October-December 26 Social Studies

📅MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

Collaborative Meeting Dates

• February 15, 2027
• April 6, 2027

(Visit ARIN's Course Registration site (opens in new window) to register for the trainings)

Meet us December 4–6, 2026, in Chicago, IL, as we celebrate social studies excellence at the 106th NCSS Annual Conference! Join thousands of fellow educators for meaningful conversations, inspiring connections, and practical ideas you can take straight back to your classroom.

More than a theme, Social Studies 365 is a reminder of why your work matters every single day - affirming that social studies education is essential year-round, shaping informed citizens, strengthening democracy, and helping students connect to the world around them. Come be lifted up, recharged, and reminded that what you do truly matters. We cannot wait to learn from you, celebrate your impact, and see how you will bring Social Studies 365 to life every day of the year.

To register, click here (opens in new window)

Civil Rights Leaders & Speeches, on October 19th, 2026. This opportunity is highly beneficial for both History and English teachers, focusing on the power of language and the words of the Civil Rights Movement's greatest thinkers.

Event Details:

• Date: October 19, 2026
• Time: Registration begins at 8:30 AM; the seminar runs from 9:00 AM to 2:15 PM
• Location: Midwestern IU4, 453 Maple Street, Grove City, PA 16127
• Discussion Leader: Melissa Matthes

FAQ Sheet (opens in new window)

National History Day reaches more than half a million students and tens of thousands of teachers each year via its international student history contest and its wide range of teacher professional development programs, curriculum tools, and other educational activities. NHD's core program is its competition in which students in grades 6-12 choose a topic and dive deeply into the past by conducting extensive research in libraries, archives, and museums. They then present their conclusions and evidence through papers, exhibits, performances, documentaries, or websites, moving through a series of contest levels where they are evaluated by professional historians and educators. Through this process, students develop skills in communication, project management, and historical thinking. Their teachers do as well.

Join us in conversation with Jamie Holifield and Krista Grensavitch from NHD as they explore the opportunities available for social studies educators and their students to become involved in NHD programming. To register for the 10.8.26, 7PM webinar, click here (opens in new window). Learn more about NHD here. (opens in new window)

NCSS is partnering with the Library of Congress to develop digital resources for use in teacher candidate programs to demonstrate the effectiveness of teaching with primary sources and the College, Career, and Civic Life ("C3") Framework (opens in new window) Inquiry Arc. The centerpiece of these resources will be five online methods publications. Released in 2023, two grant-funded methods texts, Using Inquiry to Prepare Students for College, Career, and Civic Life, one (opens in new window) designed for K-6 elementary methods courses and the other (opens in new window) for 6-12 secondary methods courses. Released in the 2023-2024 school year, a three-volume K-12 methods text (opens in new window), Teaching with Primary Sources to Prepare Students for College, Career, and Civic Life, co-branded with the Library of Congress.

Click here for more information. (opens in new window)

November 5, 2026, 7PM

Steve Armstrong and Allison Norrie are back for their educator roundtables for the Fall 2026 NCSS Webinar Series! In the wake of the 2026 Midterms, what can we do to guide students in navigating political shifts in real time? Steve and Allison explore these questions: What will the 2026 midterms reveal about the essence of American society? How is the voting procedure different in 2026 than it was one hundred years ago? In 2026 what is the meaning of "democracy" in the United States? All viewpoints are welcome and engaged discussion is encouraged!

This session is open to all, and will be recorded. Certificates of attendance will be provided to people who attend live and fill out the feedback survey.

Steve Armstrong serves as the Connecticut Board of Education's Social Studies Consultant. Before taking this position, Armstrong was a social studies department supervisor in the West Hartford, Conn. public schools. An adjunct instructor in the history department at Central Connecticut State University, Armstrong is a past president of the National Council for the Social Studies, and is also past president of the Connecticut Council for the Social Studies, the Connecticut Committee for the Promotion of History and the New England History Teachers Association. He coordinated the writing of the Connecticut Social Studies Frameworks, and has given many workshops for teachers leading difficult political discussions, and how to help students analyze elections at the national, state, and local levels.

Allison Norrie is an educational consultant and Social Studies teacher at Fairfield Warde High School in Fairfield, Connecticut. She serves as the English Language Learner Academy Coordinator for the Social Studies for the Fairfield Public Schools. Formerly a museum educator and curator, she has developed and executed programs and exhibits on the history of race and politics for the Mark Twain House & Museum as well as the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, Voices of Hope, and Yale University. Her current focus is on equity and architecture in education. Norrie has previously published works on "Race, Culture and Colonialism: The Politics of the Heritage Site Gift Shop."

Click here to register (opens in new window)

Date: November 10, 2026

Time: 9:00 am- 2:30 pm

Location: Riverview Intermediate Unit 6, Clarion, PA

Presenter: DBQ Presenter

Audience: 4th-12th Social Studies Teachers

Cost: FREE

LINK TO REGISTER:

Click here to register or copy/paste (opens in new window)

https://www.mylearningplan.com/WebReg/ActivityProfile.asp?D=10228&I=5455145

Flyer & Website (all links open in new windows)

Training Description:

• Want to teach with primary sources without spending hours searching for resources? This session explores how Document Based Questions (DBQs) help teachers bring inquiry, literacy, and critical thinking into the classroom while keeping instruction practical and manageable.
• Participants will experience how The DBQ Project’s ready-to-use units combine compelling questions, curated primary and secondary sources, and structured supports that help students analyze evidence and write with confidence. You’ll see practical strategies for close reading, source analysis, discussion, scaffolding, and evidence-based writing that strengthen learning without sacrificing content.
• Whether you are new to DBQs or looking to refine your approach, this session offers classroom-ready ideas that make inquiry-based instruction both effective and sustainable.

The 2023-24 Act 35 reporting window opened in the Future Ready Comprehensive Planning Portal (FRCPP) on Tuesday July 7, 2026; the deadline for reporting is Monday October 19, 2026. Act 35 requirements began in the 2020-21 school year and requires each district, charter school, and comprehensive CTC to administer a locally developed assessment of United States history, government, and civics. The assessment must be administered at least once to students in grades 7-12 and must include the nature, purpose, principles, and structure of United States constitutional democracy, the principles, operations and documents of United States government, and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

The data to be collected in the FRCPP system includes:

o Type of the assessment administered

o Total number of students who took the assessment

o Total number of students who attained a passing grade on the assessment

o Grade level or levels in which the assessment was administered

• o Course or courses in which the assessment was administered

o Number of students scoring 100% on the assessment

Note that if your charter school does not encompass grades 7-12, you are exempt from this submission. However, if your school includes at least one grade level 7-12, this legislation applies to your LEA. Submission is also required for IUs that provide civics instruction on behalf of their LEAs, as well as comprehensive CTC schools.

After entering your data, if you are experiencing issues where you are unable to submit, please check that you have the proper “submit” role in the ADMIN area of FRCPP. If the Act 35 Civic Knowledge survey isn’t appearing when you log in, you are not a registered user and you must be added by your local admin user. The FRCPP information page (opens in new window) may assist as you encounter submission issues.

Why Do We Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month?

In the United States, we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month each year from September 15 to October 15. But do your students know why we honor this important month or how we recognize the contributions of Hispanic and Latino communities? Introduce your class to the ways that Hispanic American Heritage Month is celebrated across the country, the origin of the holiday, and a few notable Hispanic American figures using this quick video (opens in new window).

C-SPAN Classroom (opens in new window) is a FREE membership service that works with C-SPAN's programs on public affairs, coverage of Congress, non-fiction books and American history to create free resources for teachers, students and the public to use in classrooms, projects or for research.

Their website provides social studies teachers with access to thousands of free resources, including short current events videos, Lesson Plans and Bell Ringers, plus Constitution Clips and On This Day in History events.

C‑SPAN’s America’s Book Club is a weekly primetime series hosted by acclaimed author, civic leader, and interviewer David M. Rubenstein.

Recorded at some of the nation’s most iconic libraries and cultural landmarks — including the Library of Congress, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the National Archives — America’s Book Club brings viewers into lively, thought-provoking conversations with leading authors, policymakers, business innovators, and cultural figures. Each week, the program explores the ideas that have shaped our nation’s past, challenge its present, and inspire its future.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History was founded in 1994 by Richard Gilder and Lewis E. Lehrman, visionaries and lifelong supporters of American history education. The Institute is the leading nonprofit and nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving the teaching and learning of American history through educational programs and resources. We serve K–12 teachers and students, honor scholars, and welcome and inform the general public.

The Institute brings the work of today’s leading historians into classrooms and homes around the globe. Through public events, publications, posters, videos, exhibitions, essays, and a dedicated website rich in primary sources, the Institute brings every period of American history to life. The Institute’s diverse education programs, including the acclaimed Hamilton Education Program, provide opportunities to explore five centuries of American history. The Gilder Lehrman Affiliate School network comprises fifteen million students and over 100,000 teachers from more than 37,000 schools worldwide.

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. Drawing on the 87,000 documents in the Gilder Lehrman Collection and an extensive network of eminent historians, the Institute provides teachers, students, and the general public with direct access to unique primary source materials.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is supported through the generosity of individuals, corporations, and foundations. The Institute’s programs have been recognized by awards from the White House, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Organization of American Historians, the Council of Independent Colleges, the National Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Web Excellence Awards.

GLI invites you to watch all past episodes (opens in new window) of Inside the Vault for free. Each episode includes:

• The full program recording with time stamps for each document

• A link to the program slide deck

• Links to all of the documents mentioned throughout the program

• Links to related resources on the Gilder Lehrman website such as essays, videos, lesson plans, and more

Echoes and Reflections is excited to announce the launch of EchoesConnect (opens in new window) —their secure, AI-powered assistant designed to help educators find trusted resources, create engaging lessons, and support meaningful learning about the Holocaust, antisemitism, and genocide.

Unlike general AI tools, EchoesConnect draws exclusively from the vetted educational resources of Echoes & Reflections, their partners (ADL, USC Shoah Foundation, and Yad Vashem), and other trusted content providers—not the open internet.

Free, ready-to-use news literacy lessons for your classroom (opens in new window)

250+ standards-aligned interactive lessons, activities and teaching tools for grades 5 to 12, from the nonpartisan, nonprofit News Literacy Project.

A few curious thinkers started asking questions about the Universe, and before long, humanity’s understanding of reality was completely transformed.

Their new Scientific Revolution lesson (opens in new window) helps students explore the ideas, discoveries, and debates that changed how people understood the world and paved the way for major global transformations.

The University of Florida provides instructional resources (opens in new window) that are ready-made and support instruction in Civics, U.S. History, and Government at all levels. Designed to deliver high impact in little time, all resources can be adapted and tailored to meet your classroom needs.

A free economics resource, EconLearn (econlearn.org) (opens in new window) offers nineteen interactive graphs where students learn by dragging the curves themselves for supply and demand, PPC, AD-AS market structures, etc. plus free practice questions, printable worksheets with answer keys, and more. No accounts or logins are required, everything is free for students, and any graph embeds in Canvas, Schoology, or Google Sites.

Rho Kappa National Social Studies Honor Society is the only national organization for high school juniors and seniors that recognizes excellence in the field of Social Studies. Any accredited public or private high school can apply for a local chapter, through which individuals will be inducted into Rho Kappa National Social Studies Honor Society.

Click here for a chapter application (opens in new window)

Educators are advised to preview for all items for appropriateness for their respective classrooms.