Maybe, just maybe. Resources to support media literacy and civic engagement

Maybe. Just maybe.

Maybe it’s not that our students are gullible. It’s that they’re too cynical. Maybe it’s not that our students don’t believe in the facts. It’s that they don’t know who to trust. Maybe it’s not that our students can’t think critically. It’s that perhaps they’re thinking deeply while interacting with the wrong resources.

I get it. The events of the last few weeks support the idea that we need more social studies. More civics. More difficult and controversial conversations. (Especially at the elementary level.) Couldn’t agree more. We do need more social studies.

But I’ve been in a lot of classrooms and know a lot of great educators. There is already amazing social studies instruction happening in lots of places. So maybe we need to step back, take a breath, stop talking about requiring civic exams in order to graduate, and be more intentional about building on the good stuff that we all know is already there.

What might that look like?

Not sure how to face your class after the election? Teaching controversial topics with three simple tools

One way or the other, things will probably get a bit more . . . hmm, interactive in your classrooms over the next few weeks. As final results from today’s election trickle in this week and mail-in ballots are counted, you will most likely have some students who will question the results. Making class discussions difficult and uncomfortable.

But that sort of learning can be difficult. I get that. Throw the pandemic into the mix and I can’t think of a tougher time to be a classroom teacher. And you’re not alone in being concerned about taking on controversial topics.

Education Week survey data gathered back in 2017 suggested that many teachers find it difficult to talk about race, politics, and other controversial topics. Almost 30 percent expressly avoid it completely. Part of the problem is that many of us – 44 percent – don’t feel prepared to lead conversations that will probably get emotional.

So should you even try? And if you do decide to take on that challenge, what’s the best way to deal with those conversations?

Answer to the first question?

7 election resources to use before it’s too late

The election is getting serious. We’re already collecting votes.

So if you haven’t yet jumped into teaching about the election, now’s the perfect time. Today, we’ve got seven handy online resources that’ll provide lessons, information, maps, graphs, and all sorts of other election goodness.

• Start with the Election Collection curated by PBS Learning Media. You’ll find seven different sections that will help you and students keep up with election news, study the history and process of presidential elections, explore voting rights, and engage in classroom debates with videos, activities, and lesson plans. You want to spend some time with their interactive Electoral Decoder to explore electoral college results from previous elections, and predict the outcome of the upcoming election. Participate in their Youth Media Challenge: Let’s Talk About Election 2020. Empower your students to share their take on issues that matter to them and learn how they can create and publish audio or video commentaries for a national audience.
• 270toWin has a similar Electoral Vote Calculator but they also delve deep into Senate and House races, state races, and governor races. You can find tons of historical data, the latest polls, and pundit predictions.
• iCivics has so much going on that it can be hard finding what you need. So they’ve put together a single page with election related simulations, lessons, infographics, and Webquests. “This is a critical time for students to learn about the election process, understand the power of their vote, and feel compelled to be an active participant in our constitutional democracy.”
• Schools need to be places that champion civility, equal rights, safety, and civic action for social change and kids need opportunities to practice how to engage with people and ideas across differences.. So Teaching Tolerance offers a range of resources for engaging students on some of our most pressing societal issues.
• The Anti-Defamation League put together a series of resources that they’ve titled Teaching Tools: Before, During & After Elections.
• I love the work that the League of Women Voters does to increase voter turnout and provide information. Their Vote411 site is a perfect place to get voter registration information, candidate guides, and actual ballets from every election in the country.
• I’m still upset with Newsela and their move to lock down so much of their online stuff but they are offering a pretty sweet free set of election resources. (Though you will need to create an account or log-in to access the page.)

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Glenn is a curriculum and tech integration specialist, speaker, and blogger with a passion for technology and social studies. He delivers engaging professional learning across the country with a focus on consulting, presentations, and keynotes. Find out more about Glenn and how you might learn together by going to his Work with Me page.

Fave posts of 2019: Yup. You’re gonna have to talk about it. 22 impeachment resources that can help

Most of you have probably settled deep into holiday break mode. Getting up a little bit later than normal. Watching football. Eating too much. Catching up on your reading. Trying to decide if The Mandalorian is worth your time. Enjoying family and friends. Not really thinking about the back to school schedule that cranks up in January.

But if you need a break from all of the free time, we’ve got you covered. Between now and the first week in January, you’ll get a chance to re-live five of the most popular History Tech posts from 2019. Enjoy the reruns!

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We’ve chatted before about ways to introduce, talk about, and integrate controversial topics on our classrooms. Today I’m flashing back to a conversation I had with Charles Vaughan, a high school teacher from South Carolina. Ten months ago, he shared some of his experiences and thoughts on incorporating political topics into his instruction.

Some of what he referenced seems relevant this week as the congressional impeachment inquiry continues to ramp up. Quoting from an article in an Atlantic titled The Case for Contentious Classrooms, Charles highlighted the importance of what he calls a political classroom:

“Schools teach many things. For the most part, though, they have not not taught students how to engage in reasoned, informed debates across society’s myriad differences.”

He also shared some thoughts based on a book titled The Political Classroom by Diana Hess and Paula McAvoy. During an interview titled Politics in the Classroom. How Much is Too Much? on NPR, McAvoy asks:

We all love SHEG. Now their Civic Online Reasoning tools make it easier to love them even more

I’m starting to get the feeling that we’ve reached critical mass. When I work with social studies teachers around the country, I always make sure they’re familiar with the work by Sam Wineburg and the Stanford History Education Group.

SHEG’s Reading Like a Historian lessons and Beyond the Bubble assessments are the kinds of non-negotiable tools that belong in every teacher’s toolkit. But for the longest time, it seemed as if very few teachers had actually heard about the SHEG site. Of course, as soon as these teachers had the chance to explore the available tools, they were blown away.

Lately I’ve run into more and more teachers who are already familiar with the site and are finding very cool ways of integrating SHEG resources into their instruction. Maybe we’ve reached the point where most teachers have heard about the SHEG goodness and we all love it. (If you’re still not sure what sorts of SHEG lessons and assessments are available, for Pete’s sake, stop reading and head over to check it out.)

If you are using SHEG resources, I feel a little like a TV infomercial host this morning when I say, “but wait . . . there’s more.”

Because SHEG has some new stuff.

Yup. You’re gonna have to talk about it. 22 impeachment resources that can help

We’ve chatted before about ways to introduce, talk about, and integrate controversial topics on our classrooms. Today I’m flashing back to a conversation I had with Charles Vaughan, a high school teacher from South Carolina. Ten months ago, he shared some of his experiences and thoughts on incorporating political topics into his instruction.

Some of what he referenced seems relevant this week as the congressional impeachment inquiry continues to ramp up. Quoting from an article in an Atlantic titled The Case for Contentious Classrooms, Charles highlighted the importance of what he calls a political classroom:

“Schools teach many things. For the most part, though, they have not not taught students how to engage in reasoned, informed debates across society’s myriad differences.”

He also shared some thoughts based on a book titled The Political Classroom by Diana Hess and Paula McAvoy. During an interview titled Politics in the Classroom. How Much is Too Much? on NPR, McAvoy asks: