Blog

We are preparing to teach an upcoming section of our course, Accessing Inquiry for English Learners through Primary Sources, and reflecting on what specialists in English language acquisition tell us about making history and social studies accessible. 

There are excellent strategies to increase access for dual language learners (and all students, really) through being intentional about t…

In 2010, when Emerging America first focused on teaching strategies using primary sources to engage and support English Learners, we built the course content around immigration history, expanding the investigation to include the history of American communities that speak languages other than English. A key part of making curriculum accessible to all learners is teaching topics, concepts, and sk…

There is growing awareness among state policy makers that teaching Disability History is past due. California’s 2011 Fair Education Act included people with disabilities among groups whose history must be taught. Other states followed. In 2018, new Massachusetts History and Social Science Framework integrated several pivotal developments in disability history, from Dorothea Dix…

Following years of decline in the teaching of History and Social Science, especially in grades K-5, and neglect of civics by schools at all grades, the Massachusetts Legislature and Board of Education each took decisive action in 2018. New state History and Social Science standards elevate civics in the context of inquiry-based Practice S…