I would like to let people know about a competition that is open until 9th April. This is a map competition for Canadian students in Grades 4 - 12. The competition is being run by GeoAlberta, which is a conference focussing on geospatial sciences and applications. This is our 10th year and we are looking to mark this anniversary encouraging and recognising young map makers. Please see our website at [link removed].
A successful map could win as much as $1500 for the school in which it was produced! Prize money is potentially available for the first 10 entries. I am the chairman of the Sub-Committee responsible for this competition and can let you know that we are very short of entries at the moment!
Congress in the Classroom is a national, award-winning education program now in its 21st year. Developed and sponsored by The Dirksen Congressional Center, the workshop is dedicated to the exchange of ideas and information on teaching about Congress.
Congress in the Classroom is designed for high school or middle school teachers who teach U.S. history, government, civics, political science, or social studies. Forty teachers will be selected to take part in the program.
All online applications must be received by no later than April 15, 2012. We will notify individuals of our decisions by April 30, 2012.
Although the workshop will feature a variety of sessions related to Congress, the 2012 program will also include presentations about the 2012 presidential election and the workshop blends two kinds of sessions. Some emphasize ideas and resources that teachers can use almost immediately in their classrooms- sessions about primary sources and Best Practices are good examples. Other sessions deal with more abstract topics. Think of them as resembling graduate-level courses, stronger on content than on classroom applications. If you are looking for a program that features one or the other exclusively, Congress in the Classroom® is probably not right for you.
Throughout the program, you will work with subject matter experts as well as colleagues from across the nation. This combination of firsthand knowledge and peer-to-peer interaction will give you new ideas, materials, and a professionally enriching experience.
"Until now so much of what I did in my class on Congress was straight theory-this is what the Constitution says, "noted one of our teachers." Now I can use these activities and illustrations to help get my students involved in the class and at the very least their community but hopefully in the federal government. This workshop has given me a way to help them see how relevant my class is and what they can do to help make changes in society."
The 2011 workshop will begin Monday afternoon, July 23, and end at noon on Thursday, July 26. All sessions will take place at the headquarters hotel, Embassy Suites, East Peoria, Illinois.
The program is certified by the Illinois State Board of Education for up to 22 Continuing Education Units. The program also is endorsed by the National Council for the Social Studies.
Participants are responsible for (1) a non-refundable $125 registration fee (required to confirm acceptance after notice of selection) and (2) transportation to and from Peoria, Illinois. Many school districts will pay all or a portion of these costs.
The Center pays for three nights lodging at the headquarters hotel (providing a single room for each participant), workshop materials, local transportation, all but three meals, and presenter honoraria and expenses.
The Center spends between $35,000 and $40,000 to host the program each year.
What follows are the sessions planned for the 2012 edition of Congress in the Classroom. Please re-visit the site for changes as the program develops.
Session Titles, 2012:
In addition to the sessions below, additional sessions will be listed as speakers are confirmed.
* "New Approaches to Teaching about Congress" Paul C. Milazzo, Department of History, Ohio University
* "Six Promising Approaches to Civic Education" Shawn P. Healy, Chair, Illinois Civic Mission Coalition and Resident Scholar and Director of Professional Development, McCormick Foundation Civics Program
* "Why Do People Vote the Way They Do?" Andrew Civettini, Department of Political Science, Knox College
* "Using Fantasy Congress to Engage Your Students" Jennifer Hora, Department of Political Science, Valparaiso University
* "Congress at Work: Going to the Source Documents" Christine Blackerby, Center for Legislative Archives, National Archives and Records Administration
* "Finding Humor in Congress" Frank Mackaman, The Dirksen Congressional Center
* "A View of Congress from the White House: What the Presidential Tapes Reveal" KC Johnson, Department of History, Brooklyn College
* "What Accounts for a Successful Presidential Administration?" Frank Mackaman, The Dirksen Congressional Center
* "A Journalist's Take on Congress" David Lightman, Congressional Correspondent, McClatchy News Service
* "Teaching with Primary Sources" Cindy Rich, Project Director, Teaching with Primary Sources, Eastern Illinois University
* "Campaigning for Congress 2012" Peter Wielhouwer, Department of Political Science, Western Michigan University
* "The Youth Leadership Initiative and E-Congress" Meg Heubeck, Director of Instruction, YLI
* "I Know Who Will Win the Presidential Election in 2012!" Frank Mackaman, The Dirksen Congressional Center
* "Listen Up Legislators: How to Get Your Point Across" Stephanie Vance, the Advocacy Guru, Washington DC
Take a look at The Dirksen Center Web site -- [link removed].
* REGISTRATION *
If you are interested in learning more about the sessions and registering for the Congress in the Classroom 2012 workshop, you can complete an online registration form found at: [link removed]
Cindy Koeppel The Dirksen Congressional Center 2815 Broadway Pekin, IL 61554 309.347.7113 309.347.6432 Fax
On 4/11/12, JoyfulMusicTeacher wrote: > What units do you cover in quarter 4 in History, Grade 11? > Broad topics will be fine. > > I am subbing out of my regular teaching area until we have a > permanent candidate to replace our SS/Geography teacher. > > Just wondering if your school has US History in Middle > School and then again in grade 11? For some reason this > stumps me a little. > > Thanks in advance! > > jmt :o)
CALL FOR PARTICIPATION: CONGRESS IN THE CLASSROOM 2012
* Deadline: April 15, 2012 *
Congress in the Classroom is a national, award-winning education program now in its 21st year. Developed and sponsored by The Dirksen Congressional Center, the workshop is dedicated to the exchange of ideas and information on teaching about Congress.
Congress in the Classroom is designed for high school or middle school teachers who teach U.S. history, government, civics, political science, or social studies. Forty teachers will be selected to take part in the program.
All online applications must be received by no later than April 15, 2012. We will notify individuals of our decisions by April 30, 2012.
Although the workshop will feature a variety of sessions related to Congress, the 2012 program will also include presentations about the 2012 presidential election and the workshop blends two kinds of sessions. Some emphasize ideas and resources that teachers can use almost immediately in their classrooms- sessions about primary sources and Best Practices are good examples. Other sessions deal with more abstract topics. Think of them as resembling graduate-level courses, stronger on content than on classroom applications. If you are looking for a program that features one or the other exclusively, Congress in the Classroom® is probably not right for you.
Throughout the program, you will work with subject matter experts as well as colleagues from across the nation. This combination of firsthand knowledge and peer-to-peer interaction will give you new ideas, materials, and a professionally enriching experience.
"Until now so much of what I did in my class on Congress was straight theory-this is what the Constitution says, "noted one of our teachers." Now I can use these activities and illustrations to help get my students involved in the class and at the very least their community but hopefully in the federal government. This workshop has given me a way to help them see how relevant my class is and what they can do to help make changes in society."
The 2011 workshop will begin Monday afternoon, July 23, and end at noon on Thursday, July 26. All sessions will take place at the headquarters hotel, Embassy Suites, East Peoria, Illinois.
The program is certified by the Illinois State Board of Education for up to 22 Continuing Education Units. The program also is endorsed by the National Council for the Social Studies.
Participants are responsible for (1) a non-refundable $125 registration fee (required to confirm acceptance after notice of selection) and (2)transportation to and from Peoria, Illinois. Many school districts will pay all or a portion of these costs.
The Center pays for three nights lodging at the headquarters hotel (providing a single room for each participant), workshop materials, local transportation, all but three meals, and presenter honoraria and expenses.
The Center spends between $35,000 and $40,000 to host the program each year.
What follows are the sessions planned for the 2012 edition of Congress in the Classroom. Please re-visit the site for changes as the program develops.
Session Titles, 2012:
In addition to the sessions below, additional sessions will be listed as speakers are confirmed.
* "New Approaches to Teaching about Congress" Paul C. Milazzo, Department of History, Ohio University
* "Six Promising Approaches to Civic Education" Shawn P. Healy, Chair, Illinois Civic Mission Coalition and Resident Scholar and Director of Professional Development, McCormick Foundation Civics Program
* "Why Do People Vote the Way They Do?" Andrew Civettini, Department of Political Science, Knox College
* "Using Fantasy Congress to Engage Your Students" Jennifer Hora, Department of Political Science, Valparaiso University
* "Congress at Work: Going to the Source Documents" Christine Blackerby, Center for Legislative Archives, National Archives and Records Administration
* "Finding Humor in Congress" Frank Mackaman, The Dirksen Congressional Center
* "A View of Congress from the White House: What the Presidential Tapes Reveal" KC Johnson, Department of History, Brooklyn College
* "What Accounts for a Successful Presidential Administration?" Frank Mackaman, The Dirksen Congressional Center
* "A Journalist's Take on Congress" David Lightman, Congressional Correspondent, McClatchy News Service
* "Teaching with Primary Sources" Cindy Rich, Project Director, Teaching with Primary Sources, Eastern Illinois University
* "Campaigning for Congress 2012" Peter Wielhouwer, Department of Political Science, Western Michigan University
* "The Youth Leadership Initiative and E-Congress" Meg Heubeck, Director of Instruction, YLI
* "I Know Who Will Win the Presidential Election in 2012!" Frank Mackaman, The Dirksen Congressional Center
* "Listen Up Legislators: How to Get Your Point Across" Stephanie Vance, the Advocacy Guru, Washington DC
Take a look at The Dirksen Center Web site -- [link removed].
* REGISTRATION *
If you are interested in learning more about the sessions and registering for the Congress in the Classroom 2012 workshop, you can complete an online registration form found at: [link removed]
Cindy Koeppel The Dirksen Congressional Center 2815 Broadway Pekin, IL 61554 309.347.7113 309.347.6432 Fax
Many of our students are at-risk students and vocabulary - in general - is limited, let alone vocabulary contained in documents from the 1800s.
Does anyone have suggestions for how you have taught students to learn these vocabulary words in context. In other words, when I use primary documents, I either have the original version with side margin notes to help them understand the vocabulary, or I use a word bank. However, they won't have those things available on their assessment.
Let's hope the District chooses a primary source with reasonable vocabulary. It would make no sense to choose a primary source that uses obscure words. Of course, it really makes no sense to test at-risk students with primary sources from the past but those are the times we live in.
There's no solution to the dilemma you pose but to try to teach the common vocabulary of the past - which you are doing. If these are at-risk readers, they're not going to excel at guessing at the meaning of any words in context.
> I teach 8th grade social studies (U.S. History). Our > district will be giving formal assessments related to > primary sources. > > Many of our students are at-risk students and vocabulary - > in general - is limited, let alone vocabulary contained in > documents from the 1800s. > > Does anyone have suggestions for how you have taught > students to learn these vocabulary words in context. In > other words, when I use primary documents, I either have > the original version with side margin notes to help them > understand the vocabulary, or I use a word bank. However, > they won't have those things available on their assessment.
I am a student teacher in a 10th grade global studies class and I'm teaching a unit on the Cold War. I am wondering if there are any interesting activities that can cut the enormous chapter of notes up. Thank you for your help.
These days all you need to do is punch in 'Cold War Activities' into google - a wealth of websites all loaded with activities will come up. Choose among them.
With sensitivity... on youtube there are clips of the aftermath of Hiroshima - but understandably some students and parents might object to that. There are clips of the Enola Gay making its way toward Hiroshima. Likely there are simply clips of nuclear weapons being detonated in isolated test spots.
Certainly there's a great film recreating the Cuban Missile Crisis - and again on youtube there are tons of clips of Kennedy speaking, clips of Kruschev, probably clips of the Berlin Wall being built and certainly clips of the celebration when it came down. [link removed].
The website below will show the weapons of the Cold War. And many people including me remember the Cuban Missile Crisis and the great fear it generated. Your students could interview people - their grandparents - as to how they felt during the Cold War and especially at the Cuban Missile Crisis.
I am seeking some new ideas for reflective and/or fun activities to end the school year for my middle social studies classes. I am sure ideas for other classes can be modified for my class. What activties to do you to to tie the year up? Thanks.
I've asked my students to choose an event or invention in history as 'the most significant event in history' - I want them to think critically and to work to make their case. They don't write a paper but they make a presentation. After the presentation we 'rate' the event or invention on a scale of 0 to 10 significance depending on how we came to feel about that idea in the course of the presentation. I do all the tallying - no one knows but me - and at the end every day I announce a daily 'winner' and at the end of all the presentations I announce the overall winner.
They love it. And they've made some sophisicated and inventive connections. One student argued the invention of the alphabet was the most significant development in history because communication wouldn't be easily possible without it. (I don't let them use computers or the Internet because in my opinion it's a no-brainer than computers and the Internet are the most significant event in human history. One student chose the television and was dismayed that his peers didn't jump on the bandwagon of the trivial. One did a very comic presentation on the zipper - but usually they stick to things like vaccines, the printing press, sewers (yes) and so on. It's a great ending to the year. > On 5/01/12, Sara wrote: >> On 4/21/12, R wrote: >>> I am seeking some new ideas for reflective and/or fun >>> activities to end the school year for my middle social >>> studies classes. I am sure ideas for other classes can be >>> modified for my class. What activties to do you to to tie >>> the year up? Thanks. >> >>Most students enjoy scrapbooking. At the end of the school year > I have my students complete a culminating project. This project > requires the students to complete several pages that coincides > with the Georgia Performance Standards. > I also give them a rubric and a calendar that tells the student > what they should work on that day. The students enjoy working and > embellishing their pages with stickers and letters.
I would like to share this great list with you. 101 Super Sites for Social Studies Teachers includes web-based resources for world history, U.S. history, civics, economics, geography and more. Check it out!
I was forced into retirement due to a neck injury, but still enjoy contributing to teacher and student resources. I have a love for photography and sharing, so I've created a web site where you can get completely FREE images. There are many categories. Click on the thumbnails and you can download full-resolution images.
On 4/11/12, JoyfulMusicTeacher wrote: > What units do you cover in quarter 4 in History, Grade 11? > Broad topics will be fine. > > I am subbing out of my regular...See More