What does the C3 Framework look like in a fifth grade classroom? This five-minute video produced by Social Studies School Service provides a snapshot of high quality C3 social studies instruction designed to prepare students for active and engaged citizenship. The accompanying lesson plan, handouts, and summative assessment rubric developed by Rebecca Valbuena, Board Member of California Council for the Social Studies and Michelle Herczog, President of National Council for the Social Studies provides step-by-step directions and tools to transform a traditional lesson about the fundamental…

(Posted September, 2016) = NCSS Members-only resource For Secondary/High School from Social Education Teaching in the Time of Trump Socialism in the United States: Hidden in Plain Sight (Not so) Unprecedented: Media Analysis of the 2016 Presidential Race and Its Historical Precedents Memorandum about the First Nixon-Kennedy Debate  Media Construction of Presidential Campaigns Political Polling Past and Present   For Middle Level from Middle Level Learning Making Choices: An Explanation of Political Preferences Using…

The middle-level “No Impact Project” curriculum uses film and printed matter (including lesson handouts) to help middle and high school students explore the effects their everyday behavior has on the environment, their health, and their well-being. It will also challenge students to think about how the systems in our present society influence our lifestyle choices in ways that often are not good for environment. Finally, it will guide students to take action both individually and with others to bring about positive change. This curriculum connects students’ personal experiences with the…

An introduction to the Inquiry Design Model™ (IDM), a distinctive approach to creating curriculum and instructional materials that honors teachers’ knowledge and expertise, avoids over-prescription, and focuses on the main elements of the instructional design process as envisioned in the Inquiry Arc of the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for State Social Studies Standards. Presenters Kathy Swan Professor, Social Studies Education, Director of Next Generation Teacher Preparation University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY John Lee Professor, Middle Grades Social Studies Education…

Presented by Michelle Herczog, this recorded webinar describes how Social Studies and English Language Arts Methods Instructors at Schools of Education can utilize the C3 Framework as a vehicle for training teacher education students how to use the C3 Framework to meet the Common Core State Standards through the social studies curriculum. Presenter Michelle Herczog 2014-15 NCSS President Consultant III, History-Social Science, Los Angeles County Office of Education Documents shared during the webinar are available as downloadable documents below.  

Even without in-person field trips, photographs stored online can stimulate enriching investigations of historic places.

Strategically designed word walls can help students build the vocabulary needed to ask and explore important questions in the social studies.

The following articles have been selected from our three main journals for K-12 teachers: Social Education, Middle Level Learning, and Social Studies and the Young Learner. These articles are grouped by topic for easy reference. Also included are recent current event responses that address racism and call for human rights education. NCSS Current Events Responses (2020)Teaching about Race and Racism in the ClassroomThe African American Struggle for Civil RightsSlavery and Its LegacyRacism and Discrimination against Black, Indigenous, and People of ColorHuman Rights EducationMiddle Level…

Dialectical Discussion: A Method at the Heart of Our Democratic ProcessJames Massey Breaking News! Ten Tips for How to Make Current Events Work for YouSean McBrady Not Yet Fully Illuminated: African American History and Washington, D.C. Book Review by Dawn Chitty

Two Words in Need of Redemption John Hergesheimer Lewis & Clark: An Interdisciplinary Expedition Kristy Brugar The Compromise of 1790: A Capital Simulation David L. Ghere Book Review: York's Adventure with Lewis and Clark by Rhoda Blumberg Paul Horton Furious and Formidable: A Lewis & Clark Bestiary