The Hechinger Report

OCTOBER 5, 2020

A September 2020 study from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute found that elementary school students who studied more social studies, including geography, history and civics, scored higher on fifth grade reading tests. Credit: Jason Bachman/Flickr. who started kindergarten in 2011.

Social Studies 144

Social Studies Civics Geography Elementary School 144

Digital Promise

FEBRUARY 5, 2015

So when Piedmont is looking for great digital science and social studies programs for its middle school, it’s hard for them to know where to look and what’s out there. Know of a great middle school science or social studies app? Let us know or. Let us know or.

Social Studies 83

Social Studies Middle School Geography Civics 83

ED Surge

OCTOBER 9, 2023

Plenty of students find social studies lessons a bit dull. Brown loves — and has long loved — learning about history, civics, geography and government, in part because he had teachers who brought infectious energy and enthusiasm to those lessons. I was always interested in history. Not Caleb Brown.

History 119

History Museum Social Studies Geography 119

Students of History

JANUARY 10, 2023

However, current events are a great way to connect your curriculum to the real world and work on social studies skills. Incorporating current events into your social studies lessons can also be a great way to engage students and help them see the relevance of the subject to their own lives. Thanks for stopping by!

Social Studies 52

Social Studies Civics Critical Thinking World History 52

Dangerously Irrelevant

MAY 31, 2017

Some folks know that I started my education career as a middle school Social Studies teacher in Charlotte, North Carolina. For instance, if I was teaching Social Studies today… My students and I definitely would be tapping into an incredible diversity of online resources.

Social Studies 76

Social Studies Teaching Archiving Geography 76

ED Surge

FEBRUARY 22, 2022

I first acknowledged it subconsciously in my middle school years. Social studies and history classes weren't just academic discourse, they were social and emotional experiences. Like many people who learned new skills during the pandemic, I immersed myself in Black history, pedagogy, and education reform.

History 105

History American History Pedagogy Tutoring 105

Moler's Musing

AUGUST 17, 2024

I’ve transitioned to Batavia Middle School, where I’m now teaching 8th grade social studies in room 234. Thursday and Friday – Frayers, 3xCER Adapting to Change At my previous school, we used TCI History Alive, but now I’m working with McGraw Hill’s Voices of the Past.

Social Studies 120

Social Studies Middle School History Teaching 120

HistoryRewriter

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

Conversational Videos in the Classroom from Social Studies School Service on Vimeo. Previously published by Social Studies School Services. Participating in oral histories improves engagement and increases the amount of historical empathy students develop. Access slides at bit.ly/CONVOvidSSSS.

Oral History 130

Oral History History Social Studies Middle School 130

Students of History

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

If you're a US History teacher looking for PDF worksheets for your high school or middle school classroom, I have tons to share, including this 30+ page packet of free engaging assignments you can download and start using right away. We even have a set of worksheets devoted just to developing history skills.

History 52

History Primary Sources Lesson Plan American History 52

The Hechinger Report

JULY 7, 2024

When I first started teaching middle school, I did everything my university prep program told me to do in what’s known as the “workshop model.” history (why was the Berlin wall built?) I let kids choose their books. I determined their independent reading levels and organized my classroom library according to reading difficulty.

Teaching 137

Teaching Geography History Library 137

The Hechinger Report

AUGUST 13, 2024

But very few schools currently integrate effective literacy practices into content classes, according to experts on reading. That said, a handful of states and school districts are starting to explore the approach. Patty Topliffe (center right) and other English and social studies teachers at Woodstock High School, in Vermont.

High School 145

High School Teaching Primary Sources K-12 145

ED Surge

OCTOBER 11, 2023

As of 2022, 38 states required a semester of civics education in high school; that same year, the federal government increased spending on “American History and Civics” fourfold. These are all great steps in the right direction, but I believe there is still a lack of respect for the importance of history and civics education.

Civics 109

Civics Education Civic Engagement K-12 109

Social Studies Success

NOVEMBER 24, 2023

By Lisa Sutterer Geography, World History and Early High School Teacher Littleton High School “Why is starting class so difficult each day?” Many middle school teachers are aware of the strength of this “straight down the middle” current events news source, and show it religiously.

World History 52

World History Geography History Middle School 52

The Hechinger Report

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

But North Carolina State University is taking a different approach to teaching the subject, said Rachel Levy, executive director of the school’s new Data Science Academy. State launched the academy two years ago to introduce the use of the subject across disciplines, from biology and art to English and history.

K-12 108

K-12 Social Studies Lesson Plan History 108

The Hechinger Report

JULY 14, 2021

Wells, Shirley Chisholm or Denmark Vesey from his high school social studies textbooks. And while social studies curricula differ vastly across the U.S., While the app is open to the public through the Google and Apple app store, Kinfolk is targeted to middle school students and teachers.

Archiving 129

Archiving Archival Research Primary Sources Artifacts 129

4QM Teaching

MAY 7, 2023

Most of us who work in schools are motivated at least in part by a desire to make the world better, and it’s nice to know that our work actually makes a difference in what young people know and can do. And many elementary schools have basically not been teaching history for some time now. But that’s a different blog post.

Social Studies 40

Social Studies Middle School Elementary School History 40

Society for Classical Studies

FEBRUARY 13, 2024

The directors of the institute, Bob Holschuh Simmons of Monmouth College ( rsimmons@monmouthcollege.edu ) and Nathalie Roy of Glasgow Middle School in Baton Rouge, LA ( fabricatrix@gmail.com ), encourage applications from K-12 teachers of any subject that could incorporate hands-on Classics into its curricula.

K-12 52

K-12 Middle School Social Studies Humanities 52

The Hechinger Report

JULY 21, 2022

Ali McMillan, an instructional coach and intervention specialist at West Feliciana Middle School, Louisiana. Ali McMillan, an instructional coach and intervention specialist at West Feliciana Middle School in West Feliciana Parish, is one of 20 educators participating in the program.

Controversial Topics 93

Controversial Topics Education Lesson Plan Artifacts 93

The Hechinger Report

DECEMBER 28, 2020

Will history repeat? A study on teaching critical thinking in science. In a study of middle school science classrooms, researchers found that it’s not effective to start the school year with weeks of lessons on the scientific method, which many teachers do. How the last recession affected higher education.

Research 108

Research Tutoring Education Critical Thinking 108

ED Surge

APRIL 1, 2022

“We need to talk about the trauma of teaching through a pandemic,” urges Christopher Bowen, a STEM curriculum specialist for Johnson City Schools in Tennessee. As Bronx middle school teacher Roxanne Leak put it during an interview, “It’s unfortunate. Teachers are leaving. I need to do the same.'"

Middle School 116

Middle School Psychology Teaching High School 116

The Hechinger Report

JANUARY 23, 2019

He says he used to get in trouble in middle school because he’d finish his work more quickly than his peers and have nothing else to do but goof around. Now, if he finishes a history lesson first, for example, he goes on to the next one – or switches to another subject. Michael likes being able to move at his own pace.

Charter School 110

Charter School Advocacy Middle School Social Studies 110

The Hechinger Report

OCTOBER 30, 2019

The syllabus for my class was based heavily on civic history and government. Related: How social studies can help young kids make sense of the world. This story about middle-school civics was produced by The Hechinger Report , a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education.

Civics 93

Civics Charter School Government History 93

The Hechinger Report

JANUARY 28, 2019

Nevada and Michigan will join them in the upcoming 2019-20 school year. The hope is that if kids can become proficient in reading early on, they’ll be much more likely to succeed in all of their subjects, from science to social studies, because students need to know how to read to learn the material.

Middle School 92

Middle School Elementary School Economics Humanities 92

The Hechinger Report

SEPTEMBER 24, 2021

Spokespeople from the schools say the criticism doesn’t reflect the fact that they often enroll students who are struggling academically, are enrolled for short periods, and have a history of changing schools frequently, a metric shown to hurt academic performance. But after enrolling Ernest Jr.,

Charter School 123

Charter School Education Policy History Public School 123

Digital Promise

DECEMBER 14, 2016

Hoang co-leads Burbank’s partnership with Turnaround Arts: California , a signature program of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities that seeks to advance education in a select group of elementary and middle schools in the state. First graders are working with high school honors students to map kindness.

Education 84

Education K-12 Middle School Professional Development 84

The Hechinger Report

NOVEMBER 3, 2016

Middle school students at the Innovation Academy experiment with building electrical circuits. The Innovation Academy workspace at Dysart Unified School District looked more like a tech startup’s headquarters than a classroom. Photo: Jamie Martines. SURPRISE, Ariz. — Photo: Jamie Martines. “We Photo: Jamie Martines.

Tutoring 109

Tutoring Elementary School Middle School Social Studies 109

ED Surge

NOVEMBER 21, 2023

For the educators working with elementary- and middle school-aged students, many described turning microaggressions into opportunities for learning by using pointed but neutral follow-up questions to prompt student self-reflection, like “Why do you want to know?” There is a way we can connect."

Education 90

Education K-12 Psychology Cultures 90

The Hechinger Report

DECEMBER 22, 2018

A Crew of seventh graders at King Middle School in Portland, Maine, plays a conflict-resolution game called “Is This Seat Taken?” Curtis Chapin, a Crew advisor and language arts teacher at King Middle School in Portland, Maine, reviews the “Crew Contract” signed by each member. Chris Berdik/The Hechinger Report.

Middle School 111

Middle School Library Tradition Elementary School 111

The Hechinger Report

JUNE 20, 2017

That could be giving social-studies students a tutorial on research skills; showing a French class how to make stop-action animation, short videos, or websites for presentations on Francophone countries; or helping a math teacher free up class time by creating sharable videos of introductory explanations and sample problems for students.

Library 110

Library K-12 Digital Resources Advocacy 110

The Hechinger Report

JANUARY 5, 2022

Sometimes, Talbott says, she was the first Black teacher her students had had at Lusher, even after she began teaching sixth-grade social studies in 2013; it meant a lot to her to provide students with that self-recognition and affirmation. My hope is to center the voices of the indigenous, of women, of Black people,” Talbott says.

Leadership 143

Leadership Charter School Cultures Social Studies 143

The Hechinger Report

APRIL 18, 2017

Tim Matthews, a middle school history teacher outside Boston, uses iCivics games to teach the Constitution, which his class calls “the rulebook.” Take a game like, ‘Do I have a Right?’ ” said Brian Furgione, a middle-school social studies teacher near Orlando, Florida. “In

Civics 74

Civics K-12 Education Primary Sources 74

Zinn Education Project

JANUARY 8, 2024

While right-wing legislatures restrict the teaching of Black history, we are pleased to support teachers who work to teach truthfully about U.S. In a class with teachers , Delmont explained the relevance of learning this history. Courtney Bennis High School Social Studies Teacher, Virginia Beach, Virginia A huge “Thank you!”

History Education 52

History Education History Education Social Studies 52

The Hechinger Report

JUNE 15, 2022

The district will be holding an expanded summer school this year and is investing in mental health counselors and early literacy. . Katina Harris , middle school English teacher and president of the local teachers’ union. Even when we were in elementary school, like with the stock market crash, everyone moved.

Oral History 93

Oral History History High School Public School 93

The Hechinger Report

AUGUST 1, 2021

Under a first-in-the-nation law that took full effect this year, students from across the state must take part in at least two “student-led, nonpartisan civics projects” — one in eighth grade, and another in high school. Peyton Amaral, an eighth grader at Morton Middle School in Fall River, Mass., Credit: Christopher Blanchette.

Civic Engagement 137

Civic Engagement Civics Teaching Middle School 137

The Hechinger Report

SEPTEMBER 20, 2022

NEW YORK — There’s a new look to history classes in New York City schools: a curriculum in Asian American and Pacific Islander history. New York City’s Department of Education is the latest public school system to require that U.S. history instruction include an Asian American and Pacific Islander K-12 curriculum.

History 93

History Heritage K-12 American History 93

The Hechinger Report

MARCH 16, 2020

When I first met Pierre-Floyd, she told me McDonogh #35 had felt like “a baby HBCU,” the high school version of Howard University or the fictional Hillman College depicted on A Different World. Teachers valued her blackness, she said, and taught her the history of African and African-American strength. I’m asking Jesus. Stop Jalal.

Charter School 74

Charter School High School Cultures Public School 74

Teaching American History

NOVEMBER 14, 2023

He did, and Livingston soon found herself sitting in an introductory college course in US history. The next semester, she took two more US history classes, then realized she’d found her major. Joining social studies teacher groups on Facebook, she built her own professional learning community (PLC). “I

Teaching 52

Teaching Geography Ancestry Primary Sources 52