May 24, 2012

Maryland Education Law Includes Social Studies

Governor Martin O'Malley signed into law on May 22, 2012 a new education bill that includes support for social studies instruction in Maryland, beginning in 2013 with a required high school assessment in government. The 2014-2015 school year will see statewide assessments in social studies in middle schools. The State Department of Education will also survey the amount of instructional time given to social studies in elementary schools. This significant legislation demonstrates a renewed emphasis on social studies as a core academic subject. For more information, visit the Maryland Council for the Social Studies.

Posted by Rachel Brubaker on May 24, 2012 11:57 AM | Permalink

March 8, 2012

CHE's "Children's Lives at Colonial London Town" Project Wins Award

The "Children's Lives at Colonial London Town" project, which was developed by the Center for History Education's (CHE) Making American History Master Teachers in Anne Arundel County program, is the recipient of the 2012 Social Studies Program of Excellence Award from the Middle States Regional Council for the Social Studies, an affiliate of the National Council for the Social Studies.

Dr. Marjoleine Kars, chair of history, has worked with a group of 4th and 5th grade teachers from Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) for the past four years. She and Ms. Mary Davis, AACPS elementary teacher specialist, developed the London Town project as a way to engage the teachers in doing authentic historical research that would supplement and enrich the school curriculum. The teachers determined that their students would be interested in learning about the lives of children who lived at London Town during the colonial period.

Dr. Kars, Ms. Davis and curators and education specialists at Historic London Town and Gardens, near Annapolis, MD, assisted the teachers as they worked with primary materials on site and in various collections to craft a storybook based on the lives of three families. In fall 2011, the teachers began piloting the materials with their students. At the same time, UMBC initiated the next phase of the project: The creation of an interactive, digital resource, also named "Children's Lives at Colonial London Town." The project's website is being designed by the UMBC New Media Studio and will feature rich historical materials, maps, timelines, as well an interactive storybook.

The website is due to launch in Summer 2012 and will be used in a program of teacher professional development during the 2012-2013 school year.

Posted by Jeremy Spahr on March 8, 2012 10:20 AM | Permalink