WCSS2019

What happens when a history professor presents to and writes for elementary and middle school students? Laughter, for one thing. Find out how Dr. Annette Laing inspires young audiences to think like historians, using not only humor, pathos, and props, but the skills and knowledge of an academic historian.
Annette invites 7th graders to hypothesize about to do when you need to pee during the Blitz (and how that leads to pressing questions of sanitation today). She takes 4th graders in search of gold in 1849, to little triumph and unexpected disaster. In her novels, she entices readers of all ages to enjoy her time-traveling characters’ comical encounters with an unfiltered past, and to share in their ethical dilemmas.
Annette brings together 15 years of college teaching and 16 years of working with young students to demonstrate the relevance of history, with wit and wide-ranging empathy. Come learn how.

Wisconsin's new Social Studies standards require schools and districts to shift to an inquiry approach.  In this interactive session, participants will explore the core questions around supporting the shift to inquiry: What is inquiry?  What do administrators need to consider when making the shift? What supports do teachers need in shifting to an inquiry approach?

Judging by headlines from the Middle East, religion plays an outsized role in the politics in the region. In reality, most countries in the world have shown a significant interest in religion—both historically and in the present—and the role that it plays in society. This session focuses on the dynamic, complex and diverse religious landscape of Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, and Iran and considers the variety of ways that religion and politics are intertwined in each country individually and the Middle East as a whole. Teachers of World History, Modern History, Global Politics, and Geography will find this session particularly useful, leaving with classroom-ready, standards-aligned resources.

This interactive session will introduce participants to how inquiry can be infused into the secondary social studies classroom. The audience will engage in the planning process for how to structure and plan an inquiry unit by focusing on authentic essential questions and drawing on discipline based concepts, skills, and vocabulary.

This presentation will focus on ideas of how to approach the new Wisconsin Social Studies Standard that focuses on civic engagement. I will share ideas and examples that explore technology, pencil and paper, and student passion to ignite the passion and curiosity in all learners.  Invite the world...and they will come.  I hope you come and listen as well.  You probably have some great tips to add at the end.  Together we can grow ourselves even stronger!

This presentation will focus on using census reports in the social studies classroom to learn about a community in Kansas in 1880. The census report enables students to learn a great deal of information about a community's past by viewing the primary source first-hand in the classroom. Students can learn about the occupations found in a rural community on the Great Plains. Additionally, identify which percentage of the community's population was born in another state rather than Kansas. Students can also discover what percentage of the community's population was foreign-born. In addition, students can identify the age of each resident of the community and examine trends that emerge from the census report. Finally, the presenter will share tips on how to organize and implement the census report activity in the classroom. There are many opportunities to replicate this lesson to investigate the history of communities throughout Wisconsin and our nation.

Think about your favorite days when you were a student in Science class. It was always the lab day where you got to DO science in a hands-on setting. Social Studies students wish for the same hands-on level of instruction. This session could be tailored to any age of instruction and is for the Social Studies educator who is looking for their students to get out of their seat and be ENGAGED in the practice of Social Studies rather than just read about it.