All posts by bradburenheide

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About bradburenheide

I'm an Associate Professor at Kansas State University's College of Education. Currently I am the program coordinator for secondary social studies education. My research interests include instructional gaming, history education, and creative pedagogy.

Recognizing Gold

Don Gifford, historical thinking, Kansas

As we continue the year, we have a guest blog post from Mr. Don Gifford, KSDE Social Studies Coordinator.  gifford

As I travel around the state and work with teachers and curriculum I can’t help but wonder how come our kids struggle so much with the content.  I encounter great teachers every day with great skills and knowledge.  With all of these great teachers how could kids not learn?  I mean to me this stuff is exciting and powerful it generates emotions and energy.  It fills me with a sense of wonder and responsibility.  Continue reading Recognizing Gold →

A Good Case of “Civil Disobedience” & KSDE Update

Brad Burenheide, common core, Don Gifford, history, Kansas, professional development, standards, strategies

We all teach our kids to obey laws and be good citizens whether it be at our home or in our classroom.  Yet, it is important that we also add when it is appropriate to practice civil disobedience.  Most good teachers that I know are quick to teach about MLK, Thoreau, and Gandhi and how their actions spurred the course of civic discourse to address rights (and wrongs) of their fellow citizens and their governments.  Now, we find ourselves amidst a government shut down that seems to be the result of party politics.  I present to you a perfect example of what civil disobedience is.  Of which, you can find the article here.   Continue reading A Good Case of “Civil Disobedience” & KSDE Update →

Guest Post: NCSS Publishes New Help for Social Studies Educators

best practice, common core, Don Gifford, professional development, standards

Don Gifford, KSDE Social Studies Content Specialist, has been kind enough to provide a guest commentary on the C3 Framework published by NCSS this week.  You can find a link to the Framework here.

NCSS Publishes New Help for Social Studies Educators  by Don Gifford, KSDE

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: State Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History

 The National Council for the Social Studies has just released a framework for enhancing the rigor of Social Studies education.  Over the past several years the Kansas Department of Education (KSDE) and a couple of Kansas teachers have been involved in crafting and reviewing this work.  The September edition of Social Education, a publication of NCSS, has several articles about the process and content of this framework.  The intent of my writing today is to demonstrate the alignment with the Kansas History, Government, and Social Studies Standards and encourage the use of this document writing curriculum and designing units of study.  Continue reading Guest Post: NCSS Publishes New Help for Social Studies Educators →

Multiple Perspectives: An essential concept in Social Studies

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Today, we are fortunate to have a guest blog post.  Dr. Tim Fry from Washburn University has contributed an interesting post dealing with Multiple Perspectives.  Dr. Fry is currently an Associate Professor at Washburn University in their Department of Education and is also a board member of KCSS.   Enjoy!

“Seized!” or “Reunited!”—Multiple Perspectives: An essential concept in Social Studies    by Timothy S. Fry, PhD 

One Sunday morning, after filling my mandatory morning cup of coffee, I sat down at the dining room table at my parents’ house to read the Sunday paper.  I was visiting my parents in my hometown of Hutchinson, Kansas.  It had been a while since I had been home and was looking forward to reading my old hometown paper, the Hutchinson News.  However on Sundays, my folks also subscribed to the larger Wichita Eagle.  Both papers had been opened and I just happened to sit closest to the Wichita paper, so I grabbed it first.  The headline was huge, one word filled an entire line across the paper—“Seized!”  Continue reading Multiple Perspectives: An essential concept in Social Studies →

Opportunities

Brad Burenheide, common core, geography, history, lesson plans, literacy, maps, primary sources, professional development

Colleagues in social studies,

Just want to offer a few things for you to peruse for opportunities for growth and development.  The opportunities include information about the Kansas Social Studies Conference, a class on East Asia, and a training session on Dual Encoding – using maps while teaching history.

Continue reading Opportunities →