K-12 SOCIAL STUDIES UPDATE: May 8, 2014
Greetings Social Studies Colleagues,
Here is the most current news regarding K-12 Social Studies including
Essential Standards updates and professional development
opportunities. As always, please share this information with those who
are not currently subscribed to our listserv. To access archived updates,
please visit: http://ssnces.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/Updates.
If you know someone who would like to subscribe, please have them
contact Bernadette Cole at Bernadette.cole@dpi.nc.gov. They should
include the following information:
1.
2.
3.
4.
First and Last Name
Email Address
School District and State Board Region
Position/Role (i.e. middle school teacher, instructional coach, curriculum coordinator, parent, director of
curriculum and instruction
5. Grade Level/Span responsibility (i.e. K-12, K-2, 6-8, 9-12, 6-12)
6. School Name/Organization or Agency
7. Phone number
Best Regards,
The NCDPI K-12 Social Studies Team
The Social Studies Consultants at the NC Department of Public Instruction make every effort to provide relevant, timely
information to stakeholders collected from numerous state and national sources. The inclusion of items in this update
does not imply the endorsement or verification of accuracy by this agency.
Update includes:
1. North Carolina Council for the Social Studies Award For Outstanding High School Seniors
2. A Resource You Need to Use!
3. The North Carolina National Guard (NCNG) Needs You For a Curriculum Development Opportunity!
4. Hidden Histories: What your NC History Textbook Left Out
A. Colonization, Revolution and the New Nation
B. Civil War & Reconstruction
C. Civil Rights in the Modern Century
5. Montpelier’s Educational Programs
6. Registration is Now Open – 2014 National Forum on Character Education
7. TAR HEEL NEWS!
8. North Carolina Geographic Alliance Geo – Gram: Each One – Reach One
9. NC History Resource — North Carolina’s Role In The American Revolution
10. Free Educational DVDs
11. Understanding Lincoln
12. A Teaching Award: Integrating Current News and Information into Instruction
13. More on North Carolina News
14. Criteria for Future Submissions
“The guiding mission of the North Carolina State Board of Education is that every public school student will graduate
from high school globally competitive for work and postsecondary education and prepared for life in the 21st century.”
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North Carolina Council for the Social Studies Award for Outstanding High School Senior
Do you know of a senior student in your high school, your church, your neighborhood, your family, etc. whom you feel
exhibits leadership skills and service to their school and community? Does this young person exhibit the qualities of
good citizenship? If so, the North Carolina Council for the Social Studies Award for Outstanding High School Seniors is an
award and honor that you may want to make sure you or any teacher in that student’s Social Studies department,
nominates them to receive. Use the following URL address to download the official letter and nomination Form.
http://ncsocialstudies.org/files/Senior_SS_Award_Letter_Form.pdf
Criteria for Selection:
1. The student being nominated must:
2. Be a senior who is enrolled in a North Carolina high school (public, charter or private).
3. Have been enrolled in the nominating school for at least two years.
4. Be nominated by a member of the nominating school’s Social Studies department.
5. Display excellence in their social studies courses (90 average or above).
6. Exhibit leadership skills (in school, social studies class, committee work, etc.).
7. Show enthusiasm for and knowledge of the social studies through the use of research, projects, any articles or
positions they have written, course portfolio evidence, participation in online social studies and civic blogs or
social media, extracurricular activities that involve civic or environmental engagement, historical research and
learning, economic or cultural enrichment, etc.
8. Show evidence of service to school and community.
9. Exhibit the qualities of good citizenship.
Please mail your completed form (Email or US Mail) to the address below by June 1, 2014.
This information will be used to recognize the student in the fall edition of the NCCSS Newsletter, Tar Heel News.
Michelle McLaughlin
Division of K-12 Curriculum and Instruction
6341 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-6341
mmclaughlin81@gmail.com
A Resource You Need to Use!
Are you looking for great quality social studies resources for both teachers and students? If so, then you
should be using NCWiseOwl! http://www.ncwiseowl.org/ is a FREE resource for ALL North Carolina teachers
and students. It includes websearch tools, primary and secondary sources, eBooks, professional development
resources, online newspapers, videos, and many other things that any social studies teacher needs. All for
free! For more information and to ensure that you have a password, contact Dan Sparlin at
dan.sparlin@dpi.nc.gov or any of the state social studies consultants!
The North Carolina National Guard (NCNG) Needs You For a Curriculum Development Opportunity!
First Lieutenant Sean Daily, Deputy Command Historian for the NCNG, has travelled the state supporting Career Days
and Military Holidays at elementary and middle schools. He has had the opportunity to teach lessons
on the NCNG in World War II and spoke with students about D-Day. Now, he wants to extend his
reach with your assistance. He is requesting educators to provide feedback on the NC National Guard
history lesson plans that have already been developed and to possibly assist with the development of
additional lessons. Once validated by a review committee, these lesson plans will be accessible from
the NCNG public site, as well as, a resource for educators on the North Carolina Department of Public
“The guiding mission of the North Carolina State Board of Education is that every public school student will graduate
from high school globally competitive for work and postsecondary education and prepared for life in the 21st century.”
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Instruction K-12 Social Studies wiki site. There will also be a calendar posted on the NCNG public site for teachers to
request a representative from the NCNG to come to their school as a guest lecturer to teach one of the lessons. Contact
Dr. Steve Masyada (Stephen.masyada@dpi.nc.gov) and Lt. Sean Dailey (sean.r.daily.mil@mail.mil) for more information!
Hidden Histories: What Your NC History Textbook Left Out
North Carolina’s K-12 teachers are invited to join the North Carolina Museum of History (ncmuseumofhistory.org) and
the NC Civic Education Consortium (www.civics.org) for “Hidden Histories: What your NC history textbook left out,” an
exciting professional development series designed to deepen educator knowledge of less known state and national
history. Middle and high school teachers interested in gaining a more comprehensive and multi-didactic understanding
of neglected people and events throughout history, in order to better engage their students’ interest and curiosity in our
state and nation’s past, do not want to miss these three summer workshops!
Each two-day program will focus on a different time period and dynamically integrate:
Teachers can sign up for one or more of the workshops within the Hidden Histories series. Further details are available in
the registration form.
Colonization, Revolution and the New Nation – JUNE 26-27, 2014
 Deadline for registration & cancellation: Friday, June 13
 Sample sessions will include
o A Parallel Struggle for Freedom: African Americans in the Revolutionary War, Dr. Reginald Hildebrand,
UNC-Chapel Hill
o Bloody North Carolina: Colonial Conflicts and Clashes, Dr. Wayne Lee, UNC-Chapel Hill
o Native Ground: Indian Culture & the Impact of Colonization, Dr. Kathleen Duval, UNC-Chapel Hill
Civil War & Reconstruction – JULY 17-18, 2014
 Deadline for registration & cancellation: Monday, July 7
 Sample sessions will include
 “As the War Turns” – Exploring the Drama of the Civil War, Dr. Margaret Humphries, Duke University
 North Carolina’s Freed Black Communities, Dr. Freddie Parker, NC Central University
 Quakers and the Underground Railroad in North Carolina, Dr. Gwen Ericson, Guilford College
Civil Rights in the Modern Century – AUGUST 7-8, 2014
 Deadline for registration & cancellation: Friday, July 25
 Sample sessions will include:
o Against their Will: North Carolina’s Eugenics Program, Professor Alfred Brophy, UNC School of Law
o § Right to Ride: The Fight for Civil Rights in the Early 1900s, Dr. Blair Kelley, NC State University
o North Carolina & Latino Immigration, Paul Cuadros, UNC-Chapel Hill
To register, download and complete the registration form here.
Special thanks to the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust
for providing the funding to make this series possible.
“The guiding mission of the North Carolina State Board of Education is that every public school student will graduate
from high school globally competitive for work and postsecondary education and prepared for life in the 21st century.”
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Montpelier’s Educational Programs
Registration is open for Summer Seminars at the Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution. Montpelier Seminars are a
unique opportunity for anyone interested in the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and learning about the rights and
responsibilities of American citizenship. Seminar participants will live and study on the grounds of James Madison's
Montpelier.
The Presidency and the Constitution
July 18-20, 2014
Guest Scholar: Benjamin A. Kleinerman, Ph.D.,
Michigan State University
Explore the novel idea of the presidency under the Constitution, the early controversies over the powers of the
executive office, and how the presidency has evolved over time. This course will be co-taught by Lynn Uzzell,
Montpelier's Scholar in Residence. More information and seminar applications can be found here.
Suffrage in America
July 23-25, 2014
Guest Scholar: Alexander Keyssar, Ph.D., Harvard Kennedy School
Explore the history of the right to vote in the United States, from the absence of an affirmative right to vote in the
Constitution to current debates about election procedures and voter suppression. More information and seminar
applications can be found here.
In addition, we are also accepting applications to our fall seminars: "The Federal Judiciary: Idea to Institution" - October 3-5,
and "Slavery and the Constitution" - November 14-16. All the details can be found here:
http://www.montpelier.org/center/programs/seminars.
Registration is Now Open – 2014 National Forum on Character Education
October 31st – November 1st, 2014
Two full days of thought-provoking breakouts and inspiring keynotes from some of the powerhouses in
character education: Michelle Borba, Eduardo Briceno, Barbara Gruener, Mary Gordon, Marvin
Berkowitz, Clifton Taulbert, Hal Urbam and more. Learn more >>
North Carolina Geographic Alliance Geo – Gram: Each One – Reach One
Over the past year the NCGA has added many new members, and we want to continue to grow. This month we ask that
each NCGA member reach out and invite a colleague to join the NCGA. Receive the newsletter and join the NCGA at
http://geo.appstate.edu/ncga
TAR HEEL NEWS!
The latest edition of The Tar Heel News, a publication of the North Carolina Council for the Social Studies is now available
at: http://ncsocialstudies.org/tar-heel-news/ . In this edition, you will find articles and resources related to the C3
Framework, the 2015 Conference, Value-Added Assessment, and so much more! If you would like to submit an article for the
Tar Heel News, email your ideas to Virginia S. Wilson, Co-editor at wilson@ncssm.edu .
“The guiding mission of the North Carolina State Board of Education is that every public school student will graduate
from high school globally competitive for work and postsecondary education and prepared for life in the 21st century.”
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NC History Resource — North Carolina’s Role in the American Revolution
The North Carolina Society of the Cincinnati has produced a 20 minute video of North Carolina’s Role in the American
Revolution. You may view it at the following link: http://ncsocietycincinnati.org/history/first-in-victory/ . If you have links to
videos that you think are valuable for teaching the Social Studies Essential Standards, please send an email to Steve Masyada
at Stephen.Masyada@dpi.nc.gov .
Free Educational DVDs
There is a new history-themed Social Studies program coming to public television later this year. It is being made by the same
filmmakers who brought you movies like Frozen, Shrek, and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. The pilot episode is about the
Columbus voyage, and presents high caliber Social Studies information in a way that will get children interested in history. Only one
week remaining! Right now they are raising money for public television, and offering free DVDs to teachers to be sent when the
Columbus special is complete. Visit the link below to find out more information.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/losttreasurehunt/lost-treasure-hunt-animated-history-television
Understanding Lincoln
This rigorous online course is organized around five enduringly popular characterizations of our sixteenth president:
Railsplitter, Honest Abe, Father Abraham, Great Emancipator, and Savior of the Union. Through live seminars and
engaging readings, we will attempt to understand Lincoln as a man and a president.
★ Instructor: Matthew Pinsker, Dickinson College
★ Schedule: June 3-July 16, 2014, two live seminars per week
★ Costs: $600 to pursue graduate credit, $25 to audit
★ Credits: 3.0 graduate credits in history, provided by Dickinson College
★ Registration: Open until May 27, 2014 at https://www.gilderlehrman.org/programs-exhibitions/understandinglincoln-graduate-course
A Teaching Award: Integrating Current News and Information into Instruction
Teachers who use current events as informational text in K-12 classrooms are eligible for the 2015 Dave Jones Award for
the Advancement of Youth Readership. The recipient receives an honorarium and other recognition. The award’s
sponsor, the North Carolina Press Foundation, also welcomes recommendations from educators who identify
outstanding teachers who use current, relevant news and information to invigorate instruction. The June 2014
application deadline allows teachers to implement and report on approaches they use during the 2013-2014 school
year. The application is available in two forms (one editable and one pdf), on the lower left side of this
website: http://ncpressfoundation.org/ The pdf can be found here: http://ncpressfoundation.org/wpcontent/uploads/2013/09/Dave-Jones-Award-app2014.pdf A story about the award-winning social studies teacher
Patrick Vernon appears on the website and ran in his hometown newspaper.
Criteria for Future Submissions
If you have an item that you would like to share, please email the item to Ann.Carlock@dpi.nc.gov. Submissions should
include the name of the prospect, its association to the Social Studies Content, be related with a non-profit agency, and
provide a brief description of the opportunity with either a link or contact information for interested parties to obtain
additional information. We are unable to include flyers or attachments. The submission should be limited to 100 words
or less.
“The guiding mission of the North Carolina State Board of Education is that every public school student will graduate
from high school globally competitive for work and postsecondary education and prepared for life in the 21st century.”
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