Your social studies leadership can make a difference like never before. As I shared in my TSSP message this week, NCSS has several federal legislative priorities and advocacy issues that impact education – and are conversation-starters – from the community to Congress. These priorities and issues are brought to life through your stories and your networks, by sharing why social studies are urgently needed now. As an active leader in our national social studies community, you are invited to raise your social studies voice in a new way – and invite colleagues in your network to do the same,…

The time is now to advocate for social studies because our democracy depends on it. The NCSS Advocacy Toolkit offers the guidance and tactics to do just that. 

Examining photographs of women participating in elections around the world can help students make important connections to the Nineteenth Amendment and prompt a fascinating comparative study of women’s voting rights worldwide.

The use of trade books to foster discussion of historical events and major Supreme Court decisions in the elementary classroom can serve as a powerful method through which elementary students can begin to see themselves as active contributors to the communities and worlds in which they live. In this article and the accompanying lesson plan, the authors share ways to teach about Supreme Court decisions —specifically the decisions that have affected marriage equality—with the C3 Framework.

Teaching About the U.S. Capitol Siege the Day After it HappenedSamantha Mandeville Teaching the Civil War in 2020–21Deirdre O’Connor Epidemics and Pandemics as Social Phenomena: Pivotal Moments in History that Altered SocietyEric B. Claravall

In this latest TSSP edition, NCSS is pleased to provide several instructional resources in honor of Black History Month. We first feature recent NCSS articles by our members and other contributors; share additional online instructional resources from several of our NCSS partners – including resources on the 150th anniversary of the 15th amendment; and link to recent podcasts from our collaborators at Visions of Education. These resources collectively can strengthen your classroom practice by offering all learners a deeper and more inclusive engagement in social studies inquiry. Yet, these are…

Former President Barack Obama has touched hearts by sharing his inspiring book, Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters, with the children of the world. Together, with the breathtaking illustrations of Loren Long, Obama presents 13 historical figures that have each had a profound impact on America. In a very different book, Calling the Doves/ El Canto de las Palomas, award-winning Mexican American poet Juan Felipe Herrera beautifully illustrates his childhood as the son of Mexican migrant farmworkers. Herrera vividly describes his family’s journey through the mountains and valleys of…

How can you design informed action projects - then share out student learning? Join National Council for the Social Studies President, India Meissel and Share Your Learning Co-Director, Michelle Pledger to discuss practical strategies for creating and sharing stories of informed action projects. Engage in the conversation by sharing your stories @ncssnetwork and @inquiredlearn using #informedactionwebinar Who Should Attend:  Teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators interested in creating classrooms that support informed action. Featuring: India Meissel…