Category Archives: conference

App Up Your Social Studies

IMG_9723

Lori Rice teaches fourth grade at West Elementary in Wamego and is the current Kansas Council for the Social Studies elementary teacher of the year. You can find Lori on Twitter at @MsLRice. She also blogs on all things teaching (not just social studies) at The Educator’s Room.


Albert Einstein said, “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative Einstein_1921_by_F_Schmutzer_-_restorationexpression and knowledge.”   There is a never ending demand teachers in a classroom; things to change, things to learn, and things to implement.  Mobile devices are a wonderful tool in a teacher’s tool belt of knowledge. Bringing apps into your social studies classroom will enable you to continue with proven teaching strategies while opening the doors to learning for your students.

I recently had a conversation with a friend.  We were discussing high school and remembering funny anecdotes and stories of our past.  I mentioned I had a social studies teacher I did not care for and I struggled in this class.  The struggle was my engagement, not the grade. The class was simply boring. My friend also remembered that social studies was one of his least favorite subjects in school as well.  There is an irony in the fact that a subject full of stories, history and culture would be boring.

Teaching is an art and a science.  There are many proven strategies that can be used to increase student motivation and learning.  As an educator, it is our job to allow for expression and creativity in learning. “App Up Your Social Studies” will bring a connection to proven strategies and apps that allow for creativity.

Using Bloom’s taxonomy in a classroom where students feel connected and safe is a wonderful tool.  We will explore apps that can be used to help students analyze, evaluate and create to demonstrate their understanding of their social studies content. These apps will allow you to expand on what you are already doing in your curriculum.

Along with Bloom’s, we will also explore Marzano’s instructional strategies of summarizing and note taking (having a 34% gain in student learning), nonlinguistic representation (having a 27% gain in student learning), and asking questions (having a 22% gain in student learning).*  We will use apps to allow students to sketch their learning and ask higher level questions. How powerful would our world be if our students had a deep understanding of our social studies standards along with a passion for other cultures and relationships?

Social studies is the stories of our past and our cultures.  This can be personal past and culture, recent past and culture, or ancient past and culture.  Helping students understand their own stories and connections to the stories of others allows for empathy.  Apping up your social studies will allow students to explore, analyze, evaluate and create. So reflect on what you are already doing and join me to explore how to bring apps into your classroom for social studies fun!

Sound interesting? You can see Lori live next Monday at the Kansas Social Studies Conference at 2:10pm!

Countdown to Conference

img_6813You won’t want to miss your chance to see presentations by some of the best social studies teachers in country, not just our state (we’re pretty awesome here in Kansas).

The schedule is out and if you’re registered, great! Go ahead and start planning who you want to see. If you’re not, you still have time, just head over here to fill out the form.

Over the next couple of weeks we’re going to preview of some of our stellar new logo small(1)member presentations to whet your appetite for the great learning that’s going to happen on the Newman University Campus in a few short weeks.

 

 

 

State of the Social Studies

TomClairAbeThis week’s post comes from Thomas Fulbright, current KCSS president and history teacher at Hope Street Academy, a public charter school in Topeka since 2008. Thomas intends “to spend my entire life convincing them how exciting and important history is.”  His bio picture is daughter Claire and Thomas  meeting President Lincoln.


This past July, I attended a Library of Congress Primary Source SummitTF NameTag hosted by the Minnesota Council for the Social Studies.  We covered a number of topics beyond just social studies pedagogy with a focus on the use of primary sources. By the end of the summit I was feeling good about the State of the Social Studies in Kansas, and in addition, reinvigorated in my personal purpose for teaching social studies.  Let me tell you why & hopefully you will feel the same way (sorry you couldn’t come with me to Minnesota).

First – the State of the Social Studies. Continue reading State of the Social Studies

Authentic Learning: Making History Matter – Join us for the state conference!

img_6813

Details for the 2019 Kansas Social Studies Conference, Authentic Learning: Making History Matter, have been finalized. Information concerning registration, the keynote speaker, college credit, and more can be found on the KCHE website . In addition, the schedule is available right HERE!

This year Newman University will be offering 1 hour of graduate credit for conference participants who attend both days of the conference. Those wishing to take advantage of this opportunity must enroll before (or at) the conference using the form linked here. Then, following the conference, they will be required to complete and submit the post-conference reflection essay which will be emailed by Cameron Carlson, Dean of The School of Education. We appreciate Newman working with us to make this possible for teachers.

img_0024-3

This year we are honored to be joined by keynote speaker Dr. John Fea, Professor of American History at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Fea will be speaking on his bookWhy Study History?, published in 2013, in which he examines how reflecting on contemporary life from a historical perspective helps us better understand ourselves and the world around us. Visit his website, The Way of Improvement Leads Hometo learn more.

The registration deadline is October 1st. We are looking forward to two exciting days of learning, networking, and collaborating among some of our state’s best social studies teachers.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to email Emily Williams, KCHE President, at ewilliams@usd260.com. Thank you!

Ready, Set, Social Studies! Get ready for the conference!

Planning is underway for the 2019 Kansas Social Studies Conference!

img_6823We hope that social studies teachers currently part of the profession,  pre-service teachers planning to enter the profession, and vendors passionate about supporting the profession will all join us at Newman University October 20-21 for two exciting days of networking, collaborating, and learning from one another.

This year we will be joined by keynote speaker Dr. John Fea, Professor of American History at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Fea will be speaking about his 2013 book Why Study History? and sharing how reflecting on contemporary life from a historical perspective helps us better understand ourselves and the world around us.

Have something that would be great to share with other educators? Please submit a proposal for a breakout session! The deadline has been extended to make sure we don’t miss any great opportunities to see what you’re doing in the classroom.

Find out more and register for the conference here.