2008 NJCSS Conference Program

7:25-8:30 Registration, Breakfast, Exhibitor Displays

8:35-9:25 Opening Session (Main Ballroom)

·        Introduction and Welcome:

John Boland, President NJCSS

·        Speaker

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Dennis Dennenberg (National Heroes Day initiative)

Workshop Schedule

1:05-1:15 Exhibitor Displays

1:15 Closing Session (Main Ballroom)

·        Lunch

Honor Past-President: John Blair

Awards Ceremony and Door Prizes

Speaker: Dr. Williams (Amistad Commission)

NJCSS Fall 2008 Conference Workshop Session I 9:30-10:30 (All sessions are 1 hour)

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1. CICERO: History Beyond the Textbook – Presenter Chris Bradshaw. Cicero is the ultimate web based tool designed to meet the needs of both teachers and students in the area of social studies. The presentation will focus on navigation of the site, effectively using web based tools with students and practical application of CICERO in the classroom. Teachers will also have a chance to examine how this tool can be used to engage both students and parents in the learning process. Grade: All Levels

2. We the People…The Citizen and the Constitution:  Making history and civics relevant today – Presenter Lynnette Poag. This workshop will provide an overview of the nationally highly acclaimed We the People… The Citizen and the Constitution materials and will involve participants in a simulated legislative hearing. The We the People curriculum enhances student understanding of the institutions of American constitutional democracy as well as the contemporary relevance of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The materials include critical thinking exercise, problem-solving activities, cooperative learning and simulated legislative hearing to help develop intellectual and participatory skills for citizenship. They are easily integrated into a U.S. government, U.S. history or civics course and may be used as a supplement or a stand-alone curriculum. Participating teachers will receive a sample text and will be able to order a free classroom set of We the People materials specifically designed fro grades. Grade:  3-12

3. Helping students to think about social issues – Presenter Dr. John Dougherty. The workshop will present teachers with a framework to help students to learn to think about complex social and scientific issues like global warming, evolution, cloning and so forth by examining relevant data, consulting real authorities in print and using other sources before forming definite opinions. Students need to examine a hierarchy which is developed from hunch, to educated guess, to informed opinion to no definite conclusion and so forth. Participants will receive a copy of the Hierarchy of Considered Opinions with examples of each category. Grade: 9-12

4. Meeting Hate with Humanity – Presenter Nili Isenberg.  Through discussion and the examination of primary documents and artifacts. Workshop participants will be introduced to the chronology of the Holocaust and examine the current genocide in Dafur. Participants will receive curriculum materials for use in their classrooms and information about Museum resources. Discussion will reference social studies standards and exam topics. Grade: All Levels

5. Making Sense of the Presidential Election- Presenter Dr. Alan Singer. The 2008 Presidential campaign is historic for many reasons. It is the first time an African American and a woman as leading contenders for the nomination of a major political party. The nation is in the midst of a divisive war. For the first time since 1952, no incumbent President or Vice-President is running for office. The campaign is expected to cost $500 million and most candidates have withdrawn from the federal matching fund program. This session utilizes material developed fro Social Science Docket to examine strategies fro teaching about Presidential elections past and present. Grade: All Levels

6. Teaching Social Studies through Primary Sources – Presenter Bernard Olsen This presentation will provide a framework for educators teaching social studies/history through the use of primary sources. It defines what primary sources are, e.g., documents recorded by contemporaries and explain why these are so important. It further places these documents in the context of their emphasis in recent educational practices. These specifically address the core content standards and are used in various essay formats including but not limited to “document based questions” on Advanced Placement and other standardized tests. The presentation revolves around a slide lecture/PowerPoint. A seminar question/answer period concludes the presentation.  Grade: All Levels

7. Creating High-Quality Multiple Choice Test Questions for Social Studies Assessment – Presenters John Khanlian & David Hogan. This session will provide an insider's look at strategies used by ETS to create accurate, valid, reliable, bias-free, and high quality multiple-choice test questions for assessing students' content knowledge and skills in social studies.  Practical guidelines and examples will be provided to workshop participants for immediate application to student assessment in their own classroom teaching situations.  Handouts provided. Grade: All Levels

NJCSS Fall 2008 Conference Workshop Session II 10:45-11:45  (All sessions are 1 hour)

1. Immigration Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow - Presenter Arlene Gardner. What is the purpose of teaching history? Shouldn’t we teach history in a way that makes it relevant to issues facing us today? This workshop will demonstrate an approach to teaching history that will motivate and engage your students and will result in their learning a richer understanding of history. The approach will be demonstrated by looking at the issue of immigration as it was debated in the 1920s and it being debated today. This one of 20 case studies of domestic and international conflicts in American history from the colonial period through the 20^th century included in Conflict Resolution and United States History, a curriculum package for teachers that includes a CD with primary source documents, overheads/student handouts, maps and illustrations, as well as DVD showing middle and high school students engaged in role-playing historical figures using conflict resolution skills. Grade: 5-12

2. Using Teacher Tube – Presenter Steve Graham While most people have heard of You Tube, many teachers are unaware of Teacher Tube. Teacher Tube, like You Tube, allows a global community to contribute videos on various topics. Unlike You Tube, Teacher Tube offers a safe environment for teachers and students to download and post videos related to their studies. This presentation will provide teachers with helpful tips on how they might use Teacher Tube in their classrooms. Whether it be the simply retrieval of relevant videos or the creation of videos to be posted, Mr. Steve Graham will provide the basic information needed to get you started. Grade: All Levels

3. How to create a Guest Speaker Program – Presenter Joseph Monti. This workshop is a comprehensive educational blueprint for making history come alive for the students in a seminar atmosphere. Joseph Monti is the creator of the renowned Meet the People Monthly Guest Lecture Series which ran for 29 years. Grade: 5-12

4. New Jersey History Partnership Website – Presenters Alan Lucibello & Courtney Stephenson. The NJ History Partnership is a collaborate of the Montville Township School District, the NJ Historical Commission and Kean University funded by a Teaching American History program The workshop will be overview of the features of the website www.NJHistory.org which is a multimedia website intended to support teaching NJ history while meeting the NJ Core Content standards. Participants will also receive free of change, CD-ROMs and Teacher’s Guides that were developed for each o the units featured on the website. Grade: All Levels

5. New Jersey Amistad Commission Lesson Planning for Restructing your Classroom Curriculum – Presenter Stephanie James Wilson. Participants will learn of the full mission of the New Jersey Amistad Commission. Participants will receive an overview of the Amistad state curriculum as well instruction on navigating the Amistad interactive comprehensive web based curriculum, which is available to all teachers in New Jersey.  Grade: All Levels

6. Sustaining Professional Development through Free or almost Free Travel for History Teachers – Presenter Rick Weiss. This presentation will provide teachers with information about numerous professional development opportunities available to teachers in the summer. Participants will receive a handout of professional development opportunities, contact information and helpful hints for the application process.  Grade: All Levels

7. Developing and Scoring Rubric Based Constructed Response Social Studies Test Questions –  Presenters John Khanlian & David Hogan. This session will focus on the use of and scoring of constructed-response (open-ended) test questions for assessing students' content knowledge and skills in social studies.  Guidelines for developing valid and reliable rubric-based test questions will be provided.  Participants will practice using both generic and item-specific rubrics to score students' actual written responses on a variety of publicly-released test items used in the large-scale assessment programs of different states. Handouts provided Grade: All Levels

NJCSS Fall 2008 Conference Workshop Session III 12:00-1:00 (All sessions are 1 hour)

1. Fingerprinting the Constitution: Teaching United States History through the Preamble – Dr. Yohuru Williams

This session is designed to introduce secondary teachers to a teaching method called Historical Fingerprinting. A strategy for viewing primary sources, historical fingerprinting invites students to “uncover” history by analyzing both the core and historical antecedents of many important in American History.  Grade: 5-12

2. Using Artifacts to Understand the Wars of the Past – Dr. Staci Anson

Teachers will the importance of students going past the written word of historical events. Participants will learn about the process involved in having students use artifacts to learn not only valuable information but get a sense of the reality of the facts and faces of history as well. Grade: All Levels

3. Reading Strategies to Enhance Social Studies Instruction – Dr. Susan M. Tosti

Integrating reading strategies into the social studies classroom prepares students to learn necessary vocabulary, improves student comprehension of textbooks and enables the learner to understand the concepts associated with the Big Idea. Participants will leave with information and activities that can be easily implemented in the classroom.  Grade: K-4

4. Using Popular Music to Study the Great Depression – Stephen Armstrong. Participants will analyze various ways to use popular music with students to study the Great Depression. General rules and approaches for using music in the social studies classroom will be discussed as well. Participants will analyze various forms of music from the Great Depression era. Grade: 9-12

5. History Alive! Defining and Debating America’s Founding Ideals – Erin Dwyer

Participants will experience a Writing for Understanding lesson in which they read and analyze primary and secondary sources to understand the significance of the five ideals of the Declaration of Independence with a debrief afterwards focusing on classroom strategies for success  Grade: 9-12

6. Using Thinking Processes & Technology=Social Studies in the 21^st Century – Sandra Wozniak

In this highly interactive, participants will learn to sue a state of art 2.0 website geared for teens featuring a communications and collaborative tool to help kids develop innovative solutions to complex problems. Participants will learn to implement a step-by-step decision making process to teach students to appreciate multiple perspectives and promote the development of critical thinking. Attendees will then be introduced to a web based tool that offers role-playing scenarios based on current events, historical situations and civic issues they can use to develop a virtual community in their classroom.  Grade: 5-12

7. Social Studies Supervisors Workshop- The New Jersey Social Studies Supervisors Association is an organization that represents the interests of social studies supervisors and conducts three meetings a year. Participants attending this session will be provided information about NJSSSA, will learn more about issues of interest to social studies supervisors (scope and sequence and local assessment), and will have a opportunity to network with social studies colleagues in New Jersey. This workshop is designed for current supervisors and for people interested in learning more about social studies supervision. Grade: All Levels