K-12 Social Sciences
Not just to study the world,
but to change it.
Welcome. We're glad you are here.
→ More general information & resources on Curriculum Adoptions (Cross-ESD Collaborative)
→ Check out ODE's Instructional Materials Timeline Overview here
Our Standards, Our Students,
and Ethnic Studies.
Bookmark the ODE Social Science landing page
Check out the 2021 standards here, note the (new) blue ones with *asterisks.
Differentiate between standards, student-friendly learning intentions, and success criteria. See here for more!
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This document outlines:
What ethnic studies is, and when it starts
The why and how to approach ethnic studies in K-12 classrooms
Clarifications on instructional materials & PD
In some communities, misunderstanding or misinformation can be alleviated with clear communication about the nature and purpose of ethnic studies.
👇🏽👇🏼👇🏿 Local Integrated Ethnic Studies Teacher Resources ✅ (click to expand)
Oregon House Bill 2845 defined ethnic studies as the instruction of public school students in kindergarten through grade 12 in the histories, contributions, and perspectives of individuals who are:
Native American or Americans of African, Asian, Pacific Island, Chicano, Latino, or Middle Eastern descent. It also includes the histories, contributions, and perspectives of women, people with disabilities, immigrants, refugees, and individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (ODE, 2021).
10 Resources to Consider: Check out the below (free!) resources which are consistent with the 2021 Integrated Ethnic Studies Standards ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇
*Note: Tribal History info and resources are in the below section: "Tribal History Shared History (SB 13)"
Current Events:
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1. Oregon Historical Society Classroom Resources (K-12)
A table of Curriculum Resources by Topic
includes but is not limited to local Oregonian histories: Black, LGBTQIA, Latino/a/x, Asian American, Women's, Tribal History, local Social Justice Movements, and general primary source materials/activities.
Racing to Change curriculum: Oregon history units for grades 6–8 and 9–12; designed to help educators explore the civil rights movement within an Oregon context. (a collaboration between OHS & Oregon Black Pioneers)
It Did Happened Here curriculum: Grades 9-12 curriculum where students connect policies from Oregon’s early decades to racism in the last decades of the twentieth century, including the rise of hate groups in the 1980s.
Oregon Encyclopedia: ~2,000 entries about the state’s people, places, and events written by historians, also includes Primary Source Packets with digitized and annotated primary sources as well as historical context, guided questions, further readings, and social studies standards!
More complete, recently revised Oregon History instructional units: these do not require a trip to the museum but you can go (OHS offers free admission & buses!)
2. Oregon OER Commons (K-12)
A public digital library of open, Oregon Social Science educational resources (free, fast sign-up required), also consider joining the specific hub: Oregon Social Science
3. Oregon Black Pioneers (K-12)
National scope:
Powerful K-12 Black History Framework (Dr. Lagarrett J. King)
Black-led racial justice activism & interactive timeline in the United States from the 1950s to today (Brown University)
4. Oregon Jewish Museum & Center for Holocaust Education (K-12)
Lesson plans/resources: Lots to choose from in a variety of learning experiences and formats.
5. Five Oaks Museum Classroom Resources (4-12)
DISplace: Hawaiians in the Pacific Northwest (grade 6 or high school U.S. History)
Stand Up Forest Grove: Latinx student activism in the Willamette Valley (secondary)
This IS Kalapuyan Land (Portland metro local Indigenous history and arts (Grade 4, 6, and/or 8)
6. LGBTQ+ Resources
Hidden Voices LGBTQ+ Stories in US History (NYC Dept of Edu)
Resource Guide & Lessons: Transgender Rights and Identities (Choices - Brown Univ)
#WontBeErased source analysis lessons (Choices - Brown Univ)
7. Latino/a/x Resources (K-12)
“Latinos in Oregon: An Essay” (Oregon Historical Society, Garcia, 2012)
Latinos in Oregon - High School Instructional Unit: An overview on the presence, influence, and stories of Oregon's Latino community (OER Commons)
Hispanic & Latinx Culture (El Hispanic News and Travel Oregon, 2023)
Mexican-American history in the United States and the social activism of Chicanx artists as seen through screenprints (OER Commons)
Latino Network (Local Latino-led education organization, grounded in culturally-specific practices and services, check out La Plaza Esperanza in Gresham!)
8. Japanese American Museum of Oregon (JAMO) (High School)
The Hood River Incident (post WW2)- Racism & Reconciliation: Critical Analysis of Primary Source Documents (JAMO, 2023)
A Forgotten Community: An interactive digital Story Map; 20 different locations across Portland’s Japanese community, especially Northwest Portland known as Japantown—Nihonmachi, in Japanese—in the early 1900s (JAMO, 2023)
2024 Minoru Yasui Student Contest for middle and high school students: an art contest for youth 10-18 years old: What does an ideal democracy look like to you? What is a challenge (or challenges) to achieving your vision for democracy, and what can be done to overcome it? Submission deadline: March 1, 2024 (submission form to come in January)
Add'l resource: National Veterans Network & Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center Curriculum for Elementary and Middle School Students
9. Portland Chinatown Museum (Upper elementary - high school)
Chinatown Live! Oral History Collection: More than 40 oral history recordings of Portland Chinatown elders since 2000.
10. Teacher-Crowdsourced Supplementary (and free!) Social Sciences Resources for MESD teachers
Additional Ethnic Studies Resources & Grounding (ODE & NCSS)
Ethnic Studies Themes and Possible Essential Questions (ODE)
Racial Justice Text Tool - An Anti-Racist Educators Tool to Select Materials for Class Use (ODE)
Racial Literacy: A Position Statement of National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS, 2023)
Building & Growing our Community:
Professional Development 2023-24
🌍 Join our monthly
Social Science Community Meet-Ups!
Monthly Zoom Meet-Ups, January thru June 2024 (on ~3rd Wednesdays, 2pm-3pm).
Co-hosted and facilitated by Brad Parker (MESD's Social Science Specialist) and Uma Joshi-Garcia (MESD's Culturally Responsive Teaching & Restorative Practices Specialist).
🙌🏽 Open to all statewide district, building, ESD, and ODE educators, learners, and leaders!
✍️ Virtual monthly meet-ups will feature community connections, collaborative sharing, guest speakers/facilitators, and large and small group planning.
❓. Questions? Please email Brad Parker bparker@mesd.k12.or.us
Summer opportunities coming soon!
Tribal History Shared History across K-12
MESD is lucky to have Jeidah Dezurney as our Native Youth and Family Support Program Manager (learn more here) Please reach out with any questions: jdezurney@mesd.k12.or.us
Tribal History Shared History (SB 13)
Tribal History Shared History (TH/SH) ensures a historically accurate, culturally embedded, place-based, and contemporary Native American/Alaska Native curricula. TH/SH is also not exclusive to Social Science, and includes 35+ lesson plans in grades 4, 5, 8, and High School.
Tribal History/Shared History: All PD modules and lessons here (ODE)
TH/SH Lessons are best integrated into district curricula/scope & sequences, not stand alone lessons. Reach out for help with this!
K-12 Tribally-Specific Curricula developed in addition to TH/SH (Grades 4, 8, 10)
Grand Ronde curriculum (K-12)
Siletz curriculum (K-12)
Klamath curriculum (Grades 1-3, 6 & 11)
Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians Curriculum (Grades 1-11)
Add'l Important Resources:
Educator Toolkit: Check out pg. 3: "Approaches in Indigenous Education"
Essential Understandings of Native Americans in Oregon (ODE)
Critical Orientations for Indigenous Studies Curriculum (6 P's)
Oregon Tribal Websites (9 federally-recognized Oregon Tribes)
Culture and Education: An Intersection of Indigenous Excellence (CESD, 9 min video)
Holocaust and Genocide Education across K-12
Holocaust and Genocide Education (SB 664)
This law requires school districts to provide students with instruction on the Holocaust and other genocides beginning in the 2020-2021 school year.
Academic content standards that include specific reference to the Holocaust and other genocides will be part of the 2025 social science standards adoption.
Important Resources
Sample of grade-level content approaches (OJMCHE slides)
Oregon Holocaust and Genocide Mandate and Resources (ODE, OJMCHE)
Lesson plans/resources from Oregon Jewish Museum & Center for Holocaust Education
Digital Experiences are great ways to ground Oregon Jewish stories and histories. Free downloads here.
Including Genocide Survivor Speaker Presentations (virtual or in-person, free)
Holocaust and Human Behavior (Facing History & Ourselves, secondary)
Civics Requirements for High Schools
Oregon Civics Law (SB 513)
In the 2021 legislative session, the Oregon Legislature adopted Senate Bill 513 requiring high school students to earn 0.5 civics course credit to fulfill graduation requirements, beginning with the class of 2026.
This law ensures that all students in Oregon graduate with the civic knowledge to be empowered, engaged, and informed members of a democratic society.
The ODE civics credit guidance document outlines the new requirements of the .5 credit for a high school transcript.
More info on the ODE website under "SB 513 High School Civics Credit Requirement."
Local & Teacher Resources: Civics Learning Project
CLP's Educator Resource Community: classroom ready resources and more
Example: Elections in Oregon: Secondary Lessons for the 2023-2024 School Year
Digital and Civic Literacy Skills (Learning for Justice)
MESD Super 8
Component School Districts
*The state we now call Oregon has been the homeland of diverse Native peoples since time immemorial. It is impossible to understand Oregon or U.S. history, geography, or government without having essential understandings of the rich culture and contributions of Native people in this state and nation. Please see the Essential Understandings of Native Americans in Oregon (ODE, 2020) for more. Additional questions to consider:
What comes after acknowledging the land and its Native stewards, past and present?
How can individuals and institutions contribute to lasting changes and be allies alongside Indigenous students, staff, and communities?
Come grow with us!