A Note on Links: When reading back posts, please be aware that links have a short half-life. You can find working links to all of the MHS resources on our Educator Resources Page.

Thursday, February 6, 2025

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.

 

  

Monday, February 3, 2025

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. 

Thursday, January 30, 2025

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.

Thursday, January 23, 2025

Reel vs. Real

 Bigfork teacher Cynthia Wilondek, who will be leading the April Social Studies Second Tuesday on Teaching Thematically, organizes her entire semester course around large themes. One of her favorites is "Reel vs. Real." I asked her to briefly describe the unit as a guest post. She's also expressed willingness to share her syllabus with other high school teachers interested in making the switch from chronology to teaching with themes. Let me know if you want me to put you in touch with her.

Before I turn this post over to Cynthia, I'm going to make one last plug for tomorrow's Social Studies Second Tuesday, 4:30-5:30 p.m. focused on teaching about Montana's Chinese history with Mark Johnson. Register.

Reel versus Real

One of the many great benefits of teaching thematically is that it frees you and your students to look for patterns and "Big Ideas" in Montana History. Our beloved state is often part of the popular imagination, from A River Runs Through It to Yellowstone, and in the many, many movies and tv shows in-between. Inspired by this concept, I put together a Montana history unit called "Reel vs Real Montana," which focuses on two essential questions:

  1. "How do myths reflect social values and morals?"
  2. "How can the study of folklore enhance historical understanding?"

If interested, the Montana Historical Society has some excellent resources to support you in this theme. To name just one, the What Don't You See: The Historical Accuracy of Charles M. Russell Paintings lesson plan is a fantastic little gem that has students examining artwork by Russell as well as researching how accurately he captured the actual history as opposed to the "West of the Imagination." The lesson plan is very easy to follow and can be modified in a variety of ways to fit your classroom needs. It is truly worth your time: students enjoy the detective work that goes into this activity and like to search for what can be seen and what should have been seen. Enjoy!

 

Thursday, January 16, 2025

Ancestry Classroom

 I've been seeing that teachers can sign up to use Ancestry Classroom at no charge, and was intrigued. Then I found out that MTHS Teacher Leader in History Vicky Nytes used Ancestry Classroom with her students in Superior, so I asked her to write a guest post. With no further ado, I'll turn the newsletter over to Vicky.

This is my first year of using Ancestry Classroom, and I think it provides a great first step into research for students of all ages. 

To gain access to Ancestry Classroom, you need to apply, and although the application is relatively simple, you do need your school’s IP Address. Once your application is accepted, students and faculty will have free access for three years to three sites:

  • Ancestry.com, the world's largest genealogical site, with links to manuscript censuses and other historical records;
  • Fold3, which provides access to "US military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served"; and
  • Newspapers.com, an online newspaper archives consisting of over a billion pages of historical newspapers.

Note: the sites are only accessible in the school building, so all assignments using this resource will have to be completed in school.  

I began with my eleventh graders, who used all three sites to find information for research projects they were completing. My eighth graders used the sites at the end of a unit on the American Revolution to learn about figures from the Revolution. I created a notetaking sheet for both my eighth-grade class and my eleventh-grade class, which helped guide their research.  

Since using a site such as Ancestry can be overwhelming, I appreciate that they have compiled a variety of biographies on individuals from all parts of the world and all time periods. These short biographies share key moments of the individual’s life and connects students to a primary source document that supports the story. 

My 8th graders could search through Notable People, Notable Stories on Ancestry to learn about Loyalists and Patriots of the American Revolution. My 11th graders used the same feature to find the people and era that most closely aligned with their research. 

Newspapers.com allowed students the opportunity to dig into their own primary source research. I made sure that students knew it would not be easy and we talked about ways of limiting and expanding our scope to find what we are looking for. Starting this lesson with that background, I think, made it a lot easier for students to find what they were looking for. They had a great time doing the required research of American Revolution people but for those that worked faster they then could look up whatever they wanted. 

I was hesitant about doing this introduction to research with my younger students, but there was a lot of excitement and everyone in the room found something exciting to share. They also got a taste of what research is and some of the struggles and successes that come with it. That alone made it worth it for me.

Thanks to Vicky for sharing her experience with this free resource! If you are looking for ways to get younger students started with newspaper research, here are a few tips. And if you have a resource you love that you think other teachers should know about, I hope you'll get in touch. 

Monday, January 13, 2025

2025 Historical Picture Prompt Short Story Contest

The Montana History Portal is hosting the 5th Annual Historical Picture Prompt contest. Using any photo in the Portal collection as a story prompt participants will write a fictional short story (650 words or less) and enter through the History Portal's submission form. Winners will be chosen from grades 3-6, grades 7-12, and adult. The deadline to enter is February 21, 2025

Contest rules and information can be found on the Montana History Portal.

Friday, January 10, 2025

Montana Civics Bee

This just in from the Mansfield Center:

The Mansfield Center is partnering with the National Chamber of Commerce Foundation to host the 2025 Montana Civics Bee for middle school students. Students who participate will strengthen their civics, writing, and public speaking skills, and form friendships with other young leaders along the way!  

A brief overview of the Montana State Civics Bee: 

  • 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students must submit a 750-word (max) essay proposing their ideas for improving their community by February 4th, 2025.
  • Top-scoring essays will be invited to participate in the Montana State Civics Bee in late spring 2025 for the chance to win cash prizes at the state level.
  • The winner of the State Bee will be sent on an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, DC to compete in the National Civics Bee in fall 2025 for the chance to win $100,000 towards college.

The United States is experiencing a crisis in civic education among younger generations, and the Mansfield Center is working to correct this issue by offering opportunities for young Americans to engage with civics and strengthen our democracy moving forward. We are thrilled to gather students from across the state for this exciting event! 

To apply, visit the National Civics Bee webpage and create an account to access the application portal and address to mail physical applications.  

For additional resources to prepare your students visit our resource platform.

Reach out to Kate Koenig at kate.koenig@mso.umt.edu with questions!

Thursday, January 9, 2025

NEH 2025 Summer Professional Development Offerings

 Each summer, the NEH offers tuition-free opportunities for K-12 educators and higher education faculty to study a variety of humanities topics. Stipends of $650 to $3,450 help cover expenses of these one-to-four-week programs. Programs may offer continuing education or graduate credits (often for an additional cost).

Teachers who participate in these institutes (including our own interpretive historian, Melissa Hibbard) rave about the opportunity and talk about how energizing, restorative, and enlightening the experience is.

All applications are due March 5, 2024. These programs are extremely competitive, so if one interests you, don't leave the application until the last minute (especially if the application requires a letter of recommendation.) Twenty percent of the slots of each program are reserved for applicants in their first five years of K-12 teaching. The selection committees also get points for geographic diversity, so in general Montana teachers have a slight advantage. You do have to write a personal essay though (which will build your empathy for students applying for college!)

Program Formats

Professional development programs include the following format options:

  • Residential: All participants attend for the duration of the project at the host site.
  • Virtual: All participants attend for the duration of the project using an online platform. This can include synchronous and asynchronous sessions.
  • Combined Format: All participants attend a portion of the project online and a portion of the project at the host site. Online and residential sessions occur at different times, but participants attend the same format simultaneously.

The programs focus on topics from Angel Island and Asian American Immigration to The Pequot War and Africa in World History. I'm particularly a fan of the one-week Landmarks programs because you get to go to places where history happened. It's probably no surprise, but "Voices of the Ancients: Archaeology and Oral History in the American West" (held in Cedar City, Utah), particularly caught my eye. When I mentioned it to Melissa, she told me that this is the Landmarks program she attended, and it was revelatory.  

Learn more.

P.S. Looking for MUCH shorter, less intensive PD? Join Mark Johnson, author of Middle Kingdom under the Big Sky, on January 14 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. for Teaching Montana's Chinese History and earn one OPI renewal unit. Register. 

Monday, January 6, 2025

Social Studies Second Tuesdays

 

Social Studies Second Tuesdays 

Join us for online PDs on the Second Tuesdays of the month from 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. These mostly teacher-led sessions will provide practical strategies and resources to help your social studies lessons shine. Earn one OPI Renewal Unit per session. The first two in the series (October 8, "Teaching Current Events," and November 12, "Teaching with Maps") were fabulous.  Although we don't usually do this, we did record them and so let me know if you want the link. Here are our winter/spring offerings: 

 

January 14: Teaching Montana's Chinese History, with Mark Johnson

Author of Middle Kingdom under the Big Sky and Associate Clinical Professor at Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education Mark Johnson will explain why it's important to include the history of Chinese immigration in your curriculum and introduce new lessons for teaching about the Chinese in Montana. Register.
 

February 11: Teaching with Historic Places, with Ron Buck and Jennifer Hall

MTHS Teacher Leaders in History Ron Buck (7th-12th grade, Shelby) and Jennifer Hall (7th-8th grade, Eureka) will talk about how to make field trips meaningful and why to incorporate place-based education into your school year. Register.

 

March 11: Engaging with Your Local Museum, with April Wills

Museums are great for field trips, but they can be so much more for your students. Join MTHS Teacher Leaders in History and Montana Heritage Project alum April Wills (4th grade, Culbertson) to learn about ways museum-school partnerships can enrich your students' learning, from providing opportunities to conduct local history research to offering authentic audiences for student work. Register.
 

April 8: Teaching Thematically, with Cynthia Wilondek

Textbooks are generally organized chronologically, but is that the best way to organize your class? MTHS Teacher Leaders in History Cynthia Wilondek (9th-12th grade, Big Fork) will discuss the benefits and strategies of teaching social studies with themes rather than following a timeline. Register.

Thursday, January 2, 2025

Free Speakers in the Schools Program

 It's been a while since I touted Humanities Montana's Speakers in the Schools program, and that's a shame because it is one of the best deals in the state. 

Through this program, which is free to schools, trained facilitators lead students in workshops and conversations on topics like civics, history, native cultures, literature, and more. To book a speaker, you need to contact him or her directly to check availability and then fill out the online application at least four weeks before the program date. Speakers include

View the entire catalog and learn how to book a speaker for your classroom.

P.S. Join Mark Johnson on January 14 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. for a PD on Teaching Montana's Chinese History. Attendees will earn one renewal unit. Register.