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The National Council for History Education (NCHE) is excited to announce a new partnership with the Library of Congress Teaching with PrimarySources program (TPS). As of February 2025, NCHE serves as the director of one of the Librarys newest regional granting entities, the Great Plains Region.
With the right HQIM, students develop criticalthinking skills, engage meaningfully with historical content, and become informed citizens ready to tackle complex societal issues. PrimarySource Integration: Many programs emphasize the use of primarysources in instruction.
One of the biggest challenges in history education is engaging students in meaningful analysis while encouraging collaboration and criticalthinking. Image & Source Analysis (8 Parts) A picture is worth a thousand wordsbut only if students know how to analyze it! Add images or drawings to represent key ideas.
Boosting Student Success with Studies Weekly at Empower Community School | Customer Success Story Apr 21, 2025 Studies Weekly NEWSLETTER Join us as we step inside Empower Community School to hear from educators dedicated to creating meaningful learning experiences with the help of Studies Weekly. Attend the Learning Lab!
Elementary education has traditionally prioritized English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics, often sidelining social studies. Yet, studies show that integrating social studies into the curriculum can significantly enhance reading comprehension, vocabulary development, and criticalthinking.
However, research increasingly shows that integrating knowledge-rich instruction across subjects is essential for improving literacy, criticalthinking, and overall student success. Reading Integration: Use informational texts, primarysources, and document analysis to enhance comprehension and criticalthinking.
Also, if you’re interested in how AI can be used effectively in education, check out an article I contributed to in EdWeek: Can AI Be Used Effectively in Class? This part helped students connect primarysource analysis to the broader motivations for European exploration, further deepening their historical thinking skills.
These pilot experiences were invaluable we observed firsthand how students engaged in compelling questions, analyzed primarysources, and developed their own interpretations of historical events. Some educators were initially hesitant, concerned about time constraints, student readiness, and adapting to a new instructional approach.
Teachers can leverage the power of thinking routines developed by Project Zero at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education to help students develop their metacognitive muscles. Next, students progress to the stage of “thinking.” Media and Current Events: Use this with news articles or multimedia sources.
Friday PrimarySources Lesson Link , Thick Slide Summary Friday was a day off for me, so I set up an inquiry lesson for my students—a deep dive into the question, “Why is it important to have a voice in government? Sure, I want students to stretch their thinking and be challenged, but there’s a fine line.
Editor’s note: This story led off this week’s Future of Learning newsletter, which is delivered free to subscribers’ inboxes every other Wednesday with trends and top stories about education innovation. The sessions included educators, students, parents, and community members. Subscribe today!
Teachers can leverage the power of thinking routines developed by Project Zero at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education to help students develop their metacognitive muscles. Teachers often use this routine to deepen students’ engagement with material and to foster complex, criticalthinking skills.
I've thought about opening it up widely—write a historical novelette (using primarysources, of course), create a sculpture, write a song—but, again, I have no idea how to grade something like that, considering the wide range of talent that my students likely will have.
Some folks know that I started my education career as a middle school Social Studies teacher in Charlotte, North Carolina. I could incorporate Stanford University’s amazing library of historical criticalthinking assessments at Beyond the Bubble.
While they're sometimes belittled, worksheets are an excellent tool for helping students analyze primarysources or better understand a historical event through a secondary source. This makes them easy to differentiate for special education students with accommodations.
Reflecting on the adventures, challenges, and revelations of the first semester teaching 8th grade social studies has been a journey filled with engaging moments, criticalthinking exercises, and the exploration of local connections. Onward we march, with open minds and full hearts, to encounter the canvas of the second semester.
Another trend in social studies education is the emphasis on project-based learning. By actively engaging with the material in this way, students are able to develop criticalthinking skills and a deeper understanding of the subject matter. I have these available for my entire curricula in World and US History.
It teaches the basics of criticalthinking, research and academic writing. It’s designed for students new to the University of Virginia—but not entirely new to higher education. As for primarysources, the professor suggests looking for a map, or a ship’s record, or a diary entry. He started out in Transformations.
Here are some of my favorite resources from my Teacher’s Edition: Weekly Essentials Every week in the TE includes: Summary notes Essential questions and criticalthinking questions Learning objectives Vocabulary Comprehension questions Assessments All of these things are already done and ready for you to use.
By Alicia McCollum and student inquiry travelers As an educator venturing into the world of inquiry design for the first time, the experience can feel remarkably similar to learning to play a musical instrument. I started with browsing an exhaustive amount of websites, academic journals, blog posts, digital museum tours, primarysources etc.
By Alicia McCollum and student inquiry travelers As an educator venturing into the world of inquiry design for the first time, the experience can feel remarkably similar to learning to play a musical instrument. I started with browsing an exhaustive amount of websites, academic journals, blog posts, digital museum tours, primarysources etc.
From Frayer Models to define key terms and concepts, to Sketch and Tell-O and 8Parts Sourcing for visual analysis and criticalthinking, each day offered a structured and interactive way for students to connect with history. How does Wilsons example of Massachusetts support his argument for a single executive?
Throughout this lesson, my students not only learn the content but also develop criticalthinking skills as they analyze evidence, put together persuasive arguments and respectfully debate their peers. I often weave these historical narratives into content through primarysources. Photo courtesy of Alex Brouhard.
Despite the relentless political attacks on antiracist education, traffic to the Zinn Education Project website continues to grow a clear indication that educators and communities remain deeply committed to teaching the truth.
Examples included: The country should be led by the wealthy and educated. Democratic-Republicans This activity forced students to thinkcritically and apply their knowledge, reinforcing party beliefs in a hands-on way. This is not education. Annotate and Tell: Marshalls Ruling We then moved to primarysource analysis.
With thousands of teachers using Zinn Education Project lessons each year, we hear amazing stories about the impact these lessons have in the classroom. Paradoxically, teaching people’s history leaves more room for hope than any other educational framework. Here are just a few. History students.
I had used AI to simplify the primarysources into 7th-grade-friendly readings, hoping this would keep students engaged and make the sources more accessible. This made the Loyalist primarysource lesson from the Digital Inquiry group a perfect choice.
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