March 2017
Student Events
New Jersey National History Day Competitions
Judges Needed!
Contact Nancy Norris Bauer to sign up. All events are on Saturdays:
(Judges are also needed for the online entries)
Rutgers University - Camden - March 4
Kean University - March 18
William Paterson University - May 6 (state contest)
UN Sustainable Development Challenge at Seton Hall University!
Using the online entry form, https://www.shu.edu/un-sustainable-development-challenge.cfm submit a 300-500 word
statement that describes an innovative approach or idea you have for addressing one of the UN Sustainable
Development Goals.
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Pick the U.S. or another country
List one or more development goals
Describe the specific challenge
Provide an innovative proposal or solution
Explain the expected impact or result
Ten finalists will be selected by early April and invited to present their ideas to a panel of judges at Seton Hall
University on Friday April 21, 2017 with a reception to follow.
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1st Place Winner: $2,500 cash prize. Plus a $10,000 scholarship to attend Seton Hall University ($2,500
annually)
2nd Place Winner: $1,000 cash prize. Plus a $6,000 scholarship to attend Seton Hall University ($1,500
annually)
All other Finalists will receive a $4,000 scholarship to attend Seton Hall University ($1,000 annually)
2017 Facing History Together Student Essay Contest
This contest invites students to reflect on who or what has influenced how they think about their roles and responsibilities as
engaged members of their communities. This year's theme is Making Choices in Today's World. Deadline: March 15, 2017.
http://contest.facinghistory.org/choices/
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2017 National High School Essay Contest
In its 19th year, this essay contest encourages high school students to think about important international issues and learn about
one of America's best kept secrets: The United States Foreign Service. This year's theme is Building Peace Through
Diplomacy. Deadline: March 15, 2017. http://www.afsa.org/essay-contest
Conferences
March 14
March 30
April 3-4
April 6-9
June 22-24
November 15-19
NJCSS Spring Conference K-6
NCHE
NERC
OAH
World History Association
NCSS
Rutgers- Busch Campus, NJ
Atlanta, GA
Kennedy Library - Boston
New Orleans, LA
Northeastern Univ - Boston
San Francisco, CA
NJ Council for the Social Studies
"Teaching Time, Place, and Citizenship!"
NJCSS Spring Conference for Teachers (K-6) Tuesday - March 14, 2017 at Rutgers - Busch
Information is on our website: www.njcss.org
SAVE THE DATE: Fall Conference - Monday, October 23, 2017
Rutgers University - Busch Campus Center
Information available later this month on our website, www.njcss.org
Teacher of the Year - Nominations due April 30, 2017
Elementary Teacher Grades K-5
Secondary Teacher Grades 6-12
Nomination Form is on our website, www.njcss.org
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Welcome to our "NEW" Members Only Page on www.njcss.org
Log In for NJCSS Members is your first initial and last name, Password is history (all lower case)
Temporary ID is hbitten with history as the password.
Contact us at [email protected] if you are not able to access the Members Only page.
National Council for the Social Studies
Join or Renew: www.socialstudies.org
Membership includes your choice of Social Education or Social Studies and the Young Learner, plus The Social
Studies Professional newsletter; NCSS Annual Conference discounts, access to NCSS online publications (PDF
copies of NCSS journals, TSSP newsletter, Middle Level Learning, and U.S. History Collection), and NCSS Bulletins.
National Council for History Education
"Histories Seen and Unseen"
NCHE National Conference in Atlanta, Georgia - March 30 - April 1, 2017
Information: http://www.nche.net/conference
Northeast Regional Conference for the Social Studies (NERC)
The 100th Anniversary of America's Entry into the Great War
April 3-4, 2017 - JFK Library and Museum, Boston
Guest Speakers - Michael Patrick MacDonald, John Milton Cooper and David M. Kennedy
http://www.masscouncil.org/?page_id=5435
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Human Trafficking Symposium
"Human Trafficking in New Jersey"
Drew University, Madison, NJ (Ehinger Center)
Tuesday, March 21, 2017 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Register: https://tinyurl.com/htsymposium
New Jersey Social Studies Supervisors Association
Next meeting is Friday, May 5 at the PSA Headquarters in Monroe. Contact Bob O'Dell for information
and the agenda. [email protected] Mark your calendar for the May 5 meeting.
Address: 12 Centre Drive, Monroe Township, NJ 08831
Professional Development
A five-day We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution Summer Institute for 25 middle and high school
U.S. history, government or law teachers from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware will be held at Rutgers
University in New Brunswick, NJ, July 9-14, 2017.
The program includes lectures and discussions with historians and constitutional scholars, as well as lesson
demonstrations and discussions with experienced classroom teacher-mentors. It also includes two follow-up
workshops in fall 2017. Room and board for the full five-day program are covered. Travel costs will be
reimbursed.
Participating teachers will receive a certificate for 40 hours of professional development and a free set of
classroom materials. When the participants teach their U.S. history or government class next fall enhanced by
the We the People professional development, they will receive a $500 stipend. Teachers from high needs
districts are encouraged to apply. Interested New Jersey teachers should complete the Teacher Agreement at
http://civiced.rutgers.edu/wethepeople.html by March 31, 2017. Contact Arlene Gardner, Ex. Dir., NJ Center for
Civic Education, at [email protected] with any questions.
James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation: $24,000 Fellowship
Apply to www.jamesmadison.gov to earn an MA at the university of your choice, attend an all-expense paid
summer institute in Washington, D.C. and become a constitutional "scholar'
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American Labor Museum/Botto House - Haledon, NJ
Preparing Our Youth for Work
March 1, 2017 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
The objective of the seminar is to enable educators & the general public to learn about and integrate an understanding of the
historical development of the global marketplace and modern workplace in the classroom as a means of preparing New Jersey
youth for success in the workplace. http://www.labormuseum.net/?p=events-calendar&event_id=325
Religious Worlds of New York - Summer Institute for K-12 Teachers
Applications Due: March 1, 2017
July 10 - 28, 2017 at Union Theological Seminary in NYC
Receive a $2,700 stipend for expenses!
www.religiousworldsnyc.org
Library of Congress Teacher Summer Institutes
Immerse yourself in the practice of teaching with primary sources from the Library of Congress this summer through a week-long
professional development program for K–12 educators in the nation's capital. Deadline: March 17, 2017.
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/professionaldevelopment/teacherinstitute/
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Resources for Teachers
George Washington Teacher Institute
Martha Washington and the Women of the 18th Century
(March 16-19, 2017) (Aug. 1-6, 2017)
Slavery in George Washington's World
(March 30-April 2, 2017) (June 20-24, 2017)
Washington at War: From Soldier to Commander-in-Chief
(June 13-17, 2017)
First in Business: Washington, Mount Vernon, and the New Nation
(July 11-15, 2017)
Leadership and Legacy: Lessons from George Washington
(July 18-22, 2017)
Model Citizen: George Washington and the Founding of the U.S. Government
(Aug. 8-12, 2017)
Contact: [email protected]
The National History Teacher of the Year Award highlights the crucial importance of history education by
honoring exceptional American history teachers from elementary school through high school. Past presenters of the
award include First Lady Laura Bush, the Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor, and Good Morning America anchor
Robin Roberts. Nominate an outstanding history teacher for the National History Teacher of the Year Award for
2017. Nomination Form: https://www.gilderlehrman.org/programs-exhibitions/national-history-teacher-year-nomination-form
The McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation Academic Enrichment Grants are designed to develop inclass and extra-curricular programs that improve student learning. Deadline: April 15, 2017.
The Voya Unsung Heroes Awards Program selects 100 educators to receive $2,000 to help fund their innovative
class projects. Three of those are chosen to receive an additional $5,000, $10,000, and $25,000. Deadline: April
30, 2017.
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Classroom Resources
Women's History Month! - March 2017
Suggestions for Women's History Month
A virtual display of America's First Ladies
Recognize women leaders in the decade or historical era you are currently teaching
Visit the online papers of America's women leaders
Susan B. Anthony
http://ecssba.rutgers.edu/
Eleanor Roosevelt
https://erpapers.columbian.gwu.edu/
Margaret Sanger
http://www.nyu.edu/projects/sanger/project/
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
http://ecssba.rutgers.edu/
Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/schlesinger-library
Resources for Teaching Women's History
National Women's History Museum - www.nwhm.org
New Jersey Women's History - http://www.njwomenshistory.org/
Rutgers Oral History Project - http://oralhistory.rutgers.edu/social-and-cultural-history/787-womens-history-index
National Education Association - http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/womens-history-month.html
Smithsonian Museum - http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/resource_library/women_resources.html
National History Education Clearinghouse - http://teachinghistory.org/nhec-blog/25464
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Holocaust Remembrance Day - April 24
It is really a remembrance for a full week. President Jimmy Carter established the Holocaust Remembrance in 1979 for the
United States. The current events of war, refugees, prejudice, and fear in our news are reminders of how quickly our lives are
changed. The lessons of history regarding the Holocaust and genocide are important and mandated in our curriculum. Themes
to consider are: Early Warning Signs, The Rescuers, America's Response to the Holocaust, Nuremberg Trials, Justice and
Human Rights, and the 1945 Liberation. Below are links to assist with planning a program.
http://www.state.nj.us/education/holocaust/curriculum/
New Jersey Department of Education
https://www.ushmm.org/remember/days-of-remembrance
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
http://www.teachingtheholocaust.org/
Syracuse University
Focus on the Supreme Court
Chief Justice John G. Roberts
Serving since 9/29/2005
Age 62
Anthony M. Kennedy
Serving since 2/18/1988
Age 80
Clarence Thomas
Serving since 10/23/1991
Age 69
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen G. Breyer
Samuel Anthony Alito
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Serving since 8/10/1993
Age 84
Serving since 8/3/1994
Age 78
Serving since 1/31/2006
Age 67 (on April 1)
Sonia Sotomayor
Serving since 8/8/2009
Age 62
Elena Kagan
Serving since 8/7/2010
Age 56
Neil Gorsuch
Nominated
Age 49
Article III, §1, of the Constitution provides that "The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court,
and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish." The Supreme Court of the United
States was created in accordance with this provision and by authority of the Judiciary Act of September 24, 1789 and was
organized on February 2, 1790.
Jurisdiction. "The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the
United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;-to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other
public Ministers and Consuls;-to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;-to Controversies to which the United States
shall be a Party;-to Controversies between two or more States;—between a State and Citizens of another State;-between
Citizens of different States;—between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a
State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.
"In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme
Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate
jurisdiction...."
The Term of the Court begins, by law, on the first Monday in October and lasts until the first Monday in October of the next year.
Approximately 7,000-8000 petitions are filed with the Court in the course of a Term. In addition, some 1,200 applications of
various kinds are filed each year that can be acted upon by a single Justice.
Ten Cases to Watch is 2017: http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2017/01/supreme-court-cases-to-watch-in-2017/
Teacher Openings
The NJCSS will post open positions twice a month beginning in April.
Send them to [email protected] with the name of your school district.
Summer Programs
Founders Fellowship Seminars
Manifest Destiny and Western Expansion (July 10-14, 2017)
First Amendment of the Constitution (July 24-28, 2017)
Seminars are for Social Studies teachers in Grades 7-12. Contact the Bill of Rights Institute for information.
https://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/educate/educator-programs-events/foundersfellowship/
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Summer Programs sponsored by The Choices Program at Brown University
http://choices.edu/pd/summer.php?mc_cid=820b44db6e&mc_eid=ab39401034
Engaging Students in Inquiry and Discussion on International Issues - June 26-28, 2017 - Tabor Academy, Marion, MA
Cost: $250 per person, includes all meals and materials from the opening reception on the 26th through the 28th. $350 per
person to attend the introductory preconference session on the 26th, and all materials and meals on the 27 and 28th. Housing
available for $45/night.
Brazil, Cuba, Mexico: Bringing Latin America Into the Classroom - June 29-30, 2017 - Brown University, Providence, RI
Cost: $195 per person. The program includes content presentations by Brown faculty members and curricular workshops on
three Choices curriculum units: Brazil: A History of Change; Caught Between Two Worlds: Mexico at a Crossroads; and History,
Revolution and Reform: New Directions for Cuba. (Units are provided.)
Exploring the Choices Approach to Contested Issues - July 10-12, 201 - Chapel Hill, NC
Cost: $195 per person. Become a Choices Workshop Leader! Exploring the Choices Approach to Contested Issues will prepare
you to lead introductory Choices workshops for classroom educators or preservice teachers. While the program is open to all
educators and Methods Professors, we are especially looking for dynamic teacher leaders from the Southeast. More information
coming soon.
Stanford History Education Group
Core Practices for Inquiry-Based History Teaching
July 31- August 4, 2017
https://cset.stanford.edu/pd/courses/history-social-studies
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Supreme Court Summer Institute for Teachers
June 15-20 and June 22-27, 2017
Registration deadline is March 13, 2017
http://streetlaw.org/en/CalendarEvent/161/2017_Supreme_Court_Summer_Institute_for_Teachers
Since it began in 1995, the Supreme Court Summer Institute for Teachers has brought together over 1,200 social studies
educators from across the country to convene in Washington, DC, for six days of educational activities related to teaching about
the U.S. Supreme Court. The Institute is co-sponsored by the Supreme Court Historical Society.
Focus on Economics
Trade
Every student learns about trade in their study of ancient civilizations (Egypt, Phoenicia, Greece, Rome, China), Middle Ages
(Hanseatic League, Rise of towns, Commercial Revolution), U.S. History (mercantilism, tariffs, cotton exports, imperialism, industrialization)
and Global Issues (Common Market, European Union, World Trade Organization)
Our congress and president are currently rethinking our NAFTA trade agreement with Mexico and Canada which was a
approved by the Senate in November 1993.
In 1993, what were the arguments for and against NAFTA by Republicans and Democrats?
This is an opportunity to learn about the economic concepts of absolute and comparative advantages and to discuss
the arguments for and against NAFTA and other regional trade agreements.
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What are the leading exports from New Jersey to Canada?
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
How will ending the NAFTA agreement impact the states of Texas, California, Michigan, and Illinois?
NJ Council for the Social Studies (NJCSS)
President: Joseph Orlak, Supervisor, Pascack Valley, Regional High School District
Vice President: Brian Cameron, Supervisor, Garfield Public Schools
Secretary: Angela Smith, Jefferson Middle School, Edison
Treasurer: Christine Gehringer, Supervisor, Washington Twp. Public Schools, Sewell
Executive Director and Editor: Hank Bitten
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NJ Social Studies Supervisors Association (NJSSA)
North Region
At-Large Directors
Robert O’Dell (2016-18) and Steve Maher (2015-17)
Noel Baxter (President/Immediate Past President)
Central Region
Michael Catelli (2016-18)
Kristin Fox (2016-18) and Keith Dennison (2015-17)
Jamil Maroun (2016-18)
South Region
Karen Vander Leest (2016-18)
Paul Groben (2016-18) and Eileen Hannigan (2015-17)
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