Get Involved

Mary Hendra from Facing History and Ourselves shares the story of how an immigrant Cambodian student helped provide insights into how to build empathy and healing after the Boston Marathon bombing.  Here blog is available at http://lanetwork.facinghistory.org/boston-from-a-distance/ and offers questions and tips for discussion of this and other tragedies in the news.

June 24-27, 2013 - UC Irvine
This four-day institute by the UCI HSSP is designed for world and US History teachers in secondary grades. It features:

• Content presentations from history scholars versed in both theory and practice
• Standards-based curriculum
• Readings on contemporary scholarship
• A range of primary source material
• Extension course credit
• Access to the UCI History Project website

To apply, send an email with the following information to Courtney Amaya, camaya@orangeusd.org: Name, Complete school name, District, Subject taught, Home address & phone number, and Email address accessible during the summer

April 20, 2013 8:30am to 1:00pm Registration deadline is Friday, April 12, 2013 https://www.sccoe.org/schooldirectory/schoolsinfo/ridderparkmap.asp The conference features teacher presentations, which incorporate literacy strategies to address the Common Core, and presentations by leading scholars.  Program includes:

July 22-26, 2013
Brandman University- Monterey, Monterey, CA
Registration is available on the NCSS website
http://www.socialstudies.org/pass

Powerful and Authentic Social Studies (PASS) is a professional development program that trains social studies teachers in curriculum design, assessment, and instruction in a standards-based environment. This institute will provide participants with the materials and expertise necessary to lead their own PASS training workshops in their schools and school districts. Participants will learn about PASS criteria and standards for curriculum design, assessment construction, and effective instruction. In small learning communities, participants will examine videotaped K-12 vignettes of teaching and create examples of curriculum units and assessment tasks to share with their learning community.

PASS materials consist of two DVDs of instructional vignettes, a general manual outlining PASS principles, and materials for different grade levels: elementary, middle, and high school. Participants will receive a free PASS set at the level of their choice (value: $279.00), and deep discounts will be offered on other sets.

PASS is an effective means of training pre-service, as well as in-service, teachers. This institute will interest NCSS members at all educational levels.

Joseph A. Braun, Jr. serves as the coordinator of professional development for the NCSS and is professor emeritus of Social Studies Education at Illinois State University. He is also a past member of the NCSS Board of Directors. He will be happy to answer questions at 831-869-9865 (phone) or jabraun@ilstu.edu (e-mail).

Brandman University in historic Monterey, CA  will host the institute from July 22 - 26, 2013. The cost is $545 (members) or $595 (non-members) which includes snacks and lunch during the institute, PASS training materials. Continuing Educational Units optional and will cost $195. Other meals and hotel accommodations are not included. There are a variety of hotels available in the area. Monterey County is a world renowned vacation destination with the Aquarium, Carmel, Pebble Beach Golf Course, and Award wining wineries among just some of the attractions.

It is your commitment that makes this event a success!  National History Day is a year-long educational program sponsored by the Orange County Department of Education, encourages students to explore local, state, national, and world history. After selecting a historical topic that relates to an annual theme, students conduct extensive research by using libraries, archives, museums, and oral history interviews. They analyze and interpret their findings, draw conclusions about their topics’ significance in history, and create final projects that present their work. These projects can be entered into a series of competitions, from the local to the national level, where they are evaluated by professional historians and educators. 

Find volunteer application information at http://www.historydaycalifornia.org/contest/volunteer/

Join Facing History and Ourselves for a special screening of Two Who Dared: The Sharps' War, Sunday, April 7, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.
Location: The Museum of Tolerance, Simon Wiesenthal Plaza,9786 West Pico Blvd
(SE corner of Pico Boulevard and Roxbury Drive), Los Angeles, CA

In 1939, Waitstill and Martha Sharp left behind their children and the safety of their home in Wellesley, Massachusetts and flew to war-torn Europe. In Nazi-occupied Prague and Paris, in the grim detention camps of Vichy France and on hidden trails through the Pyrenees, they risked their lives to help feed, shelter, and rescue thousands of refugees, including anti-Nazi dissidents and Jews. Why did this Unitarian minister and his social worker wife undertake such a demanding mission? How did they help those in need, and what are their legacies today?

To register select http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/1439135/d04c27fdc0/544990119/9a993ed862/

Teaching materials available.

April 13, 2013  9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Reagan Presidential Library

The Walter and Leonore Annenberg Presidential Learning Center at the The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation  in partnership with the Cal State Northridge Writing Project cordially invites you to participate in a professional development day for teachers of civics, government, and U.S. History at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.

President Reagan was known as “The Great Communicator,” and was a champion of civic engagement, saying “We must remember that an active and informed citizenry is not just a right; it is an obligation.” This session examines the links between written communication and civic engagement through the lens of primary source materials. We will also examine the ways in which the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts provide a framework that allows civic minded educators to prepare students for college, career, and citizenship. Teachers will receive specific literacy strategies designed to develop literacy skills in the social studies classroom.
This event is offered at no cost to educators.
If you would like a box lunch, the cost is $12.
Participants will receive:

• Common Core Aligned aligned, classroom-- ready materials.
• Strategies for integrating writing into Civics and Social Studies instruction
• Optional Lunch (vegetarian option available)
• Admission to the museum
• Exclusive access to an interactive Discovery Center Experience
• Optional self-guided tour of the Museum

Enrollment is limited to the first 50 respondents.  Register at http://reagan.convio.net/site/Calendar?id=101967&view=Detail

April 20, 2013 - 9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

The Walter and Leonore Annenberg Presidential Learning Center is partnering with The History Project and The Library of Congress to sponsor a wonderful FREE workshop for K-6 teachers to learn strategies for utilizing primary source materials in the classroom. The workshop will be held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and will feature model lessons and materials from the Library of Congress and the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Presidential Learning Center.

The Library of Congress houses a treasure trove of primary source materials to engage young learners in historical inquiry and historical thinking.  This 1-day workshop for K-6 teachers will guide participants through the process of finding and utilizing these unique resources.  Participants are eligible for a $50 stipend upon satisfactory completion of the workshop. Please note that this workshop is intended for those who have not previously attended a Teaching with Primary Sources Workshop.

You can either pre-order a lunch below, or bring your own and enjoy the wonderful view at the Library. Please indicate if you prefer a vegetarian meal when registering.
Participants should bring a wireless-capable laptop or tablet to the workshop.
Registration is limited to 35 participants. Register http://www.reaganfoundation.org/details_t.aspx?p=PE40002PGE&h1=7&h2=13&sw=&lm=programandevents&args_a=cms&args_b=888&argsb=N&tx=2859