Session 4
(11:10 - 11:55)

Presenter & Affiliation:  Emily Green, Polytech HS (DE)

Session Description: This presentation will familiarize you with the lesson plans, checks for understanding, and sources, available through the Delaware Public Archives. All materials are free to access and you will walk away with ideas and practical activities you can use directly in you classroom. 

Room: Lavender

Presenter: Stephanie Quarantotto, TCI

Session Description:  Foster critical thinking and scholarly discourse in your classroom with TCI’s Response Group activities. This teaching strategy helps students grapple with difficult concepts in social studies, recognize the complexity of historical events, and discuss the consequences of public policies.

Room: Rosemary

Presenter & Affiliation:  Susan Moore, The Special Music School (NYC, DoE)

Session Description:  In this interactive session, Susan will demonstrate how civics learning can be meaningful and accessible for even the youngest students. Using the NYC Social Studies Curriculum and Civics for All framework, participants will explore hands-on, literacy-based strategies such as read-alouds, songs, vocabulary routines, and class elections that promote community, fairness, and leadership in Kindergarten classrooms. Through movement, collaboration, and storytelling, Susan will model how civic understanding can grow naturally through literacy. Participants will leave with practical ideas to help young learners recognize their voices, make choices, and see themselves as active, caring members of their school and community.

Room: 184

Presenter & Affiliation:   Jane Highley, Devon Prepatory School (PA)

Session Description:  Discover how South Korea rose from postwar devastation to global prominence in technology, trade, and culture. This case study empowers students to connect Cold War legacies, economic development, and soft power to civic engagement and globalization. South Korea’s journey offers a powerful way to “look back” at 20th-century geopolitics and “think forward” about 21st-century challenges, such as democratic consolidation and global citizenship. Participants will learn how country case studies can be meaningfully integrated into any social studies course—from U.S. and world history to civics and geography—while tapping into students’ interests and keeping them engaged through relevant, globally connected content.

Room: Thyme

Presenter & Affiliation: Tyler Abernathy, Propel Schools

Session Description: How can you extend the borders of a classroom? Develop an experience like our 8th Grade Rite of Passage that allows students to learn about their city of Pittsburgh and local school community. 'In this experience we connect students with people, events, and stories from the past to what is happening now. These interactions include working with experts and curators from the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, Heinz History Center, and local Historical Societies. This session will walk you through the steps we take in planning and coordinating between partners and our school personnel to design this experience. 

Room: Sage