including social studies, science, math and visual arts. Funded through a grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation, the program includes a three-day workshop, during which teachers will explore the museum's collections and learn how to include the arts in their lesson planning. The grant also provides funds for additional school technology and student field trips. Salisbury Post (N.C.)
(4/18)
- Canadian school goes back to the basics
 Ottawa Waldorf School in Candada has taken a hands-on, tactile-rich approach to curriculum that officials said inspires creativity. The school is modeled after those of Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher who developed schools that focuses on physical, emotional and intellectual development. In Alan Krueger's geography lesson, for example, students draw a map of Canada by hand. Ottawa Citizen (Ontario)
(4/16)
| Policy Watch
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- Coalition releases resolution opposing high-stakes tests
A coalition that includes educators, as well as education, civil rights and parents groups, released a national resolution on Tuesday opposing high-stakes standardized tests. The resolution calls on officials nationwide to "reexamine public school accountability systems" and to "develop a system based on multiple forms of assessment which does not require extensive standardized testing" and "more accurately reflects the broad range of student learning." The resolution also addresses federal education law, which supporters say should be rewritten to place less emphasis on testing. The Washington Post/The Answer Sheet blog
(4/24)
- Should geography and global history exams be optional?
The New York state board of regents is considering a proposal to create two new routes to graduation -- one in career and technical education and the other in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. With the addition of the two new regents tests, exams in geography and global history would become optional. The proposed changes aim to increase students' access to career and technical education, but some teachers have expressed concern about the dropping of the geography and world history exams. The Ithaca Journal (N.Y.)
(4/23)
| Technology in the Classroom
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- Teaching social studies with TED-Ed
TED-Ed on Wednesday launched an educational website featuring lessons based on its original animated videos for grades K-12. Each lesson includes a three- to eight-minute video, multiple-choice quizzes, open-ended questions and links to related information. In addition, teachers can choose to "flip" the video and create customized lessons. TED-Ed's Lessons Worth Sharing beta version currently features video lessons on numerous topics. Forbes/Techonomy
(4/25)
- How to incorporate the iPad in traditional lessons
Instructional technologist and blogger Andrew Marcinek in this post describes how a one-to-one iPad tablet computer program at Burlington High School in Massachusetts is translating into engaging lessons for students. In one example, history students take on the roles of renowned philosophers as they bring the ideas of the enlightenment to life using blogging and Twitter. Edutopia.org/Andrew Marcinek's blog
(4/24)
| Social Studies & Civic Life
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- Student anglers reel in fish and knowledge
Student anglers in Alabama are reeling in more than fish as they travel the state to participate in bass fishing tournaments; they're also acquiring knowledge and skills in some core subject areas, including geography, economics, marketing and math. In addition, the students, who are members of their schools' bass fishing teams, work with the Alabama Bass Trail on several conservation projects around the state. Times Daily (Florence, Ala.)
(4/22)
- Anthropology students unearth history in Maryland
Anthropology students at Maryland's Montgomery College are working with community members to unearth the history of a section of Olney, Md., known as Falling Green. Now a park, the property was once home to some of the Montgomery County's earliest settlers, and students are working with the Maryland Historical Trust to collect and document artifacts found at the site. "It's all just so fascinating," said Heather Schramm, a sophomore. "Learning the history behind the house helps us to come to conclusions about how people lived, and ties all the pieces together." The Washington Post
(4/25)
| NCSS Updates
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History students request recognition for Civil War soldiers
Students in NCSS member Paul LaRue's senior honors history class are taking the social studies from the classroom into the real world by petitioning Ohio legislators to grant formal recognition of 515 African American soldiers who served in the 54th and 55th Massachusetts regiments during the Civil War because they were barred from enlisting in Ohio due to their race. Read more.
| SmartQuote
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 | Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen."
--John Steinbeck,
American writer
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Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's push for longer school days continues to be met by resistance from the teachers union and others who worry the proposal -- for a 30% longer instructional day -- goes too far. Emanuel and other supporters say the lengthened days will help improve student achievement. However, some question how the added time will be used and how it will be paid for. 
