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NCCSS Conference Dates - April 24-25
The NCCSS Executive Board and Directors are pleased to share that the 2025 NCCSS Conference, which was postponed due to the Governor’s State of Emergency with the incoming winter storm, has now been rescheduled for April 24-25. The conference will take place at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro, North Carolina.
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Social Studies Teacher, Iredell-Statesville Schools
Gretchyn has been using C3 IDM for over a decade, building resources and offering PD to support classroom adoption of inquiry. She teaches World History & Economics & Personal Finance & is an advocate for the ethical use of AI in the classroom. Currently she works with several organizations... Read More →
This Virtual Reality exhibit will offer visitors an immersive experience that bridges the past with the present, focusing on the experiences of Black travelers in a segregated America. Join us for a Cinematic Virtual Reality Experience that immerses the viewer in the long history of restriction of movement for Black Americans and the creation of safe spaces in our communities.
Add Shoebox lunch for $9.99(Shoebox lunch recreates how the negro traveler would eat if they didn't have a safe place to stop while traveling during Jim Crow). Pick up to go lunch box at 12pm either Thurs or Fri at 12pm. Be sure to pre pay and pre order
For more information on the Historic Magnolia House
Preserve African American sites, reunite them with their communities, and give them a voice to tell their own stories through creating living historic spaces, education, the arts and community. The Magnolia Shoebox Meal Virtual Reality Traveling While Black Immersive Experience is... Read More →
Friday April 25, 2025 8:00am - 8:50am EDT
Edinburgh3121 West Gate City Boulevard, Greensboro, NC, USA
Discover how to engage K-8 students with the big ideas in North Carolina social studies using News-O-Matic. This session will explore practical strategies for teaching key topics like historical turning points, human-environment interaction, civic responsibility, and economic systems. Learn how News-O-Matic’s interactive tools and resources foster critical thinking and inquiry-based learning while connecting students to North Carolina’s history, geography, and culture in meaningful ways. Leave with tools to align lessons with standards and inspire your students to think critically about the world around them.
How can we reimagine how we tell stories of ancient cultures through objects? How can museum collections and technology work together to immerse students in learning and bring the past to life? In object-based learning, works of art are a catalyst and bridge to help understand the human experience, values, and beliefs of ancient cultures. Educators from the North Carolina Museum of Art will introduce easy-to -implement discussion strategies that encourage close looking and evidence-based interpretation of cultural objects. You will also learn about NCMA Explore, a new resource featuring rich, contextualized, historically accurate virtual spaces from five locations around the globe, each with optional scavenger hunts that engage students with digitized 3D objects from the Museum’s collection of ancient art.
Director of Education, North Carolina Museum of Art
I am passionate about increasing access to art experiences and transforming museums into more open and inclusive communities. I left the classroom in 2010 to work at the North Carolina Museum of Art finding new opportunities to serve as a teacher leader and artist educator. My work... Read More →
In this interactive session, discover how Exploros transforms your social studies classroom by giving every student a voice. With complete, pedagogically designed courses, Exploros provides engaging, class-length lessons that cater to diverse learning styles. Teachers can choose from a course playlist, assign tasks to individuals or groups, and guide dynamic, interactive learning experiences. Exploros empowers educators to stage lessons, monitor real-time student progress, and facilitate enriched discussions, allowing for targeted reteaching or personalized learning to meet each student’s needs. Exploros aligns with North Carolina’s World Studies 1, North Carolina and U.S. History, and American History courses, and offers bonus courses like World Cultures and Civics. This makes it easy to integrate engaging, standards-aligned content into your curriculum.
Please bring your laptop—by the end of the session, you'll leave with 1,000 learning experiences you can use in your classroom right away!
Exploros helps teachers stage powerful social learning experiences in the live classroom. With Exploros, every student engages — there are no bystanders. When all students contribute, classroom learning is enriched, and teachers have the opportunity to better personalize and pace... Read More →
Explore and gain strategies to foster respectful dialogue among middle school students with diverse perspectives to advance students’ interest and engagement in any Social Studies classroom. Educators will learn engaging, research-backed methods that boost academic and social-emotional development and lower the temperature of polarization. Educators will receive free tools, discussion strategies, and assessment ideas to integrate civil discourse into any Social Studies content, preparing students to navigate challenging issues with empathy and understanding.
Sphere provides educators with viewpoint diverse resources to bring conversations to the classroom and equip students to engage in civil discourse. Sphere offers lesson plans, discussion questions, videos, and publications on various topics for use in the classroom that are exclusively... Read More →
Discover teaching strategies that foster critical analysis of history through diverse sources. Learn to engage students in discussions and activities promoting empathy, understanding, and historical thinking skills. By attending this session, participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of teaching history from multiple viewpoints using diverse sources. They will learn new skills, teaching methods, content, lesson ideas, and applications of technology.
Discover innovative ways to teach the pivotal story of Wilmington 1898, a moment of racial injustice and democratic upheaval, using PBS’s American Experience episode Wilmington 1898: American Coup. Explore strategies to engage students with primary sources, multimedia content, and inquiry-based learning that connects this historical event to broader themes in American history and global struggles for equity and justice and learn about ongoing professional development opportunities that will equip you to foster critical thinking and meaningful discussions on citizenship and the enduring impact of history in your classroom.
This professional development (PD) session is designed to provide educators with effective strategies for creating rigorous and engaging Social Studies classrooms. The focus will be on fostering a sense of belonging, promoting arts integration, differentiation, and supporting reading and writing across the curriculum, all while emphasizing cultural relevance. Participants will explore how the arts can enrich social studies education and learn methods to incorporate the arts to encourage critical thinking, engagement, and creativity in their lessons. This session will equip educators with the knowledge and skills needed to design dynamic classrooms that enhance student learning, promote inclusivity, and improve achievement in social studies. I am confident that this PD experience will be both enriching and valuable for all participants.
Social studies teachers are often faced with dwindling resources and a growing spectrum of student background knowledge and ability levels in their classrooms.One possible solution lies in the seemingly limitless scope of AI platforms and its generative abilities. In this session we’ll discuss takeaways from using multiple AI platforms to support social studies content development as well as the implications on inclusive course content, diverse learners, and Universal Design for Learning.
Director of Digital Content and Instruction, WCPSS
I serve on the Digital Learning and Libraries team for WCPSS and work with the Digital Learning Coordinators to support all staff on the selection and integration of digital resources to meet instructional needs. I am a doctoral student at Western Carolina University focusing on improving... Read More →
Friday April 25, 2025 8:00am - 8:50am EDT
Tidewater B3121 W Gate City Blvd, Greensboro, NC 27494
This session will explore the development of civic literacy curriculum materials designed specifically for K-5 classrooms. Participants will learn how to engage young students in understanding core democratic principles, active citizenship, and community participation. We’ll highlight key strategies for creating age-appropriate resources that empower teachers to foster critical thinking, empathy, and civic responsibility from an early age. You will leave the session with K-5 civic literacy resources that are ready for use across North Carolina, providing practical tools and insights to bring civic education to life in elementary classrooms.
Elementary Social Studies Curriculum Specialist, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools
Versatile Curriculum Specialist with extensive experience in professional training, instructional design, and program facilitation. Proven ability to craft engaging learning experiences for diverse audiences by leveraging technology and data-driven insights. Skilled at fostering collaboration... Read More →
Friday April 25, 2025 9:00am - 9:25am EDT
Tidewater B3121 W Gate City Blvd, Greensboro, NC 27494
Familar with ChatGTP and want to explore more AI products, tools and apps? This session will introduce AI with content-specific examples for different levels (elementary, middle and high). Possibilities and limitations of each will be discussed so that participants can make the best informed decisions for how to integrate AI into their social studies classes.
I am a high school social studies teacher with 4 years of experience. I am on multiple committees for setting policy for Ethical AI use in the classroom and am very interested in the future of technology in the classroom, especially around AI.
Friday April 25, 2025 9:00am - 9:50am EDT
Tidewater A3121 W Gate City Blvd, Greensboro, NC 27493
This Virtual Reality exhibit will offer visitors an immersive experience that bridges the past with the present, focusing on the experiences of Black travelers in a segregated America. Join us for a Cinematic Virtual Reality Experience that immerses the viewer in the long history of restriction of movement for Black Americans and the creation of safe spaces in our communities.
Add Shoebox lunch for $9.99(Shoebox lunch recreates how the negro traveler would eat if they didn't have a safe place to stop while traveling during Jim Crow). Pick up to go lunch box at 12pm either Thurs or Fri at 12pm. Be sure to pre pay and pre order
For more information on the Historic Magnolia House
Preserve African American sites, reunite them with their communities, and give them a voice to tell their own stories through creating living historic spaces, education, the arts and community. The Magnolia Shoebox Meal Virtual Reality Traveling While Black Immersive Experience is... Read More →
Friday April 25, 2025 9:00am - 9:50am EDT
Edinburgh3121 West Gate City Boulevard, Greensboro, NC, USA
This session explores how Interactive Student Notebooks can revolutionize teaching and learning, fostering deeper connections to historical content while promoting critical thinking, creativity, and organization. Whether you teach U.S. History, World History, Geography, or Civics, interactive notebooks are a versatile tool that help students actively process and engage with material, making history come alive. In this session, you’ll discover practical strategies for designing and implementing Interactive Student Notebooks, from setting them up to creating dynamic activities like timelines, foldables, graphic organizers, and reflection prompts. Learn how these notebooks encourage students to take ownership of their learning, build connections across themes, and retain key information in meaningful ways. Perfect for educators of all grade levels, this hands-on workshop will also share tips for classroom management, assessing student work, and integrating technology to enhance interactive notebooks. Come by to learn how to transform your teaching practices and equip your students with the skills they need to become active, informed citizens of history. Let’s make your social studies classroom an engaging and interactive learning environment that inspires curiosity and participation.
Unlock the potential of Generative AI to streamline teaching and elevate learning in social studies. This session introduces productivity tools to offload routine instructional design tasks, empowering educators to focus on impactful teaching. Explore AI applications that support students in mastering social studies concepts through interactive, inquiry-based learning. Discover cutting-edge tools for teacher planning, curriculum design, and personalized instruction, tailored to your unique classroom needs. With practical demonstrations and strategies, this session equips educators to harness AI as a collaborative partner, fostering creativity, efficiency, and student engagement in today’s dynamic educational landscape.
Celebrate world cultures with even the youngest students as you easily integrate these rich resources and ideas into your elementary classroom. Hands-on, inquiry-based Social Studies activities keep students engaged and using higher order thinking skills. We will help you enrich every content area, build background knowledge, pique curiosity, and have fun! You can use what we share to build a foundation for lifelong learning, empathy, respect, collaboration, communication, and inquiry. You may even take away a means to get your own passport stamped!
This session explores how an inquiry approach to social studies using an ethnic studies framework can make social studies classrooms more inclusive and reflective of global diversity, while building students historical thinking skills. The session will address how the ethnic studies framework can build student learning autonomy, highlight diverse histories, challenge Eurocentric views, and honor the unique experiences, identities, and values of racial and ethnic groups. The ethnic studies and inquiry approaches focus on humanity, agency, and liberation, offering a fuller understanding of history while challenging stereotypes and promoting inclusive, empowering narratives in the social studies classroom. The session is appropriate for any secondary social studies course.
In 2021, North Carolina’s General Assembly enacted the Gizella Abramson Holocaust Education Act, requiring Holocaust studies in grades 6–12. This session highlights how Judaica can serve as a rich entry point for teaching the Holocaust by blending broader cultural heritage with individual stories from the Shoah. By using Judaica as primary sources, educators can provide a Jewish-centered perspective while fostering discussions on survival and resilience with a tangible link to the present. Ashley Low, a North Carolina Museum of Art educator and UNCG PhD candidate, will demonstrate how objects from NCMA’s Judaica Gallery inspire thought-provoking conversations about survival and resistance during the Holocaust. Participants will engage in object-based learning activities to spark curiosity about Jewish culture and Holocaust studies. During this session, they will access NCMA’s online and print resources while learning strategies for integrating Jewish life, ritual, and resilience in the classroom. For six months, Ashley has created digital resources that incorporate Jewish art into North Carolina curriculums, merging art, history, and social studies to bring accessible, interdisciplinary studies into classrooms statewide. This session empowers educators to integrate object-based learning into Holocaust education, expanding on themes of Jewish ritual, survival, and resilience and enriching middle and high school curricula.
70 years ago, in 1955, the killing of Emmett Till changed the course of American history. Yet, what most people believe about what happened and who did it is based on a lie to cover-up a greater conspiracy. Emmy-winning filmmaker, Loki Mulholland, explores the true history using rarely seen historical documents and excerpts from his documentary, “Emmett Till: White Lies, Black Death”, to examine the facts and what we can learn about teaching honest history today. Participants will have a deeper understanding of the Civil Rights Movement and how to help their students become active participants in exploring history.
Executive Director, The Joan Trumpauer Mulholland Foundation
Loki Mulholland is an Emmy-winning filmmaker, author, activist, and son of civil rights icon, Joan Trumpauer Mulholland. His work has received over 40 Telly Awards and his films on race and social justice issues have won over 20 Best Documentary awards. Loki is the author of multiple... Read More →
Friday April 25, 2025 9:00am - 9:50am EDT
Pebble Beach3121 W Gate City Blvd, Greensboro, NC 27497
It can take hours to find the right resources and even longer to get them ready for your students. Kindred K-12 is an AI-based teaching platform that makes it easier for you to find, adapt, and use high-quality resources, like primary sources, for your classroom. We help social studies teachers build inquiry-based classrooms customized to what works best for them and their students. This session gets you started with Kindred and walks through a demo of what it can do for you. Curriculum and instruction leaders are welcome to learn more about how our technology can encourage research-backed teaching practices in your district. Geared 6-12. All are welcome.
In today's rapidly evolving educational landscape, integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into social studies classrooms offers innovative ways to engage students and enhance learning experiences. This session will explore the transformative potential of AI tools, particularly ChatGPT, in supporting educators and students in the social studies domain. Participants will discover how AI can facilitate personalized learning, promote critical thinking, and foster collaborative discussions among students. By leveraging ChatGPT, educators can access a wealth of resources, generate lesson ideas, and create interactive activities that resonate with diverse learners. The session will highlight practical applications and real-world examples of AI in social studies, emphasizing its role in addressing contemporary issues such as civic engagement, historical analysis, and cultural understanding. Attendees will leave equipped with strategies to effectively integrate AI into their teaching practices, ultimately enriching their curriculum and inspiring students to become informed global citizens. Join us to explore this vital intersection of technology and education, and learn how AI can empower the next generation of thinkers and leaders in social studies.
Should I buy a house? Should I buy or lease that car? Should I buy a life insurance policy? What is the difference between my credit score and my credit report? Attend this session to receive tips on improving YOUR financial well-being. Whether you are an elementary or middle school teacher, teach high school social studies, including Economics and Personal Finance, or are a district leader, this session is for YOU!! After all, personal finance standards appear throughout social studies. During this interactive session, you will learn steps to achieving financial freedom. Topics like debt, credit scores and credit reports, saving and investing, compound interest, retirement accounts, and more will all be discussed along with strategies for improving your financial future. You will learn where you are on your financial path and will leave with a smart goal that is appropriate for you at this particular stage of your financial journey.
This Virtual Reality exhibit will offer visitors an immersive experience that bridges the past with the present, focusing on the experiences of Black travelers in a segregated America. Join us for a Cinematic Virtual Reality Experience that immerses the viewer in the long history of restriction of movement for Black Americans and the creation of safe spaces in our communities.
Add Shoebox lunch for $9.99(Shoebox lunch recreates how the negro traveler would eat if they didn't have a safe place to stop while traveling during Jim Crow). Pick up to go lunch box at 12pm either Thurs or Fri at 12pm. Be sure to pre pay and pre order
For more information on the Historic Magnolia House
Preserve African American sites, reunite them with their communities, and give them a voice to tell their own stories through creating living historic spaces, education, the arts and community. The Magnolia Shoebox Meal Virtual Reality Traveling While Black Immersive Experience is... Read More →
Friday April 25, 2025 10:00am - 10:50am EDT
Edinburgh3121 West Gate City Boulevard, Greensboro, NC, USA
This session is designed to help teachers hold meaningful and productive conversations with their students about public policies, controversial issues, and current events. It offers tools and teaching strategies that can make fostering civil discourse in the classroom feel less overwhelming and challenging.
To more effectively prepare teachers the field of education is amidst a “practice-turn” to emphasize the practice of teaching and mastery of skills directly related to effective classroom instruction (e.g., Grossman, 2018; Mancenido, 2023). Practice based teacher education emphasizes using the learning cycle to deconstruct, observe, practice and enact high leverage practices. This session will explore the use of a variety of intentionally structured simulation experiences including Mursion, a mixed reality platform that uses a combination of artificial intelligence and live human interaction to create immersive simulations for learning and practice teaching civics in an undergraduate social studies methods course.
How can you incorporate the histories of Brazil or Cuba in your U.S. History, World History, or Latin American Studies course? With Choices Program curriculum units of course! We’ll explore the student readings, lessons, and videos found in both the History, Revolution, and Reform: New Directions for Cuba unit, and the Brazil: A History of Change unit, and discuss ways you can incorporate them, in whole or in part, into your classroom. Each unit is about 10-15 days in length and is appropriate for middle and high school classrooms. Free one-year Digital Editions license to one of the units (your choice) is provided.
This session explores how elementary social studies educators can effectively integrate WIDA Standards to support multilingual learners in accessing and engaging with social studies content. Through hands-on activities, participants will analyze social studies tasks, adapt materials, and create learning objectives that align with both academic content standards and language development goals. Also, will examine strategies for scaffolding instruction to build academic language while fostering critical thinking and inquiry-based learning. The session will highlight examples of using WIDA’s Proficiency Level Descriptors and Key Language Uses (Narrate, Inform, Explain, and Argue,) to design lessons that are inclusive and culturally and linguistically sustaining.
The C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards prioritizes inquiry, research, and communication skills. However, Sam Wineburg and his colleagues have demonstrated that students need intentional support to discern the usefulness of online information. Debate is a powerful tool to engage students in cultivating these skills. This session will present three models for debate: a historical significance approach for world history; an advocacy twist on the State of the Union address for U.S. history, and a policy orientation for civics. We will cover principles for structuring the debate, teaching online research skills, facilitating collaboration, maximizing engagement, and assessing equitably.
Social Studies classes are enriched by inquiry – but what about the practicalities of incorporating it into your practice? Teachers attending this session will walk away with research-based materials addressing implementation hurdles of inquiry. Topics include: supporting ELLs, working towards student-led discussion, addressing digital literacies, differentiating inquiry, and improving compelling questions. Materials include lesson plans as well as teacher guides for specific scaffolds with examples. These materials can be incorporated into your existing curriculum and schedule. Geared towards 6-12. All Welcome. Hosted by Kindred K-12.
Linda K. Wertheimer will be signing copies of her book, Faith Ed: Teaching about Religion in an Age of Intolerance, which will be available for purchase after her keynote address. Proceeds from the book sales will be donated to the National Council for the Social Studies' First Timer Scholarship Program, in line with NCCSS's commitment as a Gold Star Affiliate.
Author, FAITH ED: TEACHING ABOUT RELIGION IN AN AGE OF INTOLERANCE
Short Bio: Linda K. Wertheimer, a veteran journalist and former Boston Globe education editor, is the award-winning author of Faith Ed, Teaching About Religion In An Age of Intolerance. During her nearly 30-year journalism career, she was a reporter at The Dallas Morning News... Read More →
Friday April 25, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am EDT
Vendor & Exhibit Hall3121 W Gate City Blvd, Greensboro, NC 27407
The last twenty years have seen the emergence of a global paradigm in medieval studies. This paradigm, called the Global Middle Ages, encourages us to frame our study of the Middle Ages in terms of vectors and patterns of change. In this session, the presenter (an academic medievalist) will introduce the paradigm, show how it aligns with the 2021 NC Social Studies Standards (especially the world history standards), and share resources for teaching it.
Assistant Professor of History, Appalachian State University
I am an assistant professor of history at Appalachian State University where I teach courses in medieval history and secondary social studies pedagogy.
This Virtual Reality exhibit will offer visitors an immersive experience that bridges the past with the present, focusing on the experiences of Black travelers in a segregated America. Join us for a Cinematic Virtual Reality Experience that immerses the viewer in the long history of restriction of movement for Black Americans and the creation of safe spaces in our communities.
Add Shoebox lunch for $9.99(Shoebox lunch recreates how the negro traveler would eat if they didn't have a safe place to stop while traveling during Jim Crow). Pick up to go lunch box at 12pm either Thurs or Fri at 12pm. Be sure to pre pay and pre order
For more information on the Historic Magnolia House
Preserve African American sites, reunite them with their communities, and give them a voice to tell their own stories through creating living historic spaces, education, the arts and community. The Magnolia Shoebox Meal Virtual Reality Traveling While Black Immersive Experience is... Read More →
Friday April 25, 2025 11:00am - 11:50am EDT
Edinburgh3121 West Gate City Boulevard, Greensboro, NC, USA
This U.S. History presentation demonstrates how two educators at a Charlotte school educators used a local cemetery to illuminate the history of slavery, aligning with the theme "Engaging the World With Social Studies." By analyzing grave markers, burial patterns, and the cemetery’s location, teachers uncover hidden narratives, reconstruct family ties, and reveal community dynamics. This tangible approach engages students with their local heritage while connecting to broader historical narratives about slavery, family structures, and community dynamics. Participants will learn practical strategies for using primary sources like gravestones to enhance historical inquiry skills, making abstract history relatable and concrete. The session will include interactive elements, such as photos, videos, and lesson plans, empowering teachers to replicate this curriculum in their classrooms. Ideal for U.S. History educators, this session provides tools to inspire students to explore their own community’s history while fostering connections to state and national narratives. Attendees will leave with ready-to-use lesson plans and a renewed perspective on integrating local history into K-12 education, ensuring students grasp the enduring relevance of the past. Join us to uncover how local cemeteries can serve as powerful resources for teaching slavery’s history and its impact on North Carolina and beyond.
Middle School History Teacher, Providence Day School
David Harris is a middle school history teacher at Providence Day School in Charlotte, NC, and a founder of Charlotte People of Color (CPOC), an organization supporting people of color in private independent schools. A Chicago native, he holds a B.S. in Business Administration from... Read More →
This interactive session demonstrates how storytelling and podcasting can transform social studies classrooms into spaces for cultural exploration, critical thinking, and student agency. Participants will engage in a storying activity using personal artifacts to explore values, culture, and identity, fostering empathy and appreciation of lived experiences. Real-world stories of immigrant students and teachers will highlight the power of narratives in social studies education. Modeling GenAI podcasting as a collaborative tool to synthesize stories, participants will learn strategies for fostering community and shared identity. Attendees will leave with practical strategies and resources to integrate storytelling and podcasting into their K-12 social studies classrooms.
Are you a history teacher thinking of ways to better incorporate economics into your courses? Are you an economics teacher trying to make relevant connections with history? Join this session for a discussion of ways to include economic concepts into your history courses–and ways to draw on history to enhance your economics/EPF courses. Participants will also join in a collaborative activity to match economic concepts/topics with historical events, then consider engaging, standards-aligned activities that can support their students in deepening these connections. It might be helpful to bring your computer, tablet, or mobile phone.
I teach economics (CP Economics, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics) and U.S. History (CP & Honors). I’m also a mountain biking coach in our school’s Outdoor Program. I serve as a dorm parent and Head of House (South Carolina House).
Friday April 25, 2025 11:00am - 11:50am EDT
Augusta A3121 W Gate City Blvd, Greensboro, NC 27491
The Gizella Abramson Holocaust Education Act is a very important budgetary item which mandates education about the Holocaust in every grade, in the state of North Carolina. Attend this session and learn more about what this means, and how it can be implemented.
Anne Frank – a history for today tells the story of Anne Frank against the background of the Holocaust and the Second World War. This traveling exhibit is sponsored by Johnston County Public Schools through the Anne Frank Center at the University of South Carolina. During this session you will learn about the traveling exhibit, the student docent training process, opportunities to become a facilitator, and how to bring the exhibit to your school or district. The exhibit supports the Gizella Abramson Holocaust Education Act and is appropriate for grades 6-12, however all educators are welcome to attend the session!
Are you overwhelmed by North Carolina’s 53 page standards unpacking document when planning your classroom instruction? Did you know that a cohort of North Carolina Social Studies teachers aligned Bill of Rights resources to our state standards? Join this interactive presentation of a new website https://billofrightsinstitute.org/north-carolina-bri-aligned-state-standards that showcases the most strongly aligned lessons for your students. Browse through lessons, primary sources, videos, and point-counterpoint debates sure to engage your students and improve their knowledge of American History.
Student engagement is primarily driven by their ability to make personal connections to their own learning. Through these projects, students take ownership in their learning, connecting national, state or local issues to people and developments in their local area. The project design provides a framework for students to learn more about and engage in their local communities. This knowledge helps to build a sense of pride and respect for themselves, their families and the local area. Designed for Civics Literacy or AP Gov classes.
See behavioral economics in action through a series of NGPF activities included in an entirely free curriculum. These activities will show how cognitive biases impact our money decisions.
Social Studies Department Head, Lenoir County Early College High School
Dr. Travis Towne, a National Board Certified Teacher and Social Studies department chair at Lenoir County Early College High School in Kinston, NC, brings over 18 years of teaching experience in various levels of education. Actively involved in a variety of educational organizations... Read More →
Friday April 25, 2025 12:00pm - 12:50pm EDT
Augusta A3121 W Gate City Blvd, Greensboro, NC 27491
Discover how Building Block Inquiry transforms social studies classrooms into hubs of trust, deliberation, collaboration, and meaningful production. This approach fosters critical thinking as students engage in inquiry-based activities that build trust through respectful dialogue, encourage deliberation on complex topics, and promote collaboration to construct informed conclusions. Teachers will learn practical strategies to guide students in producing evidence-based outcomes, making this method both effective and easy to implement. Walk away with actionable tools to create a dynamic, student-centered environment where inquiry drives engagement and understanding in social studies.
Social Studies Teacher, Iredell-Statesville Schools
Gretchyn has been using C3 IDM for over a decade, building resources and offering PD to support classroom adoption of inquiry. She teaches World History & Economics & Personal Finance & is an advocate for the ethical use of AI in the classroom. Currently she works with several organizations... Read More →
Friday April 25, 2025 12:00pm - 12:50pm EDT
Tidewater B3121 W Gate City Blvd, Greensboro, NC 27494
This Virtual Reality exhibit will offer visitors an immersive experience that bridges the past with the present, focusing on the experiences of Black travelers in a segregated America. Join us for a Cinematic Virtual Reality Experience that immerses the viewer in the long history of restriction of movement for Black Americans and the creation of safe spaces in our communities.
Add Shoebox lunch for $9.99(Shoebox lunch recreates how the negro traveler would eat if they didn't have a safe place to stop while traveling during Jim Crow). Pick up to go lunch box at 12pm either Thurs or Fri at 12pm. Be sure to pre pay and pre order
For more information on the Historic Magnolia House
Preserve African American sites, reunite them with their communities, and give them a voice to tell their own stories through creating living historic spaces, education, the arts and community. The Magnolia Shoebox Meal Virtual Reality Traveling While Black Immersive Experience is... Read More →
Friday April 25, 2025 12:00pm - 12:50pm EDT
Edinburgh3121 West Gate City Boulevard, Greensboro, NC, USA
Incorporating meaningful and rigorous instruction for all learners requires supporting multilingual learners in the classroom. Teachers need to ensure they are providing text access to their linguistically diverse students. This session will investigate methods of text amplification and the utilization of AI and other technologies to support text leveling and differentiation of instruction across grade levels and social studies content areas.
Discover how pop culture can transform economic and business education for high school students. This professional development session explores Taylor Swift's remarkable economic impact as a compelling lens for teaching complex business principles. Educators will learn innovative strategies to integrate contemporary case studies into social studies and economics curricula, making learning more engaging and relevant. Participants will: -Analyze Swift's multifaceted economic influence across music, branding, and business -Develop creative lesson plans that connect pop culture to economic concepts -Explore cross-curricular approaches that enhance student understanding and motivation
Ideal for social studies teachers, economics instructors, and education leaders seeking dynamic ways to make business principles come alive in the classroom. By leveraging Swift's career, and other relevant pop culture icons, teachers can inspire critical thinking, demonstrate market dynamics, and connect abstract economic theories to students' lived experiences. This session bridges cultural gaps, transforms traditional teaching methods, and provides practical tools for creating more interactive, memorable economic education.
The session introduces the student readings, lessons, and videos in the Choices Program’s award-winning unit, The Vietnam War: Origins, History, and Legacies, and provides teachers with a complimentary one-year license to the unit. The session demonstrates an innovative “long history” framework to the study of war and demonstrates ways to bring multiple voices and perspectives into the study of the Vietnam War. Appropriate for U.S. History, World History, Foreign Policy electives, Asian Studies, and several AP and IB courses, the session will include participating in a very abbreviated lesson on creating Historical Narratives and one on women in the Vietnam War.
Who are the Hmong and how have they contributed to the culture and economic development of western North Carolina? In this presentation, participants will explore digital stories created by Hmong American community members, along with other public digital archives. We demonstrate ways that educators can use the digital stories and archives created by Hmong and Hmong American people to grow young students’ awareness the Hmong people and their history and presence in North Carolina.
Participants explore the events of the Holocaust through the lens of media, by examining propaganda deployed by the Nazis to discriminate against Jews and other minorities. Educators gain tools to facilitate classroom discussions and support students to analyze media in today’s world. This session would be most appropriate for NC social studies courses in grades 6-11.
On November 10, 1898 the only successful coup d'etat in America took place in Wilmington, North Carolina. The insurrection ended with many of Wilmington’s African-American citizens murdered, many more fled Wilmington never to return, while still others were barred from the city in perpetuity. The Daily Record, the black-owned and published newspaper also had its building burned to the ground by insurrectionists. Self-avowed “white supremacists” led the insurrection that had been building for months with racially charged language and accusations. The aftermath of this massacre on Wilmington, North Carolina, and the South as a whole was palpable and repercussions were felt for many decades. This is a part of North Carolina history and United States history about which many are not aware. If you attend this session, you will learn more about the role played by Charles B. Aycock, Furnifold Simmons, Alfred M. Waddell, the Secret 9, the Redshirts, and Alex Manly, as well as The News and Observer. Come to this session to learn more about the famous people, the forgotten people, and the little-known events of the Wilmington Massacre/Insurrection of 1898. We will also discuss how this historical event continues to have an effect on the present.
This Virtual Reality exhibit will offer visitors an immersive experience that bridges the past with the present, focusing on the experiences of Black travelers in a segregated America. Join us for a Cinematic Virtual Reality Experience that immerses the viewer in the long history of restriction of movement for Black Americans and the creation of safe spaces in our communities.
Add Shoebox lunch for $9.99(Shoebox lunch recreates how the negro traveler would eat if they didn't have a safe place to stop while traveling during Jim Crow). Pick up to go lunch box at 12pm either Thurs or Fri at 12pm. Be sure to pre pay and pre order
For more information on the Historic Magnolia House
Preserve African American sites, reunite them with their communities, and give them a voice to tell their own stories through creating living historic spaces, education, the arts and community. The Magnolia Shoebox Meal Virtual Reality Traveling While Black Immersive Experience is... Read More →
Friday April 25, 2025 1:00pm - 1:50pm EDT
Edinburgh3121 West Gate City Boulevard, Greensboro, NC, USA
Learn about the history of racism in the financial world with a focus on housing and banking. This session explores the FREE NGPF resources included in the Racial Discrimination in Finance Mini-Unit. This topic is primarily discussed in EPF, but can also apply within a Civic Literacy and American History curriculum focus.
Social Studies Department Head, Lenoir County Early College High School
Dr. Travis Towne, a National Board Certified Teacher and Social Studies department chair at Lenoir County Early College High School in Kinston, NC, brings over 18 years of teaching experience in various levels of education. Actively involved in a variety of educational organizations... Read More →
Friday April 25, 2025 1:00pm - 1:50pm EDT
Pebble Beach3121 W Gate City Blvd, Greensboro, NC 27497
Engage elementary students with activities that can broaden their perspective about the world around them. Discover fun, interdisciplinary games and role-playing activities that explore natural resources (distribution, extraction, and communal management), changes over time of human settlements and how these settlements affect their local and global ecosystems. Stimulate discussion, critical thinking and problem-solving, while building knowledge and skills in geography, economics and civic engagement. The presented activities build skills in communication, problem solving, inquiry social interaction and cooperation, listening, and more.
Discover how to integrate social studies into K-2 literacy instruction by using engaging historical content to build foundational ELA skills. This session explores strategies for creating small group activities that align with literacy standards while introducing young learners to important topics in social studies, such as community roles, cultural traditions, and historical figures. Participants will learn how to design lessons that enhance reading comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills while fostering curiosity about the world around them. By embedding social studies content into literacy small groups, educators can address multiple standards, promote cross-curricular learning, and inspire a love of both history and reading. This session is ideal for teachers seeking creative ways to connect literacy with social studies themes in early education, particularly in areas of local and U.S. history.
Elementary students need to learn the beauty of the natural world before they become interested in saving it. Young children learn through their senses and experiences. Everyday children learn how the weather changes, how people interact with the environment, how things move, the characteristics of a place and how things are built. Teachers can help children learn the basis for geographic knowledge in everyday experiences. Participants will explore concrete suggestions and interesting activities including connections for both the classroom and to share with parents at home. Participants will experience hands-on activities together connecting everyday things to expand geographic thinking using maps, globes, books and exhibits.
This session explores the role of structured, regular discussion in enhancing student engagement and deepening understanding within an inquiry-based social studies framework. The presenter will share a flexible tool that was featured on C3Teahers.org to help facilitate reflection in student discussions, enabling educators to capture students' evolving thoughts, questions, and insights over time. By integrating this tool, teachers can create a dynamic classroom environment where students actively construct knowledge through dialogue throughout the inquiry process, critically examine diverse perspectives, and develop essential communication and reasoning skills. The session will provide practical strategies for implementing regular discussions and utilizing tools to support inquiry, foster deeper learning, and promote student-centered engagement.
Social Studies Teacher, Iredell-Statesville Schools
Gretchyn has been using C3 IDM for over a decade, building resources and offering PD to support classroom adoption of inquiry. She teaches World History & Economics & Personal Finance & is an advocate for the ethical use of AI in the classroom. Currently she works with several organizations... Read More →
Friday April 25, 2025 1:00pm - 1:50pm EDT
Tidewater B3121 W Gate City Blvd, Greensboro, NC 27494
Join us in exploring historical inquiry using a Micro-Q created through NCDPI’s 2024 NC History Unfolded’s Summer DBQ Inquiry-Based Project. This session will explore ethical and historical questions surrounding the Nuremberg Trials. Through engaging activities, participants will critically analyze primary sources while delving into the compelling question of whether the trials should have focused on the individual perpetrators or on the systemic failures that enabled the Holocaust. Leave with a ready to use Micro-Q and primary sources aligned with the NC Standards for grade 8, World, and the new Holocaust elective.
I have been an ELA/SS teacher for 17 years. I am happy to share my experience with the NC History Unfolded Fellows and Retro Report. I want everyone to travel safely to your professional development learning experience.
Friday April 25, 2025 1:00pm - 1:50pm EDT
Augusta B3121 W Gate City Blvd, Greensboro, NC 27492
This presentation will explore the importance of media literacy in today's digital age. We will delve into practical strategies and resources that educators can utilize to equip their students with the critical thinking skills necessary to navigate the complex media landscape. Additionally, we will highlight professional development opportunities for teachers to enhance their knowledge and expertise in media literacy, empowering them to foster informed and engaged citizens.
Join our interactive session to explore how Reading Apprenticeship has enhanced disciplinary literacy in Social Studies, aligning with North Carolina's Standard Course of Study Standards. Experience classroom routines, led by a North Carolina Social Studies teacher, that empower students to engage critically with global topics/issues/narratives while fostering empathy and collaboration. Participate in text-based inquiry and discussions that bring historical and contemporary issues to life. Our exemplar lesson is on international trade and its impact on North Carolina. In this particular lesson, you will experience routines to that support reading infographics and reading for making a claim/disciplinary argumentation. You will learn more broadly about how instruction anchored in the Reading Apprenticeship framework can build more engaged and independent readers of Social Studies texts.
K-12 Social Studies Instructional Coordinator, Vance County Schools
Tim Hall, Ph.D., is a K-12 Social Studies Instructional Specialist with Vance County Schools and President of the North Carolina Council for the Social Studies. He also serves as Vance County Coordinator for the North Carolina Council on the Holocaust. Tim has authored several textbook... Read More →
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