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
Literacy strategies and book sites
Feeling a bit uneasy about how to respond to the Common Core Literacy Standards for History / Government? Struggling with what that looks like? Need a few ideas and suggestions for integrating reading and writing into your social studies instruction?
Here ya go! Continue reading Literacy strategies and book sites
Five Standards, Three Birds, and One Great Lesson
Travis Hardenburger is a seventh grade Kansas history and geography teacher at Wamego Middle School. He is working on a great presentation for the Kansas Council for History Education’s annual meeting on November 10 and 11 at Derby High School. You are already registered, right?
I don’t want to steal his thunder (he ok’d that I share this) but he developed a creative way to kill a lot of birds with one stone. Don’t turn me in to PETA. Continue reading Five Standards, Three Birds, and One Great Lesson
Guest Post: NCSS Publishes New Help for Social Studies Educators
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
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
Celebrate Freedom Week
With the new law being passed in Kansas turning Constitution Day into a week long event, I have struggled with ideas of how to celebrate Freedom Week in my geography classroom and still fit the lessons into my content. Luckily, the week coincided with my 5 Themes unit and is a great opportunity for me to give students a first hand experience with the human geography that is an aspect of the theme Place. Continue reading Celebrate Freedom Week
