Teaching Montana: Stories of the Land

 We all know that a textbook is not a curriculum. That's why I was so happy to hear from the two creative teachers who recently contacted me with resources they have created to teach Montana: Stories of the Land.

Escape Room

Robin Miller, a teacher in Hot Springs, created an escape room for Chapter 2 and invited me to share it with other Montana History teachers. "There are 5 locks and they are all textbook dependent. I used it to introduce chapter 2 to my students. I spent some time making sure that the directions were clear for other teachers who might want to use it next year [or next semester]." 

She later sent me a second escape room she created for Chapter 4 and noted "each puzzle for both of these escape rooms are stand alone puzzles.  Teachers don't need to do all of them or do them in any particular order.  Teachers can pick and choose which ones they want.   I did one a day during the first 15 minutes of class." 

• Chapter 2 Escape Room
• Chapter 4 Escape Room

 

Doodle Notes

Carrie Sorensen, a teacher in Fortine, has been experimenting with creating doodle notetaking worksheets for her students. I visited with her at MFPE and she explained her method. She gives students a doodle note sheet and has them use it to take notes on a section of the textbook (notes are short phrases or a sketch). The next day, they discuss that section. She said these sheets have really helped retention and that the most successful sheets she's created are tightly tied to the section (a box for each Plateau tribe to complete when reading the section on the Plateau tribes (p. 45-46 of Montana: Stories of the Land), for example.   

She shared her first attempts for Chapters 2 and 3 and asked if anyone else was using/creating doodle notes. She'd love to share hers and use yours! You can contact her at carrie@fortineschool.net. 

Here are samples she sent me: 

Chapter 2

• People of the Dog Days
• The Early Period
• The Middle Period
• The Late Period
• The Proto-Historic Period
• The Historic Period

Chapter 3

• Society and Culture
• Plateau Tribes
• Woodland Tribes Move to the Plains

 

Kahoot Quizzes

Several people have created Kahoot quizzes for various textbook chapters. Search "Montana History chapter" to find quizzes for most of the chapters in Montana: Stories of the Land.  

Tech and Social Studies

I learned a lot at our October online professional development, "Tech and Social Studies," during which Bainville teacher April Wills led us through several tools. 

I was particularly intrigued by Canva, a free design tool with templates students can use to make professional looking posters, presentations, brochures,  infographics, storyboards, and more using customizable templates.  

April also talked about Wakelet, which she called Pinterest on steroids because it is a tool to organize absolutely every sort of file, from pictures and PDFs to websites to tweets. April uses it to gather reputable sources and safe websites for her students' research projects so they aren't roaming the internet independently.

A few days after class, Billings elementary librarian Ruth Ferris and I were talking about our take-aways and she mentioned another tech tool: World Wall. WordWall.net  offers templates you can use to make educational games. Ruth made this Whack-a-Mole game for her students to help them learn the names of Montana's reservations.

All of these tools have been authorized by Billings School District, so it *should* be relatively easy to get permission to use them at your school as well. If you have other tools that you (and your students) love, let me know and I'll share them 

Our next online PD will feature the remarkable Mike Jetty from the Montana Office of Public Instruction's Indian Education Unit (buckle up for dad jokes) and Indian Education for All Resources. Join us November 14 from 4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. to hear about the latest resources from OPI and to learn what IEFA lessons are working for your fellow teachers. Register here by November 11 to receive the Zoom link.

Indian Education for All Background Knowledge Building Webinar Series – Tribal Sovereignty

 Coming this November! Register soon!

This free, six-part webinar series is for Montana K-12 teachers and administrators looking for a content-rich professional development experience that builds background knowledge about tribal sovereignty in the United States. Participants will learn about different aspects of sovereignty, such as a basic history of tribal sovereignty, tribal governance, natural resource management, blood quantum, cultural autonomy and more. Each session is 90 minutes long and educators can earn two renewal units for each webinar they attend - a total of twelve renewal units should the educators participate in all six sessions. The sessions will take place on Tuesdays from 4:00-5:30, November 1 through December 13, 2022, except for one on Thursday, November 17. A Participant Resource folder will be created and accessible to participants once the series begins. The series sessions will each be recorded and made available on YouTube after the series begins, also.

November 1 - Walter Fleming: Tribal Sovereignty Overview and History

November 8 - no session - Election Day

November 15 - Shane Morigeau: Indian Citizenship and US Federal Policies

November 17 (Thursday) - Lea Whitford: Tribal Governance

November 22 - no session - Thanksgiving Week

November 29 - Wesley Martel: Treaty Rights and Natural Resource Management

December 6 - Mike Jetty: Blood Quantum

December 13 - Casey Lozar: Educational Sovereignty

For registration questions please contact Joan Franke, OPI Indian Education for All Unit Administrative Assistant, jfranke@mt.gov

Registration Link

Your MFPE Checklist

 If you are teach social studies at any level and are attending MFPE, I hope you'll make a point of coming to the MCSS Business Meeting on Friday, October 21, 12:00 p.m. - 12:50 p.m.

The Montana Council of Social Studies is only as strong and active as the teachers who participate in the organization. It is already a force for good, but it can be so much more--if you choose to make it so. Come for the renewal unit and free lunch and stay for the company and the passion for improving social studies education across our state. 

Also at MFPE: Stop by the exhibit hall and the Montana Historical Society booth to say hello. If you teach Montana history in high school, then pick up a free book, Montana Stories, by Paul Ulrich while you are there. See you soon!

Hands-on History Footlockers, a Crow Creation Story, and an upcoming PD

Crow Creation Story on Vimeo

Last week, as part of my IEFA Roundup, I sent out a link to the AWW CREATION STORY on Vimeo that a couple of people said didn't work. Here's the correct link: https://vimeo.com/404626502 [vimeo.com]. 

Elk River Writing Project Workshop, October 19-October 22

If you aren't planning on attending the MFPE Educators Conference (and you should definitely plan on attending) you might want to go to Gardiner/Mammoth Hot Springs to attend "Yellowstone National Park: Cultures, Conversations, and Contemplations," an incredible looking workshop put on by the Elk River Writing Project. Presenters will include Dr. Shane Doyle (Apsáalooke) and Montana Poet Laureate Tami Haaland; Elk River Writing Project teacher-leaders Casey Olsen and Lorrie Henrie-Koski will facilitate writing connections throughout the institute. Learn more, including how to register, here.  

Footlockers from the Montana State Library

The Montana State Library has a small number of trunks available for public libraries and educational organizations to borrow, each with a selection of fun activities that could appeal to a wide range of ages. Here is a list of the trunks with a short description. You can click on each trunk name to get a more detailed list of trunk items, activity outlines, and associated files. 

• Giant Map of Montana Trunk: The Giant Map of Montana Trunk contains a 21’ x 15’ map of the state of Montana that people can walk on (no shoes, please!), explore, and have fun with! This educational tool has endless possibilities for learning opportunities, especially in geography and map-reading.
• NASA @ My Library Sun-Earth-Moon Connections Trunk: This trunk focuses on activities and experiences that better help patrons understand their place in space, and how the Sun and Moon impact our planet. 
• NASA @ My Library Be A NASA Detective Trunk: This trunk focuses on activities and experiences that help patrons be more comfortable with using tools of science and making predictions based on their observations. This trunk focuses on things we cannot see with our normal vision or sense with our normal senses.
• Montana's Aquatic Life: Past and Present Trunk: This trunk contains materials and activities that showcase Montana's aquatic life from long ago up until now! Created in partnership with Museum of the Rockies and Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks.
• Bat Week Celebration Trunk: This trunk contains activities to help libraries educate Montanans on how cool bats are, and the important role that they play in our environment and ecosystem. Created in partnership with Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks.

You can find more information on how to request and borrow a trunk, as well as trunk usage expectations, on the state library website. You can also watch the MSL Trunk Program Webinar from 8/26/22 for more details on the trunks and activities available. If you have any questions, please contact Amelea Kim at akim@mt.gov. 

Speaking of Footlockers...

If you aren't using our hands-on history footlockers, you are missing out. 

• Find a list of available Montana Historical Society-created footlockers and view their User Guides here.
• Find out which footlockers are still available to reserve here.
• Then email coordinator Katie White your preferred dates, the title of the footlocker you’d like to order, the school name, the school shipping address, the phone number, and the number of students/teachers who will be using the footlocker.

It's that easy. You get to keep the footlocker for two weeks. There is no rental fee, but schools must pay the cost of shipping footlockers to the next venue (typically between $35-$50). More details on how the program works here.  

IEFA Link Roundup

 I spent the summer reading interesting stories and learning about interesting resources relating to American Indians and thinking "I bet teachers could use this!" So I threw them all into a file, where I recently found them again. I'm sharing them below, along with links that have come to my attention more recently. 

• Educator extraordinaire and Apsáalooke (Crow) tribal member Shane Doyle created a lesson plan for grades 8-12 to go with the Native American Hall of Fame, which  honors "Native American Achievements in Contemporary Society, 1860s-Present Day." Looking through the website, I was interested to see inductees I already knew about (for example, Jim Thorpe, Elouise Cobell, Wilma Mankiller, and N. Scott Momaday) and many I had didn't. 

• Check out this 30 minute documentary: Camas: Sacred Food of the Nez Perce (Nimiipuu).

• Teacher Leader in Montana History Savannah Buckner pointed me to this great video of an Apsáalooke creation story, narrated in Apsáalooke and subtitled in English and Spanish. Teacher Leaders have great resources and are willing to share. Find out more here.

• The Montana Memory Project worked with teachers to create online exhibits of primary sources, which they are posting on their website.  Among them is The Decline of the Bison Population and the Role of the Plains Chippewa in the 19th Century. Written by Craig Clairmont, it looks at the near extermination of the bison in the West, and the role played by the Métis people."

• Do you know about the Native Filmmaker Initiative Film Club? The club offers three films "curated to engage Montana youth" on the topic of self-discovery through sports. "Three modern-day films highlight the strength of Native and Indigenous mover-and-shakers working to push the boundaries of their sport for positive growth and robust change, through skateboarding (JOE BUFFALO), mountain biking (THE TRAILS BEFORE US) and fishing (CONNECTION)." Running October through December, the film club provides discussion guides and the opportunity to participate in a live Q and A. Find more information about the Film Club and how to register your classroom for one or more films here. 

• Montana OPI is offering an IEFA Background Knowledge Building Webinar Series on Indian Boarding Schools. The series will provide an in-depth exploration of the Boarding School era, and its history and implications. Each session is 90 minutes long and educators can earn two renewal units for each webinar they attend - a total of twelve renewal units should the educators participate in all six sessions. The sessions will take place on Wednesdays from 4:00-5:30, September through November. A Participant Resource folder will be created and accessible to participants once the series begins. The series sessions will each be recorded and made available on YouTube after the series begins. Learn more and register for one or more sessions here.

P.S. Join us October 10 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. for Tech and Social Studies and come away with new ideas of ways to integrate tech into your social studies classroom. Register here to receive the Zoom link. Attendees can earn one OPI Renewal Unit.

Meet me in Helena for the MFPE Educators Conference

 I’m getting ready for the MFPE Educator Conference, where I’ll be presenting “Social Studies Skills” on Friday, October 21, from 9:00 a.m. to 9:50 a.m. I hope to see you there—if not at my session at the MTHS booth in the exhibit hall.

I hope you are planning on attending. The conference has a great line-up this year. I'm particularly excited for Denise Juneau's keynote on Thursday at 2:00 p.m. There are a lot of sessions on media literacy/telling truth from fiction, all of which looked great--too many to detail here. And lots to satisfy Lewis and Clark enthusiasts. Check the program! Here are a few other sessions that caught my eye.

Thursday, October 20, 8:00 a.m. - 8:50 a.m.

Adding Complexity to Literary Analysis and Social Studies Instruction

Presented by: Tamra Stambaugh

Add complexity to your ELA and social studies instruction using evidence supported frameworks to guide questioning and analysis. Differentiate questions and promote higher level thinking. After discussing each framework, be ready to write your own differentiated questions and to apply the strategies.

Digital Storytelling with PBS Finding Your Roots

Presented by: Nikki Vradenburg

Get hands-on training using curriculum and tools from the popular PBS program, Finding Your Roots. Learn to implement digital storytelling with students using clips and lessons from the show. Bring a laptop or Chromebook to get the most out of this session and come ready to be inspired!

Heart Mountain Japanese Relocation Center

Presented by: Armand Lohof

At this overview of the World War II history of the Japanese American Relocation Center in Wyoming, we will cover not only the camp during the war, but also the reaction of the internees.

Thursday, October 20, 9:00 a.m. - 10:50 a.m.

Teaching Native Literature: Context for Bridge-building

Presented by: Jessica Jones

This presentation lays groundwork for sensitively approaching Native literature via the Essential Understandings. Topics include forced boarding schools, removal and reservations, cyclical trauma, survivance, humor, and celebration. Slideshow overviews creation stories, early songs and testimonies to novels, Native Renaissance, and contemporary poetry. Emphasis placed on tribal specificity and regional diversity.

Thursday, October 20, 10:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.

Teaching about Montana’s Chinese Communities

Presented by: Mark Johnson

Middle and High School Social Studies teachers, learn the deep history of Chinese Montanans, their struggles, connections back to China, contributions to the region’s development, and how they kept the culture alive in Montana. This session features new research on the topic with lesson plans for grades 6-12.

Thursday, October 20, 11:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.

Exploring Indigenous Resistance and Resiliency using the Inquiry Design Model

Presented by: Erin O'Reilly

We will use the Inquiry Design Model( (IDM) to explore how inquiry-based learning can shape your social studies classroom. We will use strategies for pairing anchor text with primary and secondary sources to engage in inquiry-based learning, specifically, exploring Indigenous resistance and resiliency to colonization and cultural genocide throughout history. (Material Fee - $30.00)

Thursday, October 20, 11:00 a.m. - 12:50 p.m.

Your Montana Primary Source Resource Montana Memory Project

Presented by: Jennifer Birnel

The Montana Memory Project is a digital repository of thousands of items including many primary source documents. Learn how to use this website to search for relevant content - including teacher-created exhibits, and how to save your favorite items for later use and share this content with students.

Thursday, October 20, 12:00 p.m. - 12:50 p.m.

IEFA & Social Studies Standards K - 5 Resources

Presented by: Mike Jetty & Zach Hawkins

The new Social Studies Standards provide educators with an excellent opportunity to integrate IEFA in K-5 Social Studies instruction. This interactive workshop will provide hands-on demonstrations of instructional materials and methods for meeting the new standards.

Thursday, October 20, 1:00 p.m. - 1:50 p.m.

Russell for Learning: Educational Resources from the C.M. Russell Museum

Presented by: Melissa Werber

Join C.M. Russell Museum’s Education Coordinator, Melissa Werber, as she shares strategies, tools, and resources for arts integration in the classroom. (This presentation is also offered Thursday, 4:00 p.m. - 4:50 p.m.)

Teaching Tough Topics

Presented by: Sandra Oldendorf

Discuss tough topics to teach from U.S. history and current events such as voting rights, racism, sexism, immigration, colonialism, and westward expansion. Explore the rationales for teaching these topics. Participate in engaging strategies (such as PBS Story Corps, adolescent literature, media literacy) that address these topics from multiple perspectives.

Thursday, October 20, 2022 2:00 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.

Educating for equity and working toward educational justice

Presented by: Denise Juneau

While “equity” has become a scary word for some politicians, educators understand that working toward educational justice is their calling. And that means educators must commit to dismantling inequitable practices and policies, provide culturally-responsive and rigorous content, and ensure quality opportunities for every child. It’s going to take all of us to ensure that the Montana public education system does not retreat from the progress it has made in Indian Education for All, access and opportunity to a quality education in every community, meaningful educator licensure, and more. Public schools have always been political battlegrounds. There is perennial controversy around what content is taught, who is teaching, what types of reform works, who governs, what gets measured and assessed, what books get read, and what words can be said in classrooms. Despite today’s political conflict and strife, it’s time to unapologetically and courageously TEACH.

Thursday, October 20, 2022 3:00 p.m. - 3:50 p.m.

Q&A with Denise Juneau

Presented by: Alex Rosenleaf & Bruce Wendt

A follow-up to the MCSS keynote session with Denise Juneau where participants can ask questions.

Thursday, October 20, 2022 3:00 p.m. - 4:50 p.m.

Proficiency-Based Education: The Inquiry Design Model and MT SS Standards

Presented by: Hailey Hancock

The Inquiry Design Model (IDM) is one blueprint teachers can use to develop lessons that align to the new SS standards. Teachers will be introduced to the IDM, explore sample lessons, analyze proficiency scales, to see how IDM may align with proficiency-based education, and teachers will create their own lesson.

Friday, October 21, 2022 9:00 a.m. - 9:50 a.m.

Socio-Demographic Data Resources for Montana

Presented by: Dave Ritts

The Decennial Census and American Community Survey (ACS) programs within the U.S. Census Bureau provide the most comprehensive sources of socio-demographic data for the State of Montana. This presentation will describe how the data is collected, available geographic areas (ex. county) and tools for viewing and downloading the data.

Friday, October 21, 10:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.

Historical Mashup: Bridging the past to the future.

Presented by: April Wills

In this session we will explore artifacts and primary sources, dive into new technology ideas, and discuss some classroom tested activities that are engaging and fun! We will focus on MT History, IEFA, and American history. Join us for a session built around fun, wonder, and active learning.

IEFA Tools For All Teachers

Presented by: Ronald Buck

Having trouble teaching IEFA in your classroom? Join us to learn about free lessons and resources that are easily implemented into your classroom. You will see how these lessons are implemented in a classroom. Join us for a tutorial on using resources from the Montana Historical Society in your class.

Friday, October 21, 2022 11:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.

IEFA & Social Studies Standards 6th-12th Resources

Presented by: Mike Jetty & Zach Hawkins

The new Social Studies Standards provide educators with an excellent opportunity to integrate Indian Education for All in 6-12 Social Studies instruction. This interactive workshop will provide hands-on demonstrations of effective instructional materials and methods for meeting the new standards.

Friday, October 21, 12:00 p.m. - 12:50 p.m.

MCSS Business Meeting (and food!)

Come join MCSS for a meeting about the business of our organization, the state of Social Studies education, and the consumption of yummy food!

Friday, October 21, 1:00 p.m. - 1:50 p.m.

IEFA in the ELA Classroom

Presented by: Stephanie Swigart & Matthew Bell

The Montana ELA standards include specific requirements to implement IEFA, but it can be challenging to select high-quality, vetted materials and then implement them meaningfully and responsively. Build familiarity and confidence with embedding IEFA into your ELA curriculum.

Friday, October 21, 2022 1:00 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.

What’s a critical Social Studies educator? Standards, Content, and Identity

Presented by: Hailey Hancock & Melissa Walker

“How do we know what we don’t know?” We will provide strategies to engage in teacher self-reflection, activities to guide your students in unpacking challenging Social Studies content, and to foster a culturally relevant Social Studies classroom. Finally, we will connect to the new MT SS standards.

Friday, October 21, 2022 2:00 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.

Using Historical Documents to Discuss Race

Presented by: Bruce Wendt

Good teachers help students connect themes of yesteryear with current issues and to challenge current perceptions no matter in history, science, literature, or mathematics. Come discuss how ideas of race permeate and affect myriad classroom discussions. A list of sources will guide conversation.

Friday, October 21, 2022 3:00 p.m. - 4:50 p.m.

Social Studies Student Researchers: Supporting Student-Led Community Inquiries

Presented by: Marcie Reuer and Scout Sutton

This session describes and provides examples of community inquiries for Social Studies students from 4th grade to graduate level college courses. Community inquiries have students perform research to answer questions of personal curiosity about their communities.