Local History - Social Studies Network

Using Local History to Increase Student Engagement

Education Elements

JANUARY 18, 2022

Erin Conklin’s eyes light up when she talks about the primary and secondary source student book she created for Duval County Public School’s African American Studies elective.

Local History

Local History History

The Week That Was In 234

Moler's Musing

MAY 9, 2025

Why this lesson worked: Quizizz built background and gave us data Thick Slide gave students a structure to produce and reflect The Poindexter case grounded the learning in local history and made it real Tuesday A Twist on the Lincoln-Douglas Debates Tuesday was one of those days where I wanted to keep the content heavy, but the delivery light.

Local History

Local History History

Together: Using Inquiry to Teach the Armenian Genocide

C3 Teachers

MAY 5, 2025

In an optional extension, students investigate how remembrance functions in their own communitieswhether through monuments, local history, or oral tradition. The culminating task asks students to act as museum curators, pitching an Armenian Genocide exhibit to a supervisor.

Teaching

Teaching Museum Primary Sources Professional Development

Oral History of Forgottonia: Building a Public History Project in Rural Western Illinois

NCHE

APRIL 3, 2023

At the grocery store: “ Your students did such a great job documenting our local history! The gas station: “ Hey Joe, I heard you had a student doing some research about local mines in our community. If your community is like mine, it’s likely much of your town’s rural history hasn’t been preserved in a meaningful way.

Oral History

Oral History Public History History Museum

Mississippi Reports Praise TCI’s K-12 Social Studies Programs

TCI

JANUARY 6, 2025

The reports highlight TCIs focus on state-specific customization and its ability to meet diverse district needs, including the integration of local history, standards, and educational goals. We are honored by the positive reviews from the Instructional Materials Review Board, said Natasha Martin, Chief Revenue Officer of TCI.

K-12

K-12 Social Studies Local History Critical Thinking

OPINION: Too many students just aren’t interested in what is being taught

The Hechinger Report

JANUARY 12, 2022

There are hundreds of national parks, many of which focus on local history. The good news is that relevant content, particularly for middle and high school students, is more readily available. In my own work, I’ve found materials from the National Parks Service extremely useful.

Heritage

Heritage Artifacts Local History Social Studies

Relevant content makes personalizing learning easier

Education Elements

JANUARY 17, 2022

I taught a class on local history. When I was a teacher in Washington, D.C. Students got to learn about places they had visited and people they had heard about. I’ve never taught a class where students were more deeply engaged in the actual content of the class.

Local History

Local History History

Creativity and Co-Creation Bring Local Asian American, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islander Histories to the Classroom

Smithsonian Voices | Smithsonian Education

SEPTEMBER 19, 2024

Through a convening of educators and community organizations, new education resources for students spotlight local histories in engaging new formats, telling stories from right in their own backyards

History

History Local History Education

How gaps in content knowledge hold students back

The Hechinger Report

MARCH 28, 2019

Curriculum teams are supplementing this with additional units built with Baltimore students in mind – helping them understand their local history, for example. Already the district sees some anecdotal evidence that the changes are helping students.

Local History

Local History Geography Education Policy Public School

To Serve All of Our Students, 'We Have to Do Something Different'

ED Surge

JANUARY 10, 2023

But too often, we fail to center our local contexts, and to explore all of the assets that our neighborhoods and communities could bring to our educational mission. Our local histories, our neighborhood green spaces and our students’ extended families offer all kinds of academic connections that can enrich our studies.

Local History

Local History Civics Lesson Plan Social Science

Crafting a Standards-Aligned, Skill-Focused Unit with AI Collaboration

Moler's Musing

AUGUST 28, 2024

In this blog post, I’ll walk you through how I collaborated with AI (ChatGPT) to develop a comprehensive 5-6 day unit on Native American history, tailored specifically for my 8th-grade students. The clear success criteria and continuous reflection throughout the process further enhanced the unit’s accessibility and impact.

American History

American History Geography Local History History

If I was teaching Social Studies today…

Dangerously Irrelevant

MAY 31, 2017

Another would be Wayland (MA) High School’s yearly student history projects , in which students engage in digital storytelling projects, scanning historical images and creating audio podcasts, interviewing local Vietnam-era veterans , and analyzing the papers of the commander of the Dachau concentration camp after its liberation.

Social Studies

Social Studies Teaching Archiving Geography

NEH Grant Awardee: Resituating the Humanities in Place-Based Learning

Society for Classical Studies

JANUARY 26, 2024

Congratulations to Robert Holschuh Simmons (Classics), David Wright (English), Anne Mamary (Philosophy), and Valerie Deisinger (History)! This humanities initiative will create a digital repository based on student projects that center issues of displacement and local history in West Central Illinois.

Humanities

Humanities Local History History

Newcomer Students in Rural and Suburban Communities

Digital Promise

SEPTEMBER 10, 2018

A student won’t perform well on a reading assessment if the content in the passage — American television shows or local history, for example — is something she’s unfamiliar with. Remember that newcomer students may face cultural barriers as well as language ones.

Local History

Local History Cultures History High School

The Week That Was In 234

Moler's Musing

MARCH 21, 2025

Wednesday Wednesday, I wanted to mix things up and bring in local history. Its right on the river, barely noticeable, but packed with history. This lesson combined local history, critical thinking, and writing practice in a way that made students care about a little town they had never even heard of before.

Local History

Local History History Economics Critical Thinking

Building Relationships: Connecting and Reconnecting with Cultural Centers

C3 Teachers

MARCH 30, 2022

My intent as an UGRR participant was to stretch my local history knowledge and to sharpen my historical-geographical thinking skills. A second teacher candidate described learning more about local history that he ever knew about.

Cultures

Cultures Heritage Civic Engagement Civics

The Week That Was In 505

Moler's Musing

DECEMBER 19, 2023

After this activity, I incorporated some local history for a second representative. Making connections between characters and historical/pop culture figures is challenging – only 15% answer these questions correctly on the AP exam according to 2021 data and my co-author Dr. Scott Petri.

Local History

Local History History Cultures

The Week That Was In 505

Moler's Musing

DECEMBER 17, 2023

After contemplating options, I decided to put together some lessons on local history. The other option was to introduce some new EduProtocols with smart starts, but that works better when I’m actually in the classroom. I created a lesson about Utopia, Ohio, a small town about 25 minutes from our school that has always fascinated me.

Local History

Local History Economics History Critical Thinking

???“Å falle mellom to stoler”: Africans in Norway

Anthropology News

JANUARY 24, 2024

How do you study Blackness in a place that denies its local history of anti-Indigenous and anti-Black structural violence? How do you write about Blackness in a place that tries to deny its existence? How do you write about Blackness while trying to resist the insidious pull of cultural and racial assimilation?

Heritage

Heritage Cultures History Archiving

The Week That Was In 234

Moler's Musing

MARCH 14, 2025

We even tied in local history by exploring Clermont Countys own Gold Rush in 1868. Each of these protocols ensured that students werent just memorizing factsthey were actively engaging, thinking, and making connections across history. A local history connection the 1868 gold rush in Clermont County, Ohio.

Primary Sources

Primary Sources Local History History Government

Digging Up Rural Roots: The Source at the Library of Congress

NCHE

DECEMBER 12, 2023

Since 2021, the National Council for History Education has partnered with the Library of Congress’ Teaching with Primary Sources program on a nationwide program, “The Rural Experience in America”. Read the blog post about The Source on the Library of Congress’ website here.

Library

Library Primary Sources Local History Professional Development

“Charette and Jules Verne”

Life and Landscapes

FEBRUARY 22, 2025

But what did this local history mean to Jules Verne, who was born in that French city? NAJVS editor Brian Taves described the protagonist in The Count of Chanteleine as a man who incarnates the expected virtues of aristocracy. Only a small plaque now denotes his place of death on the square [see the Musee Dobree in Nantes].

History

History Archiving Local History Cultures

The History of the Civil War in Kentucky: Chapter 8 — Surrounding Morgan’s Great Raid

Life and Landscapes

NOVEMBER 16, 2024

But it took his men and horses 24 hours to get across the river and follow Morgan. The crossing of Morgan’s men into Indiana is steeped in local history and well-remembered by local residents. Hobson sent the McCombs to secure more boats with which to cross the river.

History

History Museum Local History Humanities

Victorian Inspiration

Rosie the History Teacher

OCTOBER 23, 2019

Then, I headed out to the cemetery to pay my respects at Sarah’s grave and shared her story with dozens of local history buffs. I have also been digging into my own family history recently. The couple in this photograph are my great-great-grandparents, along with the baby who would be a great aunt of mine.

Museum

Museum Local History History Lesson Plan

Teach Truth Day of Action 2024

Zinn Education Project

JANUARY 15, 2024

Students can be invited to share the local history of the respective site you select. Sojourn to the Past students shared the Jim Crow history of swimming pools in Youngstown. In Youngstown, students in a youth group shared the history of the local pool. Students as Historians.

Teaching

Teaching Historic Sites Archiving Museum

Teach Truth Day of Action 2025

Zinn Education Project

JANUARY 2, 2025

Students can be invited to share the local history of the respective site you select. Sojourn to the Past students shared the Jim Crow history of swimming pools in Youngstown. In Youngstown, students in a youth group shared the history of the local pool. Students as Historians.

Teaching

Teaching Historic Sites Museum Archiving

Championing Rural Educators and the Communities They Serve

NCHE

MAY 5, 2025

From 2021 to 2024, The Rural Experience in America: Community Civics Through Historical Inquiry engaged rural educators in a rich exploration of rural history, particularly the effects of agricultural transformation on children, families, and communities.

Primary Sources

Primary Sources Local History Education Civics

The Week That Was In 234

Moler's Musing

MARCH 21, 2025

Wednesday Wednesday, I wanted to mix things up and bring in local history. Its right on the river, barely noticeable, but packed with history. This lesson combined local history, critical thinking, and writing practice in a way that made students care about a little town they had never even heard of before.

Local History

Local History History Economics Critical Thinking

The Week That Was in 234

Moler's Musing

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

Friday: Assessment and Connecting the Revolutionary War to Local History Today was a mix of assessment and transition, as we wrapped up the Revolutionary War unit and began looking ahead to the creation of a new country. Overall, today was a win for reflection, review, and meaningful teamwork.

History

History Local History Critical Thinking Middle School

Teach Truth History Walking Tours

Zinn Education Project

APRIL 22, 2025

Kaley Duong, a recent high school graduate, on the Seattle Teach Truth history of 1919 walking tour. One of the best way to engage the community in defending the right to learn history is with a local history walking tour. Along the way, participants learn about history they wish they had learned in school.

History

History Teaching Historic Sites Museum

Social Studies Network

Using Local History to Increase Student Engagement

The Week That Was In 234

Trending Sources

Together: Using Inquiry to Teach the Armenian Genocide

Oral History of Forgottonia: Building a Public History Project in Rural Western Illinois

Mississippi Reports Praise TCI’s K-12 Social Studies Programs

OPINION: Too many students just aren’t interested in what is being taught

Relevant content makes personalizing learning easier

Creativity and Co-Creation Bring Local Asian American, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islander Histories to the Classroom

How gaps in content knowledge hold students back

To Serve All of Our Students, 'We Have to Do Something Different'

Crafting a Standards-Aligned, Skill-Focused Unit with AI Collaboration

If I was teaching Social Studies today…

NEH Grant Awardee: Resituating the Humanities in Place-Based Learning

Newcomer Students in Rural and Suburban Communities

The Week That Was In 234

Building Relationships: Connecting and Reconnecting with Cultural Centers

The Week That Was In 505

The Week That Was In 505

???“Å falle mellom to stoler”: Africans in Norway

The Week That Was In 234

Digging Up Rural Roots: The Source at the Library of Congress

“Charette and Jules Verne”

The History of the Civil War in Kentucky: Chapter 8 — Surrounding Morgan’s Great Raid

Victorian Inspiration

Teach Truth Day of Action 2024

Teach Truth Day of Action 2025

Championing Rural Educators and the Communities They Serve

The Week That Was In 234

The Week That Was in 234

Teach Truth History Walking Tours

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