Little Shell Unit for Grades 6-8

A lot has happened since 2008, when we published Montana: Stories of the Land, not least of which is that in 2019 the federal government finally recognized the Little Shell Band of Chippewa Indians of Montana. 

And now, at long last, there is a great resource to teach about the Little Shell, created by curriculum designer and former classroom teacher Anna East and Chris La Tray, Montana's current poet laureate and a Little Shell tribal member. The entire unit is 17-18 hours, but the lessons (most of which take a single class period) are designed so they can be moved in and out of other material (so integrated into your current class outline) or presented consecutively. Thus, you can teach the three lessons on the buffalo economy and Red River carts even if you never teach about the 10-Cent Treaty (although you should absolutely teach the treaty lesson). Below find links to the entire Little Shell unit as well as to the individual topics/lessons.

• Introduction   
  • Entire Series
  • Anishinaabe - Lesson 1 and Lesson 2
  • McCumber Commission (The 10-Cent Treaty) - Lesson 1 and Lesson 2
  • Chief Little Shell - Lesson 1 and Lesson 2
  • Who Are the Métis - Lesson 1, Lesson 2, and Lesson 3
  • Buffalo Economy and Red River Carts - Lesson 1, Lesson 2, and Lesson 3
  • Métis Archipelago - Lesson 1 and Lesson 2
  • Landless Indians in the 20th Century - Lesson 1 and Lesson 2
  • Federal Recognition - Lesson 1, Lesson 2, and The Day That Finally Came Slide Show

Civics Learning Week

March 10-14 is Civics Learning Week, a week that seeks to energize the movement to prioritize civics education across the nation. We know that the best civics learning happens both in and outside of the classroom and is a lifelong endeavor touching every facet of society. 

Our friends at iCivics have great lesson plans and resources (including computer simulations) for all grades. Consider teaching one in honor of the week. (Note: You'll need to register to access their material, but it's free!)

They also have an educator toolkit for those interested in planning activities beyond incorporating one of their lessons. In particular, they recommend focusing on local issues, and engaging students in activities that better their community. 

Check out their marketing kit to promote your event and consider adding your event(s) to the Civics Learning Week calendar.

Looking for Montana specific resources? See the civics-related lesson plans on the Montana Historical Society's Civics and Geography web page. 

Civics education is having a national moment. Let's make sure the Big Sky State is part of it!

Black history month resources

 As you've probably heard me say before, I believe that every month should be Black History Month; in other words, we should constantly be talking about African American history, which is central to the American story. However, there's nothing wrong with an annual reminder to include African American stories in our history classes!

For Montana history, the best thing out there is Hidden Stories: Montana's Black Past, a 55-minute documentary and well worth watching. We created a teaching guide that divides the film into three parts and provides discussion questions for each segment. 

The buffalo soldiers are among the best-documented African American Montanans, especially the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps. Here's a great article from the Smithsonian and a link to a 55 minute documentary. 

An estimated one in four cowboys on the open range were Black, including cowboys who trailed cattle up from Texas to Montana. One who decided to make his home in Montana was Joseph Proctor. Born into slavery, he was a renowned horseman who ended up ranching in Rosebud County and was ultimately inducted into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame. Here's a video of Andy Hedges reciting Wally MacRae's poem "Ol' Proc" at the 35th Annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

Looking beyond Montana, here are six elementary lessons I helped create (one for each grade) around anchor texts for the Helena school district. But honestly, there is so much good stuff out there, that you'll be tripping over great lessons after a quick internet search. 

 

 

  

Student Opportunities plus Place-Based Learning and Money for Field Trips

 

World of 8 billion Student Video Contest

The World of 8 Billion student video contest brings technology and creativity into middle and high school classes. Particularly appropriate for world geography/world culture classes, the contest challenges students to create a short video connecting world population growth to one of three global challenges: Child Wellbeing, Rainforest Ecosystems, and Sanitation. 80+ cash prizes will be awarded, and participating teachers will receive free curriculum resources. The deadline for submissions is March 5, 2025. 

Gilder Lehrman Student Advisory Council

The Gilder Lehrman Institute is looking for a few high-achieving middle or high school students (grades 8-12) to join its Student Advisory Council. The council meets on the second Saturday of each month at 1 p.m. ET. During each meeting, students provide valuable feedback on the Institute’s programs and materials, helping the Institute refine its outreach with the needs of young people in mind. Students are also educated about a critical document in American History from a curator and will hear presentations from guest speakers or fellow members of the SAC. Learn more and find a link to apply. Note: Even though the website says applications were due in October, they are still looking for (at least one) Montana representative, so encourage your students to apply!

Montana Students on the Land Travel Grants

Glacier National Park and the Montana Environmental Education Association is offering $300 grants for fieldtrips to public and tribal lands across Montana. 

How to Apply for a grant:

To apply for a grant, complete a 2024-25 Montana Students on the Land Travel Grant Application. Grant applications will be reviewed on a monthly basis and continued to be awarded as long as funds are available.

Field trips must take place by June 1, 2025. Applicants must indicate that their trip will visit a public land or tribal land site supported by the Open Outdoors for Kids Grant Program. Educators who receive grant awards are required to complete a post-visit report after their field trip that includes a field trip photo.

Preference will be given to applicants that:

• Describe in their applications how they will implement a “three aspect” project that includes a pre-visit lesson, the field day, and post visit elements. (Ex. Plan to include interpretative and/or educational programs at public lands sites.)
• Hold Title 1 school classification during the 2024-25 school year (if the applicant is school-based)
• Have a majority of fourth graders in their classroom/group.
• Originate from underrepresented geographic areas across the state.

You can find answers to commonly asked questions on their FAQ sheet. If you have other questions please contact glac_education@nps.gov.

Teaching with Historic Places

Don't forget to register to attend Teaching with Historic Places, with Ron Buck and Jennifer Hall on February 11, from 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. Learn tips for making fieldtrips more meaningful and why and how to incorporate place-based learning into your curriculum. 

Bell Ringers to Encourage Historical Thinking

 My colleague Melissa Hibbard shared this interesting article from Edutopia about using bell ringers in middle and high school classes to encourage historical thinking. 

The point of the article is well taken. Sometimes it's really hard to balance content coverage with teaching social studies skills and historical thinking. But to meet the standards and to help students become critical thinkers who actively engage with history, these skills need to be explicitly taught and practiced. 

The skills include:

• Sourcing
• Corroboration
• Contextualization
• Use of Evidence
• Close reading

The article has some good suggestions and is worth checking out. I'd also recommend spending some time on the website of the Digital Inquiry Group (formerly Stanford History Education Group.)  They have over 140 examples of what they call History Assessments of Thinking (HATs), "easy-to-use assessments that measure students' historical thinking." And they have them divided by skill as well as by era/topic. Using HATs throughout the year is a great way to measure student growth with specific historical thinking skills.

Also on their site are Reading Like a Historian Lessons, that engage students in historical inquiries that teach them "how to investigate historical questions by employing reading strategies such as sourcing, contextualizing, corroborating, and close reading."  

I also like their printable posters. My favorite is their Historical Thinking Chart, but they also have posters that focus on specific skills: Close Reading, Sourcing, Contextualization, and Corroboration. 

To access any of the Digital Inquiry Group's material, you need to register, but it's free and it would be well worth it even if it weren't. If I taught world or U.S. history in high school, or even eighth grade, I'd be very tempted to ditch the textbook and base my entire class around their lessons. In fact, this is what Melissa did when she taught eleventh and eighth grade U.S. History. At the very least, it's worth trying to incorporate at least one Reading Like a Historian Lesson and one HAT per unit.

P.S. If you teach media literacy, the Digital Inquiry Group also has you covered. Their Civic Online Reasoning materials are designed to teach students how to evaluate online information.

P.P.S. Don't forget to register for our upcoming PD, Teaching with Historic Places, February 11, 4:30-5:30 p.m., and earn one OPI renewal unit.

 

  

Curriculum Collections and Classroom Toolkit

 Colleague Melissa Hibbard sent me a link to Curriculum Collections, which was created by the Philadelphia Writing Project to support "civically engaged argument writing with primary sources." I was intrigued by some of their collections, including one that focused on debates over monuments, memorials, and public memory; one on sports mascots; and one on museums, artifacts, and repatriation--all of which are highly relevant to Montana history and/or IEFA.

But mostly I was excited by their teacher tools, many of which come from Teacher Toolkit. Some are recognizable. For example, Classroom Mingle is what I've heard referred to as a "tea party" and is one of my favorite activities. Creating an Atwoodian Table looks to be a cousin of "Circle of Viewpoints" and I think could be very useful in getting students to consider multiple points of view. Others were less familiar, including Accountable Discussions, which use sentence stem cards like "I believe___ because" to get students in the practice of providing evidence for their opinions. 

Happy exploring! 

P.S. Don't forget to register to attend Teaching with Historic Places, with Ron Buck and Jennifer Hall on February 11, from 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. Learn tips for making fieldtrips more meaningful and why and how to incorporate place-based learning into your curriculum. 

Who's Your Community's Heritage Keeper?

 Every community has them--the unsung heroes of local museum or preservation efforts--including language preservation. Maybe it's time to let the whole state know about the person who means so much to your community.... 

The Montana Historical Society is seeking nominations for people and organizations whose exemplary commitment to identifying and preserving our historical and cultural heritage makes them eligible for the Heritage Keeper Awards.

Up to two people or organizations will be honored by the MTHS Board of Trustees for the Heritage Keeper Award. Of the nominated candidates, an exemplary nominee may be honored with the Montana Heritage Guardian Award. The Heritage Guardian Award recognizes a Heritage Keeper nominee with a record of outstanding accomplishments. The Heritage Guardian Award is not an annual award, but is only given on special merit.

To qualify, the individual must be alive, and organizations must be currently active. The nominee must have demonstrated a commitment to a significant Montana history project or have identified and preserved objects or property of significance to Montana’s history and culture. 

Organizations also must have a record of preserving and promoting Montana’s historical and cultural heritage.

All nominees must show a commitment to Montana’s historical and cultural preservation beyond the requirements of professional employment, or an organization’s specific goals and objectives. Evaluations will focus on the significance and impact of the overall work in enhancing, promoting, and stimulating public interest in a specific aspect of Montana history and culture.

Areas of interest can include historic building and landscape preservation; sustained historical and cultural research and publication; fine art history and preservation; and efforts to promote and educate future generations on the historical and cultural legacy of all Montanans.

The nomination deadline is April 1, 2025. The nomination form and additional information can be found online at mths.mt.gov by pulling down the menu under the “About” tab, then following the link from the "Board of Trustees” page. Nominations may be resubmitted on an annual basis if the person or organization didn’t previously receive a Heritage Keeper award.

The Montana Historical Society will work with nominators to honor award recipients and present the award in the summer of 2025.

Contact Jenni Carr at jenni.carr@mt.gov with questions.