Benefits of Membership

U.S. History Collection

The online U.S. History Collection is easy to search! It includes a collection of classroom activities, teaching ideas, and articles from Social Education, Middle Level Learning, and Social Studies and the Young Learner. Search by historical period, grade level, or key word. Anybody can browse the collection and read titles and abstracts—but you must be a member of NCSS to have access to the full articles.

NCSS Publications

All NCSS members receive a subscription to one of our acclaimed journals. You can download one free sample from each journal now at www.socialstudies.org/publications. The Archive of Publications is available to members only.

Our flagship journal, Social Education, contains a balance of theoretical content and practical ideas for classroom use. Resources include techniques for using teaching materials in the classroom, information on the latest instructional technology, reviews of educational media, research on significant topics related to social studies, and lesson plans that can be applied to various disciplines. Social Education is published 6 times per year, September through June. “Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People” is published each year as an insert to the May/June issue of Social Education.

Middle Level Learning is a supplement that focuses on social studies in the middle grades. MLL is published 3 times a year. The current issue is online, and all MLL back issues are available to NCSS members only at the Archive of Publications. All members of NCSS have access to the online MLL.

For K-6 teachers, we offer the peer-reviewed journal Social Studies and the Young Learner. The goal of SSYL is to capture and enthuse elementary teachers across the country by providing relevant and useful information about the teaching of social studies to elementary students. SSYL is published quarterly, September through May. You also receive the September and May/June issue of the flagship journal, Social Education. (“Notable Trade Books for Young People” is published each year as an insert to the May/June issue of Social Education, so you will always receive that too.) And you have access to the online Middle Level Learning.

Members who choose the “Comprehensive” option (when they join or renew) also receive NCSS Bulletins, which are in-depth publications in book form. Bulletins focus on specific disciplines within social studies disciplines and pedagogy (such as service learning, teaching history in the middle grades, or teaching social studies to ESL students).

Current Professional News

The Social Studies Professional (TSSP) is the official newsletter of NCSS, featuring the latest news, new resource and professional development listings, and information on local and state meetings. TSSP is published 3 times per year on paper: September, October, January/February, AND 5 times per year via e-mail: November/December, March, April, May/June, July/August …plus occasional e-mail alerts.

Annual Conference

The NCSS Annual Conference is a news-making event that brings social studies educators together from all across the nation. More than 400 sessions, workshops, and clinics, bring together top professionals in social studies education and highlight the central role of social studies in our schools—preparing 21st century citizens for college, career, and citizenship in a complex world. Awards are presented for teachers of the year, programs of excellence, and many other categories. Notable speakers give keynote presentations on each day of the Conference, which is held in a different city each year (Washington, DC every fifth year). Come to listen, learn, and celebrate. And submit a session proposal (December through early February) about your own best lesson!

Internet Resources

Our award-winning website is a portal to all that NCSS does as your professional association. For example, as an NCSS member, you can go online to look at the newsletter even before it arrives in the mail; submit a session proposal for the NCSS Annual Conference; search and download NCSS journal articles from back issues; search the U.S. History Collection by grade level, historical period, or key word; join discussion groups on topics of interest to you; and network with educational colleagues in your state. The NCSS website is under constant development and improvement, and we welcome your input!

Information Services

NCSS assists you in locating and acquiring curriculum standards, recommendations and guidelines, articles from NCSS journals, and other social studies education related resources.

Legislative Network

Through local, state, and regional council networks NCSS keeps members on top of proposed laws and regulations that affect the social studies profession.

NCSS Legal Defense Fund

NCSS can submit “friend of the court” briefs and offer other Legal Defense Fund assistance when members are faced with academic freedom, discrimination, or other professional autonomy concerns.

Insurance

Save on insurance with our members-only discounts. Enrollment in our group insurance plan provides substantial savings and numerous options such as professional liability insurance, TDA program, cancer coverage, Medicare supplement, and other options for NCSS members and their families.

Member Discounts

NCSS members receive substantial discounts on all publications and merchandise from our catalog. Members also receive discounted registration rates for our Annual Conference.

Advocacy and Leadership

NCSS Members are part of a professional association that asserts the voice of social studies teachers in our national life. For example, as curriculum standards are shaped nationally, NCSS is an active participant on the national standards panels. NCSS published the first major standards document, Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies, creating the framework for coherent, powerful social studies curriculum and instruction. NCSS publishes Position Statements that address (for educators, the media, and the public) important and controversial topics in the teaching of social studies. The NCSS Annual Conference showcases excellence in social studies teaching, kindergarten through college.

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