Author Archives: gsumner3rd
Magna Carta 800th Anniversary
On behalf of:
Kandi Greter –Kirk
Watch “Magna Carta 800th Anniversary” by State Courts: https://vimeo.com/124338172
Kandi Greter-Kirk
Public Education Coordinator
West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
Division of Children’s Services
1900 Kanawha Blvd East.
Building 1, Room E-100
Charleston, WV 25305
304-340-2755 Direct Line
304-558-0775 Fax
www.icivics.com
www.wvcip.com
Robert “Joey” Wiseman Jr.
Assistant Director
Instructional Materials
Social Studies
WVDE Office of Secondary Learning
Resources for Social Studies
Resources for Teaching Social Studies
Top free resources for teaching and learning Social Studies
The Library of Congress – resources in “for teachers” page include ready-to-use materials that brings the Library’s primary sources aligned with state standards into the classrooms, online modules to build teacher skills with the Library’s professional development curriculum (Library of Congress Learning Page “The Learning Page is designed to help educators use the American Memory Collections to teach history and culture. It offers tips and tricks, definitions and rationale for using primary sources, activities, discussions, lesson plans and suggestions for using the collections in classroom curriculum.”)
American Memory from the Library of Congress – American Memory provides “free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience.
The National Archives’ Digital Classroom – DocsTeach.org is an online teaching tool from the US National Archives for teachers to find and create interactive learning activities with primary-source documents that promote historical thinking skills in 21st century classroom.
Digital Vaults – Photos, documents, and popular media from the National Archives provide resources and interactive opportunities for users to access materials on endless U.S. historical topics and themes. The user can then organize the resources in any number of ways to relate to our country’s history and tell a story. (from 2011 ALA Top 25 Websites for Teaching and Learning)
The World Digital Library (WDL) whilst in Qatar. The WDL makes significant primary materials from countries, and cultures around the world, available on the Internet, free of charge, in many languages.
Teachinghistory.org is a website that collects history resources and materials and provides support for K-12 history teachers through funding from the U.S. Department of Education. The site contains videos, links to resources, and materials that teachers can use in their classrooms.
National Council for the Social Studies has membership service about professional development and support on various resources; without membership you still can access to rich teaching resources and links here.
C-SPAN Classroom – free primary source materials for social studies teachers, including lesson ideas, video library, constitution clips, by C-SPAN; tutorials for teachers are available
Center for History and New Media (CHNM) at George Mason University has used digital media and computer technology to preserve and present history online, each year CHNM’s many project websites receive over 16 million visitors, and over a million people rely on its digital tools and resources to teach, learn, and conduct research.
History Departments Around the World is a searchable database linking to roughly 1,200 history departments around the world.
The University of Florida Digital Collections (UFDC) hosts more than 300 outstanding digital collections, containing over 7 million pages of unique manuscripts and letters, antique maps, rare children’s literature books, theses and dissertations, newspapers, historic photographs, oral histories, and more. The University of Florida Digital Collections (UFDC) enables users to find unique and rare digitized materials held at the University of Florida and partner institutions. With UFDC, remote and local researchers have free, open access to the full content of the resource. This is a constantly growing collection of resources.
EDSITEment indexes nearly three hundred other websites at the current time! This wealth of material is provided by a partnership consisting of the National Endowment for the Humanities,Verizon Foundation, and the National Trust for the Humanities.Calisphere – A world of primary sources for teaching and exploration, from more than 150 archives, libraries, and museums. A free service of the University of California.
Smithsonian’s History Explorer is a standards-based online resources for teaching and learning American history, developed by the National Museum of American History. (Affiliated Organization: Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History)
Primary Source is a non-profit educational resource center, in partnership with teachers, scholars, and the broader community, Primary Source provides learning opportunities and curriculum resources for K-12 educators. It has specially focused on learning about China.
TeachingAmericanHistory is a list of letters, speeches, documents, web sites, books, and articles on significant people and events in American political thought and history. Find primary source docs organized by time period & person.
Historic Newspapers is the world’s largest original newspaper archive, have put together free of charge educational resources using past newspapers to give insight into historical events. Newspapers are a fantastic way to discover the cause and consequence of historical events.
Google Life Archive is a wonderful resource of historical images. It features millions of searchable photographs from the Life photo archive stretching from the 1750s to the present day. Most of these images were never published and are now available for the first time through the joint work of Google and Life magazine. (Search tip : Add “source:life” to any Google image search and search only the LIFE photo archive. For example: computer source:life)
The Google Cultural Institute digitally archives historical documents, photos, and other media from institutions all over the world.
MapMaker Interactive (a tool from National Geographic) – Explore your world with map themes, data, and tools for customizing your map, looking for downloadable, black-and-white maps of the world, continents, countries and states? Try the MapMaker 1-Page Maps.
http://classroom-aid.com/educational-resources/social-study/
WV State Auditor’s Finance University
On behalf of David Fletcher:
Once again it is registration time for the WV State Auditor’s Finance University that will be held from July 12 – 17, 2015. If you are teaching anything concerning earning, spending, saving, investing and protecting your money, this is a class that you will enjoy taking during your summer break. The class is paid entirely with grant funds from the Investor Protection Trust and the Auditor’s Office. We will hold the class at the Marriott in Charleston, WV and all room, food and mileage to and from Charleston is paid for you. We like to say that during this week it is time for learning but we also don’t want you to be burdened with having to pay a registration fee or anything else. There are two items that are chargeable to you should you need to do so. One is three hours continuing education credit from West Virginia University and also you are able to attain the Personal Finance Education Specialist advanced credential from the West Virginia Department of Education. If you would like to attend, please go to our web page at: https://www.wvsao.gov/Meetings/FinanceUniversity2013/Default.aspx
to register for this class. I will let you know if the class is starting to fill up so please sign up as early as you can and we hope to see you in July. If you have any questions, please call David Fletcher or Jim Rutledge at 877-982-9148.
Direct all questions to:
David A Fletcher
West Virginia State Auditor’s Office
Telephone: (304) 558-2251 Ext 2177
Cell: (304) 389-4431
Fax: (304) 340-5080
Email: David.Fletcher@WVSAO.gov
Website: www.wvsao.gov
Pop- Up Debate Link
Money Smart Week
Please see the information below from:
Kim Ward
Communications Specialist
The Office of West Virginia Treasurer John D. Perdue
- It’s Money Smart Week across the state! To help make you money smart, The West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office offers this financial fact:
Did you know—many students get their first credit card before they even go to college?
A good rule of thumb to help control credit card debt is to try and pay off your balance each month. If you only pay the minimum payment each month it could take more than ten years to pay off just $1000 in debt.
- It’s Money Smart Week across the state! To help make you money smart, The West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office offers this financial fact:
Each year, more than $13 billion is processed through the Treasurer’s Office.
How much is that? Well if you took 13 billion one dollar bills and put them end to end, it would go around the earth almost 52 times.
- It’s Money Smart Week across the state! To help make you money smart, The West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office offers this financial fact:
Have you started thinking about possibly going to college after high school? Studies show people who receive a college degree or other form of educational training earn one million dollars more in their lifetime than those who do not have a higher education.
- It’s Money Smart Week across the state! To help make you money smart, The West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office offers this financial fact:
If you have money—even if it’s just from an allowance—you can make a savings plan.
First, your saving goal has to be realistic. Odds are you won’t save enough money from allowance alone to buy a new car when you turn 16.
Next, be specific. Decide how much you want to save and what you are saving it for.
Set a deadline. I want to save enough by the beginning of the new school year.
Then take action. Decide how you will save. Like giving the money to your parents for safekeeping or starting a savings account at the bank.
- It’s Money Smart Week across the state! To help make you money smart, The West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office offers this financial fact:
Creating a budget is simple.
First, make a list of any money you receive each month. Include allowance, any money you earn from chores or odd jobs, birthday money, etc.
Next, make a list of everything you spend money on each month. Things like movies, clothes, music, and snacks.
Now, take the total amount of money you spend each month and subtract it from the total amount of money you make each month to see if you have a balanced budget.
- It’s Money Smart Week across the state! To help make you money smart, The West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office offers this financial fact:
If free really free? If someone is offering you something for free, there’s usually something in it for them. A free t-shirt is probably an advertisement. A free web service is likely littered with ads. If you learn to recognize why things are being given away for free—or really cheap—you’ll be able to make smarter decisions about buying things and recognizing a truly good deal.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author or organization represented and do not necessarily reflect the views of the WVDE, or its employees.
Robert “Joey” Wiseman Jr.
Assistant Director
Instructional Materials
Social Studies
WVDE Office of Secondary Learning
National Geographic Bee
On behalf of the National Geographic Bee:
Engage students in learning geography through an exciting contest. The National Geographic Society has released the official contest materials of the National Geographic Bee for free – a Free-Bee! Schools with grades 4-8 qualify to receive the Free-Bee classroom materials. Request the National Geographic Free-Bee for your school here.
Robert “Joey” Wiseman Jr.
Assistant Director
Instructional Materials
Social Studies
WVDE Office of Secondary Learning
2015 County Government Essay Contest
2015 County Government Essay Contest
April is “National County Government Month” and the County Commissioners’ Association of WV (CCAWV) is hosting our 4th annual essay contest for 8th grade students across West Virginia.
There will be a monetary prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place student winners. There will also be a monetary prize for the 1st place winner’s Teacher to be used for classroom activities. 1st Place Student will receive $300 and teacher will receive $300. 2nd place Student – $250 and 3rd place Student – $150.
One of CCAWV’s goals is to increase information and public awareness about county government and the office of County Commissioner. As an initiative of this goal we are excited to partner with West Virginia educators to encourage students to learn and write about their local county governing body, the County Commission.
Teachers, encourage students to write about a particular aspect of county commission authority that impacts the student’s life. Perhaps it is the funding of parks or county pools, or the funding to volunteer fire departments, new water or sewer projects perhaps, or farmland preservation boards that preserve property for farming activity. There are a multitude of areas where an 8th grader’s life is touched by county government…we’d like to hear about it!
Student participants are asked to type a 500-word essay on the topic…..
“How does my county commission make life better for me?”
Take a class fieldtrip to a county commission meeting! Ask your county commissioners to come speak to the class! Find out what your county commission is working on in your county and encourage your students to write about it through the eyes of an 8th grader and why it matters to them.
A committee of commissioners and CCAWV Staff will serve as judges of the contest. All entries must be emailed by 5:00 pm April 17, 2015to qualify. (Please see complete rules attached) Entries should be emailed to: vivian@ccawv.org Questions, please contact Megan Stroup at megan@ccawv.org or call 304-345-4639.
A winner will be announced by April 30, 2015
CCAWV County Government Essay Contest Rules 2015
- The contest is open to all 8th grade students who are enrolled in a West Virginia public or private school.
- The contest deadline is 5 p.m. on April 17, 2015 (see No. 8).
- Each essay is limited to a maximum of 500 words and a minimum of 400 words and must address the following question: “How does my county commission make life better for me?” The essay must address specifically the county commission of the county in which the student resides.
- Each student is limited to one entry.
- Each teacher must completely fill out an official application form (attached). Please submit each entry individually as a Word or PDF document with a copy of the application form attached.
- All entries must contain the student’s name, email address, and the county name in which the essay is about.
- All entries must be submitted in Microsoft Word or PDF format and must be submitted by the student’s teacher.
- All entries must be emailed to Vivian@ccawv.org prior to 5 p.m. on April 17, 2015.
- The winning essay will be announced by April 30, 2015.
- The 1st place student will receive $300, and the teacher who submitted the 1st place essay will receive $300 to be used for classroom activities
- The 2nd place student will receive $250 and the 3rd place student will receive $150.
- The winning students and his/her teachers will be invited to a County Commissioners meeting in their home county to receive their awards.
- The 1st place winning essay will be published in Commissioners’ Corner, CCAWV’s official publication, and posted on the CCAWV website, (www.ccawv.org).
- Essays will be judged on the following criteria: understanding of the role of county commission; grammar and spelling; clarity and organization of thought.
- By entering the contest, each student and teacher agrees to allow his/her name to be used in a news release announcing the contest winner in the event that their essay is selected as a winning essay. In addition, they agree to allow their photograph to be published in the Commissioners’ Corner and on the CCAWV Web site.
- Entries will not be returned.
Official Application Form
CCAWV 2015 County Government Essay Contest
County____________________________________________________
Teacher’s Name:____________________________________________
Teacher’s Email address:_____________________________________
Name of School:____________________________________________
School Telephone #:_________________________________________
School Mailing Address:______________________________________
__________________________________________________________
**********************************************************
Submitting Student’s Name___________________________________
Submitting Student’s mailing address (if available):________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
(Teacher, you must submit a copy of this completed form with each student entry.)
Robert “Joey” Wiseman Jr.
Assistant Director
Instructional Materials
Social Studies
WVDE Office of Secondary Learning
FREE Access to ANCESTRYk12.com
On Behalf of Ancestryk12.com:
The AncestryK12.com program offers free to k12 schools access to AncestryClassroom (Ancestry US content), Fold3 (our military site) and Newspapers.com for a year. This is renewal also at no charge. There are limitations such as no remote access (at home), nor the students cannot build online trees or post information online. Ancestry follows the guidelines of COPPA when it comes to minor students. The student can print, cut/paste or save to jump drive the image.
Ancestry is one of the leading publishers of primary and original documents online. We happen to specialize in genealogy but most of our primary documents also support curriculum studies from local history, military history, biographies, demographic studies, the immigration story, historical events and famous people. Whether the classroom would like to do a personal heritage project or study the Civil War, the AncestryK12 program is a great resource to support the teacher/classroom activities. Also, on the Ancestryk12 site are lesson plans and other documents to help the teacher. Our partners all have specialization such as Civil War, etc. but work with the k12 community and their resources are also free. Also, available for no charge is iBook the result of the pilot program working with NC teachers. The iBook has the teachers talk about their experiences in the classroom using Ancestry original sources for their projects.
I also want to let you know that Ancestry does not do any marketing or placing ads directed to students, teachers, school districts or parents. This program is completely free and free of all marketing. Ancestry considers this an investment into students learning in use primary sources and developing critical thinking skills. Skills that the students can use throughout their life time.
I have attached the flyer explaining the program and our latest newsletter. I included our TN Press Release for your review as well. If you would like a joint press release is takes us 15 business days to draft a similar one for you. What we would need is a quote and some back ground information. We would work with you on the draft.
Because the Milton Middle School has sign up for this program, we noticed that the IP range is really for the entire state, so all the k12 schools have access of this program today. I hope you let the other schools know about this wonderful resource available to all WV schools. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.
Ak12_Flyer_[1.0.6]_hr-3.pdf
AncestryK12 Second Edition for Print.pdf
Respectfully,
Kim
| Kim S. Harrison 5th great granddaughter of Adam Link |
| Senior Account Executive, Ancestry Library Team |
| kharrison@ancestry.com O: 801-705-7892 M: 248-797-2676 360 West 4800 North Provo, UT 84604 |
International Teacher Workshop
International Teacher Workshop:
Global Environmental Science using Technology (GEST) – Belize/US
July 27-August 3, 2015 in Belize
Science educators of all levels are invited to join us at Belize’s magnificent ocean reef and tropical jungle.
Belize is a wonderfully diverse country in Central America, home to Mayan, Latino, and Garifuna cultures. The country encompasses the 2nd largest barrier reef in the world and tropical jungles. English is main language.
In these settings, your international team will gather data and develop your own research questions as you hike and snorkel. Meet Belizean experts who will guide our field trips. Educators will inspire each other to design environmental science lesson plans that incorporate multicultural pedagogy, and conduct community service in a local classroom.
The workshop will entail:
- Fly to Belize City with other US teachers and leaders, then travel to the tropical jungle research site TREES (www.treesociety.org).Here you meet your Belizean colleagues and begin the exciting work of gathering data and designing lesson plans among jungle/stream adventures. Our service project will entail building a shade house and conducting a science/art lesson at the local school. Next our Belizean/ US group travels to a tropical island for research, Tobacco Caye Marine Station(www.tcmsbelize.org). Here we gather more data, finalize our lesson plans, and snorkel among corals and fishes. Package price includes basic accommodations, delicious homemade meals, and group travel inside Belize. Once educators return home, collaboration and process sharing of lesson plans will continue.
- Cost of workshop: $1,650 (includes airfare + insurance, NOT tips). *Ask about Scholarships*
- Upon completion of requirements, earn 3 graduate credits through West Liberty University for an additional $180.
- Send cover letter and resume to Jenny Bardwell, Curriculum Director, paxworks.org@gmail.com
PaxWorks (www.paxworks.org) is a nonprofit organization focusing on international education with emphasis on hands-on, community based learning. Currently, there are on-going education projects in Nepal, as well as teacher workshops in Belize. Future work is planned for similar efforts in Colombia.
PaxWorks’ Student Collaboration Project teaches girls leadership skills, and fosters analytical thinking as they invest a small grant on behalf of their community.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author or organization represented and do not necessarily reflect the views of the WVDE, or its employees.
Robert “Joey” Wiseman Jr.
Assistant Director
Instructional Materials
Social Studies
WVDE Office of Secondary Learning
Social Studies Resources 
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