July 4th, 2026 should not be this generation’s “Bicentennial Minute,” but a launchpad for embracing reflective patriotism, engaging in civil discourse, and reclaiming democratic ideals. Let’s unpack how we might collectively lead this charge between now and the 250th anniversary of our U.S. Constitution.
Director of Education and Outreach, New American History
Annie Evans has spent over half her life teaching history, civics, and geography in Virginia’s K12 public schools. With New American History, she collaborates with a network of educators across the country to create learning resources to inspire the next generation of educators... Read More →
Monday September 28, 2026 8:15am - 9:00am EDT 227Deep Run High School 4801 Twin Hickory Rd Glen Allen, VA 23059
Learn about an outreach (in the classroom) and on-site program offered by the Valentine about housing discrimination in Richmond. In this program, students explore how the housing crisis emerged by analyzing primary source documents related to housing discrimination in practice, policy, and law. Students will compare redlining maps from the 1930s and identify connections to current issues in our city.
Have you noticed your students feeling overwhelmed by challenging texts? In this session, we will introduce reading guides as a tool for tackling complex texts in your social studies classroom. The first part of the session will focus on the what, why, and how of reading guides. The second part of the session will provide an opportunity for you to workshop a reading guide for your classroom.
Help your students deepen their understanding of the causes, course, and consequences of the American Civil War. Join us for a preview of educational programs from the American Civil War Museum. Through inquiry-based learning, students explore primary sources, artifacts from our handling collection, and diverse perspectives while building skills aligned with the Virginia Standards of Learning and Common Core.
July 4th, 2026 should not be this generation’s “Bicentennial Minute,” but a launchpad for embracing reflective patriotism, engaging in civil discourse, and reclaiming democratic ideals. Let’s unpack how we might collectively lead this charge between now and the 250th anniversary of our U.S. Constitution.
Director of Education and Outreach, New American History
Annie Evans has spent over half her life teaching history, civics, and geography in Virginia’s K12 public schools. With New American History, she collaborates with a network of educators across the country to create learning resources to inspire the next generation of educators... Read More →
Monday September 28, 2026 9:05am - 9:50am EDT 227Deep Run High School 4801 Twin Hickory Rd Glen Allen, VA 23059
Learn about an outreach (in the classroom) and on-site program offered by the Valentine about housing discrimination in Richmond. In this program, students explore how the housing crisis emerged by analyzing primary source documents related to housing discrimination in practice, policy, and law. Students will compare redlining maps from the 1930s and identify connections to current issues in our city.
July 4th, 2026 should not be this generation’s “Bicentennial Minute,” but a launchpad for embracing reflective patriotism, engaging in civil discourse, and reclaiming democratic ideals. Let’s unpack how we might collectively lead this charge between now and the 250th anniversary of our U.S. Constitution.
Director of Education and Outreach, New American History
Annie Evans has spent over half her life teaching history, civics, and geography in Virginia’s K12 public schools. With New American History, she collaborates with a network of educators across the country to create learning resources to inspire the next generation of educators... Read More →
Monday September 28, 2026 9:55am - 10:40am EDT 227Deep Run High School 4801 Twin Hickory Rd Glen Allen, VA 23059
Learn about an outreach (in the classroom) and on-site program offered by the Valentine about housing discrimination in Richmond. In this program, students explore how the housing crisis emerged by analyzing primary source documents related to housing discrimination in practice, policy, and law. Students will compare redlining maps from the 1930s and identify connections to current issues in our city.
Have you noticed your students feeling overwhelmed by challenging texts? In this session, we will introduce reading guides as a tool for tackling complex texts in your social studies classroom. The first part of the session will focus on the what, why, and how of reading guides. The second part of the session will provide an opportunity for you to workshop a reading guide for your classroom.
Help your students deepen their understanding of the causes, course, and consequences of the American Civil War. Join us for a preview of educational programs from the American Civil War Museum. Through inquiry-based learning, students explore primary sources, artifacts from our handling collection, and diverse perspectives while building skills aligned with the Virginia Standards of Learning and Common Core.
Learn about an outreach (in the classroom) and on-site program offered by the Valentine about housing discrimination in Richmond. In this program, students explore how the housing crisis emerged by analyzing primary source documents related to housing discrimination in practice, policy, and law. Students will compare redlining maps from the 1930s and identify connections to current issues in our city.
This session will provide an overview of techniques and activities that have proven successful in increasing engagement, buy-in, and retention of content in social studies classrooms. Some areas that will be discussed are: techniques to break up lectures, connecting the curriculum to the world today, and the benefits of organizing your course around core themes.
In this session, we will discuss the simple model of memory and explore the implications of the model for the social studies classroom. As a case study for applying this model, we will examine the relationship between vocabulary, “memory,” and reading comprehension. The session will end with an in-depth discussion of retrieval practice, an evidence-based methodology for building students’ background knowledge, and examine the ways in which retrieval practice can lead to better outcomes in reading, writing, and critical thinking skills.
Learn how to intentionally pair note-taking strategies with Inquiry Design Model (IDM) packets to strengthen students' historical thinking and writing skills. This session will explore how tandem teaching notes and inquiry-based activities can support students in analyzing sources, developing claims, using evidence effectively, and constructing stronger historical arguments. Participants will leave with practical strategies, lesson examples, and scaffolds that can be implemented immediately in social studies classrooms.
Teachers will be given a LOT of OTR examples that can be worked into any lesson, shown how to level them up and down, and given opportunities to try them/create a lesson that incorporates new OTRs they can use in the following weeks
The primary purpose of this presentation is to train history teachers on using Brisk Boost, an approved AI writing assistant, to prepare students for the IDM assessment process. While students are not permitted to use Brisk Boost directly on the official IDM assessment, teachers can use it as a foundational practice tool to build necessary historical writing skills beforehand.
This session will provide an overview of techniques and activities that have proven successful in increasing engagement, buy-in, and retention of content in social studies classrooms. Some areas that will be discussed are: techniques to break up lectures, connecting the curriculum to the world today, and the benefits of organizing your course around core themes.
In this session, we will discuss the simple model of memory and explore the implications of the model for the social studies classroom. As a case study for applying this model, we will examine the relationship between vocabulary, “memory,” and reading comprehension. The session will end with an in-depth discussion of retrieval practice, an evidence-based methodology for building students’ background knowledge, and examine the ways in which retrieval practice can lead to better outcomes in reading, writing, and critical thinking skills.
Learn how to intentionally pair note-taking strategies with Inquiry Design Model (IDM) packets to strengthen students' historical thinking and writing skills. This session will explore how tandem teaching notes and inquiry-based activities can support students in analyzing sources, developing claims, using evidence effectively, and constructing stronger historical arguments. Participants will leave with practical strategies, lesson examples, and scaffolds that can be implemented immediately in social studies classrooms.
If you've ever thought, "The idea in this PL was great! But... when the heck will I ever have the time to actually implement this?" Well, then this PL may be for you! In this double-length workshop-style session, you can expect the following: ~20 mins of introduction to the format of the session and an example of gamification. 50 full minutes to work with colleagues and experts to design and implement your own skill-building games in your curriculum. ~20 mins for groups to share their work with the whole session.
