I just read a delightful blog post describing the work of pre-K, 1st grade, and 3rd grade teachers using the Question Formulation Technique, with young learners.

Little Wonderers: Adapting the QFT for Early Learners, by Maame Conduah,  Katy Connolly  ,   Sarah Westbrook  , Dr. Cora Causey and Dr. Amelia Spencer.

Check out the KidCitizen episode Welcome to Congress!

Congress is made up of people who represent their community. We explore how Congresswoman Patsy Mink began in her home community of Hawaii and traveled to join a new community in Washington, DC to serve as a member of Congress. https://www.kidcitizen.net/episodes-blog/welcome-to-congress

Meet The 5 Women Who Will Be On Your Quarters In 2024 

The U.S. Mint is rolling out five new quarters featuring the faces of impactful American women.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91019388/meet-the-five-women-who-will-be-on-your-quarters-in-2024

United States Mint

https://www.usmint.gov/learn/coin-and-medal-programs/american-women-quarters

Patsy Mink https://www.usmint.gov/coins/coin-medal-programs/american-women-quarters/patsy-takemoto-mink

Great new Library of Congress blog post from Jan Grenci! https://blogs.loc.gov/picturethis/2023/12/on-the-ice/?loclr=eaptb

Ice Library of Congress flickr album https://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/albums/72177720313550532/

To see the connection with KidCitizen you will enjoy checking out this episode: https://www.kidcitizen.net/episodes-blog/community-helpers

Teacher Leadership Opportunity in PreK-5 Civic Learning (compensation and PDPs)

Are you a PreK or elementary school teacher in a Massachusetts public school? Are you passionate about helping your learners practice civic skills and navigate civic choices? Apply to take a leadership role developing professional learning opportunities for Massachusetts teachers with the DESE* Civics Pathways project.

DESE Civics Pathways is a professional development initiative of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, developed and facilitated by Massachusetts teachers, Project Zero and the Democratic Knowledge Project at Harvard University, iCivics, and the Collaborative for Educational Services. We are convening a cohort of Civics Teacher Leaders to develop and facilitate virtual and in-person workshops and online courses for PreK and elementary school teachers that consider how to integrate civics with early literacy and embed civics in the elementary classroom. As a Civics Teacher Leader, you will support the learning of teachers across Massachusetts, develop your professional learning design and facilitation skills, and deepen your own learning by engaging with fellow teacher leaders and civics experts.

Civics Teacher Leaders will receive compensation and PDPs for their work.

Click here for more information and to apply.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Monday, Feb. 26, 2024; 9am
Please direct questions to Carin Aquiline, carin_aquiline@gse.harvard.edu

*DESE stands for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

National parks are incredible places full of natural beauty and wonders.

Explore how these parks have become symbols of our national heritage and how they offer us opportunities to explore, learn, and connect with the natural world.

https://www.kidcitizen.net/episodes-blog/national-parks

Hi all, 

We are offering a series of three online workshops on learning to use the KidCitizen Editor, where you'll learn the key skills, and work on an episode of your own (with a primary source you choose! 

Each workshop will be an hour, with about an hour individual work each week.

Workshops will be led by yours truly (Bert Snow)

Learn more and sign up here! 

Hello all,

I (Bert Snow) am going to be at the great Ed Games Expo conference in DC next week.  From 10am-12:30pm on Weds. Sep 20, K-6 teachers and students will be coming to the Kennedy Center REACH center, and we have a table.  

The problem is TPS is also doing a special session at the LOC, and I've been asked to speak there.  (and my KidCitizen colleagues can't  be there.)

SO - I'm looking for one person to "staff" our table, give out flyers, and show people KidCitizen on a tablet.  It won't be hard and I'll teach you what you need to know.

If you might be able to help (or know someone, please get in touch at snow.bert@gmail.com or 978-697-7496.

thanks!

Among the valuable resources in the Library of Congress is the National Child Labor Committee Collection. Many teachers have used these photos to discuss child labor. In fact, at KidCitizen we have dedicated an episode to Congress and Child Labor https://www.kidcitizen.net/episodes-blog/congress-and-child-labor. The episode centers on Phoebe Thomas an 8-year-old who got hurt working in Maine. https://www.loc.gov/collections/national-child-labor-committee/articles-and-essays/bringing-an-nclc-photo-into-focus/. As we reflect on making connections between life in the past and our contemporary experiences, recent new stories highlight the relevance of child labor as a topic of importance in our current society. See resources below.

National Child Labor Committee Collection

Working as an investigative photographer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), Lewis Hine (1874-1940) documented working and living conditions of children in the United States between 1908 and 1924. 

https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/nclc/

https://www.loc.gov/collections/national-child-labor-committee/about-this-collection/

Lesson Plan https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/child-labor-in-america/

Child Labor Violations in Maine Continue to Rise (August 9, 2023)

Over the last decade, the Maine Department of Labor says the number of child worker injuries in the workplace has surged from 160 incidents per year to 325 incidents.

https://wgme.com/news/local/child-labor-violations-in-maine-continue-to-rise-maine-department-of-labor-youth-workers-working-in-hazardous-situations-serious-injury

https://www.wmtw.com/article/child-labor-violations-and-injuries-on-the-rise-in-maine/44777045

Hello TPS Teachers Network friends,

KidCitizen producer Snow&Co is putting together an interesting proposal (on a tight deadline) to the Lewis-Houghton Initiative, and we are looking for Advisory, Curriculum, or School-pilot partners.

The Lewis-Houghton will provide grants to organizations to develop digitally-enabled learning initiatives for secondary education based on creative arts driven instruction, especially focused on music, in history, civics and democracy.

Our proposed project, "Music Of Us", aims to create a cloud-based platform and "episodes" that will enable inquiry-based exploration of music and sound primary sources - providing ways for listeners to explore the musicians, history, social context, and styles of a piece of music while listening to it. It will build on the successful technical platform and approach used by KidCitizen, with new music-focused features. We think this will be an exciting new way to explore musical primary sources. Here's a detailed description.

I am making this request on a ridiculously short deadline - the LOC needs applications by June 30, next week! (They announced it at the start of this month, and we had to address other deadlines before getting to this.)

Snow&Co will be the lead org, and I'll be working to streamline what we'll need from you for the proposal (mainly describing what you'd do, and budgeting that.) 

Detailed proposal description:

More about the Lewis-Houghton initiative: 

  9 - 12    Art/Music    Lewis-Houghton    Civics  

What is your favorite Library of Congress American flag primary source?

Resources

https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/june-14/

https://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/modern/jb_modern_birth_1.html

https://www.va.gov/opa/publications/celebrate/flagday.pdf

 KidCitizen episode Capture the Flag https://www.kidcitizen.net/episodes-blog/capture-the-flag

How is the American flag used as a symbol of our nation?

By investigating primary sources displaying the American flag, we will explore the various ways people use the flag to show characteristics such as pride, loyalty, and unity for the nation.