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.

 

Historical Picture Prompt Short Story Contest and Resources Available through the Montana History Portal

 Our friends at the Montana History Portal have some great activities and new resources available. 

Historical Picture Prompt Short Story Contest is in full swing

Get your story writing skills ready! The Montana History Portal is hosting the 6th Annual Historical Picture Prompt contest. Using any photo in the Portal collection as a story prompt participants will write a fictional short story (650 words or less) and enter through our submission form. Winners will be chosen from grades 3-6, grades 7-12, and adult. Entries will be accepted starting January 5, 2026, and the deadline to enter is February 27, 2026. 

For more information, photos, and submitting your entries, go to the Montana History Portal Contest page.

Montana The Magazine of Western History

Take a moment to step back into history! Access issues of Montana the Magazine of Western History through our JSTOR access. The collection includes issues from 1951-2022. 

Published by the Montana Historical Society since 1951, Montana The Magazine of Western History contains articles that showcase the people, places, and events that shaped the state and the western region.

Access the collection here.

Note that we at MTHS have discussion guides (some created by Teacher Leaders in History Dylan Huisken and Kim Konen) for a small number of Montana The Magazine of Western History articles. You can find those here.

Montana Field Guides

Montana Field Guides provide information on the identification, distribution, status, and ecology of Montana's animals, plants, lichens, and biological communities. Guides can be downloaded to be taken into the field!

Early Contact Period Map Sets Now Available

 One of my favorite lessons in the Montana: A History of Our Home curriculum is "Introduction to the Early Contact Period," Part 2 of Unit 2, "Montana's First People" (find it beginning on page 8 of this document.) I love this lesson so much that we also feature it in the Montana's First Peoples hands-on history footlocker under the title "Who Lived in Montana in 1804?".

The lesson begins with a narrated slide show, “Introduction to the Early Contact Period,” which provides background information about some of the resources used by Plateau and Plains tribes and seasonal rounds. 

The seasonal round describes how bands in the area that is now known as Montana moved from place to place to gather natural resources. Each band followed its own seasonal round—moving according to the natural resources available in different areas during different times of the year. Seasonal movements were not random. They were based on an expert knowledge of climate, animal behavior, and plant growth. Since tribes relied on the same resources (plants, animals, and specific types of stones) year after year, their patterns of travel were similar year to year.

After learning this basic information, students are divided into 9 groups. Each group is assigned a tribe, given some information about that tribe and a transparency, which shows that tribe’s homeland and traditional use areas. Students circulate around the classroom, sharing their information with one another and comparing their maps. The lesson ends with a classroom discussion.

The lesson requires teachers to print the maps out on transparency paper, which I've been told is difficult for some educators. To remove this barrier, we have created Early Contact Period Tribal Homelands Map Sets. These can be purchased for $20 through the Montana Historical Museum Store by emailing TheGiftShop@mt.gov or by calling 406-444-2890.  

P.S. Don't forget to register for our upcoming PD, Simulation and Role Plays, which will be held February 17 from 4:30-5:30 p.m.

Nominate someone for a Heritage Keeper Award

The Montana Historical Society (MTHS) is now accepting nominations for its annual Heritage Keeper Awards, recognizing individuals and organizations whose extraordinary efforts preserve and promote Montana's rich historical and cultural heritage.

The Society's Board of Trustees will select up to two recipients for the Heritage Keeper Award. In exceptional cases, an outstanding nominee may instead receive the Heritage Guardian Award—the Society's highest honor, bestowed only when merit warrants special recognition.

Nominees must meet the following qualifications:

For Individuals:

• Be currently living
• Have demonstrated exceptional commitment to a significant Montana history project
• Have identified or preserved objects, sites, or properties of significance to Montana's historical and cultural heritage

For Organizations:

• Be currently active
• Maintain a proven record of preserving and promoting Montana's historical and cultural legacy

All nominees—whether individuals or organizations—must demonstrate dedication to Montana's heritage that extends beyond standard professional responsibilities or organizational mandates. The Board will evaluate nominations based on the significance and impact of the work in enhancing public interest and understanding of Montana's history and culture.

The Heritage Keeper Awards honor contributions across diverse areas, including:

• Historic building and landscape preservation
• Sustained historical and cultural research and publication
• Fine art history and preservation
• Educational initiatives that inspire future generations to value Montana's historical and cultural legacy for all communities

The nomination deadline is April 1, 2026. Nomination forms and detailed guidelines are available at mths.mt.gov/about/HeritageKeeperAwards. Previous nominees who have not received the award are welcome to be renominated in subsequent years.

Award recipients will be honored at individual ceremonies in summer 2026, with details to be announced. The Montana Historical Society will collaborate with nominators to ensure meaningful recognition of honorees.

For questions or additional information, please contact Jenni Carr at jenni.carr@mt.gov.

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!

Under-told Stories and Simulations and Role Plays

Under-Told Stories

Our January Third Tuesday Professional Development session focused on resources to incorporate under-told stories into your classroom, particularly the histories of African Americans, women, and Chinese immigrants.

We captured the links mentioned in this Google Doc, but here are a few highlights.

African American History 

PBS Learning Media has taken the hour-long documentary, Hidden Stories: Montana's Black Past (PBS link) and broken it into shorter segments with discussion questions and a graphic organizer. Here are links to the excerpts and here are links to teaching resources. 

Montana in the Green Book Story Map is a hidden gem for anyone teaching about pre-Civil Rights US history. Between 1936 and 1967, Victor H. Green & Company published The Negro Motorist Green Book, which offered listings of lodgings, restaurants, service stations, and recreation opportunities for African American travelers. Many students may think that it was only African American travelers in the southern states who needed such a resource, but Montana had entries too! This was in part because Montana also had restaurants, bars and hotels that refused to serve African American customers (including the beloved Parrot Confectionery in Helena).  You can read more about the fight to pass a public accommodations law in Montana in the 1950s here. 

Chinese Immigration History

The Chinese Experience in Montana Hands-on History Footlocker is a great new addition to our traveling trunk program! (Learn more about that program and how to order a footlocker here.) Like many of our footlockers, The Chinese Experience in Montana includes many lessons that can be done without ordering the trunk. For an easy entry, fourth-fifth grade teacher Jodi Delaney recommends teaching the first lesson in the user guide, "Far From Home," which asks students to analyze letters that families in China wrote to men working in Montana. She said that she used the letters with struggling readers in a reading intervention group and the kids were enthralled. 

High school teacher Vicky Nytes had high praise for lessons about Chinese exclusion and the Chinese experience from the Digital Inquiry Group. You can find them by searching "Chinese" on their Sitewide Search | Digital Inquiry Group but you'll need to register to access DIG's free resources.

Jodi and Vicky also noted that Mark Johnson (who wrote the Chinese Experience in Montana footlocker) has middle and high school lessons about Montana Chinese history on his website: The Middle Kingdom under the Big Sky. 

Women's History

Jodi drew attention to one of her favorite lessons: Montana Women at Work: Clothesline Timeline Lesson Plan. This lesson plan uses historical photographs to teach students about women’s changing occupations and opportunities between the 1880s and the beginning of the 21st century.

Vicky recommended that American history and government teachers look at Montana Legal History Lesson Plan. (She doesn't teach it as written, but she likes the resources.) 

I showed everyone the resources on Montana Women's History and particularly how you can filter by topic and/or search the 100+ short essays that are on the site. Vicky said it's a very useful resource for students looking for research topics.

Thanks to MTHS Historian Kate Hampton for joining us and to Superior teacher Vicky Nytes, and Helena teacher Jodi Delaney for leading this informative session! 

Tuesday, February 17, 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.: Simulation and Role Plays

Join us in February for another Social Studies Tuesday PD to learn how to bring your social studies classroom alive with simulations and role plays that develop historical empathy and help students imagine themselves in the past. Register for this session.

IEFA-Related Links and America's Field Trip

 

IEFA Related Links

Here are a few interesting, and hopefully useful, links for you!

OPI has created an updated Powwow Guide: Your Guide to Understanding and Enjoying Pow Wows (updated 2025)

Register for "We Are All Related: Planting the Seeds of Knowledge, Growing our Montana Story," the 2026 Indian Education for All Best Practices conference, March 23 – 24, in Helena and East Helena. While most of the conference will be held at the East Helena High School, the conference will move to the new Montana Heritage Center on Monday, from 2:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m., where experts will walk participants through the Montana Homeland gallery, an exhibit that covers Montana history from the Ice Age to the modern day. 

MTHS Historian Melissa Hibbard has shared two interesting IEFA-related links and lessons: 

The Invasion of America is a time lapse map project created by Claudio Saunt. 

Lesson Plan | Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center is a website that provides digitized student records, images, documents, and teaching resources. Note: I have not previewed the lesson plans for quality, but they look interesting, and the student records are fascinating! Of course, you and your students will need to analyze them carefully, using such historical thinking questions as: 

• Who wrote this?
• What is the author’s perspective?
• Why was it written?
• What was the context in which it was written? 
• What can (and what can't) these records tell us about students, their perspectives, and their experiences? 

America's Field Trip

America’s Field Trip is a nationwide contest that invites students across the country in grades 3–12 to be part of our nation’s 250th anniversary by sharing their perspectives on what America means to them — with the chance to earn an unforgettable field trip experience at some of the nation’s most iconic historic and cultural landmarks.

Students are asked to submit writing or original artwork in response to the contest’s prompt: “What does America mean to you?”

In honor of America’s 250th anniversary, America’s Field Trip is expanding with more exciting field trips, and more opportunities for students to win. A total of 250 students will be awarded a special behind-the-scenes field trip experience this summer or a cash prize.

Learn more about the criteria for submission and submit entries here.