New Lesson Plan on the 1972 Montana Constitutional Convention

 Bigfork high school teacher Cynthia Wilondek approached me with a problem a few years ago. Partisanship was running so hot that she worried her students didn't have good models for civil dialogue and civic cooperation. She asked: "Was there a moment in Montana history where Democrats, Republicans, and Independents came together to work for the common good? And are there resources to teach about it?"

My answer to the first question was a resounding yes. The Montana 1972 Constitutional Convention was a signature moment in Montana history, when citizen delegates sat alphabetically (rather than by party) and worked through their disagreements to pass a constitution that all 100 of them signed (although some withdrew their support afterwards.) Republican delegate Betty Babcock, Democratic delegate Dorothy Eck, and Independent delegate George Harper traveled across the state to answer questions about the new constitution. The document was not universally popular; on June 6, 1972, Montanans went to the ballot box, ratifying the constitution by a mere 2,532 votes.  However, it is an example of people working across party lines to serve Montana.

My answer to the second question was more equivocal. We did have resources for teaching about the Montana Constitution, including Chapter 21 of Montana: Stories of the Land: “A People's Constitution, 1972” (and the educator resources we'd gathered to accompany it) and Chapter Eight, "Montana's Quiet Revolution," (23 minutes) of the video series Montana Mosaic: 20th Century People and Events. But more could and should be done, I thought, and Cynthia was just the teacher to do it.

Cynthia took up the challenge and spent a year creating an intensive dive into Montana’s constitutional convention. The multipart lesson first asks students to analyze and compare the preambles of both the 1889 and 1972 Montana Constitutions. Then it asks students to explore how the 1972 constitution came to be, before researching some of the major people and events of the 1972 Constitutional Convention and presenting their findings in a digital “yearbook.” While the full lesson takes eight to eleven 50-minute class periods, parts can be used independently. If you teach high school government, Montana history, or even English, consider teaching all or part of Cynthia's lesson. It's worth it. 

P.S. Don't forget to register for our upcoming Monday Meetup, November 13, 4-5 p.m. on Indian Education for All (with guest presenter Mike Jetty).

Guest Post from Montana PBS

Thanks to Martha and the team at the Montana Historical Society for letting me take over the newsletter today! My name is Nikki and I am the Director of Education at Montana PBS. I get the fun job of helping teachers use media and technology in their classrooms! 

Montana PBS Education supports teachers in Montana by offering FREE professional development opportunities and producing classroom resources published on PBS LearningMedia. PBS LearningMedia is a free content site for K-12 teachers who want to use PBS media in their classrooms. Did I mention that it’s free? We just published a brand new collection about the Montana State Parks, with videos and lesson ideas for teachers planning a field trip to one of the parks this school year.  

In addition to resources on PBS LearningMedia, teachers can participate in the MTPBS Watch and Learn program to earn OPI credit for watching full films produced by Montana PBS and completing a reflection activity. 

Montana teachers are invited to attend our free virtual workshop about the new film from Ken Burns, American Buffalo. There is also a way to watch the full film and earn credit for doing it! 

Read below to learn more about our programs and reach out to Nikki Vradenburg, Director of Education for more information! 

Watch and Learn PD

Build your content knowledge while being inspired to create engaging lessons for students when you watch full-length, award-winning programs from PBS and Montana PBS–and earn credit for doing it! This FREE professional development activity can be done when and wherever you are and is always open–no deadlines!  

Getting started is easy! 

• Explore this catalog of local and national productions from PBS and Montana PBS. 
• Fill out a form to sign up to view as many of the films as you want. 
• Watch your email for directions about how to watch the film and complete the reflection activity. 

American Buffalo PD Opportunities

Virtual Workshop November 1, 4:00 p.m.

The American Buffalo is a new documentary by Ken Burns that premiered on PBS in October 2023. It is the dramatic story of the national mammal’s near extinction. In this free, one hour workshop on Wednesday November 1 at 4 p.m., teachers will view clips of the film and learn about resources for teaching with the film.

Zach Hawkins and Mike Jetty from the OPI Indian Education for All team will share OPI resources for teaching about the buffalo created by their team. Teachers will earn 1 OPI credit for attending this workshop and a chance to win a lesson toolkit including a DVD copy of the film and books about the buffalo to use with students. This workshop is for anyone who works with students in grades 3-12 interested in sharing the rich history of the buffalo. 

Register using this link.

View the Full American Buffalo Film for Credit

In the month of November, teachers can watch American Buffalo online for free and earn 5 OPI credits for completing a reflection activity about the experience. This is a limited time opportunity since free on demand streaming will only be available until November 30. Click here to register! 

Parks of Montana Collection on PBS LearningMedia

Graduate students from MSU and UM work with Montana PBS as graduate assistants. They earn a tuition waiver and a small stipend to collaborate on the production of digital resources for Montana classrooms. We are in the third year of this project and are proud of our growing collection of resources about the Parks of Montana. 

Montana is home to fifty-five state parks—each with its own unique wonders. The Parks of Montana project aims to showcase the amazing features of these public lands and to teach a variety of lessons from different content areas to elementary students. Within the collection are resources for teachers and students preparing to visit the park, reflecting on a previous trip, or exploring the parks virtually. From caves and lakes to fossils and historic sites, Montana's state parks are magnificent places to explore at-home and on site! Click here to check it out!

 

Virtual and In Person IEFA PDs

As I've mentioned before, we're offering PDs on the second Monday of each month, September-March, from 4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Our November PD will be held on November 13, where Mike Jetty will share Indian Education for All Resources. Join OPI Indian Education Specialist Mike Jetty as he shares bad jokes and great resources to help you teach your students about Indian culture and history and find out what’s new on tap at the Indian Education for All Unit of the Montana Office of Public Instruction. Register here.

Our friends over at OPI are also offering online professional development: Indian Education for All Tuesdays, the first Tuesday of every month, September - June, from 4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m., They will be sharing games, lessons, and more. Attendees will earn one professional development unit, and no advance registration is required.

Looking ahead toward spring, the 17th Annual Indian Education for All Best Practices Conference, will be held March 8-9, 2024, at the DoubleTree in Billings. You can preregister here. If you have great lessons, resources, or strategies that other teachers could use, I hope you'll consider presenting at the conference. Here's the call for presentation proposals. 

Two interesting opportunities

 Two opportunities recently came across my desk. Neither relates to Montana history, but both are cool, so I thought I'd share.

Call for Civic Season Design Fellows

Applications are open for the 2024 Civic Season Design Fellowship [airtable.com], a great opportunity for young people (18-30,) who are interested in making a difference in their country.

From Juneteenth to July 4, Civic Season is an annual tradition to learn U.S. history and civics, understand our role in shaping the nation’s future and increase participation in democracy. Design Fellows are young adults who help co-design the program for hundreds of cultural institutions, civic organizations, and community groups. 

The fellowship, which runs between January 1 and July 4, 2024, is fully remote and semi-synchronous. Fellows receive a stipend of $1,500. Civic Season is a program of Made By Us. People of color, LGBTQ people, veterans, immigrants, people with disabilities, first-generation college students and those without a college degree are particularly encouraged to apply. Applications are due November 1. 

Film Makers in the Schools

Each year during the week of the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, organizers bring age-appropriate and classroom relevant BSDFF selections into Missoula area schools and throughout Montana. Filmmakers join classrooms for in-person and virtual screenings of their festival-selected films, giving students the chance to ask questions and make local connections to global stories. This year they are taking things hybrid, connecting with classrooms virtually in all corners of the state and offering in-person filmmaker visits in the Missoula area. In-person visits and virtual programs will run Tuesday, February 21 - Friday, February 24. Learn more.

FYI: The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival also offers a 3-day filmmaking intensive in Missoula during the first weekend of the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. Learn more here. 

Another reason to teach more social studies in elementary school

Have you been pressured into giving up social studies time to focus on "core subjects" (e.g., reading and math)? You aren't alone.

I've commiserated with a lot of elementary teachers who've faced pressure from their administration, and I've always told them teaching social studies should and could improve student literacy, but I didn't have the hard evidence they could use to sway their administrators. Now I do! 

April Wills, one of our Teacher Leaders in History, just sent me a fascinating article from Social Education titled "How Social Studies Improves Elementary Literacy" that reports its findings using data from a longitudinal study of 18,000 K-5 students.  Here's the take-away: 

"Social studies is the only subject with a clear, positive, and statistically significant effect on reading improvement. In contrast, extra time spent on English Language Arts (ELA) instruction has no significant relationship with reading improvement....

"On average, students who receive an additional 30 minutes of social studies instruction per day ... in grades 1–5 outperform students with less social studies time by 15 percent of a standard deviation on the fifth-grade reading assessment."

You read that right! Spending time on social studies improves reading. I hope you'll read the entire study (and maybe share it with your administration).

Here are some other things to know about how MTHS lessons are especially designed to improve literacy: 

1. Most Montana Historical Society lesson plans are designed to be interdisciplinary; some align to art and math standards, but most align to ELA standards. And, of course, they all align to the social studies standards.
2. We've integrated many, many different literacy strategies and ELA skills practice into our lessons. For example, in the fourth-grade curriculum, students practice fluency, write (and revise) opinion pieces and narratives, make evidence-based claims, analyze primary source documents, and practice close reading. They summarize and paraphrase, learn vocabulary and parts of speech, and determine main ideas. In other words, we've made a concerted effort to make sure that teaching Montana history is teaching ELA.

P.S. Don't forget to sign up for next month's Monday Meetup with Mike Jetty: November 13, 2023: Indian Education for All Resources, 4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.  Register here.

Will I see you at MFPE?

 Are you coming to MFPE in Billings?

My colleagues and I will be working the exhibit hall at the upcoming MFPE conference, so if you are there, make sure to stop by our booth to say hello, pick up some free goodies, and visit with us about MTHS resources.

Are you on the fence? I just finished looking through the program and saw many exciting sessions. I'm particularly excited about the ones being offered by MTHS Teacher Leaders in Montana History past and present. 

• “Social Studies, IEFA and Me,” Savannah Buckner, Thurs., Oct. 19, 8:00 a.m. - 9:50 a.m.
  • Elementary school teachers! Come learn with me about how to better incorporate Social Studies and Indian Education for All into your everyday lessons. Bring a tablet or laptop.
• “Finding and Integrating Native Voices,” Kathi Hoyt and Ruth Ferris, Thurs., Oct. 19, 11:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m. and Fri., Oct. 20, 10:00 a.m. - 10:50 a.m.
  • Where do you find primary sources in which Native Americans speak for themselves? Come join us and we will show you where to find some of these primary sources. How do you use them in your classroom? We have ideas for that too.
• “Tribal Government in High School,” Elysia Bain, Teacher Leader in Montana History, Thurs., Oct. 19, 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
  • Learn ways to incorporate learning about tribal government into social studies classes.
• “Montana Historical Society Resources 101,” Jennifer Hall, Fri., Oct. 20, 11:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.
  • Discover free, standard-aligned resources for your grade level for teaching Montana history and Indian Education for All.

If you are at MFPE and teach social studies, I hope you'll come to the Montana Council on Social Studies lunchtime meeting, Thurs., Oct. 19, 12:00 p.m. - 12:50 p.m. There's free pizza! But also hopefully we can use this as an opportunity to work together to improve social studies education in the state. I'm also interested in MCSS's Lunch Forum on Friday, 12:00 p.m. - 12:50 p.m. (even though there won't be pizza) because it will focus on how current issues (from the Second Amendment to CRT) are affecting classrooms. I've also been told that there will be "snacks and conversation" on Thursday at 5:00 p.m., right after, and in the same room, as "National History Day in Montana."

Here are a few more sessions that particularly caught my eye. 

• “National History Day in Montana,” Hailey Hancock and Melissa Hibbard, Thurs., Oct. 19, 3:00 p.m. - 4:50 p.m. and Fri., Oct. 20, 9:00 a.m. - 10:50 a.m.
  • National History–an academic competition focusing on history for students in grades 6-12–is returning to Montana! Attend this session to find out how to bring the History Day experience to your 6-12 grade social studies, humanities, or ELA classroom.
•  “Museum and Student Connect,” Bruce Wendt, Fri., Oct. 20, 2:00 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.
  • Students can contribute to local museums in multiple ways. Learn from students and teachers who have created exhibits and other projects at museums in Billings. Take home ideas to your local community.
• “Exploring How Where You Live Impacts How You Live through the Inquiry Design Model,” Erin O'Reilly, Thurs., Oct. 19, 9:00 a.m. - 9:50 a.m.
  • Use the Inquiry Design Model to explore how inquiry-based learning can shape your social studies classroom, with a specific focus on students investigating the compelling question: how does where I live influence how I live?

“Physical Archives and K-12 Students,” Joseph Lannin, Thurs., Oct. 19, 8:00 a.m. - 8:50 a.m.

• Learn how the Billings Public Library Special Collections Dept. is working to make their collections more accessible to students of all ages.

“Digital Archives and K-12 Students,” Jennifer Birnel, Director of the Montana History Portal (formerly the Montana Memory Project), Thurs., Oct. 19, 9:00 a.m. - 9:50 a.m.

• Local and digital archives are not just the place for graduate students and professional scholars/researchers! These information repositories are filled with photographs, manuscripts, rare books, and numerous other materials with the potential to spark critical thinking and analysis. 

“Heart Mountain Interpretive Center,” Sybil Tubbs, Thurs., Oct. 19, 12:00 p.m. - 12:50 p.m.

• The Heart Mountain Interpretive Center provides an overview of the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans, including the background history of anti-Asian prejudice in America and the factors leading to their forced removal and confinement. Discover their educational materials for the classroom including reading guides, lesson plans, activities, and virtual field trips.

“Don't Panic: Let's Adopt a Thoughtful Approach about Generative AI,” Jason Neiffer, Thurs., Oct. 19, 2:00 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.

• With new generative tools like ChatGPT, Google Bard, Microsoft Bing, Canva, and Midjourney, we face an unprecedented moment in a fast-moving evolution and the opportunity to equip our students (and ourselves) with futuristic superpowers. Join for first-glance look at the coming AI tsunami, along with recommendations of where to start to immerse yourself in these tools to gain insight.

“IEFA Resources to Support Social Studies Standards,” Mike Jetty, Fri., Oct. 20, 9:00 a.m. - 9:50 a.m.

• This interactive session will provide attendees with an overview of new and improved IEFA resources to support Social Studies instruction.

“The Montana ELA Standards Are Open For Revision! Be in the Know With This Information Session, Stephanie Swigart, Fri., Oct. 20, 1:00 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.

• This session will provide participants with pertinent information about the ELA standards revision process and how they can be involved throughout the process. This will also be an opportunity for educators to ask questions and provide feedback to the OPI ELA Standards Revision team. about their priorities for ELA standards revision to inform the research phase of the revision process.

Finally, I noticed that Gilder Lerner Montana History Teacher of the Year, high school history teacher Casey Visser, is offering several sessions. Why not learn from a master?

• “Podcasts in the American History Secondary Classroom,” Oct. 19, 11:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.
  • Discover podcasts that will aid teachers in their American History content knowledge and learn how students can create their own podcasts as part of class projects.
• “Alternative Assessments in the Secondary Social Studies Classroom,” Thurs., Oct. 19, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
  • Explore options to assess student learning beyond the standard fill in the bubble tests. The session will focus on the Stanford History Education Group's materials.
• “Engagement in the Secondary Social Studies Classroom,” Thurs., Oct. 19, 4:00 p.m. - 4:50 p.m.
  • Discover various ready to use engagement techniques including Eduprotocols that will aid instructors in increasing student engagement in their social studies classes.

Register for the conference and explore the program (there's lots I didn't include here.) Hope to see you in Billings!

IEFA Link Roundup

 If you are on Facebook and you aren't a member of the Teaching Montana History Facebook group, you are missing out! Here are some of the cool things relating to Indian Education for All that have been posted over the last few months.

• Crow author gets recognition in Library of Congress, an article about the picture book Elk Morning at the Battle of Arrow Creek, which was "selected to represent Montana in the Library of Congress "Center for the Book" to promote book-reading, libraries, and literacy nationwide." (OPI's Indian Education Unit has model teaching units for grades 1-4 for both this book and for Elk Morning Counts His First Coup.)
• Following the Footsteps: The long history of hunting in south-central Montana, an article by Apsáalooke scholar and educator Shane Doyle about the hunting expertise of tribes around Yellowstone, discovered through ice-patch archaeology.  (Check out this lesson Shane created for grades 7-12 on ice-patch archaeology.) 
• Montana PBS Learning Media's video clips from Indigi-Genius, a series that focuses on the "scientific and cultural impact of Indigenous creations and knowledge." 
• Films available to show to your classes through the Native Film Initiative Film Club. 
• "The Echo of the Bison," a podcast from Planet Money about the decimation of the bison in the nineteenth century, the consequences of the slaughter, and efforts to bring them back.

Happy exploring!

P.S. Middle and high school teachers especially: I hope you'll join us from 4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. on October 9, 2023 for "Introduction to National History Day in Montana," part of our online Monthly Monday Meetups. Register here.