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.

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

 

 

Good Reads and Gallery of Outstanding Montanans

 

Interesting Articles from the Montana Free Press

Do you subscribe to the Montana Free Press? I've recommended it before and I'm recommending it again. Here are a few of the fascinating articles they've published recently. 

• How the Fort Peck Tribes build a bison blueprint
• Northern Cheyenne Tribe reclaims cultural belongings from UM
• Where does eastern Montana start? Montanans disagree
• Montana ranks 7th for US Olympians per capita
• BLM nominee talks land sales, local management in senate confirmation hearing
• Majority of Montanans say there’s about the right amount of federal land in new poll
• EPA finalizes repeal of emissions rule that could have forced Colstrip’s closure

Interesting Reads from Beyond Our Borders

My brother lives in Seattle and often sends me articles that relate to Montana. Most recently it was this article in the Seattle Times: "Calling It Quits In Coal Country: New Rules Force a Town with Washington Ties to Go Its Own Way."

Nominate Someone for the Gallery of Outstanding Montanans

The Gallery of Outstanding Montanans was established by the State Legislature in 1979 to pay homage to citizens of the Treasure State who made contributions of state or national significance to their selected fields of endeavor while epitomizing the unique spirit and character that defines Montana. Inductees into Montana’s hall of fame are rotated into the gallery on a biennial basis; each is honored for an eight-year period. This program is managed by the Montana Historical Society. 

Every ten years, the Montana Historical Society puts out a statewide call for nominees--and this is the year! Consider having your class nominate a local hero. Learn about current and former inductees and find a link to submit a nomination. Nominations are due by 11:59 p.m., Sunday, May 3, 2026.

Seal of Civic Literacy

  With the help of the Montana 250th Commission, the Montana Office of Public Instruction has created a Seal of Civics Literacy to recognize students who demonstrate strong knowledge of civics and active engagement in their communities, reflecting Montana’s commitment to meaningful civics education. Applications to receive the Seal of Civics Literacy are due to OPI by May 1, 2026. 

To earn 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.

Students will need to register for the program (or a teacher can register an entire class), after which links will be sent to take the tests.

Information on how to register, program requirements, and a link to submit application material can all be found on OPI's Seal of Civic Literacy website.

Study Guides

Passing the US Naturalization Test and the Montana Challenge will require study.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute has a lot of study material available for the US Naturalization Test. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services--who administers the test to immigrants wishing to become citizens--also has study materials, but they are less easy to use. 

A study guide for the Montana Challenge can be found here, and Eureka teacher Jennifer Hall created two Kahoots to help students prepare for the test: Montana Challenge Part 1 and Montana Challenge Part 2.

On Another Note Entirely....

There's still space available in the "Evaluating Student Argumentation in Historical Research Educators Workshop." Not only is the workshop free, but travel stipends will be awarded! The two-day workshop is intended for grades 6-12 social studies educators in North Dakota and Montana. Educators will learn about strategies for primary source analysis and historical interpretation in student-led research and how to evaluate these works. 

These workshops are a collaboration between Montana Historical Society and the State Historical Society of North Dakota. These workshops are sponsored in part by the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Great Plains Region, coordinated by the National Council for History Education.

Date: March 16 and 17, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Location: Dickinson State University

Montana educators will receive 16 Office of Public Instruction renewal units.

Applications are due by March 1. Apply.

 

Take the Montana Challenge

In honor of the semiquincentennial (250th anniversary of the founding of the United States), Sons and Daughters of Montana Pioneers approached the Montana 250th Commission with the idea of creating a test, modeled on the US citizenship test, focusing on students' knowledge of Montana history, geography, and government. Thus, the Montana Challenge was born.

Any student grades 6-12 can take the Montana Challenge. They do not need to be working towards a Seal of Civic Literacy (more on that below.) Those who pass with 80% or higher will receive a certificate and will be entered into a drawing for a $25 Visa gift card. Thanks to the Sons and Daughters' generosity, we have THREE HUNDRED of these gift cards to distribute to students. Prizes will be awarded in May 2026 and December 2026. 

A study guide for the Montana Challenge can be found here, and Eureka teacher Jennifer Hall created two Kahoots to help students prepare for the test: Montana Challenge Part 1 and Montana Challenge Part 2.

The Montana Office of Public Instruction created the twenty-question test, which draws from a bank of a hundred questions. OPI did this so they could include the test in their Seal of Civic Literacy program. 

Here is the link to register for the Montana Challenge. A teacher can register their entire class or a student can register themself. Because OPI created this form as just one part of their Seal of Civic Literacy program, registration instructions may be confusing. Don't despair! Just scroll to the bottom of the page and click the big red Begin Form button.   

I hope you'll check out the Montana Challenge study guide and Kahoots to get a sense of the quiz and then register your students to take the test. Thanks to the Sons and Daughters of Montana Pioneers, the Montana 250th Commission, and OPI for making this project possible, and to Jennifer for creating the Kahoots!

Best of, High School Edition

 In earlier posts, I sent information about your colleagues' favorite elementary and middle school lessons. Here are your high school colleagues' answers (with notes from me in brackets) to the same prompt:

• "Describe the best Montana history or IEFA lesson or project or resource you taught this year--the one you will make time for next year no matter what" and
• "Describe a great teaching strategy that you'll be incorporating into next year's classes."

Mary Zuchowski from Frazer recommends material from the Digital Inquiry Group. [I concur! They have great lessons that engage students in historical inquiry and others that teach students how to evaluate online information. They have posters you can download for your classroom on sourcing, corroboration, and contextualization and an area of their site devoted to assessments that gauge students' ability to interpret historical evidence. And it’s free if you register.]

Sage Schuett from Yellowstone County wrote: "I liked using this OPI lesson [Comparing Use of Land by Different Groups] when introducing how different peoples settled in different regions in world history this year." She also said that she opens each class with a "daily question, sometimes a riddle, most times a recollection question from a lesson in the unit to help with recall and understanding big ideas. Students answer on the same paper for 2 weeks then turn it in. It is extra credit that makes it easy for them to get some small points across the semester that add up. And students that don’t write down the questions and answers are still part of the discussion when students share their answers!"

Vicky Nytes from Superior taught parts of the Montana Women's Legal History Lesson Plan: "I adapted the lesson and mainly focused on creating a timeline. While we didn't spend as much time on this as intended it led to great conversations and my students were quite surprised about some of the answers. It was a great review for my Dual Enrollment 11th graders."

She also recommends Silent Conversations for less talkative classes. "Students create a question or talking point on a piece of paper based on an assigned source. They pass them around the room. Students have to respond to the question/comment in front of them and add their own. This continues for a certain length of time or until everyone has responded to all comments. It allows students who don't typically like to share an opportunity to share their thoughts on the assigned materials."

Michelle Meyer from Victor provided a link to a lesson that she created as part of an "Educating for American Democracy" seminar: "Hellgate Treaty of 1855: Introduction to the Removal of the Salish from the Bitterroot Valley."

Lea Whitford, an Instructional Coach in Browning, wrote: "I enjoyed sharing the Women's History Month resources provided. It inspired me to create a similar resource specific to our area and Tribe. As I shared this out it was interesting to see how the classroom teachers added to and adjusted it even more for their classrooms." [I'm pretty sure she shared Resilience: Stories of Montana Indian Women. This booklet collects essays originally written for the Montana Women's History website. It is a useful companion to the lesson Ordinary People Do Extraordinary Things. You can find all MTHS women's history lessons here.] 

Anonymous answers included: 

The PBS documentary on the late Malia Kipp [Native Ball: The Legacy of a Trailblazer] has teacher resources that helped open up discussion about contemporary indigenous issues. Will definitely show the doc again!

I highly recommend making the time for the Native Filmmaker Initiative Film Club offered by Big Sky Documentary. This is a powerful engaging resource for all students at all grade levels.

In-depth, ongoing PD for teachers grades 6-12

Want to engage your class with student-driven research projects using primary sources? Want to promote more historical thinking and critical analysis? Want to engage your students in standards-based learning?  

National History Day in Montana and the Montana 250 Commission are looking for 15 Montana teachers to join an exciting professional development cohort that will begin in April 2026 and continue through April 2027. 

Participants will attend all-expenses paid workshops in April, August and October 2026, 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  

• Learn the ins and outs of NHD and serve as a judge at the Montana state NHD contest.
• Participants will be reimbursed for mileage and hotel. Instructions for booking will be provided. 
• Substitute reimbursement will be provided. 
• Earn 12 renewal units.

Historical Thinking through Student-Driven Research

August 11-12, 2026, Great Falls

• Learn how to introduce your students to historical thinking, research and argumentation.
• Participants will be reimbursed for mileage and hotel.
• Earn 12 renewal units

Ongoing Virtual Support and Trainings

• Attend optional monthly (virtual) mentorship check-ins to provide updates on progress and receive support during the 2026/2027 academic year.
• Attend at least three webinars from NHD’s Revolutionary Ideals webinar series. Webinars can be joined live or watched via video.
• Earn 3 renewal units

Argumentation, Reasoning, and Evidence: Constructing a Historical Argument

October 15-16, 2026, Billings

Now that teachers have launched the National History Day research projects with their students, this workshop dives deeper into  historical argumentation, developing thesis statements, and organizing historical arguments. Teachers will also discuss the importance of revision and model best practices for effective feedback.

• Participants will be reimbursed for mileage and hotel.
• Earn 12 renewal units.

Participant Expectations

• Complete all post-program surveys to provide feedback to the program.
• Engage students in the National History Day process during the 2026/2027 academic year. Teachers may engage students through an academic course, an extracurricular activity, or an academic advisory. Students will complete projects and attend an entry-level regional contest in spring 2027.
• Respond to inquiries in a timely manner and communicate any challenges to the program staff.
• Allow the use of their name and image (photographed or videotaped) in materials (printed brochures, social media, short-form videos) and press releases shared by NHD, its affiliate programs, and/or the Montana 250 Commission.

Participant Benefits

• A stipend of $1,000. This will be payable in two installments. The first half ($500.00) will be paid after the workshop in August 2026, and the second half ($500.00) will be paid after the teacher brings students to compete in an NHD contest in spring 2027 and completes the final feedback survey. 
• A classroom supply budget of $500.00 (teachers will select the items they wish to purchase for their classroom). The request process will be coordinated in fall 2026.
• Mentorship in the form of assistance from team members from the NHD National Office and the NHD in Montana program to answer questions, review materials, and provide advice.
• Thirty-nine renewal units.

Questions? Please contact Melissa Hibbard at melissa.hibbard@mt.gov or 406-444-4741.

Apply here by January 9. 

2025-2026 NHD MT Teacher Fellow Program

Thanks to a grant from the Library of Congress, National History Day in Montana is recruiting Montana teachers of grades 6-12 to join a cohort that will receive training in historical research and argumentation, primary source analysis, National History Day, Library of Congress resources, and Indian Education for All.

Participants will earn a $500 stipend, receive 3 credits and 39-56 renewal units, and access to all-expenses paid high-quality PD. 

Apply here by November 7, 2025.

Requirements for Participants

Complete Bi-Monthly PD Series (10 renewal units)

• 1 hour each.
• Attend live or watch recording (2 weeks to watch the recording)
• Successful applicants will receive recordings for sessions that have already happened.

Complete choice of online or in-person IEFA courses provided by Center of the West in Cody, WY (7-21 renewal units)

Attend History Day Regional OR State Contest as a judge OR with students (0-6 renewal units)

• See contest dates & locations

Complete Judge Training & Practice Judging (6-12 renewal units)

• In person at Regionals or State OR
• Later online if you have students competing at contests

Complete 12-week summer course in Historical Argumentation taught by Melissa Hibbard. 

• Worth 3 credits (graduate or lane-change credits, to be determined). 
• 4 live webinars (you have a week to watch the recording)
• 4 modules, all work completed asynchronously. 
• See 2025 Syllabus

Attend Summer Institute in Great Falls

• Led by Lynne O’Hara from NHD National Office
• August 4-5, 2026 (16 renewal units)

Submit 1 teaching resource for the NHD Teacher Portal

Benefits

• $500 stipend
• Enrollment fees & travel costs covered for all required PD
• 3 credits
• 39-50 renewal units
• Access to NHD Teacher Resource Portal
• Ongoing mentorship from NHD coordinators & fellow NHD teachers
• Chance to apply for scholarship to attend National Contest in June 2026

Questions? Contact Melissa Hibbard at nationalhistorydaymt@gmail.com. 

More on Freedom Week

My post Freedom Week and Other Commemorations generated a lot of responses, which I love! Please keep sharing your good ideas and/or resources you like. 

Freedom to Read

School librarian Andrea Feige said that during Freedom Week she was "going to do a 'Freedom to Read' lesson that covers censorship and book bans around the country and in Montana. It usually leads to some pretty fantastic discussions with my 8th graders."  

Everyday Native

In celebration of American Indian Heritage Day in September, Indigenous Peoples Day in October, and Native American Heritage month in November, Everyday Native offers a free online resource for grades 4-12 that brings modern Native perspectives to Native American history. Based on primary sources, the resource is designed to enhance existing curriculum across many subjects, emphasizing the everyday life of Native Americans as opposed to popular stereotypes created by movies, TV, books, and news media.

The resource contains award-winning short films featuring Native youth's stories, photographs by noted photographer Sue Reynolds, poems by acclaimed Native American poet Victor Charlo, discussion questions, ideas for classroom discussion and integration, and much more. Everyday Native's new Integration Ideas content, authored by Great Falls Public School District’s award-winning Indigenous teacher Jordann Lankford, makes it even easier for educators to incorporate these IEFA learning activities into their classrooms. To access Everyday Native's free resources for your classroom, create your free account here.

National Constitution Center Resources

The National Constitution Center has launched two new resources, the Interactive Declaration of Independence and the America at 250 Civic Toolkit. These free digital resources anchor the Center’s nationwide strategy to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026 and inspire renewed curiosity about the founding principles that continue to shape American democracy. 

Friends of the Montana Constitution

Committed to "promoting and enhancing the public’s understanding and appreciation of the 1972 Montana Constitution; advancing civics education at all levels about the 1972 Montana Constitution; and recognizing and celebrating the 1972 Constitutional Convention and its delegates," this organization has a rich website of resources, including a chart comparing the US and Montana Constitutions. This looks to me as if it could be the basis of a great government lesson (with kids completing the chart). If you create such a lesson, I'd love to see it! 

  

Freedom Week and Other Commemorations

HB 591 added some new requirements for Montana schools, including recognizing “Freedom Week” and requiring “commemorative exercises” to be conducted during Freedom Week and on other days designated by the legislature or governor as legal holidays.

The goal of this legislation is to

• Inform “students about … the values that underpin the nation,”
• Promote “an in-depth understanding of founding documents, including the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the Montana Constitution and their historical context and significance,”
• Make sure students “have a clear understanding of the relationship between ideas in the Declaration of Independence and key events in American history, including immigration, the American Revolution, the formulation of the Constitution, the abolitionist movement, and the women's suffrage movement,
• “Educate students about the sacrifices made for freedom in the founding of the United States and the values on which the United States was founded,” and
• “Instill a sense of patriotism and civic responsibility among students.”

I’ve had some emails from teachers asking for suggestions of resources they can use. I’ll send out information down the road on holidays that fall in October and beyond, but for now, I thought I’d focus on Citizenship Day (September 17), Freedom Week (the last full week of September), and American Indian Heritage Day (fourth Friday in September).

Citizenship Day

If you haven’t already figured out something to do for Citizenship Day, consider having students see if they could pass the citizenship test.

• The National Museum of American History has an online citizenship test students can take.
• Gilder Lehrmann Institute has three versions of the test (one for elementary, one for middle school, and one for high school). The upside of using the Gilder Lehrmann tests are that students can print out their results. The downside is that when I took the test, it said that I had the wrong answer when I selected "Assiniboine" in answer to a multiple choice question asking us the name of one Indian tribe in the U.S. I've written them asking that they correct their test! 
• Here’s a good study guide and here’s the official study guide. 

Freedom Week

This seems to be a catch-all, which makes it exciting as there are lots of cool things you can do.

Recognizing Veterans

When I think about instilling a sense of patriotism and educating students about the sacrifices made for freedom, my mind turns first to veterans. (Of course, these lessons can be used for Veterans Day as well).

• Reader's Theater: Letters Home from Montanans at War (grades 7-12)
• American Indians in the Military - A Warrior Spirit (grades 7-12)
  • Warrior Spirit - article by Ellen Baumler
  • Resources for Teaching About American Indians in the Military
• Native Words, Native Warriors (about code talkers, grades 6-12)

Instilling a Sense of Civic Responsibility

• My colleague Melissa Hibbard put together this Padlet on resources to teach civics (grades 3-12)
• I believe one of the best ways to instill a sense of civic responsibility is to encourage students to take informed action (which is one of the skills listed in our social studies standards). Here’s a post I wrote back in 2021 with ideas.
• Ordinary People Do Extraordinary Things! Connecting Biography to Larger Social Themes is a high school lesson that looks at the ways people have chosen to improve their communities, which hopefully will inspire an increased sense of civic responsibility.

Learning More about the Montana Constitution

To better teach about the Montana State Constitution, explore these resources, which include lesson plans for grades 4-6, grades 7-8, and high school. 

Learning about the Declaration of Independence and Constitution

• The Library of Congress has this lesson called “Created Equal?” that focuses on a few key concepts of the Declaration of Independence, beginning with the phrase "All men are created equal."
• The Digital Inquiry Group’s lesson on the Declaration of Independence asks students to critically examine the text and question the motives of its authors to answer the question “Why did the founders write the Declaration of Independence? It's lesson on the Constitution is called Slavery in the Constitution. You have to register to use DIG lessons, but it's free.
• The National Archives has these resources for teaching about the Constitution. 
• Did you know that one of the grievances listed in the Declaration of Independence is that King George wasn’t doing enough to protect the colonists from “merciless Indian Savages”? OPI created this lesson to ask how and why this biased language became part of one of the US’s founding documents.  

The Women’s Suffrage Movement

For a Montana connection to the women's suffrage movement, check out Hazel Hunkins, Billings Suffragist: A Primary Source Investigation. (grades 9-12) 

Montana passed women's suffrage for non-Indigenous women in 1914 (6 years before the national amendment)! You can read a short piece on Montana women's suffrage and see a map that show how your county voted here.  

The Revolutionary War and the Abolitionist Movements

I’m less up on national resources and national history, but:

• The Digital Inquiry Group has several lessons relating to the Revolutionary War (grades 8-12)
• PBS has this lesson about the Abolitionist Movement (grades 6-12)
• Melissa’s Padlet also has links to lessons on the Revolutionary War.(grades 3-12)

American Indian Heritage Day

• In celebration of American Indian Heritage Day 2025 the Montana Office is Public Instruction is putting out a call for Montana students to share their perspective regarding Indian Education for All. Students will answer the question: What does Indian Education for All mean to you? Student responses can be in the form of an art project, poster presentation, poetry, music and
  video. Be creative and have fun – this is a celebration! Projects must be submitted by September 26 along with parental permission forms to share them. Find more information here.
• OPI is also featuring a special event September 25th from 4:00 p.m.– 5:00 p.m., an American Indian Heritage Day Webinar featuring Kasey Nicholson.  Kasey is a member of the A’aa’niii’nin (White Clay Nation – Fort Belknap) He is a Wellness Educator, Motivational Speaker, Powwow Emcee and Comedian.  This webinar is open to all so bring your sense of humor and see Essential Understanding 3 in action. Zoom link 
• Of course, OPI also has great lessons for all grades and subject matters.
• I also really like the lessons in our footlocker Montana’s First Peoples: Essential Understandings, most of which can be taught without ordering the trunk.

Other Ideas?

I'm interested to hear what resources, projects, programs, or lessons you and your school are using. Email me and I'll collate your responses and send them out. 

Bring Your Students to the Montana Heritage Center

 As I'm guessing you know, we've been involved in a massive construction project, which includes additional exhibit spaces, two classrooms, and all new exhibits. It's been exhilarating and exhausting, nerve-wracking and exciting, and we're almost across the finish line! The soft opening for the Montana Heritage Center is December 2 and we'll begin offering school tours of our new exhibits on January 2. 

Because we want all students to benefit from the new museum, and to be able to tour our state capitol, we have been raising money to support the cost of travel to and from Helena (stopping at points in between if you are very far away.) We are pleased to launch that program this year. 

Through a generous grant from Montana Blue Cross Blue Shield, the Montana Historical Society will be offering financial support to offset travel costs to Helena for public, private, and homeschool collective schools from across the state. Funding is awarded to schools who will travel more than fifty miles (one way) to Helena and is based on a formula that includes:

• distance to Helena
• number of students
• type of transportation

While MTHS History and Civics Grant may not cover the entire cost of your Field trip, this funding is designed to make this experience accessible to ALL schools. Applications are due by October 13. 

Apply here: MTHS School Tour Request and Grant Form

Questions? Email Darby.Bramble2@mt.gov

Reading Like a Historian Paid Summer PD Opportunity

 Long time readers have heard me talk up Reading Like a Historian lesson plans for quite some time now. These lessons provide students opportunities to explore historical questions by examining documents and developing arguments supported by evidence. Teachers who use it report that the lessons are easy to implement and that when they do, deep learning happens. 

If you are a high school teacher who have not used this material, but are curious about it, do I have an opportunity for you.

The Digital Inquiry Group (DIG), formerly the Stanford History Education Group (SHEG), is working with the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to conduct an independent study of new Reading Like a Historian materials that incorporate research-backed digital literacy strategies from the Civic Online Reasoning curriculum. (I love Civic Online Reasoning too!)

This opportunity is being offered to high school U.S. history teachers who have not previously participated in a DIG or SHEG professional development and have not systematically implemented Reading Like a Historian or Civic Online Reasoning in their U.S. history classes.

Participating teachers will receive $1,000 and 20 hours of professional development, provided at no cost, and will implement the new curricular materials in their classrooms.  

To learn more about the opportunity, please review this flyer. You can also watch a pre-recorded informational session that provides an overview of the program and study (slides).

To apply to participate, please complete AIR’s Teacher Consent Form. 

Once you submit the consent form, AIR will be in touch with you with next steps for participation. 

Limited spots are available, and admissions are rolling, so apply as soon as possible, and no later than May 23, 2025.

P.S. Looking for something less time-consuming? Check out MTHS's free summer PDs.

P.P.S. If you are changing schools next year, and want to continue receiving Teaching Montana History, make sure to provide your new (or home) email! 

 

Discussion Guides for MMWH Articles

 Thanks to the work of Teacher Leaders in History Dylan Huisken and Kim Konen, we've been able to add discussion guides for select articles from Montana The Magazine of Western History Discussion Guides. 

Kim and Dylan will each periodically choose one article from the magazine to spotlight. Each discussion guide includes a summary of the article, learning activities, discussion questions, and links to relevant resources. We'll post their guides along with a PDF of the article for free download.  

Here are their first two articles pulled from the Winter 2024 issue: 

“A Hotel and Its Novelist: Thomas Savage and Dillon’s Andrus Hotel”

• Article by Author O. Alan Weltzien
• Discussion guide by Kim Konen

“When Did People Arrive in Montana? An Excerpt from Land of Beginnings: The Archaeology of Montana’s First Peoples”

• Article by Douglass H. MacDonald
• Discussion guide by Dylan Huisken

Also available for your reading pleasure (and your students' research quests) are articles we've digitized from the magazine in years past--some with discussion questions but others as part of special projects, including women's history articles provided as part of

the commemoration of the hundredth anniversary of non-Indigenous women's suffrage; 

the commemoration of World War I; and

a free digital magazine focused on African American experiences in the West.  

Happy reading!

P.S. We have three in-person workshops this summer, two for K-5 teachers in Helena and Missoula on literacy integration and one for 4-12 teachers on Historical Thinking through Student-Driven Research in Billings. All offer travel scholarships. Learn more and find links to apply.  

Free Audio Recordings of Every Chapter of Montana: Stories of the Land

Since we first published Montana: Stories of the Land, we've relied on Learning Ally, an organization that provides services for students struggling with reading, to provide the audio book. These professionally created recordings are GREAT, but we know that not every school can afford to access them. 

That's why we've created our own, less professional recording of Montana: Stories of the Land. We've posted these free recordings on the MTHS YouTube channel and have included links on each chapter page under the heading "Listen to the chapter." 

We hope this improves your students' learning!

Evaluating Literature about American Indians

I had a question recently about evaluating books written by non-Indians about Indians, so I invited our friend Mike Jetty, Indian Education Specialist at OPI, to write a guest post. For some great information--and a signature Mike Jetty joke--read on!

Guest Post from Mike Jetty

Hau Mitakuyapi – hello my relatives. I am pleased to share some IEFA resources with you today regarding American Indian literature.  First, as you continue to integrate IEFA content into your curriculum I want to encourage you to share literature written by American Indian authors. Looking for a good place to start? OPI has classroom sets of books you can borrow!

Sometimes you will want to use a book about Indians that was written by a non-Indian. When you do that, there are some important factors to consider, and we have developed some good tips for evaluating materials for authenticity. (See below).

Our stories play a decisive role in defining our identities; they shape how we view ourselves, the world around us, and our place within it. Just as tribal oral traditions have shaped the identities, views, and values of tribal people, written histories have shaped the identities, views, and values of Americans and historically most of these print resources did not include Indigenous perspectives.

In thinking about perspective, it reminds me of this story…. And so it was many years ago there was a gentleman from France attending the North American Indian Days Powwow and he had a parrot on his shoulder. The parrot drew many curious looks and so the Arena Director came up to the man and asked, “Hey, where did you get that?”  And the parrot answered, “Over in France – they have millions of these guys over there.”  So, there is something to get you started thinking about perspectives 😊.

Teachers, librarians, and curriculum coordinators should analyze and evaluate potential instructional materials to ensure that American Indian topics are treated fairly, objectively, and accurately. Debbie Reece's website American Indians in Children's Literature is a good source for information, including about books that she doesn't recommend, like Sign of the Beaver and other classics. (You can use the search bar on her blog to search individual titles.)

And so now I present the following recommendations from our Evaluating American Indian Materials and Resources for the Classroom publication.

General Questions

• Which tribe or tribes are identified in this resource?
• If the creator of this resource is not a tribal member, were tribal members, cultural committees, or knowledgeable experts consulted about the American Indian content in this resource? (This information is often in the acknowledgements, front matter, or back matter.)
• Has this resource been reviewed by a tribal cultural committee, tribal historian, or other well-qualified reviewer? (If it has, the publishers will likely have boasted about this somewhere in the book.)
• Is there anything about this resource that leads you to question the validity, accuracy, or authenticity of the information it presents about American Indians?

Helpful Tips for Evaluation of Authors and Illustrators

1. Connection: Does the author or illustrator have a genuine and solid connection to the culture or tribal nation featured in the book, illustration, or film? If not, did a tribal member, historian, or cultural committee provide consultation or review the product for accurate and respectful representation of that specific tribe? Look for reviews by American Indian media reviewers and by members of the tribe the resource claims to be about. Be wary of authors or illustrators whose connections are dubious or insubstantial.
2. Acknowledgement: Does the author or illustrator acknowledge the indigenous source of the story or images? Is the author or illustrator seeking to make a profit off someone else’s tradition and culture?
3. Insider viewpoint: Does the author or illustrator of the product have a genuine understanding of the story or image, and can she/he present it from a cultural insider’s point-of-view? Avoid materials by authors or illustrators who present American Indian characters or themes from a non-Indian perspective while claiming to represent an American Indian perspective, those who claim a generic “American Indian” identity, and those who seek to validate their “expertise” by claiming a remote indigenous ancestor.
4. Non-indigenous variations on traditional stories: Some non-Native authors or illustrators superimpose non-indigenous themes, values, and behaviors on indigenous characters, sometimes altering an indigenous tradition to make it appeal to non-Indian audiences. Close scrutiny of the author or illustrator might reveal a likelihood of this bias, as might checking with a reputable reviewer.
5. Judgment: Superimposing an outsider’s judgment over another culture’s subject matter can be as subtle as calling an indigenous oral history a “myth.” Look for value-based language, stereotyping, and overt or implicit shaming, as well as the author’s tone.
6. Imitation: In the early twentieth century, American and European composers, fashion designers, and choreographers created musical scores, textiles, dresses, and dances that mimicked indigenous artistic elements, mixing and matching attributes from many different tribes. Often, these imitations more closely resembled the non-Indians’ perceptions of indigenous material, leading to generic “Indian” themes.

Additional Recommended Resources

• ELA Lesson Plans and Resources
• Essential Understandings Regarding Montana Indians
• Essential Understandings Key Concepts
• Native American Literature in Your Classroom – resource from Native Knowledge 360 -NMAI
• Strategic Skill: Evaluating Information Quality Using Electronic Sources - Grade 4
• Quality of Information: Point of View and Bias 6-8

Please reach out to any of the IEFA staff if you have any questions and we will do our best to provide you with assistance to help with your implementation of IEFA in your classrooms and schools. Pidamaya – Thanks for all you do on behalf of our Montana students!