PDE Social Studies

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Marcg 2025 | Volume V, Number 3

 

 

Hello Everyone!

March is Women’s History Month

The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history. Resources are available for classroom teachers to commemorate women's history in March and beyond. Click the links provided below throughout the year.

The organizations listed below have also curated resources for Women's History Month

 

From PBS Learning Media

Celebrate Women’s History Month with this collection of resources from PBS Learning Media.

From The National Constitution Center

Read this new article entitled “A Brief History of the Constitution and Tariffs” from the National Constitution Center.

Looking for ways to keep students engaged and melt the winter slump? Explore free virtual programs that encourage students to explore history, engage in constitutional conversations, and deepen their understanding of both history and the Constitution in a dynamic and accessible way.

New From The Center for Civic Education

Look through the Center’s entire teacher-created civics inquiry lesson series, which engages students by making real-world connections through discovery, exploration, and high-level questioning. Find out how you can get your students involved in the research-backed We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution program on their website.

New from The OER Project

This new Oceanic Connections collection will help you keep your head above water with some superb materials on early global trade networks, notable seafarers, and tracking migration patterns. Dive into these highlights—the water’s fine!

The Civics Center

4 million Americans turn 18 every year, but it’s estimated that fewer than 30% are registered to vote.

Barriers to registration are the #1 obstacle to youth voter turnout. The Civics Center has the solution: Preregister teens in high school.

The Civics Center provides free training and resources to help make voter registration part of the fabric of the high school experience in America: an exciting part of growing up, a fun thing to engage in, and readily available twice a year.

2025 Belfer National Conference for Holocaust Education

Registration is open for the 2025 Belfer National Conference for Holocaust Education, taking place June 23-25. At this free, virtual professional learning conference, educators will explore the latest practices in accurate, meaningful teaching about the Holocaust with Museum historians and educators. Find new sessions that demonstrate how to integrate Holocaust history into both ELA and social studies instruction.

New Webinar from InquirED

Storytime in Social Studies: Using Picture Books Across an Inquiry

Thursday, May 8 @ 4:30 pm (ET)

How can picture books spark inquiry and build knowledge in social studies classrooms? Join inquirED and NCSS to explore how to integrate picture books that inspire student curiosity and scaffold understanding across an Inquiry. Walk away with practical tools and examples to bring stories to life in your classroom.

2025 Civics for All of US Teacher Institute with the National Archives

Teachers working with students in grades 3–12 are invited to apply for the Civics for All of US Teacher Institute at the National Archives in Washington, DC. Focusing on the Declaration of Independence, this three-and-one-half-day institute will include hands-on sessions featuring strategies for teaching civics with primary sources, special tours and activities in the National Archives, and site visits to additional landmarks and museums in the nation’s capital. Each participant will receive a stipend of $1,050 to help cover travel, lodging, and other expenses.

The National Archives is offering two separate Institute sessions this summer. The first cohort will meet July 14–July 17, 2025, and the second cohort will meet July 29–August 1, 2025.

Learn more and apply by March 31, 2025.

Questions can be directed to [email protected]

From Project Sphere

Check out this episode of Project Sphere, In What Areas Does the Executive Have Too Much Power? along with this lesson, Checks and Balances and Separation of Powers.

Executive power has grown significantly since the founding of the United States, often stretching beyond its original constitutional limits.

  • But how much power is too much?
  • What safeguards exist to keep the executive branch in check?
  • And what guidance does the Constitution provide on the proper exercise of presidential authority?

From The Retro Report:  Help Your Students Understand the Debate Around Immigration and Migration

Immigration was a centerpiece of the 2024 presidential campaign and continues to be a focus at the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term. Retro Report's Teaching About Immigration and Migration Collection explores immigration and migration issues at particular points in the recent history of the United States, helping students analyze how immigration and migration are themes throughout U.S. history.

Participate in DIG "Reading Like a Historian" Project

The American Institutes for Research is offering school districts an opportunity to join an exciting new project that will provide high school U.S. history teachers with access to new research-backed Reading Like a Historian (RLH) curriculum materials and provide them with 20-hours of free professional development from the Digital Inquiry Group (DIG), formerly the Stanford History Education Group (SHEG).

Participation in this project is offered at no cost, and teachers will be compensated for their time.

Reading Like a Historian (RLH) is an award-winning history curriculum in which students use historical documents to answer questions about the past and develop arguments supported by evidence. The new RLH lessons developed for this project also feature integrated formative assessments and incorporate digital literacy skills from DIG’s Civic Online Reasoning (COR) curriculum that help students evaluate the credibility of information on the internet, a necessary skill for democratic participation in the 21st century. RLH and COR have logged more than 15 million downloads, and both are backed by peer-reviewed research that shows their effectiveness.

Agents of Influence Seeking Teachers

Agents of Influence, a spy media literacy game, is looking for middle and high school teachers to give feedback and participate in research studies. The game teaches critical thinking, content analysis, research, and communication—essential skills that form the foundation of 21st-century education. The game can be used across subjects including ELA, Social Studies, CTE, Library, and more.

$50-$250 per teacher, Dec. 2024–Jan. 2026 (different studies at different times)

The Citizenship Challenge: Redesigning America’s Citizenship Test

Submissions due: May 15, 2025

This contest from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History—split into Grades 3–8 and Grades 9–12 divisions—allows students to showcase their understanding of American history and civics by suggesting a relevant and insightful question to be added to the Citizenship Test. Students can submit their suggestions via a short essay, mini-podcast, or short video entry.

Ten $500 prizes will be awarded to the winning students and feature the winners on the Citizenship Test: Civics and American History homepage.

The Summer PD Social Studies Calendar is now available

The first draft of the 2025 Summer Social Studies Professional Development opportunities spreadsheet is now available. As you take a peek, anything that is NOT highlighted is currently open.

Many thanks to Stefanie Wager at the Iowa Department of Education for creating this calendar and updating the spreadsheet as more opportunities open.

Gilder Lehrman Teacher of the Year Award

Nominations Due: April 30, 2025

Started in 2004, this Gilder Lehrman program recognizes excellence in the teaching of history at the K–12 level. Each year, thousands of teachers are nominated by students, parents, fellow teachers, and community members, shining a light on the important work they do.

C-Span Fellowship Program

Application Deadline: May 2, 2025

C-SPAN's 2025 Teacher Fellowship application is now available! Educators in grades 6-12 can apply to collaborate virtually with the Education team this summer to create educational resources that will be hosted on the C-SPAN Classroom or StudentCam websites.

Thank you for subscribing to the SAS Social Studies PLC and for all you do every day for the students in Pennsylvania!

Don McCrone
[email protected]

NOTE:  Sites identified here have been reviewed by the content advisor; however, educators are advised to preview for appropriateness for their respective classrooms.

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