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“Why didn’t they teach me this?” Preliminary Report on the Teaching of Disability History

Published on Mon, 09/12/2022

By Rich Cairn, Emerging America

At the end of the 2021-2022 school year, Emerging America widely promoted an online survey of teachers to discover how much U.S. students are taught Disability History. Though the response was small, the results offer intriguing insights. The survey will repeat in 2023 and 2024. 

Emerging America Lesson Design Toolkit

Keep at hand all seven items in the  Emerging America Lesson Design Toolkit to support strong lesson plan development. You will also need copies of applicable academic standards and, of course, your text set, and any other support materials for the lesson. Refer to each tool to broaden choices for you and for students. The tools help make precise and clear the language in lesson objectives, instructions for assignments, rubrics, graphic organizers, and other handouts. 

Mobilizing K-5 Social Studies in 2020 - Get Involved!

Published on Sat, 11/16/2019

Facing the Crisis in Social Studies and Civics Education

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 Standards, and the Civic Engagement Act mandates opportunities for civic action by all learners.

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Social Security: What is the Federal Responsibility to Care for Vulnerable People?

In this lesson, students learn about the Social Security Act and its provisions to care for the elderly, the unemployed, mothers and children, and children and adults with disabilities.  Students will examine several primary source images and documents related to the New Deal era, using a primary source analysis organizer. The lesson offers options in how students can show their learning. This lesson plan has a special feature: the teacher who authored it offers reflections on how teaching the lesson worked with her class when she taught it the first time.

In or Out: Race and Disability as Legal Barriers to Immigration

Who gets accepted as a citizen or as an immigrant?  Who is considered a desirable immigrant? Students will work in small groups to examine a primary source text and image set about immigrants at the turn of the 20th century.  They will use the sources to develop a deeper understanding of the hurdles and discrimination many immigrant groups faced. In addition to learning about race-based entry policies, students will observe that many types of disabilities were considered undesirable and would keep an immigrant out.

Unexpected Connections: Using Local Primary Sources to Analyze the Five Factors of Community Development in World History

Through the examination of primary source documents demonstrating stages of community development in a community familiar to students, students will gain an understanding of Medieval History analysis of factors that occur during the development of communities. Students will work collectively, using the Library of Congress Primary Source Analysis Tool, to demonstrate their understanding of one of the following factors: Settlement, Agriculture, Towns, Population Growth, and Industrialization.

Mapping Springfield’s Industrial Growth

The following lesson on the industrial growth of Springfield, Massachusetts during the 19th century was created during the National Endowment for Humanities Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshop – Forge of Innovation: The Springfield Armory and the Genesis of American Industry, in the summer of 2015. Utilizing both primary and secondary source materials students will explore the industrial transformation of the Pioneer Valley during the early 19th century.

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