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June 2013

Featured Trainings: Carolina Voices & the 2013 Local Government Seminar

1. Carolina Voices- The Diverse History and Cultures of the Tar Heel State
The NC Museum of History, Raleigh
August 13-14, 2013

North Carolina history teachers are invited to join the NC Civic Education Consortium (www.civics.org) and the NC Museum of History (http://www.ncmuseumofhistory.org/) for two exciting days exploring the distinct character and rich cultural heritage of the Tar Heel State.  Abounding with stories of people who have fought for a better way of life, stood up for their rights, and made numerous accomplishments in the face of adversity, North Carolina represents a tapestry of diverse and distinctive people. Throughout this two-day event, attending teachers will explore the history of groups such as Native Americans, African Americans, and Latinos in our state, as well as examine the regional and social diversity that makes North Carolina so unique. Participants will broaden their content knowledge during presentations from scholars from area universities, interacting with field experts on topics ranging from the dialects and languages of North Carolina (from Outer Banks Hoi Toider speech to the Smoky Mountains Highland speech), to the history and heritage of enslaved Africans and African Americans and their foodways, to how immigration is changing the face of North Carolina, and so much more! Participants will also spend time touring “The Story of North Carolina,” the NC History Museum’s acclaimed exhibit that traces life in North Carolina from its earliest inhabitants through the 20th century. More than 14,000 years of the state’s history unfold through fascinating artifacts, multimedia presentations, dioramas, and hands-on interactive components.

Teachers will also participate in and receive sample lesson plans on the topics and themes covered throughout the two days, designed for easy implementation in 8^th grade social studies, as well as dialogue with one another regarding ideas, resources and best practices for teaching North Carolina history.

In addition, teachers will learn about the wealth of resources available to them for teaching about North Carolina’s past and present from organizations such as LEARN NC (http://www.learnnc.org/) and the NC Department of Cultural Resources (including the State Library, the Archives, NC State Historic Sites, National History Day, and the Freedom Roads project.)

Offering a snap shot of some of the most compelling topics to share with students about this state, North Carolina history teachers do not want to miss this exciting opportunity!

Participants will receive:

• Access to historical experts and scholars of North Carolina history & culture
• Lesson plans and pedagogical training from the NC Civic Education Consortium & LEARN NC
• Special access to the exhibits and resources at the NC History Museum
• 1.2 Renewal Credits
• Breakfast, lunch and snacks both days
• Single occupancy hotel accommodations:
  • One night’s single occupancy hotel accommodations in Raleigh (for participants residing more than 50 round-trip miles from the NC History Museum)
  • Two night’s single occupancy hotel accommodations for participants residing more than 300 round-trip miles from the NC History Museum)

For additional details and registration information, click here.

2. The 2013 Local Government Seminar!
Date: August 5 & 6, 2013
Location: Asheville, NC
Generously Supported by the North Carolina City and County Management Association

Every day, local government touches the lives of North Carolinians and provides the services essential for functional communities, growing businesses, and healthy families.  It is local government that supplies water to our faucets, collects our trash, moves traffic through our downtowns, and cuts the grass in our parks and ball fields.  It is also local government that delivers care and counseling to those facing difficult times and responds with qualified personnel to life’s emergencies.

Participants in this seminar will learn first-hand the role of local government in North Carolina and then explore pedagogical strategies for teaching young people about how local government in North Carolina works.  Highlights of the Seminar will include: a special welcome from the Mayor of Asheville, Terry Bellamy meeting with elected and appointed local government officials, “behind-the-scenes” field trips to various city and county facilities, a special comedy tour of Asheville, and MUCH MORE!

Participants will receive:

• Lesson plans aligned to the NC Essential Standards
• 2.0 renewal credits
• A FREE, single occupancy hotel room for the evening of 8/5 (for participants residing more than 50 miles from the training location)
• Meals – lunch and dinner on 8/5;  breakfast and lunch on 8/6; snacks throughout
• One-on-one access to various elected and unelected officials and city and county staff.
• “Special Access” field trips to various sites around the city and county.

For additional details and registration information, click here.

FEATURED Resources: Exploring Life in 1898 Wilmington & the Wilmington Race Riot with CROW, a novel for young adults.

The NC Essential Standards require that all 8th graders learn about the 1898 Wilmington Race Riots.  The Consortium has teamed with author Barbara Wright to develop a fun and informative curriculum to help your students learn about this divisive period of NC History.

CROW, a novel for young adults by Barbara Wright, is an excellent way to engage students in learning about the 1898 Wilmington Race Riot and related themes such as slavery, Jim Crow, democracy, the rule of law, overcoming adversity, and more.  Written from the perspective of 12-year-old Moses Thomas, the novel gives students a personal perspective of the thriving African American community of Wilmington and how its rights and freedoms were violently challenged in the only successful coup d’etat in US history.

This guide provides resources for using CROW in either the Social Studies or Language Arts classroom, or ideally, as an interdisciplinary unit for both courses.  Through the attached detailed reading guide, teachers can engage students in chapter by chapter discussion that encourage critical reading and higher order thinking.  The numerous activity options provided allow students to creatively explore the fictional life of the characters as they relate to real-world historical events through group work, drama, art, creative writing, deliberation, examination of primary source documents, and more. Teachers should preview the questions and activities provided and choose which best meet their particular course’s learning goals.

Click here to download the CROW curriculum.

Click here to visit Barbara Wright’s website.

News Updates

1. Ways Teachers Can Bring 21st Century Skills Into High School

By Kelsey Sheehy | U.S.News & World Report LP 

Lessons taught in high schools often skimp on 21st century skills such as collaboration and real-world problem solving, according to a report released last week by Gallup.

The research organization worked in conjunction with Microsoft Partners in Learning and the Pearson Foundation to interview 1,014 people ages 18-35 with varying levels of education, asking them to recall their last year of school.

Only 22 percent of students with a high school education or less say teachers prompted them to apply what they learned to a real-world problem, according to the report.

Additionally, roughly one-third reported learning about other cultures and teaming up with classmates on projects. While technology use was common among these students, only 3 percent said they used video conferencing, discussion boards or collaborative tools such as Skype.

Students tasked with regularly deploying these 21st century skills — deemed by the study’s authors, as well as other experts, to be crucial in the workplace — were more likely to say they excelled at their jobs, according to the report.

The Common Core State Standards adopted by most states require teachers to incorporate collaboration, problem solving and critical thinking into their lessons. With implementation of those standards already underway, these tips can help educators bring the real world into their classrooms.

Cull current events: Look at what is dominating the news cycle and think about how it applies to your lessons, experts suggest. Teachers can use severe weather outbreaks and environmental disasters to illustrate everything from climate patterns to the logistics of coordinating relief efforts.

Using separate oil spills in the Gulf Coast and Alaska as an example, Shanika Hope, senior director of curriculum and instruction at Discovery Education, told High School Notes in December that teachers can have students “compare and contrast that cleanup effort, and talk about ways to improve [it]. All of that’s real-world, relevant stuff that’s important to them, and they’re being asked to leverage different tools.”

[Discover websites for teachers to try in 2013.]

Educators can also capitalize on the seemingly never-ending campaign season to teach students about everything from statistics to finance and big data. The U.S. Government Teachers Blog regularly posts on ways to do just that.

Tap industry experts: Getting a CEO into your classroom can be a logistical nightmare. Getting them on a Skype call — now that’s another story.

Free online tools open up a wellspring of opportunity for getting experts in front of students. Educators can set up a call or join one hosted by someone else, using resources such as Skype in the Classroom.

The White House, media outlets and other organizations also regularly host Twitter chats and Google Hangouts with top minds in nearly every field imaginable.

Teachers can also turn the tables and have students present a project or pitch an idea to industry leaders, Andrew Marcinek, an instructional technology specialist at Burlington Public Schools in Massachusetts, suggested in a recent blog post.

Marcinek’s help desk class broadcast their TED Talk research projects and presented at multiple conferences using Google Hangout. He also tasked them with hosting their own talks on the platform, including writing scripts, creating sets and manipulating camera angles.

Edited for formatting by the NC Civic Education Consortium.  This article originally appeared at Yahoo! News.

Current Opportunities 

1. Jane Austen Summer Program
Dates & Location: June 27-30, UNC-Chapel Hill

Organized by UNC’s Department of English and Comparative Literature in conjunction with the Program in the Humanities, this four-day summer program celebrates the 200th anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice.

Learning experiences include lecture formats and discussion groups daily. Discussions will focus on Pride and Prejudice in its historical context as well as its many afterlives in fiction and film.

Additional events include a Regency ball, the chance to partake in an English tea, a silent auction of Austen-related items, and the opportunity to view special exhibits tailored to the conference.

Click here for a tentative agenda.

Accommodation options include the chance to stay at a historic dorm on UNC’s campus or hotels nearby.

• Dormitory option: Alexander Hall is a three-story dormitory building. Rooms are sparsely furnished, and bathrooms are located in the hallways. A laundry and vending machines are on site. Participants may wish to bring a reading lamp and additional pillows in addition to purchasing the linen packet. The cost is $165 for the entire program.
• Carolina Inn: The Inn fills up quickly, so book early if you wish to stay at this historic hotel adjacent to UNC’s campus. Rooms start at $172 per night.
• The Siena Hotel: Rooms are available at the Siena for $129 per night.
• Aloft: To book a room at Aloft Chapel Hill for $99 per night, participants must contact the hotel by June 13, 2013. To take advantage of this offer, call 919-932-7772 and mention group code “SMERF,” or visit this link. Parking at the hotel costs an additional $6 per day.

The Austen Summer Program is designed to appeal to established scholars, high school teachers, graduate students, and undergraduate students — anyone with a passion for all things Austen is welcome to attend!

TUITION: Tuition is $429 before May20th and $529 thereafter. Sign up early to secure your spot and save!

FOR TEACHERS: Currently employed full-time teachers in K-12 public and private schools are eligible for a scholarship covering 50% of the tuition ($214.50 before 4/15, $264.50 after the early bird offer ends).

TO REGISTER: register at our secure site at https://hhv.oasis.unc.edu/

The Jane Austen Summer Program receives support from the General Alumni Association, the Institute for the Arts and Humanities, the North Carolina Region of the Jane Austen Society of North America, and the Regency Assembly of North Carolina.

2. The UNC Program in the Humanities and Human Values Announces their Summer 2013 Adventures in Ideas Seminars
Register now to secure a spot in a general seminar offered by the Program in the Humanities. Teachers receive a 50% discount off tuition and are entered in a drawing to receive a travel scholarship as a part of the Daisy Edmister Fund. Seminars are all day Saturday. Receive credit for 10 contact hours of continuing education. While these programs are designed for a general audience and do not include pedagogical training or lesson plans (unlike the Consortium’s teacher trainings, which include a combination of pedagogy, curriculum exploration and scholar lectures), these seminars are still an excellent way for teachers to expand their content knowledge in various topics.

Topics and dates are:

• The Cold War: Crisis, Character, & Competition: June 8, 2013
• Britain & France in World War II: June 22, 2013

Secure Online Registration available – click here for details.

For more information about the UNC Program in the Humanities and Human Values, visit http://humanities.unc.edu/, or call 919-962-1544, or email human@unc.edu.

3. The UNC Program in the Humanities and Human Values Announces Spotlight on Scholars Summer Schedule

Spotlight on Scholars is our newest program exemplifying the diversity of scholarship at Carolina. Developed in collaboration with the General Alumni Association, these sessions will feature UNC-Chapel Hill faculty discussing their recent work—their new books or newest scholarly passion. Come find out what the University’s scholars are writing and thinking about and join in the discussion.

Spotlight on Scholars events take place on THURSDAYS at Flyleaf Books, 752 MLK Jr. Blvd., in Chapel Hill. All run from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. There are no preparatory readings for Spotlight on Scholars events. This summer’s topics, dates, and times are below.  Click the links for more information:

• The Medieval Papacy: Religion and Politics in Christian Europe: June 6, 2013
• Shakespeare in the Marketplace: June 20, 2013

Program Tuition: Register ahead of time and pay $18.00 per program, or pay only $8 if you are a member of the UNC General Alumni Association (GAA). To check your membership status or to join the GAA, please visit alumni.unc.edu or call 800.962.0742. GAA membership is open to all UNC alumni and friends. Tuition is $20.00 for everyone paying at the door.

For information about our cancellation policy, discounts, parking, and more, please visit our General Information page.

Secure Online Registration available – click here for details. 

4. NC History Museum presents Freedom Coming, Freedom for All.  An exhibition featuring the Emancipation ProclamationExhibit Dates: May 15–June 16, 2013

For more information about this opportunity, visit the NC Museum of History’s website.

5.  NC Museum of History Presents Watergate: Political Scandal and the Presidency
Exhibit Dates: May 17, 2013 – August 10, 2014

The summer of 1973, Americans stayed glued to their televisions as one of the nation’s most serious political scandals, known as Watergate, began to unfold. Friday, May 17, 2013, marks the 40th anniversary of the first televised hearing of the Senate Select Committee that investigated President Richard M. Nixon’s 1972 campaign for re-election.May 17 also brings the opening of Watergate: Political Scandal & the Presidency, an exhibit at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh. The exhibit will run through Aug. 10, 2014, one day after the 40th anniversary of President Nixon’s resignation. Admission is free.

Since many museum visitors will be too young to remember Watergate, the exhibit tells the story of this rather complicated scandal in a very straightforward, engaging way,” says RaeLana Poteat, Curator of Political and Social History. “Artifacts, photographs, video clips and a 1970 living room setting will intrigue both younger visitors and those who recall this transformative time in our nation’s history. Watergate also highlights North Carolina Senator Sam Ervin Jr. and many other Tar Heels who played important roles in investigating the scandal.”The exhibit’s time line follows the twists and turns of the Nixon administration’s unraveling saga. The scandal began on June 17, 1972, with a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. Five men were arrested carrying bugging equipment, and within days, investigative reporters at the Washington Post established links between the burglars and Nixon’s re-election campaign.As evidence emerged, the Senate formed the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities to uncover irregularities in the 1972 campaign. Sen. Ervin served as chair of the committee that spent almost three months grilling Nixon administration officials during the first phase of its hearings. Eventually, evidence presented during the Senate Select Committee hearings, House Judiciary Committee impeachment hearings, and an ongoing criminal investigation led to the president’s resignation and the indictment of 40 Nixon campaign and administration officials.

For more information about the exhibit, visit the NC Museum of History’s website.

6.  UNC’s World View Announces Their Fall Global Education Symposium: “Population & Global Migration”
Dates: October 23-24, Friday Center, Chapel Hill, NC

This symposium offers general session, concurrent sessions, and support for school based teams.  This program is designed for K-12 administrators and teachers in all disciplines.  Educators will leave the program with strategies to integrate global themes into their schools and classrooms.

For more information, visit the World View website.

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