A well-designed graphic organizer combined with original documents can help students tackle issues of racism, segregation, and civil unrest.

In this talk, Dr. Hope examines critical consciousness as a protective factor, and possible coping strategy, against experiences of racism that negatively affect mental health for Black adolescents. Racism has negative mental health implications for Black adolescents (Benner et al., 2018). Critical consciousness (critical reflection, critical agency, critical action) may be one way that Black youth combat oppression and the resulting negative effects (Hope & Spencer, 2017). It is also possible that critical action exacerbates the negative mental health effects of racism. Participants were…

In this talk, Dr. Hope examines critical consciousness as a protective factor, and possible coping strategy, against experiences of racism that negatively affect mental health for Black adolescents. Racism has negative mental health implications for Black adolescents (Benner et al., 2018). Critical consciousness (critical reflection, critical agency, critical action) may be one way that Black youth combat oppression and the resulting negative effects (Hope & Spencer, 2017). It is also possible that critical action exacerbates the negative mental health effects of racism. Participants were…

The House of Delegates (HOD) provides a forum for the general membership of NCSS, as represented by state councils, communities, and associated groups, to bring ideas, principles, beliefs, and actions regarding social studies education to the attention of the NCSS Board of Directors. Resolutions are the framework through which the NCSS membership at-large makes recommendations to the Board. The resolutions approved by the NCSS Board of Directors at its Winter 2019 meeting are presented here. 

The books that appear in this annotated list were evaluated and selected by a Book Review Committee appointed by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and assembled in cooperation with the Children’s Book Council (CBC). NCSS and CBC have cooperated on this annual bibliography since 1972. Books selected for this bibliography were published in 2021 and were written for children in grades K-12. The Book Review Committee looks for books that emphasize human relations, represent a diversity of groups and are sensitive to a broad range of cultural experiences, present an original theme…

The featured primary source in support of Native American tribes who were victims of the Indian Removal Act in 1830 can be used to spark a classroom lesson on this disturbing period in American history.

Three important strategies help students evaluate sources they encounter online and encourage active and evidence-based reconstruction of the past.

A Position Statement of National Council for the Social Studies Approved by the NCSS Board of Directors November 2023 Introduction In the spring of 2019, the NCSS Board of Directors affirmed its interest in adopting a position statement on racial literacy in social studies education (Resolution #19-04-6). THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the National Council for the Social Studies issue a position statement on teaching about race and racism in the social studies classroom as an essential aspect of preparing future citizens who will be informed advocates in an inclusive and equitable society; and…

Teaching about the civil rights movement in the elementary grades has, in many schools, focused exclusively on the lives of Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. Many students are well versed in the content of King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, and they know well that Rosa did not give up her seat on the bus. While these moments and heroes of the movement are essential in the study of this era in history, the study of more obscure and lesser known people and events is a great way to deepen our students’ understanding of the sacrifices that so many thousands of ordinary people made in the…

Investigating with students how women suffragists used images and symbols to influence public opinion can spark an engaging lesson on the Nineteenth Amendment.