Ask A Colleague
“Ask A Colleague” is an advice forum in which all NCSS members are invited to participate.
“Ask A Colleague” features questions submitted by members that are answered by one or more NCSS colleagues who have volunteered to share their expertise on this site.
We are eager to develop “Ask A Colleague” to encompass the full range of social studies subjects at each of the three levels—elementary, middle school, and high school. We invite members to contribute in any of the following ways.
- Ask a new question.
- Ask a follow-up question in response to an existing answer. Please mention the answer and level (elementary, middle school, and high school) for which you are making the follow-up question.
- Submit another answer to an existing question. Please specify the question and level (elementary, middle school, and high school) for which you are submitting an answer.
All questions and answers should be sent to colleague@ncss.org
Brief biographical information about each NCSS expert who provides an answer can be obtained by clicking on the expert’s name at the beginning of the answer. “Ask A Colleague” is a forum whose aim is to answer most questions submitted by NCSS members. Some NCSS members may, however, be interested in finding a mentor who can offer advice privately. To facilitate this, some of our experts have offered to be online mentors for NCSS members, and, when this is the case, that information and an e-mail address are provided in the biographical note about the expert. “Ask A Colleague” does not have access to or publish communications that are part of this online mentoring, and this site only provides contact information assisting NCSS members to identify potential individual mentors.
Elementary (13)
- Should public school elementary teachers teach about such holidays as St. Patricks Day, which have religious roots?
- What are the best service learning activities that promote learning as well as community service?
- What are the best resources for teaching about world cultures?
- What resources are best for teaching about economics at the different elementary levels?
- What are the best activities for teaching about the need to protect the environment at the different elementary levels?
- How can I teach civic responsibility to my 5th graders?
- Why is geography not given more attention in the elementary curriculum, and what is the best way to teach it?
- Can you recommend some "Do's" and "Don'ts" for teaching about Native Americans?
- Can you recommend activities for teaching about the women’s suffrage movement in elementary school?
- What is the best literature for teaching elementary students about the Civil War
- How can I teach my third graders about the Native Americans met by Lewis and Clark?
- What are the best ideas for teaching colonial history in the fourth and fifth grades?
- Tim's Second Test Question
Middle Level (5)
- What is the best way to teach the Federalist Papers in middle school?
- How can I get my middle school students to keep sight of the broader themes of U.S. history in the middle of all the details they find in the textbook?
- What is the best way to prepare middle school students for DBQ’s in history?
- What are some strategies to increase student interest and motivation in middle school history?
- This is a test question.
