PDE Social Studies

The Committee of Seventy sponsors the P A Youth Mock Election, which gives students hands-on practice casting votes for real candidates who appear on their ballot. The Mock Election is available for free to all Pennsylvania teachers. C70 provides digital instructions for how classrooms can participate, plus access to C70's nonpartisan Interactive Voter Guide for students to research their choices. The Mock Election supplements C70's Elections & Voting curriculum (also free!), developed in partnership with our partners at PA Youth Vote. We invite teachers to sign up before the election on May 20th. Once materials are available, they will be sent shortly after you sign up.

C70 connects classrooms to candidates each election so that students can interview the people running to represent them. C70 works with teachers to connect with candidates or public officials from all parties, across all levels of government. Students supply the questions on issues they care about, while C70 will set up the schedule. Most interviews, about 15-20 minutes long, are conducted via zoom so that they can be easily streamed on Facebook and recorded for the public to watch. See previous interviews on YouTube. Teachers can sign up here to request an interview.

Explore resources from The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History was founded in 1994 by Richard Gilder and Lewis E. Lehrman, visionaries and lifelong supporters of American history education. The Institute is the leading nonprofit and nonpartisan organization dedicated to K–12 history education while also serving the general public. Its mission is to promote the knowledge and understanding of American history through educational programs and resources.

Nominations open for the 2025 GLI National History Teacher of the Year Award

Do you know an outstanding educator? The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is seeking 2025 National History Teacher of the Year nominations.

Each year GLI recognizes first-rate K–12 teachers—from rural and urban districts, public and independent schools, teaching a wide variety of subjects—who find creative ways to bring history to life in their classrooms.

The nomination deadline for this year's award is April 30, 2025.

Sign up for The National Council for the Social Studies Smartbrief

Founded in 1921, National Council for the Social Studies is the largest professional association in the country devoted solely to social studies education. NCSS engages and supports educators in strengthening and advocating social studies. With members in all the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 35 countries, NCSS serves as an umbrella organization for elementary, secondary, and college teachers of history, civics, geography, economics, political science, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and law-related education. The NCSS membership represents K-12 classroom teachers, college and university faculty members, curriculum designers and specialists, social studies supervisors, and leaders in the various disciplines that constitute the social studies. Explore what they have to offer and sign up for their weekly newsletter delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore resources from C-Span Classroom

C-SPAN Classroom is a FREE membership service that works with C-SPAN's programs on public affairs, coverage of Congress, non-fiction books and American history to create free resources for teachers, students and the public to use in classrooms, projects or for research.

Their website provides social studies teachers with access to thousands of free resources, including short current events videos, Lesson Plans and Bell Ringers, plus Constitution Clips and On This Day in History events.

From The OER Project: Resources for teaching the Industrial Revolution

In the mid-eighteenth century, humankind began to rapidly expand its technical knowledge, harnessing elemental powers of steam, combustion, and electricity in a process called industrialization. What were its impacts on leading states like Britain and Japan? And how does industrialization relate to today’s climate crisis? Check out these resources from The OER Project.

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.

News Literacy Project District Fellowship Program

Would you like to develop and deliver news and media literacy education plans across your district in a way that’s sustainable, replicable, and has a lasting impact?

Apply for the News Literacy Project News Literacy District Fellowship program!

Here are the basics:

The fellowship requires a three-year commitment from districts.
In return, the News Literacy Project provides districts with access to experts in the field, professional learning, implementation support and a stipend of $10,000 each year.
During the first year, fellows work with us to lay the foundation and develop an action plan executing news literacy instruction in their district.
During the second year, fellows pilot their implementation plans.
During the third year, they continue this work and expand their impact.

Participants will be part of a community of administrators, curriculum directors, instructional coaches, discipline leaders and teachers who share expertise and collaborate with NLP on news and media literacy education issues.

Applications are now being accepted, so apply today for the next cohort of fellows. The submission deadline is May 16 at 12:59 p.m. ET.

New GenAI Teach course from KQED

If you’ve been wondering how to use AI in a way that actually supports student creativity and critical thinking (without replacing their voices), KQED's new course Partner with GenAI to Elevate Authentic Student Voice is for you! Start exploring how you can work with Generative AI in your classroom, not against it, and apply the principles from our GenAI Guidelines to help students navigate this technology responsibly. Designed for 6-12 educators, this course is free and available fully online.

New Human Progress Box from SPHERE

Want to inspire your students with stories of human progress and innovation? Sphere Education Initiatives is thrilled to offer you our new Human Progress box free of charge. It includes a carefully curated collection of resources to help you effectively teach your students about some of humanity’s greatest advances and change makers.

Inside this box, you’ll discover:

Two comprehensive lesson booklets exploring Centers of Progress and Heroes of Progress
Companion paperback books perfect for student reading and research
Engaging classroom materials including themed posters, sticky notes, stress balls, and stickers

These interdisciplinary resources are designed to spark meaningful discussions and encourage learning. Use sticky notes to mark discussion points, pass the stress ball for dynamic class participation, or share stickers with colleagues to promote cross-disciplinary engagement.

The collection draws from HumanProgress.org, a project of the Cato Institute that began in 2013 to gather empirical data on worldwide trends in human advancement. Resources provided in this box have been compiled and presented in accessible ways so that teachers, students, and other educational stakeholders can use them.

AMERICA250PA Launches Spring Semi-Quincentennial Grants Round

America250PA today launched the Spring round of Semi-quincentennial Grants. With generous funding support from Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and the Pennsylvania Legislature, America250PA has already awarded 33 grants to PA communities and nonprofit organizations and will be awarding the second half of the $1 million in allocated funding during this Grant Round.

The Spring Grant Round - open from April 1-May 15 - will award over $500,000 in grant funding. Grant recipients will be announced on June 15, 2025.

America250PA Semi-quincentennial Grants seek to create, uplift, improve, and expand programming, projects, and events that will engage every single Pennsylvanian around America’s birthday and the pivotal role Pennsylvania played in our founding.

From The Mark Schonwetter Holocaust Education Foundation

Walk, run, ride at least 15 miles during the month of May and raise money and awareness for Holocaust education. The money raised during the Journey For The Living (JFTL) directly supports Holocaust Education Grants for teachers nationwide – providing learning materials, supporting field trips and programming, and bringing Holocaust survivor speakers into schools and classrooms. Through Holocaust education, we teach students about the dangers of hate and inspire them to create a better, brighter future. JFTL is a national fitness challenge that raises money and builds awareness for Holocaust education. Walk, run, or ride at least 15 miles in one month to represent the journey that Mark Schonwetter (a Holocaust survivor) walked in one night, along with his sister and mother, to escape the Nazis. Teachers or schools can create teams for students as a meaningful way to teach lessons of the Holocaust interdepartmentally. The registration fee for schools is waived – please use code SCHOOL during the checkout process when registering. A mile-by-mile reflection guide is also provided.

Distance Options

Journey (15 Miles/month)
Warrior (15 Miles/week)
Champion (15 miles/day)

Register Today!

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.

Visit the PDE Social Studies Archive

April 2025 | Volume V, Number 4

Visit the PDE Social Studies Archive

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