Social Studies Teacher Leader Corps - 2024-25
The Social Studies Teacher Leader Corps welcomes all K-12 teachers with a passion for social studies instruction to join us for the 2024-25 School Year!
Themes for this school year include:
- Genocide Education - October 29, January 28
- Literacy & Social Studies - December 3
- Curricular Resources - All Sessions
- History Day - December 3, January 28
Review the schedule and register to attend!
Teaching the Election & the road to Inauguration
Teacher Favorites: Websites used & suggested by EUP teachers:
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https://ground.news/: Media bias aggregator
https://www.270towin.com/: Electoral College Maps & resources
https://www.vote411.org/: Candidate stances, campaign finances
- Michigan Council for Social Studies Toolkit
Michigan Curated Resources: Curated by Oakland Schools Social Studies Consultants - includes resources for teaching elections at the elementary & secondary level, as well as teaching for justice in the wake of major events. You can view their full newsletter here.
- Elementary: Interactive Choice Board
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MiVoice MiVote: This resource binder and toolkit were built by the Michigan Center for Civic Education in cooperation and collaboration with the Michigan Secretary of State and the Michigan Department of Education. Click here for the resource binder, which includes the following:
- Section 1-About Michigan elections and PA 258
- Section 2-Classroom practices, protocols, and procedures for navigating important issues
- Section 3-Relevant PK-12 Michigan state social studies standards
- Section 4-Lessons & Activities, including resources to run mock elections in your classroom
- Section 5-The Toolkit, which is an online database full of curated resources to enhance voting and election information, awareness, opportunities, and civic celebrations
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Facing History and Ourselves: Processing US Presidential Election Results - This mini-lesson includes activities to guide students in reflecting on presidential elections during and after results are announced. Visit the landing page for "Processing US Election Results" here!
- PBS Learning's Election Central
- C-Span's Classroom Campaign 2024
- Election hub from iCivics
- Center for Teaching Excellence - Teaching after an Election
History Day 2025 - Save the Date!
At the school, regional, and state level - third through 12th grade students are invited to participate. A newsletter with resources, timelines for planning, and registration dates can be found here.
At our next Social Studies Teacher Leader Corps meeting on December 3, educator Russ Norris will be presenting on how to incorporate History Day into your classroom.
BMCC - Anishinaabe Treaties - Nov. 6
BMCC - Pow wow - Nov. 2
Nominate Student Scholars for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program
School, community, and organization leaders may nominate student leaders for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. All nominations are due November 4, 2024. Information about the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program can be found on this U.S. Department of Education website. In Michigan, nominations are being accepted for the general category and for Career and Technical Education (CTE).
Save the Date: Michigan Council for Social Studies Conference - April 25 & 26
Registration Now Open! - Click Here
Call for Proposals: Click here to submit a proposal, and review the Call for Proposals narrative below:
- The iconic Blue Bridge in downtown Grand Rapids connects the east and west sides of the Grand River. As a former railroad bridge converted to a pedestrian walkway, it has connected the city since 1868. Inspired by the theme of connection and the location of the 2025 conference at the Eberhard Center on one end of the bridge, we seek conference presentations that highlight the connections apparent in social studies. Have a lesson plan that successfully connected social studies with other subjects? An idea for a project connecting local resources? A connection students made with a culture or story they weren’t familiar with? Please submit your work!
- We welcome submissions from classroom teachers, social studies researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, K-12 students, social studies education professionals, and others with ideas. Submissions will be peer-reviewed by the conference committee. Accepted lead presenters will receive a code to register for the conference at a reduced rate.
Use this form to submit your proposals by Friday, December 6, 2024 at 11:59pm EST.
For more information:
Conference chair: Annie Whitlock: awhitlock@mcssmi.org
Sponsorship chair: Dave Johnson: djohnson@mcssmi.org
PA 258: Voting Preregistration and Registration Public Education and Outreach Campaign
PA258 (2023) allows high school students to preregister or register to vote within their public high school. MDE will ensure that materials for voter registration and preregistration to vote are available to pupils in each public high school in this state. School districts may decide how to provide access for their students and will need to confirm their actions within the GEMS-MAR System annually. Resources:
- The Michigan Center for Civic Education has a resource guide to support civic education and has updated to include information on PA258 in Section 1 of the toolkit.
- More specific resources may be found on the Register to Vote, Students, and Voter Information web pages.
- Direct access to the voter registration application can be found at Michigan Voter Registration Application.
- Direct access to the preregistration application can be found at Michigan Voter Preregistration Application.
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Webinar from the Michigan Council for Social Studies: Voting, Elections, and PA258. You can access it in multiple ways:
1). By visiting the direct link here.
2). By accessing our official MCSS YouTube Channel here.
Legislation passed and signed into law in 2023 allows 16 and 17-year-olds to preregister to vote if they are a Michigan resident, a U.S. citizen, and not currently serving a sentence in jail or prison. Once preregistered, Michigan teens will be automatically registered to vote when they turn 18.
Under the new law, 16 and 17-year-olds who obtain a driver’s license or state ID at a Secretary of State office will be automatically preregistered to vote unless they opt out. Young people who preregister can vote by absentee ballot or in person at an early voting site as long as they will be 18 on or before Election Day. Learn more about preregistration online.
Personal Finance
The MDE launched the Personal Finance Memo. Please reference this document to assist you with personal finance understandings under the new law. The MDE is also working closely industry, education partners, and students to help drive supports for this new requirement. Please reference the personal finance website for foundational resources and future updates/supporting materials.
The Michigan ELibrary has great resources to address the personal finance requirements:
- eBook Collections If you’re seeking a study guide on personal finance, look no further than Personal Finance: A QuickStudy Digital Reference Guide from the eBook Business Collection. This 6-page guide delivers information on saving, raising your credit score, budgeting, selecting insurance coverage, tackling high-interest debt, protecting credit identity, and several other areas of financial importance. From the eBook High School Collection, the titles Managing Money and Making Smart Money Choices highlight developing thrifty habits, checking accounts and paying bills, handling unexpected expenses, and smart places to get and keep money
- Read It! For the most basic information available on personal finance, access the Life Skills then Money section of Read It! This resource will help students understand 401K and profit sharing plans, credit reports, recognizing deceptive advertising, taxes, financial aid, and even exchanging currency. For most articles, comprehension quizzes are also available.
Additional resources:
NexGen Personal Finance: Need assistance with Personal Finance implementation? Please use the following links to support your efforts:
- https://www.michigan.gov/mde/services/academic-standards/personal-finance
- Crosswalk,
- On-Demand Starter Pack,
- So Expensive,
- MOVE: Interest Rate Ripple Effect
Formative Assessment in Social Studies
Levin Center: Portraits in Oversight
High school resource: Oversight Investigations: Oversight investigations are held to determine or examine the events or decisions made by another branch or section of the government. To help explain, the Levin Center has developed portraits of important congressional oversight investigations as well as some key past figures in oversight. These are excellently researched portraits with primary sources included.
Learn more about the Levin Center here.
Michigan Council for the Social Studies
Free Memberships for Pre-Service Teachers:
- MCSS is offering free memberships for preservice teachers. As a member, pre-service teachers will be able to share ideas and insights with colleagues throughout the state, have access to new resource materials, and a wealth of useful services. Pre-service teachers can develop and share ideas on the future of social studies in schools, especially the concerns of teacher preparation and innovative methodology.
- To join, pre-service teachers would need to go to the MCSS website and join as a student - uploading an image of their student ID is required. Juniors can join and renew again next year! Students do not need to have a planned social studies endorsement to join - this membership will be valuable to all elementary-track pre-service teachers.
Michigan Department of Education - Teaching Comprehensive History Webinar Series
Michigan Geographic Alliance
The Michigan Geographic Alliance as an updated website with a new url: se.cmich.edu/mga
There are new Giant Maps available - check out the new website for more information!
November is National Native American Heritage Month
Helen Craig
Social Studies Curriculum Consultant
Regional School Health Coordinator
McKinney-Vento UPCED Facilitator
Eastern Upper Peninsula ISD
Email: hcraig-isd@eupschools.org
Phone: 906-632-3373 -5132