Best of, Middle School

 Every spring, I ask folks to share their favorite Montana history or IEFA lesson, the one they would absolutely do again. Read on for the responses from middle school teachers with some notes from me, in brackets. Stay tuned for high school teacher's responses. Click here to read recommendations from elementary teachers. 

Ron Buck, who teaches 6-8 in Shelby, wrote: "I love teaching placed based education, and the best thing I teach involves attending a place. For instance, I teach about the Marias Massacre. I invite speakers from the Blackfeet tribe to join us and share their story. I take my students to the place of the event (which is in my county), and we walk the grounds. We look at teepee rings, the river, the hills surrounding it, and the cut banks of the river. We discuss the conditions and the setting and how this place has meaning to our history. Students engage more if they can be in the place." [If you want ideas for how to incorporate more place-based education in your Montana history class, Ron is a great resource! Feel free to email him.)   

Jennifer Hall from Eureka wrote: "My students always love the Finger Weaving activity when learning about the Métis culture. The lesson is buried in the "Discover Lewis & Clark" footlocker materials. The footlocker contains a Métis sash, music CD and a book, The Flower Beadwork People. I use these resources to introduce the culture. However, you don't need to order the footlocker to teach this lesson. I bought a copy of the book and just ask for donations of yarn from parents. On day 1, I read the book aloud to the students. There is an educator's guide to the book provided in the lesson. On day 2, we begin to finger weave. There are several You Tube videos to help students. Because it's such a big hit, we will finger weave again on Day 3. During this day, the students are more comfortable with weaving and I play the Métis music in the background. It's one of their favorite lessons of the year. I find that many students will continue finger weaving at home and during their free time.

Jennifer also recommends Montana Women at Work Lesson Plan: Clothesline Timeline. She writes: "I love this lesson for having students analyze photos. It can be used in various ways with multiple topics. Students analyze the photos and then take time to discuss the decade in which the photos were taken. Last, the students sort the photos on a clothesline timeline. As a wrap-up, the class takes a few minutes to discuss their sorting. The students get excited when they walk in the room and see the clothesline hanging across the classroom! This is a great, hands-on activity with lots of time for analyzing and discussion while viewing primary sources." Another anonymous teacher also likes this lesson. She wrote: "It really challenged my students' perceptions of Montana history in terms of both time and gender roles, and it was interesting to both watch them learn and observe their previously held notions as we looked at those together." 

Dylan Huisken, who teaches in Bonner wrote: "Something new I tried was ledger art. The Art of Storytelling materials are great, accessible, easy to use, and engaging." He also recommends the Written Document Analysis worksheets we've included with selected primary sources for every chapter of Montana: Stories of the Land as part of our Learning from Historical Document units. 

Kristopher Schreiner from Kalispell wrote to champion "hands-on history activities tied to MT history content including- atlatl training, bow and arrow practice, flintknapping, fire-making using flint and steel and friction methods, hide tanning, reverse wrap cordage from sinew, hide painting, gold panning, log cabin construction, wheat grinding, butter churning, and homestead-style cast iron cooking." [Here's a link to a lesson on Making an Atlatl.You can find a gold panning activity in the Gold, Silver, and Coal footlocker User Guide, Lesson 3.]  

Jacob Delight from Polson recommends Fire on the Land. This lesson explores traditional and contemporary uses of fire by the Salish and Pend d' Oreille tribes. His students "created posters about fire management on our reservation, the website is great and posters turned out great, worked very well in our culture/environment unit." He also recommends teaching students to take two column notes.

One anonymous teacher loved the Montana Meme Contest that the Montana History Portal puts on every year.

Another wrote: "Using the Digital Inquiry Group resources is helpful in getting students to consider perspectives in primary sources." [I second this! Everyone should at least teach the lunchroom fight, which is part of their Reading Like a Historian History Lessons. And their Civic Online Reasoning material is also dynamite. You need to register to use their materials, but it's free.] 

And another said: "National History Day!" [Learn more about National History Day in Montana here! And make sure to sign up for Melissa's online PDs. She's the bomb diggity, and you'll learn a ton whether or not you are teaching NHD.]

Best of, Elementary

Every spring, I ask folks to share their favorite Montana history of IEFA lesson, the one they would absolutely do again. Read on for the responses from elementary school teachers with some notes from me, in brackets. Stay tuned for the responses from middle and high school teachers. 

Sunburst teacher Hali Richmond wrote: "My students always loved our 4th grade Homestead Unit, especially because I do a classroom transformation with it. This year I included the patchwork quilt lesson from the Inside and Outside the Home Footlocker Lesson Plans. My students had fun creating their own paper quilts and it was a great and easy lesson to leave for a sub, which is what I had to do this year!"

Susan Seastrand, who teaches on the Crow Reservation wrote: "We read the book Fry Bread and made self to text connections." 

Jodi Delaney from Helena wrote: "I am excited to use the new map overlays I purchased at the Museum gift shop for the 'Early Contact Period Tribal Homelands' activity. I have taught this lesson before, but don't have the ability to print them." [Read more about these map transparencies and why and how to purchase them.]

Heather McCartney-Duty, who teaches grades 3-5 in Teton County, recommends the "Letters from Home" activity included in Lesson 1 of The Chinese Experience in Montana, one of MTHS's hands-on history footlockers. You don't have to order the footlocker to do this lesson. She was also able to bring Mark Johnson, who created that footlocker, into her class as a guest speaker: "Having Dr. Mark Johnson come and lecture (he has great command of a class) with such depth and richness." [You can contact Mark through his website, "The Middle Kingdom under the Big Sky."]

Connie Michael, who teaches in Hardin, will again teach "The IEFA lesson I taught this last year that morphed into science fair projects for the students." They took "four diverse ecosystems (trying to break Montana into four parts and tribal areas but we cheated on a few). We then studied the adaptations the animals and people had to make to live in the harsh conditions of the area; extreme cold, heat, rain, etc. We researched the Sheepeaters, the Yellowstone ecosystem for its unique habitat and resources and used STEM to see how the early inhabitants utilized their environment to survive." 

Here are responses from teachers who answered anonymously:

• I recommend the video "The Tribes of Montana and How They Got Their Names."
• "Although we were too late to enter the Montana Photo Meme Contest officially, we had a contest in our classes and the students loved it so much that we now have Meme Monday where partners examine a photo, create a meme, share and vote on their favorite. What a great way to start a lesson....I will definitely use more primary resources, especially photos and documents with my classes." 
• "Teaching from Montana: A History of Our Home!"
• "Rosebud Battlefield or Where the Girl Saved Her Brother" [This is a lesson from Part 3 of Unit 5 of Montana: A History of Our Home and is a favorite of mine as well.]
• Visual Thinking Strategies!  [Here's a PowerPoint that explains this technique.]
• Gallery walks to view sources and introduce resources. [Here's more information on gallery walks.]

 

Have a Great Summer

This is my last Teaching Montana History Post for the season (unless something great comes up that I feel the need to share.) I hope you have a great summer. And if you are traveling through Helena, please stop by and say hi. Remember: Admission to the Montana Heritage Center is always free (and we're open Saturdays and Sundays, though you won't see me).

Summer Recommendations 

Last week I shared listening recommendations--enough to keep you busy all summer. Here are some other recommendations of things to do and to think about. 

Learn more about multiple perspectives. When I first moved to Montana 31 years ago, I was a typically uninformed Midwesterner, especially about Indigenous history and culture. "Army Allies or Tribal Survival? The 'Other Indians' in the 1876 Campaign" by Colin Calloway, which focuses on the Crow and Arikara scouts who fought with the Custer was the first article that really helped me internalize Essential Understanding #1 (There is great diversity among the twelve sovereign tribes of Montana...)

The Montana Historical Society Press published the essay in Legacy: New Perspectives on the Battle of Little Bighorn, which I just learned you can access for free through Internet Archives. What brought this article to mind was a symposium Little Bighorn College held recently to mark the 150th anniversary of the Great Sioux War. One thing that jumped out at me from the Bighorn County News article about the symposium is Professor Emeritus Dale Old Horn's determination to set the record straight that the Crow who fought with the U.S. government were not "race traitors." Instead, "they were determined to survive an ongoing invasion of tribes from the east." This short article could be a great bell-ringer or an addition to a DBQ that brings in another perspective on the war besides those typically talked about: The US government and the Lakota and Cheyenne. 

Visit Montana State Parks. In partnership with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the Montana 250 Commission created an exhibit describing what life was like in specific places of Montana in 1776. Individual banners from this exhibit will be displayed at nine state parks: Montana Wild in Helena, Flathead Lake State Park, Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park, Bannack State Park, Travelers’ Rest State Park, Chief Plenty Coups State Park, First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park, Makoshika State Park, and Pictograph Cave State Park. Go check them out.

Join in History and Culture Celebrations. Here are just a few!

• Métis Heritage Festival, Chouteau, June 12-13, 2026 
• Rosebud Battlefield 150th Commemoration, Busby, June 17, 2026
• Montana History Fest, Helena, June 25-28, 2026
• Bannack Days, Bannack, July 18-19, 2026
• IndigiPalooza MT: Celebrating Indigenous Arts & Storytelling, Missoula, July 31-August 1, 2026
• Crow Fair Pow Wow and Parade, Crow Agency, August 14-16, 2026 

Share best practices. Yes, this is another plea for you to take time to answer my survey. I learn so much from your responses, and other teachers do too! (And I still have prizes available.) 

However you spend your summer, I hope it is restorative, energizing and loads of fun! See you next fall. 

P.S. If you are changing schools, make sure to re-subscribe using your new address. 

Professional Development and Mentoring

 

Land, Leadership, and Legacy: George Washington and Montana Identity Teacher Institute

August 5 (Helena) OR August 7 (Billings)

At this FREE workshop, teachers will have the opportunity to hear from historical scholars about George Washington’s agricultural leadership, the 1880 visit by Chief Plenty Coups to Mount Vernon, and the modern-day connection to Montana’s apple orchards. Attendees will also have the opportunity to learn the importance of Indigenous perspectives in shaping regional identity and history. Educators will walk away with ready-to-use resources and insights to help students think critically about the connections between the land, leadership, and legacy of George Washington and make meaningful connections to Montana’s history and the present day. 

Attendees earn 6 OPI Renewal Units and MUST teach in a formal K-12 classroom or school setting.

Learn more and find link to register:

• Helena August 5 Workshop
• Billings August 7 Workshop

Building Wilderness Conservation Lesson Plans: A Weekend Workshop at Smoke’s Barn

Dates: September 12 & 13, 2026 (Saturday and Sunday) from 10am-4pm each day

Location: Smoke Elser’s Barn @ 3800 Rattlesnake Drive in Missoula, Montana

Cost: Free! A $500 reimbursement will be paid to each participant who completes the entire involvement experience after the final lesson plan is submitted to our Educational Administration at MCE. Lunch and snacks (Saturday and Sunday) and dinner Saturday will be provided. 

Renewal Units: 12

Hosted by Montana Conservation Elders and Teaching Primary Sources of the Library of Congress.

This weekend workshop brings together educators and leaders from Montana’s wilderness and conservation community (including author Rick Bass and legendary packer Smoke Elser) to collaboratively create high-quality, place-based lesson plans and classroom activities.

Selected participants will learn to access and use primary sources and educational materials from the previously created Montana Conservation Elders Educational Materials, Library of Congress, University of Montana Special Collections, Montana Historical Society, The National Archives, Arthur Carhart Foundation, and the Montana History Portal (which will offer a mini-workshop during the conference).

Qualified Applicants are: K–12 teachers, Tribal colleges, teacher preparation programs, Park Service educators, museum educators, and key stakeholders to work with noted experts to build lessons focused on wilderness conservation and Montana history.

Apply by June 10.

For more information contact Cheryl Hughes / cherylhug@gmail.com / 406-240-4380

Historical Thinking through Student-Driven Research

August 11-12, Great Falls College-MSU. FREE with TRAVEL STIPEND

Want to engage your class with student-driven research projects using primary sources? Want to promote more historical thinking and critical analysis? Join teachers from across the state as Lynne O’Hara, deputy director of education for National History Day and former Philadelphia public schools social studies teacher, teaches you how to facilitate student research, analyze sources, and think historically. Think of it as a two-day “doing history” bootcamp.

Eligible Applicants:

• Teach 4th-12th grade in Montana
• Can commit to teaching student-driven historical research projects using primary sources in the 2026-2056 school year
• Can commit to attending BOTH days of the August 11-12 summer institute from 9 am to 4 pm at Great Falls College-MSU.

Successful Applicants will receive:

• Meals during the workshop
• Lodging
• Travel stipends
• 12 OPI renewal units

Learn more and find link to apply here.

MentorMT Is Hiring Mentors

MentorMT offers grade- and subject-aligned mentoring for new or underprepared rural teachers, helping them build effective pedagogy and content knowledge in their grade level and discipline. Over 100 K-12 teachers will be matched with mentors next year.

The ideal mentor is an active (or eligible retired) Montana K-12 teacher with:

• expertise in content and pedagogy for your grade/subject
• 5+ years of experience in teaching or special services
• Experience with and empathy toward rural education (teachers, students, schools, communities, & resources)
• Selection and matching criteria include subject-area and grade-band compatibility, geographic location, school type, and unique applicant skills and experiences

Does this describe you? Learn more and apply today!

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, June 5, 2026.

And Speaking of Mentoring...

Don't forget to complete our year-end survey to share your favorite strategies and lessons with the Teaching Montana History community (and maybe win a prize.)  

Another Free PD

 Free registration is now open for the Smithsonian's 2026 National Education Summit.

This free in-person and online multi-day event will be held July 14–16, 2026.  It is designed to unite leading voices in education under the theme "Together We Thrive: Towards a More Perfect Union." Four session tracks will equip you with classroom-ready ideas as we prepare for the United States’ Semiquincentennial in 2026.

Sessions led by talented Smithsonian educators will explore relevant themes at the intersections of art, culture, history, and science, relating to four learning strands: 

• Cultivating the Power of Dialogue
• Designing STEAM Solutions for Civic Challenges
• Leveraging the Arts as Civic Voice
• Placing History in Context

A Professional Development Certificate of Achievement will be given to all attendees. (And if you send me yours, I'll get you certificate for an OPI Renewal Unit). 

P.S. If you haven't yet completed our year-end survey, please don't forget to do so! I rely on the Teaching Montana History community for ideas and inspiration, and the posts in which I compile your recommended lessons and strategies are my favorite to write and most of your favorites to read. Plus, you may win a prize.

Summer Listening Suggestions

 Thank you to those of you who have taken our end-of-the-year survey! There are still two prizes left to give out so if you haven't had a chance to tell us what you think of Teaching Montana History and to share your favorite lesson plan or teaching strategy, please do so through this link..

One of the questions we asked was what you'd like to see more of, and several of you said podcast recommendations. You are in luck!

Laura Dukart from Wibaux wrote in to recommend The Obit Project, "a story-driven podcast about the lives of real Montanans after they die."

Michelle Pearson, from Two Geeky Teachers, shared a list she created of dozens of recommended podcasts to help you become a better educator, from "10 Minute Teacher Podcast" to a long list of podcasts to use with students. You can find her entire list of recommended summer listening here.   

Both Michelle and Laura were responding to my call for recommendations. If you have book, podcast, or other recommendations for summer, please send them my way and I'll share them out! And meantime, don't forget to complete our end of the year survey!

P.S. If you are changing schools, please re-subscribe using your new address! We'd hate to lose touch.

 

Happy 250 Birthday, USA

The Montana 250 Commission has been busy looking for ways to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US including a lot of educational programming. They've funded the Civics Bee competitions, National History Day, prizes and teacher training, and traveling exhibits. They've also worked with OPI to sponsor the Seal of Civic Literacy and the Montana Challenge. If you teach middle school or high school and didn't have your students participate in any of these programs this year, consider them for next year!  

Seal of Civics Literacy and Montana Challenge

I especially want to draw your attention to the Seal of Civic Literacy and the Montana Challenge. 

The Seal of Civics Literacy is only open to high school students. 

To receive the Seal, students must

• complete the OPI's version of the U.S. Naturalization (USCIS) test with a score of 80% or higher.
• complete the required .5 credits of Civics courses during high school as approved by the Board of Public Education.
• EITHER perform 40 hours of community service OR perform 20 hours of community service while also passing the Montana Challenge test created by the Montana Historical Society and the Sons and Daughters of Montana Pioneers.

This spring, 161 students took the naturalization test but only 62 were awarded the seal. I'd love to double this number in December, so start thinking about how to incorporate this into your government classes in the fall! (Find out more about the Seal of Civic Literacy--including links to study guides--here.)

The Montana Challenge is open to any student grades 6-12. It was the brainchild of the Sons and Daughters of Montana Pioneers, who wanted a test of Montana history, geography, and government knowledge modeled on the US citizenship test. This spring, 414 students took the Montana challenge and 128 passed, winning a $25 gift card from the Sons and Daughters. They have provided funds to purchase another 150 gift cards in December 2026 for students who pass the test. (If more than 150 kids pass, they will be distributed by random drawing.)  Put this on your calendar for fall semester as well (no gift cards in 2027!) Here's more information about the program. 

Represent Montana in Washington, DC

A big national initiative to recognize the anniversary is the Great American State Fair. Windfall is looking for people (especially teachers!) to staff the Montana Pavilion. They are paying $30/hour plus travel, accommodation, daily per diem, and transportation in/around DC are provided. 

They are hiring nine staff for each of the following date ranges:

• Wave 1: Travel dates 6/23 and 6/30; booth dates 6/24-6/29 (6/24 will be on-site training)
• Wave 2: Travel dates 6/29 and 7/6; booth dates 6/30-7/5
• Wave 3: Travel dates 7/5 and 7/11; booth dates 7/6-7/10

Learn more and apply here.

Lesson Plans for the Anniversary

The Montana 250 Commission gathered a bunch of lesson plans to improve civics education and teach students about the history of the revolution, including this Montana Office of Public Instruction lesson plan, The Declaration of Independence and the "merciless Indian savages".  As you begin to plan for next year, check out their Civics Education Resources.

P.S. If you haven't completed the end of year survey, please do so! 

Summer Is Coming!

 

Thinking Ahead

If you are changing schools, please re-subscribe using your new address! We'd hate to lose touch.

Also, it's time for my annual end of year survey, where I ask teachers to share their favorite lesson or strategy. Participation has been down the last few years, and I think that's a shame because y'all do really cool stuff and other teachers should know about it. So--I hope you'll take a moment to share with us your favorite lesson plan, strategy or resources. Teacher recommended strategies, lesson plans, and other resources (whether created by MTHS or by someone else) are reliably readers' favorite posts to Teaching Montana History. I’d also appreciate your feedback on the services and resources MTHS.

Would you be willing to take an online survey? If so, click here. We'll be offering prizes to the 13th, 23rd, and 32nd person to submit a response, so there are lots of chances to win.

Summer Reading

Do you have any books to recommend to colleagues (on pedagogy, history, IEFA, or Montana)? Send them my way and I'll compile a list to share.

Student Opportunity

The National History Academy has need-based full and partial scholarships (including covering travel costs) for students interested in participating in "a unique pre-college program that inspires students to understand the foundations of American democracy and the responsibilities of citizenship through experiential learning."

"Based in Middleburg, Virginia near the nation's capital, the Academy uses the surrounding historic landscape as an outdoor classroom, immersing students in key moments of U.S. history where they unfolded. Through case studies of pivotal events and a parliamentary debate program that connects past to present, students develop a deeper, more active understanding of democracy. This summer, the four-week residential program will welcome 90 talented students from across the country from June 28 to July 24."

Interested students can apply through this link [nationalhistoryacademy.org]. You can also explore our website here. [nationalhistoryacademy.org] 

Create an ornament to be displayed in D.C. and/or learn more about Montana's Constitution

 

Sum Up Montana in a Christmas Tree Ornament

Looking for a fun end-of-the-year project? This year's National Christmas Tree is coming from US Forest Service Region 1, which included Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota, and the Forest Service is recruiting 10,000 hand-made ornaments to send to the capitol. Specifically, they are looking for: 

6,500 Small Ornaments for Indoor Trees

• Must be 4-8 inches in size
• Decorated front and back
• Lightweight and colorful!
• Express what makes Montana special (flora, fauna, state symbols, iconic landscapes, Indigenous nations, history relating to the forest or the theme "over the rivers and through the woods,” for example, Lewis and Clark expedition)

3,500 Small Ornaments for Outdoor Trees

• Must be 9-12 inches in size
• Decorated front and back
• Lightweight, colorful and durable for outdoor weather conditions!
• Express what makes Montana special (flora, fauna, state symbols, Indigenous nations, history, especially relating to the forest or relates to the theme “Over
  the rivers and through the woods”

50 Tree Skirts

• Skirts should have a diameter of 5 to 8 feet
• Slit needs to be included
• Center hole must be 6 inches

Ornaments may NOT include names (including sports teams or school names), divisive or offensive content, or political or religious words or symbols.

Ornaments must be double-sided. Do not worry about stringing up the ornaments (the Capitol architect has a special wire for that), but feel free to punch a hole. 

You can find more details about the rules and some inspiration in this folder. Note that this material all refers to Idaho, because that's where it was created, but they want Montana contributions too!

Mail your ornaments to Liz Burke, 2880 Skyway Drive, Helena, MT, 59602 before July 31 and she will deliver them. 

Billings Workshop on Teaching Montana's Constitution, June 14-16, 2026

There is still space available for grades 6-12 teachers in Teaching Montana’s Constitution: A Summer Workshop for Educators. Educators attending this free workshop will be offered lodging, a travel stipend, and 12 OPI Renewal Units. Learn more at the Friends of the Montana Constitution website.

Scholarships to the Montana History Conference

 

Save the Date!

The 53rd Annual Montana History Conference, "Culture Keepers, Catalysts, and Cowboys: Exploring Billings and Eastern Montana" will be held September 24-26, 2026, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Billings.

Keynote speakers will include historian Paul Hedren, author of Sitting Bull's War: The Battle of Little Big Horn and the Fight for Buffalo and Freedom on the Plains; Crow Tribal Preservation Officer Aaron Brien, and first-person interpreter Mary Jane Bradbury as Evelyn Cameron.

Renewal units will be available for both the Thursday educator workshop and all conference sessions and tours. (Check here after July 1 for more details.) We hope you’ll consider attending!

As in past years, we will be offering travel scholarships for both teachers and college students.

About the Schedule

Thursday, September 25

Scholarship recipients will be required to attend a half-day educator workshop on Thursday led by Melissa Hibbard and focused on historical thinking skills. They will then have the opportunity to participate in a walking tour of Billings, a workshop on sugar beets in Montana, or a workshop on writing and publishing. 

A welcoming reception Thursday evening at the Billings Depot offers the opportunity to listen to western folk musicians John and Joanna Lowell and see two pop-up exhibits, one on historic maps and the other on “The Montana Tapestry: People and Places from 1776 to Today.” 

Friday, September 26    

Whereas the Thursday educator workshop includes a combination of content and teaching strategies, Friday focuses exclusively on content, with presentations on a range of Billings and Eastern Montana history topics, from two photographers who documented the Crow to the history of 4-H and early Yellowstone River Exploration. For those willing to miss sessions, there are also several tours offered on Friday, including architectural tours of Billings, a walk through Mountainview Cemetery, and a tour of two historic cemeteries.

Saturday, September 27 

Saturday morning brings more focus on content, including talks about the myth of Chinese tunnels, biographic warrior writing, ski-jumping and racing in Northeastern Montana, and more. An optional behind-the-scenes architectural tour of Billings' historic buildings closes out the conference on Saturday afternoon.  

About the Scholarships

Funded by the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation, the scholarships consist of full conference registration plus up to $400 in travel/expense reimbursement. All teachers and students in Montana’s colleges and universities are eligible to apply (residents of Billings and the vicinity are eligible for the conference registration scholarship but not the travel reimbursement). We will also be offering scholarships to cover the registration fee for teachers who only wish to attend the Thursday workshop.

Teacher recipients of the full scholarship must attend the entire conference, including the half-day Thursday’s Educators Workshop and the Saturday sessions (afternoon tours are optional). Student recipients must commit to attending all day Friday and Saturday but are also welcome at Thursday workshops.

Preference will be given to

• Billings area teachers
• Teachers and students from Montana tribal colleges
• Teachers from Montana's on-reservation schools
• Students from Montana community colleges and four-year universities
• Teachers from Montana's rural, under-served communities.

Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. June 14, 2026. Awards will be announced on Friday, June 26, 2026. Applying for a scholarship is quick and easy. Apply online.

Montana Stories for Kids

 Allen M. Jones, Montana's current poet laureate, has a challenge for kids ages 7-12: Write a story that's less than 300 words based on an interview with a family member, then send it to him to read.

Because he's a writer, not a historian, he proposes that students write their stories in first person. He has great prompts: "Tell me about a problem you had when you were growing up or when you first moved to Montana." "Was there something you really wanted that you couldn't have?" "Did you ever do something that you shouldn't have, and then try to get out of trouble?"

Many of his questions focus on problems--to create a narrative arch. "What choices did you make that led you to having your problem?" "How did you finally manage to solve the problem?" 

Here's the flier he's created with sample questions and instructions. 

If you are intrigued by this assignment but want to focus on non-fiction, check out the user guide Oral History in the Classroom Mini Footlocker for inspiration. Or Unit 4, Part 3, Lesson 2 of Montana: A History of Our Home, which asks students to interview a family member about their immigration history. (See p. 217 of the teacher's guide or p. 30 of the PDF.)

Teaching with Cemeteries

Last week we hosted our final Social Studies Third Tuesday for the year. Three MTHS Teacher Leaders in History--Jodi Delaney (Helena, grades 4-5), April Wills (Culbertson, middle school), and Cynthia Wilondek (Bigfork, high school)--talked about cemetery projects they conduct with their students. It was fascinating and inspiring!

You can watch the recording here. (Please forgive the fact that I kept opening up different files during their presentation. I was trying to gather links to resources to share with participants in a follow up email and thought I could do it without disrupting the proceedings. I was wrong!)  

You can also view their slides, which starts with an overview of cemetery history, includes the importance of teaching students how to be in cemeteries respectfully, and ends with links to resources and sample assignments, including some that can be used for any topic, like this handy PERSIA activity that asks students to look at a topic from multiple contexts (Political, Economic, Religious, Social, Cultural, and Intellectual/Arts.) Cynthia also made a handy Google Slide deck for students to use to break down their PERSIA analysis.

Here are some resources their presentation made me think of, most of which aren't in their slide deck. (And this list is the reason the recording is messed up!)

• Find a Grave. This actually is in Cynthia’s links, but I think it is important share it here anyway! For older students, adding information to this site (which could be as simple as pictures of headstones and inscriptions, but could also include obituaries and other information), would make a great project—and would be a genuine service to genealogists the world over.
• Digitized Newspapers. Both Jodi and Cynthia talked about using Chronicling America to research individuals, which is a fabulous source. Another great source are the many Montana newspapers digitized outside of Chronicling America project that you can access through this link.
• Jodi mentioned Chinese Tomb Sweeping ceremonies.
• There is information about the Tomb Sweeping festival in Lesson 7: Chinese Temples in Montana of the hands-on history footlocker “The Chinese Experience in Montana”.
• Mark Johnson also has middle and high school lessons on “Burial Customs and Cultural Practices of Chinese in America”.
• Mark also has a map of Chinese cemeteries in Montana and links to information about specific cemeteries in Bozeman, Butte, Helena, Kalispell, Missoula on his website, Big Sky Chinese.
• Cynthia talked about Sanborn Maps. You can find many of them on the Library of Congress website.
• If your library (or classroom) doesn’t have a copy of Montana Chillers, by Ellen Baumler, you should order one!
• Wibaux middle school teacher Laura Dukart also has a cemetery project, "In Memoriam. A Study of Our Local Cemetery." Here's a presentation she created for teachers interested in creating a similar project in their own communities.

One of the teachers attending this PD wrote afterwards, "I've never thought of a fieldtrip to a cemetery and now I'm not sure why I hadn't thought of it!" I hope more of you will consider a field trip to your local cemetery this spring. 

Teaching Montana's Constitution: A Free Summer Educator Workshop

 Teaching Montana’s Constitution: A Summer Workshop for Educators will bring together Montana teachers for an in-person professional development opportunity focused on incorporating the story of Montana’s Constitution in their social studies, history, ELA, and/or government curriculum.

Fast Facts

• Dates: June 14-16, 2026
• Place: MSU Billings Campus
• Renewal Units: 12
• Cost: FREE! Lodging, two meals per day, and travel stipend provided
• Target Audience: Middle and High School social studies and ELA teachers
• Registration link: Register - Teaching Montana’s Constitution

Learn More

Organized by the Friends of the Montana Constitution, a statewide nonpartisan nonprofit, this workshop assembles constitutional experts, historians, retired public servants, and current educators to dive deep into the history of Montana’s unique 1972 Constitution and the people who wrote it. Teachers will leave the workshop not only with new materials and resources, but also with new strategies for incorporating Montana history and government into their classrooms in exciting and engaging ways.

• Session Topics Include:
• A primer on Montana’s Constitution
• Stories of the delegates to the 1972 Constitutional Convention including C. Louise Cross
• The role of judges
• The history of MT in the 1960’s & 1970’s
• Montana Constitutional Law
• How Article X led to Indian Education for All
• Understanding the initiative process and the role of the legislature, and more!

Presenters Include: Betsy Griffing, retired adjunct Professor of Montana Constitutional Law and Civil Rights Litigator; Pat Cotter, retired Montana Supreme Court Justice; Constance Van Kley, Assistant Professor with the Alexander Blewett III School of Law; Emily Cross, Billings Attorney and Granddaughter of constitutional convention delegate C. Louise Cross; Brad Faulhaber, Gov’t and Criminal Law Teacher with Sidney Public Schools; and Susan Fox, Retired Legislative Services Director.

Sponsors: This workshop is organized by the Friends of the Montana Constitution with support and funding from the Montana 250 Commission and the Montana Historical Society.

Questions?

Contact: Julia Gustafson, Coordinator, coordinator@montanaconstitution.org or 406-422-2920.

Purchasing Tribal Flag Sets and IEFA Courses

 I've had several teachers reach out to me to ask where they can buy a set of tribal nation flags like we have in our Montana First Peoples: Essential Understandings footlocker. I've found two sources: 

Tribal Nations Maps sell 4x6 inch tabletop flags for $10 each. They come with a base and stand. 

TME Flags also sells sets of the tribal flags and the Montana state flag with a wooden base to hold the complete set. Cost is $109 but if you order 12 or more sets there is a 15% discount. When I wrote them, the link they gave me was for their large flags, but you can simply use the contact form to order.  

 

MTPLC IEFA Courses

MTPLC has 40 Indian Education self-paced, online courses that can be taken for Renewal Units or UM course credits for an extra fee. All of these have fees attached, but they look great for folks looking to dive deep. 

Montana History and Poetry, Part 2

 April is National Poetry Month! Last week I focused on reading poetry. Below are a few lessons that ask students to write poetry as a way of better understanding Montana history. I'll list them in grade level order (elementary first).

Painting to Poetry

An Artist’s Journey: Transform a Painting into Poetry (designed for grades 1–7) asks students to examine several Charlie Russell paintings using their five senses, before choosing one painting to use as an inspiration for a poem. One good adaptation of this for younger grades: Have your students pretend to "step into the painting" by taking a giant step forward before imagining what sounds they hear, what they smell, etc. We designed this activity around Russell's artwork, but you could do this with other artwork or even an evocative photograph.

Biographical Poems

Biographical Poems Celebrating Amazing Montana Women Lesson Plan (designed for grades 4-6) asks students to research a Montana woman and then use the information they gather to create biographical poems. We included a variation of this lesson in Unit 4 of the Montana: A History of Our Home curriculum, in which we ask students to write poems about any notable Montanan. (See Unit 4, Part 4, p. 221 of the Teachers Guide or p. 34 of the online PDF). 

Found Poems

A few years back, retired Helena teacher Jim Schulz suggested having students write found poems as a way to get them to analyze and summarize information. He suggested giving students an analysis question and a relatively short section of their textbook and the assignment to answer the question by writing a poem using only phrases from that section of the textbook. The first part of this post is a sample assignment I created, having students write found poems about allotment using pages of our middle-school textbook Montana: Stories of the Land.

I've also talked to retired librarian Ruth Ferris about asking students to create found poems from historic newspaper articles or other primary sources. The glory of found poetry is that it forces students to read their source text more than once, so make sure the text you provide is worthy of re-reading. 

Dialogue Poems

Poems for Two Voices (designed for grades seven through twelve) asks students to work in pairs to create a poem for two voices, comparing and contrasting the tribal leaders' perspectives. This lesson focuses on analyze Plenty Coups and one by Sitting Bull, but you could use other figures, for example, a member of the radical Industrial Workers of the World and a more conservative member of the Butte Miner's Union. The trick is to make sure the students research and really understand the different perspectives before writing their poems. Here's more information on dialogue poems and some additional examples of how Montana teachers have used them in their classrooms. 

Contests and Professional Development

 

Make a Meme

It's official, the Montana Meme Contest is BACK in 2026!

Choose and caption any photo from the Montana History Portal for your chance to become the top meme like the one included here from 2025.

DEADLINE: Find photos and submit your entry at https://www.mtmemory.org/pages/memecontest by Wednesday, May 13, 2026. There are three age categories: 

• 10 to 18 years old.
• 19-40 years old.
• 41-120 years old.

This year, teachers can submit student entries work as a group!

SELECTION: On Friday, May 15, 2026, the finalists’ entries will be posted to a collection on the Portal site and opened for voting.

VOTING: The voting period will run from Friday, May 15 – Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. (MST).

The winning memes will be the top two entries in each age group with the most “likes” at the time the voting period ends.

 

Why Play? 

This is an easy way to get students used to looking closely at historic photographs and to get them more comfortable on the portal. Also, it's fun.

Montana Madness

Fort Benton National Historic Landmark won the title of Montana's BEST Best Place in our 2026 Montana Madness competition. Did you play? Did your students? Did a different site win your local contest? If so, please let me know!

A teacher friend of mine who teaches AP U.S. history does a March Madness style competition where she has students select people to compete to be named the Greatest of All Time. Her students debate who should be in the Sweet 16 bracket. She creates ballots using Google Forms and opens voting widely, sending out weekly updates with the new voting link, (I vote every year--and this year's winner was Eleanor Roosevelt) but students are required not only to vote but also to discuss the merits of contenders in Google classroom. She uses it as another form of test review. Something to consider for next year! And if you set up a bracket (for US history or Montana history), I want to play!

Looking for excellent PD? 

Two spots just opened up for the 2026-27 National History Day training cohort. Participants attend the all-expenses-paid workshops in April, August and October 2026 in person, and participate in ongoing virtual trainings. By the end of the program, they will have earned a $1,000 stipend and $500 in classroom materials, 39 renewal units, and gained access to excellent FREE professional development:

• Introduction to National History Day (Bozeman, April 24-25, 2026)
• Historical Thinking through Student Driven Research (Great Falls, August 11-12, 2026)
• Argumentation, Reasoning, and Evidence: Constructing a Historical Argument (Billings, October 15-16)

Learn more and find a link to apply here. (It says the deadline to apply was January 9, but two people have had to withdraw, so the application portal has been reopened.)

Montana History and Poetry, Part 1

April is National Poetry Month! Here are some poets that are worth teaching in your Montana history class (and/or Montana history-related content to teach in English class).

Investigating Gwendolyn Haste's Poetry

Bill Moe, who teaches middle schoolers Montana history in Libby, often sends me things he does with his students to enrich his Montana history class and supplement the textbook, Montana: Stories of the Land. These include panning for gold in the creek behind their school (Chapter 6: Montana's Gold and Silver Boom) and searching the brand book for people they know and recording their brands (Chapter 8: Livestock and the Open Range).

Most recently, he sent an assignment he created that relates to Chapter 13: Homesteading This Dry Land, specifically to the section at the end of the chapter, which focuses on the poetry of Gwendolyn Haste. He sends his students to an online book, The Selected Poems of Gwendolyn Haste. He asks students to choose a favorite poem, copy it down, and then share it with the class. For extra credit he has them write their own homesteading poem.

Birthright: Born to Poetry

Especially for high school students, you can't go wrong having students read, or listen to, the poems collected in Birthright: Born to Poetry - A Collection of Montana Indian Poetry. You can find videos of the poets, who include Minerva Allen Sunk Pa (Assiniboine), Heather Cahoon (Pend d'Oreille), Richard Little Bear (Northern Cheyenne), Henry Real Bird (Crow), and many more, reading their poems on OPI's YouTube channel. In addition to the poems, Birthright includes brief biographies of each poet, discussion points, writing prompts, and tips for understanding.

It's the championship!

 

Voting Ends April 5

Two Central Montana powerhouses are squaring off in the Montana Madness championship, each vying to be named Montana’s BEST Best Place: Fort Benton and First Peoples Buffalo Jump.

Fort Benton National Historic Landmark had a relatively easy road through Montana Madness, a tournament created by the Montana Historical Society. Fort Benton dominated the Bearcreek—the site of Montana’s largest coal mining disaster in the Sweet 16—and won handily against Lewis and Clark Caverns in the Elite 8. In the Final Four, it beat the powerhouse Going to the Sun Road by 82 votes.

First Peoples Buffalo Jump started the tournament well, taking out its neighbor, C. M. Russell’s Home and Studio, by almost 300 votes. It dominated Grant Kohrs Ranch in the Elite Eight but barely squeaked out a win over Pictograph Cave in the Final Four. Only nine votes separated the two ancient Indigenous sites.

Now, First Peoples and Fort Benton—both National Historic Landmarks—square off in the championship.

First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park, a communal bison kill site, is one of the oldest and most intact bison jumps in North America. Before acquiring horses in the 1700s, Indigenous peoples living on the northern plains hunted in groups, on foot. They took advantage of the terrain around them—including areas they turned into “buffalo jumps”—to help them harvest the bison on which they depended for survival.

Founded in 1846 as the fur trade transitioned from beaver pelts to buffalo robes, Fort Benton calls itself the Birthplace of Montana. It served as a trading post, military fort, and center for the distribution of Indian annuities. It was also the head of navigation on the Missouri River, where the first steamboat arrived in 1860. Fort Benton remained the region’s unchallenged freighting and transportation hub until transcontinental railroads reached Montana in the early 1880s and ended steamboat travel.

Everyone can participate in choosing the winner of this exciting contest. To cast your ballot, simply visit https://mhs.mt.gov/education/Montana-Madness-2026.

P.S. Did you play Montana Madness (or any variation of March Madness) with your students? How'd it go? Who/what/where's the champion?

Oldies But Goodies

 We are in the process of reviewing all of our PowerPoints and PDFs to make sure they are ADA compliant, which means a couple of things: 

1. You may encounter links we've broken inadvertently (particularly to PowerPoints). If you do come across a broken link, please let me know ASAP and I'll get you the information and get it fixed. We are trying to be vigilant, but I could use your help catching things.
2. As I look over our many offerings, I have rediscovered some old favorites I think are worth sharing, particularly as we come to the end of the year. 

For Montana History Classes

• “What Don’t You See? The Historical Accuracy of Charles M. Russell Paintings” (grades 7–12) asks students to evaluate Russell’s artwork to decide how accurately it depicts Montana history. After examining what they do see, students will look at what elements Russell left out and discuss ways in which Russell’s depictions of the “Old West” have shaped our view of Montana history.

Why I like it: It provides a review of Montana history from the early contact period through the 1910s while asking students to think critically about sources and perspective.

• Women at Work Lesson Plan: Clothesline Timeline. This primary-source based lesson asks students to analyze historic photographs to draw conclusions about women and work from the 1870s through the 2010s. Students will discover that Montana women have always worked, but that discrimination, cultural expectations, and changing technology have influenced the types of work women undertook. (Designed for 4-12)

Why I like it: This lesson is shorter and less in depth than the lesson on Charlie Russell, so it should be easier to fit into your schedule. Like the Charlie Russell lesson, it looks at a wide swath of time (from the 1870s through the 2010s) but does it through the lens of women's opportunities. Also, it's just a load of fun. 

For American History Classes

• Reader's Theater: Letters Home from Montanans at War (Designed for 7th-12th). This three-to-five period unit asks students to work in groups to read and interpret letters written by soldiers at war, from the Civil War to the Operation Iraqi Freedom. After engaging in close reading and conducting research to interpret the letters, they will perform the letters as reader’s theater.

Why I like it: I like this for an end of year project because it surveys a large period of time, but it looks at it from the angle of the ordinary people who were caught up in world events. It emphasizes the fact that every one of us is shaping history every day.

For Government Classes

• Resources for Teaching about the Montana Constitution. For the fiftieth anniversary of Montana’s 1972 constitution, we put together a list of resources for teaching about this foundational document. These include videos, lesson plans, readings, and a link to the document itself.

Why I like it: Every Montana student should understand our state constitution. Through the link above you can access everything from a multi-day lesson to a 23-minute video. Re that multi-day lesson, The Montana 1972 Constitutional Convention: Even if you don't have time to do the entire thing, you should have your students do Part 2: Analyzing the Preambles, a 50-100 minute exercise comparing the preambles of the 1889 and 1972 constitutions. 

• Montana Women's Legal History Lesson Plan. (Designed for grades 11-12). In this 1-2 period activity, students will examine sample Montana legislation from 1871 to 1991 that particularly affected women's lives to explore the impact laws have on the lives of ordinary people and why laws change.

Why I like it: This is lesson requires students to contextualize legislation while exploring how laws impact the lives of ordinary people. I'd like every graduating senior to understand that government affects their lives and that they can influence government.

• Women and Sports: Tracking Change Over Time (Designed for grades 4-8) In this lesson, students learn about how Title IX (a federal civil rights law enacted in 1972 that prohibits sex discrimination in education) changed girls’ opportunities to participate in school sports by collecting and analyzing the data to look at change in women’s sports participation over time.

Why I like it: It drives home the fact that legislation affects every one of us. Yes--we designed this for grades 4-8 but it would be easily adaptable to high school.

Stand-alone Projects (for ELA or Social Studies)

• Ordinary People Do Extraordinary Things! Connecting Biography to Larger Social Themes Lesson Plan (Designed for grades 8-12) This lesson uses essays published on the Montana Women’s History website to help students explore how ordinary people’s lives intersect with larger historical events and trends and to investigate how people’s choices impact their communities. After analyzing two profiles of American Indian women, students are asked to conduct interviews with people in their own community to learn about how that person has chosen to shape the world around him or her.

Why I like it: This lesson focuses on agency, and conveys the idea that, no matter the larger circumstances, we all have agency. Don't have time for an interview project? Simply stop after Part 1.

P.S. We are holding our last Third Tuesday PD on April 21 at 4:30 p.m. It is on teaching with cemeteries, which is another great end of year project. If you are interested in exploring how to harness your local cemetery to engage your students in community study, you can use this link to register for this session.

 

 

Nominate a Rock Star Montana History Teacher

 Do you know a middle or high school (grades 7-12) teacher who does an exemplary job teaching Montana history?

Please nominate them for the 37th Montana Statehood Centennial Bell Award by completing this very simple form, which will take less than two minutes to complete. Nominations are due April 13.

Nominated teachers will be asked to submit two one-page letters of support, one from their principal, superintendent, fellow teacher or librarian and one from a student. They will also be asked to submit one to two pages detailing why they enjoy teaching Montana, how they engage their students in learning, how their Montana history course recognizes cultural diversity and anything else they’d like to share about their class or methods.

Nominees will receive instructions on how to submit this material. Deadline for submissions is May 10, 2026.

The winner will receive the 37th Montana Statehood Centennial Bell Award, which honors the Montana History Teacher of the Year. They and their class will be honored at a ceremony in the State Capitol on Friday, November 9, 2026. The Teacher of the Year will also receive a cash prize of more than $3,000 to put toward classroom materials, field trips, speakers, and anything else that will enhance learning in their classroom.

This program, initially created by Montana television newscaster Norma Ashby, is sponsored by the Montana Historical Society with financial support from the Montana Television Network, the Sons & Daughters of Montana Pioneers, the Virginia City Preservation Alliance, and the 1889 Coffee House.