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Welcome to the October issue of Social Education. It is fall, and the school year is underway. While you and your students are settled into routines, we know that there is nothing routine about the social studies. It is an ever changing and ever growing discipline. It encompasses many specialties, including civics, history, sociology, psychology, law, and so much more. It builds on our shared history, responds to current events, and inspires the next generation to civic action. It is the throughline of the past, present, and future.
To mark the milestones of this time of year, Alexandra Tanner Waller examines President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1941 Armistice Day address as a way to explore democratic ideals, Veterans Day, and how Americans have understood national service over time. Catherine Hawke notes the start of the Supreme Court’s term with an overview of recent and upcoming U.S. Supreme Court cases that can be used to engage students in timely discussions about constitutional rights, the balance of powers, and the evolving role of the American judiciary.
Tim Hall reminds us why, 100 years after its conclusion, the Scopes Trial is still relevant to public education today by inviting students to explore how debates over science, religion, and education reflect broader cultural conflicts. Robin Pike and Lee Ann Potter encourage students to explore media, bias, and public perception during the Revolutionary era by learning about how colonial newspapers shared the Declaration of
NCSS Notebook
Independence in 1776.
Reflecting the diversity and dynamism of social studies, William Toledo and Bridget Maher share practical strategies, classroom examples, and standards-aligned resources to support teachers in creating LGBTQ+-inclusive learning environments. Heather McNamee shares the little-known desegregation story of Hoxie, Arkansas, and how investigating it in the classroom can lead to a deeper study of the fight for educational equity in American history.
And, there is so much more to explore in this issue.
Thank you for your commitment to the social studies. As the study of individuals, communities, systems, and their interactions across time and place, it prepares students for civic life. Social studies learners work together to create a just world for all of us. For that, I am very grateful.
As always, we welcome your feedback on this issue at socialed@ncss.org
Kelly McFarland Stratman is the Executive Director of NCSS.
From Armistice Day to Veterans Day: How Context Changes Commemoration
Alexandra Tanner Waller
On November 11, 1921, the remains of an unidentified American service member were buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia. Although he was not the first unknown soldier buried in the cemetery, this soldier was chosen by order of Congress to represent the unidentified fallen of World War I and be interred at the newly built Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The funeral took place on the third anniversary of the war’s end and served as a somber tribute to all who died in the Great War, especially the more than 1,000 service members who lost both their lives and identities. At the ceremony, President Warren G. Harding both honored the sacrifice of the Unknown Soldier and expressed hope that such sacrifice would never be required again: “As we return this poor clay to its mother soil, garlanded by love and covered with the decorations that only nations can bestow, I can sense the prayers of our people, of all peoples, that this Armistice Day shall mark the beginning of a new and lasting era of peace on Earth, good will among men.”1
Unfortunately, that lasting peace did not come to pass, and Americans have been called up to war many times since. In 1954, after World War II and the Korean War, Congress passed a bill to dedicate November 11 as a day to commemorate all veterans and changed the holiday’s name from Armistice Day to Veterans Day. The preeminent ceremony continues to be held at Arlington National Cemetery’s Memorial Amphitheater, which stands in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Traditionally, the U.S. president gives a
speech, and these addresses often invoke the idea of carrying on the legacy of the soldiers buried at Arlington.2 But what this means can vary greatly—do we honor their service by perpetuating
Overhead view of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Oct. 15, 2020)
U.S. Army
photo: Elizabeth Fraser / Arlington National Cemetery
peace or by battling for democracy and other American ideals?
The answer to this question is personal to every American and will change based on their relationship to the military and federal government, their opinion of international conflicts, and their religious or moral beliefs. And of course, our sentiments may change based on the context of events happening in our country or around the world. In this article, we explore how context shaped Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1941 Armistice Day address, and how his message can enrich our observance of Veterans Day.
During his presidency, Franklin Delano Roosevelt spoke multiple times at Arlington National Cemetery’s Armistice Day ceremonies. In his 1935 address, Roosevelt championed peace and announced a trade agreement with Canada.3 In his 1940 address, he warned of rising tensions worldwide, but did not call the nation to arms.4
His tone was very different on November 11, 1941 (see document on p. 266). At that time, the Axis powers had gained control of most of Western Europe and were invading the Soviet Union and China. With all that was happening in the world, Armistice Day could no longer be a commemoration of the end of wars. Instead, President Roosevelt exhorted the United States to fight against Germany once more, hearkening back to the service of World War I soldiers: “We know that these men died to save their country from a terrible danger that day. We know, because we face that danger once again on this day.”5
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was built to honor an unknown soldier from World War I; however, it eventually became a national place to honor military service and sacrifice more broadly. Today, it holds the remains of unknown soldiers from both world wars and the Korean War, as well as an empty crypt to honor missing service members from the Vietnam War. Find resources to share this history with your students on the Arlington National Cemetery Education Program website: https://education. arlingtoncemetery.mil/Themes/Tomb-of-the-UnknownSoldier. Lesson plans include “The Unknown Soldier and National Community,” “Who’s Buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier,” and a short introductory lesson on Veterans Day. These lessons are available in classroomformat or as online interactives through Canvas.
Throughout his speech, Roosevelt referenced a Sergeant York of Tennessee, who had recently spoken at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Sergeant York was not just any soldier. Alvin York was one of the most decorated soldiers of World War I. When he was originally drafted, Alvin York had filed for a conscientious objector exemption, due to his religious beliefs. However, his petition was denied. He then went on to receive the Medal of Honor and French Croix de Guerre for his actions during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, where he charged a machine-gun nest and took more than 100 German prisoners.6 Despite his pacifist background, Sergeant York strongly advocated for U.S. entry into World War II. He, like Roosevelt, believed the country had a duty to defend democracy.
Today there is not much discourse about whether American sacrifices in World War I or II were justified, but it was a point of debate during the early 1940s. Apparently, Sergeant York had recently been asked “What did it get you?” with regard to whether his service in World War I had been worth it. To President Roosevelt, this question was absurd:
If our armies of 1917 and 1918 had lost[,] there would not have been a man or woman in America who would have wondered why the war was fought. The reasons would have faced us everywhere. We would have known why liberty is worth defending as those alone whose liberty is lost can know it. We would have known why tyranny is worth defeating as only those whom tyrants rule can know.7
Roosevelt referenced suffering in France— “prisoners in their cities, victims of searches and of seizures without law, hostages for the safety of their masters’ lives, robbed of their harvests, murdered in their prisons”8—and lists other countries invaded by Nazi Germany. For citizens of those occupied nations, there was no question whether the sacrifice was worthy. It was desperately needed.
continued on page 268
The first two pages of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Nov. 11, 1941, address. For the complete speech go to https://catalog.archives. gov/id/197992.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “Address of the President from Arlington National Cemetery on Armistice Day,” Nov. 11, 1941, National Archives and Records Administration, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/197992
Echoing Abraham Lincoln’s admonition in the Gettysburg Address, “that these dead shall not have died in vain,” Roosevelt advocated that “This duty we owe, not to ourselves alone, but to the many dead who died to gain our freedom for us— to make the world a place where freedom can live and grow into the ages.”9 President Lincoln had been speaking of the duty to preserve freedom within the United States, but President Roosevelt expanded that duty to the world. He argued that just as the United States had fought to preserve democracy in Europe during World War I, it must continue to do so whenever democracy was threatened.
Only weeks after this address, the United States was attacked by Japanese forces at Pearl Harbor. With this new context, the president no longer needed to justify entering the war as a matter of principle. It became a matter of defense. When Roosevelt spoke again at Arlington the following year, he was no longer speaking to a nation that needed convincing, but one already beginning a years-long mobilization effort. Millions of men had joined the military, whether voluntarily or through the draft; women were joining the industrial workforce and the military in large numbers; and civilians were facing shortages and rationing. Accordingly, Roosevelt’s address focused on bolstering those making sacrifices on the battlefield and at home to bring about peace.10
In his 1941 address, President Roosevelt quoted Sergeant York’s response to doubters:
The thing they forget is that liberty and freedom and democracy are so very precious that you do not fight to win them once and then stop. You do not do that. Liberty and freedom and democracy are prizes awarded only to those peoples who fight to win them and then keep fighting eternally to hold them.
These principles have been the American rallying cry since the signing of the Declaration of Independence nearly 250 years ago. They are the reason that President Roosevelt’s words still resonate, despite the events and cultural shifts that have occurred since 1941.
As you read President Roosevelt’s full speech and prepare for Veterans Day this year, consider how your perspective fits with those in the past. How is your observance of Veterans Day different from someone who lived in 1921? Or 1941? And how is it similar? What does it mean to defend freedom, liberty, and democracy today? This Veterans Day, we can honor those who fought for American principles in the past by taking time to explore these questions with our students today.
Suggested Teaching Activities
1. Have students conduct their own contextual analysis of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1941 speech (https://catalog.archives.gov/ id/197992). For their first read-through, instruct students to identify President Roosevelt’s main argument and circle references to people, places, and events. Explain how understanding these references will reveal the context surrounding President Roosevelt’s speech and the motivation behind his argument. Split the class into groups and assign each group to research one of these references and to explain the significance of it to the class:
• The date of the speech;
• The location where the speech was given;
• Sergeant Alvin York;
• The European countries listed at the top of page 3 of the speech;
• The phrase “that these dead shall not have died in vain.”
2. President Roosevelt spoke again at Arlington National Cemetery on Armistice Day 1942. Have students compare the messages of the 1941 and 1942 speeches, and discuss the events that occurred between them which may have influenced their differences. Transcripts of both speeches are available on the American Presidency Project website, hosted by the University
of California, Santa Barbara (1941: www. presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/addressarmistice-day-arlington-national-cemetery and 1942: www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ documents/armistice-day-address). An audio recording of the 1942 speech is also available through the National Archives Catalog: https://catalog.archives.gov/ id/178209527.
Extension Activity
Invite students to apply contextual analysis to a recent presidential speech or one associated with a different historical event that the class is studying. The American Presidency Project website has a large collection of presidential speech transcripts: www.presidency.ucsb.edu
Notes
1. Warren G. Harding, “The Unknown American Soldier. Address of the President of the United States at the Ceremonies Attending the Burial of an Unknown American Soldier in Arlington Cemetery, November 11, 1921,” Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1921, Library of Congress, https://lccn.loc.gov/21026998
2. “History of Veterans Day,” U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, https://department.va.gov/veterans-day/historyof-veterans-day.
3. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “Address at Arlington National Cemetery,” Nov. 11, 1935, The American Presidency Project,
4. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “Address on Armistice Day, Arlington National Cemetery,” Nov. 11, 1940, The American Presidency Project, www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/ address-armistice-day-arlington-national-cemetery-0
5. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “Address of the President from Arlington National Cemetery on Armistice Day,” Nov. 11, 1941, National Archives and Records Administration, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/197992
6. Anthony Eley, “Alvin C. York,” National Museum of the United States Army, www.thenmusa.org/biographies/alvinc-york
7. Roosevelt, “Address of the President from Arlington National Cemetery on Armistice Day,” Nov. 11, 1941.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. Sound Recording, “Armistice Day Address,” Nov. 11, 1942, National Archives and Records Administration, https:// catalog.archives.gov/id/178209527
Alexandra Tanner Waller is a contractor Curriculum Specialist for the Arlington National Cemetery Education Program in Arlington, Virginia. The program offers lesson plans, activity packets, walking tours, and reading material that can be used in the classroom, at the cemetery, or at home to explore American history through the unique lens of the cemetery’s history and the lives of those buried there. Find it all at https://education.arlingtoncemetery. mil
It is the only national organization for high school juniors and seniors that recognizes excellence in the field of Social Studies. Any accredited public or private high school can apply for a local chapter, through which individuals will be inducted into Rho Kappa Honor Society.
Lessons on the Law
SCOTUS in 2025: Taking Center Stage
Catherine Hawke
The first Monday in October marked the start of a new U.S. Supreme Court term. Once again, the Court’s docket engages many of the hot topics and current debates in our political landscape and offers a starting point for timely discussions in the classroom. With oral argument recordings, digital transcripts, contemporary court-watching podcasts, and other technological tools, the Court is more accessible than ever for learners looking to broaden their civic horizons. In this Lessons on the Law column, we look back at the most recent term, forward to this new term, and attempt to orient readers toward the trends and cases ahead.
The 2024–2025 Term in Review
In the last term, the Supreme Court was present in virtually every major political and cultural debate or discussion. Here are some of the biggest trends to help unpack the headlines.
LGBTQ Rights, Religion, and Schools
In the 2024-2025 term, the Supreme Court took on LGBTQ debates through two very different lenses: gender-affirming care for minors and parental religious freedom in tension with classroom material featuring LGBTQ characters. In both cases, the Court’s conservative majority secured clear victories. In one of the most closely watched cases of the term, United States v. Skrmetti, the
justices upheld a Tennessee law that bans puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender minors. Parents and doctors challenged the law, arguing that it was discriminatory because it banned certain medical treatments for transgender minors while allowing the same treatments for other minors with medical conditions such as precocious puberty. According to the majority opinion drafted by Chief Justice John Roberts, the law’s ban was not based on sex, but was based on the minor’s age and the medical conditions being treated. These types of limitations, the Court ruled, are lawfully permitted. On the day the decision was announced, Justice Sonia Sotomayor took the bench to read from her
dissent (which was joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson), warning that the decision would foretell “untold harm to transgender children and the parents and families who love them.” Dissents read from the bench had been a fairly rare occurrence and signaled deep disagreement among the justices. In recent years, they have become increasingly common. The other case concerning LGBTQ rights, sitting at the intersection of religion and schools, was Mahmoud v. Taylor In a 6-3 majority opinion (once again, along the perceived political lines), the Court held that parents have a right to opt their children out of instruction that includes LGBTQ characters and themes. Justice Samuel Alito, authoring the Court’s opinion, determined that by failing to give parents an option to opt their children out of such instruction, the school district had violated the parents’ free exercise of religion. Mahmoud garnered much media attention, partially due to the amount of time the justice dedicated at oral argument to reading the challenged children’s books.
(For an excellent review of the oral arguments, check out Adam Liptak’s April 25, 2025, contribution to the New York Times podcast The Daily.)
A third religion in schools case to note, Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond, seemed poised to offer a major win for religious rights in schools by giving the Court a chance to authorize a Catholic virtual charter school (making it the country’s first religious charter school). However, Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from participating in the decision (likely due to her connections with students and law professors from Notre Dame working on the case), thereby leaving the decision at a 4-4 standstill. When the justices split 4-4, the lower court decision stands, and no new law is “made” from the decision. In this case, the lower court had ruled in favor of the Oklahoma attorney general’s decision to oppose the charter school’s creation; that ended the case, at least for this particular Oklahoma school. It appears very likely that this issue will be before the Court again soon, potentially with all nine justices weighing in.
SCOTUS and Guns
The Court heard two gunrelated cases this past term, though neither directly addressed the Second Amendment. Bondi v. VanDerStok asked whether the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) exceeded its authority when issuing a regulation centered
on “ghost guns,” or weapon kits. In a 7–2 decision authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch, the Court held that such weapon parts kits and unfinished gun frames qualified as “weapons” under the Gun Control Act, such that the ATF can regulate their sales.
The Court next took gun regulations internationally in Smith & Wesson Brands v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos. Again, this case didn’t confront the Second Amendment, but instead whether the Mexican government could sue American firearms manufacturers. In the past two decades, Mexico has seen a steep increase in gun violence, fueled primarily by firearms brought into the country from the United States. (There is only one gun store in Mexico, and it is managed by the Mexican army; there are no gun manufacturers or private gun stores in the country.) The American gun manufacturers argued, and a unanimous Supreme Court agreed, that Mexico’s claim did not clearly show that the manufacturers had aided and abetted the unlawful gun sales.
Rebalancing Political Power
Several cases this term involved complex administrative law issues that might seem easy to overlook. But beneath the surface, they reveal potentially significant shifts in the balance of governmental power. This litany of cases dealt with a variety of topics including affordable communications, the Clean Air Act, the storage of spent nuclear fuel, and
flavored e-cigarettes, just to name a few.1 While the details of these cases are nuanced and procedural, when taken together, they show a trend of power tipping toward the executive branch and away from Congress, and potentially the courts themselves.
As University of Illinois
Chicago Professor of Law
Steven D. Schwinn sums up in the August 2025 ABA Supreme Court Preview:
The Supreme Court has moved swiftly and steadily over the last 15 years or so to effect a major shift in the balance of powers. In particular, the Court has substantially bolstered the powers of the president, while at the same time it has significantly diminished the powers of Congress and congressionally created federal agencies. In a series of cases across doctrines, the Court has given greater power to the president, and correspondingly less power to Congress, to direct and control the administrative state.
One closely watched case in the balance of powers arena was Trump v. CASA, aka, the Birthright Citizenship case. It is important to note that this term at least the Court didn’t actually get to the merits of the issue, but instead considered a thorny issue exploring the power of courts themselves. In January, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14160 announcing “the Fourteenth
Demonstrators in Washington, D.C., urged the Supreme Court to uphold the 14th Amendment as it heard arguments on May 15, 2025, in Trump v. CASA, challenging an executive order revoking birthright citizenship.
Amendment has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States” with the direction that citizenship documents cannot be issued to anyone “(1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States at the time of said person’s birth was lawful but temporary … and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident[.]” This executive order quickly became the subject of numerous lawsuits challenging its validity under the Fourteenth
Amendment. As those suits made their way through various levels of appeals, several lower federal courts issued nationwide injunctions, halting the order’s enforcement.
The Trump administration immediately challenged those injunctions at the Supreme Court, which added an extra day of oral argument in May to hear the issue (oral argument for the term usually concludes by April). In late June, the Court announced a fairly procedural 6-3 decision in favor of the administration and allowing the executive order to be enforced against anyone not directly connected to an ongoing lawsuit. While the opinion focused on the various steps and factors for granting injunctions, its true
impact was clear: it limited the use of nationwide injunctions—a judicial tool that has become significantly more common. In writing for the Court, Justice Barrett noted that:
[T]he universal injunction “give[s] the Judiciary a powerful tool to check the Executive Branch.” … federal courts do not exercise general oversight of the Executive Branch; they resolve cases and controversies consistent with the authority Congress has given them. When a court concludes that the Executive Branch has acted unlawfully, the answer is not for the court to exceed its power, too.
Photo by Allison Bailey/NurPhoto
when assessing a defendant’s eligibility for the death penalty. There are also a variety of evergreen issues that will once again go before the Court, with the potential to shift the balance of powers and our political framing:
Voting Rights: The justices have asked for a second argument in Louisiana v. Callais, challenging the congressional map adopted by the Louisiana state legislature in 2024 (the case was first argued in March 2025). Callais could give the justices a chance to review the constitutionality of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Campaign Finance: National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission presents the Court with Republican challenges to campaign finance restrictions on First Amendment free speech grounds.
Reproductive Rights and the First Amendment: Access to reproductive care is once
again before the justices, but through an unexpected First Amendment lens in First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v. Platkin
First Choice is a group of faith-based pregnancy centers that was subject to investigation by the New Jersey attorney general who contended that the centers misled women about abortion services.
First Choice challenges the state’s demand to turn over certain donor information as a violation of its First Amendment protections.
Conclusion
Conducting a classroom examination of even one of these blockbuster cases offers plenty of opportunities for learning—from argument analysis, to deliberative dialogue, to current events and media literacy. Resources that are particularly useful include: PREVIEW in the Classroom from the American Bar Association, along with PBS Newshour, Project Zero, Street Law, the News Literacy Project, C-SPAN, and New Hampshire Public Radio’s Civics 101 Hopefully these cases present avenues for rich civic dialogue
and analysis between teachers and students and within their communities. Stay tuned!
Note
1. Federal Communications Commission v. Consumers’ Research; SHLB Coalition v. Consumers’ Research; Oklahoma v. Environmental Protection Agency; Pacificorps v. Environmental Protection Agency; City and County of San Francisco v. EPA; Environmental Protection Agency v. Calumet Shreveport Refining, LLC; Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas; and Interim Storage Partners, LLC v. Texas
Catherine Hawke is Deputy Director of the American Bar Association’s Division for Public Education. She is the editor of PREVIEW of United States Supreme Court Cases, which explores each case before oral argument.
Lessons on the Law is provided by the American Bar Association’s Division for Public Education. The ideas expressed in the article are the author’s own and should not be considered official policy of the American Bar Association, its Board of Governors or House of Delegates, or any of its entities, including the Standing Committee on Public Education. All authors contribute the Lessons on the Law content as a public service.
Why is the Scopes Trial Still Relevant to Public Education Today? An IDM Unit Plan
Tim Hall
One hundred years ago, in the summer of 1925, the small Tennessee town of Dayton became the center of one of America’s most dramatic courtroom battles, the Scopes Monkey Trial. This significant court case challenged the legality of teaching evolution in public schools. That year, Tennessee had passed the Butler Act, which prohibited the teaching of evolution in its public schools. However, at the same time, the stateadopted biology textbook, A Civic Biology by George William Hunter, included the concept of evolution.
Responding to a solicitation from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to contest the Butler Act, civic leaders in Dayton approached John Scopes, a high school science teacher, who agreed to take on the challenge. Scopes was subsequently arrested and charged with teaching evolution.
The brief trial occurred from July 10 to July 21 at the Rhea County Courthouse in Dayton, but was ultimately moved to the courtyard due to concerns about crowd size. That summer, the Scopes Trial mushroomed into a sensationalized national and international story. It was the first trial broadcast live on the radio, fueling a circus-like atmosphere. Heightening the high-stakes climate, three-time Democratic presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan led the prosecution, while renowned civil liberties lawyer Clarence Darrow
defended Scopes and the ACLU. In the end, the jury found Scopes guilty of teaching evolution. He was fined $100.
Despite the guilty verdict, there was disagreement over what was truly at stake and who emerged victorious. At the time, many viewed the trial as a confrontation between religious Christian fundamentalists and proponents of modern science and evolution. Others interpreted it as a conflict of values, rural versus urban or traditional versus modern.
Over the years, the Scopes Trial has reemerged in Supreme Court cases related to the teaching of evolution, including Epperson v. Arkansas, Edwards v. Aguillard, Kitzmiller v. Dover, and the 2012 Tennessee Academic Freedom Bill. It has also reappeared in popular culture with the play Inherit the Wind, which later became a widely acclaimed movie, using a fictionalized version of the trial to critique the Red Scare of the 1950s. Why is the Scopes Trial still relevant to public education today? I designed and taught the Inquiry Design Model (IDM) described in this article to American history students at Vance County Early College over a five-day period. The lesson prompted strong engagement, meaningful dialogues, and important modern connections. The five-day pacing of the IDM allowed students to work deeply with the sources of the Scopes Trial, build strong arguments, and connect the
compelling question to contemporary issues in education in North Carolina and nationally.
Inquiry Overview
The featured inquiry leads students in examining 1920s U.S. culture through a study of the 1925 Scopes Trial about teaching evolution. This trial reflects cultural conflicts of the 1920s and today. Students examine various cultural, religious, and scientific perspectives that shaped the trial while comparing the education and cultural debates of the 1920s with contemporary debates. By connecting past and present, students can gain a deeper understanding of how culture influences education today.
The inquiry is designed to take three to five 90-minute class periods. Teachers can implement this task using the following time framework:
• Day One: Students complete “Staging the Question” and “Formative Performance Task One.”
• Day Two: Students finish “Formative Performance Tasks Two and Three.”
• Day Three: Students complete “Formative Performance Task Four” and begin working on the “Summative Performance Task.”
Tennessee vs. John Scopes “Monkey Trial”: Outdoor trial showing William Jennings Bryan (seated to the left) and Clarence Darrow (standing at right), in Dayton, Tennessee. Behind the court reporters at the table, in the left front, is defendant John Thomas Scopes. (Smithsonian Institution Archives. Image # SIA2007-0124)
• Day Four: Students finalize the “Summative Performance Task,” which may include presentations of their findings.
• Day Five: This day can be reserved for an extension activity and a taking informed action activity.
If students need more instructional experiences, the inquiry time can be extended. This can be done by adding additional Supporting Questions, Formative Performance Tasks, writing exercises, and rubrics. Teachers should adapt the inquiry to meet diverse student needs and interests, promoting differentiation, modeling historical thinking skills, and engaging with various sources.
Structure of the Inquiry
To address the question and its Summative Performance Task, have students complete four Formative Performance Tasks that, in sequence, prepare them for the Summative Performance Task.
Staging the Compelling Question
To stage the Compelling Question, implement the following procedures. Distribute physical copies of three different political cartoons about the Scopes Trial and have students complete the
Project Zero: See-Think-Wonder activity for their assigned cartoon. After the first activity, students exchange cartoons with another student and complete a second See-Think-Wonder activity. Following this, they exchange cartoons once more for a third activity.
Next, students engage in a Pair-Share activity to discuss their findings from all three See-ThinkWonder activities, which they then share with the entire class. After you have briefly introduced the Scopes Trial, emphasizing its status as the “trial of the century,” present the Compelling Question: Why is the Scopes Trial still relevant to public education today?
“Hey, go back!” cartoon, Pease, Lute, Artist. Tennessee, 1925. www.loc.gov/item/2016683872.
Summative Performance Task
At this stage of the inquiry, students have investigated the roots of the conflict in the Scopes Trial, the various arguments that arose during the trial, the trial’s outcomes, the changes over time in the teaching of evolution in public schools following the Scopes Trial, and the broad cultural debates emerging in public schools today.
In the final Summative Performance Task, students construct an argument through a final product (e.g., poster, infographic, essay, presentation, or blog) that addresses the compelling question posed at the beginning of the unit using
the featured sources: Why is the Scopes Trial still relevant to public education today? The argument should include specific claims and appropriate evidence from the featured sources of the Formative Performance Tasks, while acknowledging competing perspectives. Students should demonstrate the breadth and depth of their understanding by referencing evidence from multiple sources to support their claims. The formats of students’ arguments may vary; however, they should have the option to choose from a variety of final product formats for their arguments, including posters, infographics, essays, presentations, and blogs. Students’ arguments could include any of the following stems:
• The Scopes Trial remains relevant today because it parallels current debates, such as ...
• The Scopes Trial remains relevant today because it raises questions about rights in schools, such as ...
• The Scopes Trial remains relevant today because it illustrates how conflicts over curriculum can ...
Provide students relevant rubrics to support their Summative Performance Task. To further develop students’ arguments, teachers can also hold a class roundtable discussion on how to acknowledge the 100th anniversary of the Scopes Trial, including who and what should be remembered.
continued on page 279
Staging the Compelling Question: Political Cartoons
• Clifford Berryman, “My first real bath: gee! ain’t it great!” 1925, Library of Congress, Digital Id: acd 2a06227 https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/acd.2a06227
• Clifford Berryman, “Evolution in Tennessee,” 1925, Library of Congress, Digital Id: acd 2a06226 https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/acd.2a06226
• Lute Pease, “Hey, go back!” 1925, Library of Congress, Digital Id: acd 2a10753 https://hdl.loc. gov/loc.pnp/acd.2a10753
Standards and Content
Why is the Scopes Trial still relevant to public education today?
National Council for the Social Studies Religious Studies Companion Document:
• D2.Rel.10.9-12: Identify assumptions about the definition of religion and the proper role of religion in private and public life.
• D2.Rel.14.9-12: Evaluate how diverse religious sources articulate the relationship between a religion and its social and historical context.
Staging the Compelling Question
Why was John Scopes on trial?
Make an annotated timeline of the essential events of the Scopes Trial.
Source A: The Butler Act, National Center for Science Education
Source B: “Tennessee Bans the Teaching of Evolution; Governor Says the Bible Disproves Theory,” NY Times, March 24, 1925
Source C: “Timeline: Monkey Trial,” PBS: The American Experience
Students complete a series of three See-Think-Wonder activities with political cartoons of the Scopes Trial. Have students share results of the See-Think-Wonder activity through pair-share and whole-class sharing. Next, briefly introduce the Scopes Trial to students as the subject of the cartoons, highlighting its designation at the time as the “trial of the century.” Then, introduce the compelling question: Why is the Scopes trial still relevant to public education today?
What were the legal, religious, and scientific arguments that emerged during the Scopes Trial?
Create a graphic organizer showcasing the different positions that emerged during the Scopes Trial.
Source A: Excerpt from resolution adopted by the American Federation of Teachers on July 18, 1925, Historical Thinking Matters
Source B: Excerpt from Chicago Defender editorial, “If Monkeys Could Speak,” May 23, 1925, Historical Thinking Matters
Source C: “Friendly Trial” Becomes Bitter,” Evening Star, July 14, 1925, Chronicling America
Source D: William Jennings Bryan Closing statement prepared for the Scopes Trial, 1925, America in Class from the National Humanities Center
Summative Performance Task
Taking Informed Action
How did the Scopes Trial reflect the conflict between traditional and modern U.S. culture in the 1920s?
Create a T-Chart of examples of traditional and modern U.S. cultural movements during the 1920s.
Source A: Scopes Trial and the 1920s, Historical Thinking Matters
Source B: “The Roaring 20s Image Gallery,” PBS: American Experience
Source C: “The Roaring Twenties,” The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
How have disputes over teaching evolution changed over time, and how do they reflect broader cultural debates in schools today?
Write a two-paragraph essay answering how evolutionary and cultural debates have changed since the Scopes Trial.
Source A: Epperson v. Arkansas, Oyez, Cornell Legal Information Institute
Source B: Edwards v. Aguillard, Oyez: Cornell Legal Information Institute
Source C: Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District (M.D. Pa.), Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee University
Source D: 2012 Tennessee Academic Freedom Bill (HB 368 & SB 893), Tennessee General Assembly
Source E: “100 Years of 100 Things: School Culture Wars,” NY Public Radio
ARGUMENT: Why is the Scopes Trial relevant to public education today? Respond to this compelling question using a poster, infographic, essay, presentation, or blog that addresses the prompt using specific claims and relevant evidence from the sources while acknowledging competing views.
EXTENSION: The year 2025 marked the 100th anniversary of the Scopes Trial. Hold a classroom roundtable discussion on what should be done to acknowledge the event, including who and what should be remembered.
UNDERSTAND: Research the current discussions and debates surrounding academic freedom, curriculum control, and science education in public education today.
ASSESS: Create a list of possible policy actions that could be used to address these debates.
ACT: Write a letter to the most relevant local government representative who can address the topic, outlining the challenges and possible solutions.
*Featured sources are suggested, and links are provided in sidebar on p. 279. As with many links, they may be broken over time.
Sources for the Unit
America in Class, “Religion and Science in the 1920s: Collected Commentary,” 2012, https://americainclass.org/sources/becomingmodern/divisions/text5/colcommentaryreligion.pdf
American Experience, “American Experience: The Scopes Monkey Trial,” PBS, May 4, 2018, www.pbs.org/video/scopes-monkey-trial-v9oaxa. American Experience, “Timeline: Monkey Trial,” May 4, 2018, www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/monkeytrialtimeline-monkey-trial
The Brian Lehrer Show, “100 Years of 100 Things: School Culture Wars: The Brian Lehrer Show,” New York Public Radio, Sept. 23, 2024, www.wnyc.org/story/100-years-of-100-things-school-culture-wars
Davis, Watson, Tennessee vs. John Scopes “Monkey Trial”: Outdoor Trial Showing William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow, Dayton, Tennessee. Photograph. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7091, Science Service Records, Image No. SIA2007-0124, July 20, 1925, https://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_arc_308380.
Locke, Joseph L., and Ben Wright, eds. “The New Era,” essay in The American YAWP Volume 2 since 1877. Stanford University Press, 2019.
Oyez, “Edwards v. Aguillard,” www.oyez.org/cases/1986/85-1513
Oyez, “Epperson v. Arkansas,” www.oyez.org/cases/1968/7
Small, Robert T, “‘Friendly Trial’ Becomes Bitter,” The Evening Star, July 14, 1925, www.loc.gov/resource/sn83045462/1925-07-14/ ed-1/?sp=5
“Tennessee Bans the Teaching of Evolution; Governor Says the Bible Disproves Theory,” The New York Times, March 24, 1924, https://static01.nyt.com/images/blogs/learning/pdf/2015/19250324Tennessee.pdf.
Tennessee General Assembly, “Butler Act,” Tennessee Virtual Archive (TeVA), March 21, 1925, https://teva.contentdm.oclc.org/ digital/collection/scopes/id/168
This Man was Tried in Tennessee for Teaching Evolution, YouTube, Smithsonian Channel, 2019, https://youtu.be/ uWMkJ8IOHBU?si=_jI71QEAMpeR-kd9.
Vile, John, “Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District (M.D. Pa.) (2005),” The Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee University, 2017, https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/kitzmiller-v-dover-area-school-district-m-d-pa
Watson, and Dunn, “Senate Bill 893 by Watson House Bill 368 by Dunn An ...” Tennessee General Assembly, 2012, www.capitol. tn.gov/bills/107/bill/hb0368.pdf
Taking Informed Action
Students have the opportunity to take informed action by researching contemporary discussions and debates surrounding academic freedom and curriculum control in public education. They can then create a list of potential policy actions that address these debates. Using this list, students might write letters to their most relevant local government representative regarding the topic, outlining the challenges and possible solutions. Provide a rubric to assist students in their letter writing.
Tim Hall, PhD, is the K–12 Social Studies Instructional Coordinator for Vance County Schools in North Carolina. He is past-president of the North Carolina Council for the Social Studies. Tim also serves as Vance County Coordinator for the North Carolina Council on the Holocaust and as a member of the Education Advisory Board of the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding. His upcoming book is Bringing Religious Literacy to the Classroom: Global Competence for K–12 Social Studies (Routledge Eye on Education).
Designing Student-Led Civics: A Framework for Authentic Engagement with Self, Issues, and Levers of Change
Chaebong Nam
Authenticity is critical to meaningful civic learning, from understanding history and exploring current issues to discovering how government works and engaging with diverse forms of civic participation. But what does authenticity truly mean? First, it can mean being culturally relevant to students, allowing them to stay true to their identities, values, and norms in the classroom.1 It can also refer to realworld connections in problem-solving, centered on issues students may soon encounter as adults in their communities, workplaces, or professional fields.2 Additionally, Merriam-Webster defines authenticity as “worthy of acceptance or belief as conforming to or based on fact” (italics added). How can teachers translate this layered concept to a specific pedagogical context?
In 2018, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts required Grade 8 and high school students to conduct non-partisan, student-led civics projects, often simply referred to as “student-led civics.” Inspired by inquiry-based, project-based learning models, student-led civics offers active learning opportunities for students to acquire civic knowledge and skills and apply them to real-world challenges.3 Student-led civics unfolds in six stages. Students (1) examine self and civic identity, (2) identify an issue, (3) conduct research and investigate, (4) develop an action plan, (5) take action, and (6) reflect and showcase. The essence of “student-led” lies in the authenticity students bring to a series of civic choices they make throughout these stages. This raises the same question: What
does authenticity mean in student-led civics? And how can teachers support it in their classrooms?
In this article, I explore authenticity through three dimensions—being authentic about the self, the issue, and the levers of change—and discuss how these dimensions can inform the design of student-led civics in classroom practice.
Three Dimensions of Authenticity in StudentLed Civics
(1) Authentic about the self: culturally relevant choice. Religion, gender, race, ethnicity, class, national origins, and more play a key role in defining our identities, values, and the ideals we seek to uphold in a shared political community. Students need to understand how these diverse aspects of themselves come together to shape their unique or shared experiences, often marked by power, privilege, and domination. Many civics lessons, however, fail to embrace this complexity. Curricular materials often fall short of reflecting the diverse experiences and narratives that students bring to the classroom. While these lessons typically begin with “how a bill becomes a law” or “the three branches of government,” many students still find them irrelevant or dull and disconnected from their lives. Further, young students today do not necessarily begin their civic engagement within the conventional realms of politics, but rather through personal interests— fandoms, affinity groups, pop culture, or online influencers—spaces often viewed as non-political.4
Simply put, the current how-a-bill-becomes-a-law approach in civics lessons doesn’t quite square with what civic engagement looks like for today’s young students.
The alternative is to reverse the order: start with “I” and move toward institutions. Students first build a strong foundation of self-knowledge— understanding who they are, what they value, and why. This ensures culturally relevant choices from the start, which is also key to being authentic about the self. Here, I use culturally relevant in the broadest sense as an embrace of diverse approaches that center student identities and values as the foundation of meaningful learning.5 This culturally relevant dimension should be woven throughout the entire process of studentled civics, though it tends to be most prominent in Stages 1 and 2, when students examine their identities and values and identify issues. Along the way, students can also draw on their out-ofschool experiences to diagnose problems that affect their lives, recognize disjuncture in schoolbased civics lessons, and practice new forms of
civic engagement that are both empowering and engaging.6 This “I-centered” approach aligns with other experiential civics models, such as youth participatory action research and action civics, as well as broader curricular efforts to elevate diverse voices in K–12 education.7
(2) Authentic about the issue: socially bridging choice. People tend to bond with those similar in background, personality, and preference. This tendency isn’t inherently wrong, since it serves as a source of comfort, support, and affirmation. But it can also lead to polarization and tribalism. Especially for young students, whose viewpoints are still taking shape, there is a tendency to mirror the views of their parents and social peers.8
In Stage 3, during research and investigation, teachers should encourage students to engage multiple perspectives beyond their comfort zones, so that they become more authentically informed about the issue rather than simply echoing what surrounds them. That is, to be authentic about the issue, students should recognize that their issues
edward m. KENNEDY institute
are not isolated but deeply intertwined with the interests and experiences of others. Such recognition lies at the heart of socially bridging choices, a capacity that is increasingly vital in today’s polarized climate, yet steadily eroding.
Amid many efforts to restore that capacity, one practice worth introducing in K–12 classrooms is what Loretta J. Ross calls calling in: an active invitation to dialogue, rather than a move to call out opposing views or perspectives as enemies—a tendency often seen in “cancel culture.” Ross writes, “Calling in is speaking up without tearing down.... Instead of shaming someone who’s made a mistake, we can patiently ask questions to explore what was going on and why the speaker chose their harmful language.”9
One powerful example comes from a group of Grade 8 students in the Cambridge Public School District in Massachusetts. They initially chose the topic of police brutality for their student-led civics projects, stating: “As young Black women in America, we have been exposed to horrifying images in the media of innocent Black men and women being harassed and brutalized across the country.” However, through further research, they discovered that their local police department was actually a standout model for community relations, which helped effectively reduce incidents of police violence. Subsequently, the students shifted their project’s focus and title from #PoliceBrutality to #BeLikeCambridge, suggesting that other communities could adopt their local police department’s model. During a public showcase, the students highlighted the importance of research, stating, “Our project was successful because we learned how investigating issues could change your perspective.”
(3) Authentic about the levers of change: tactically effective choice. As students reach Stages 4 and 5, they need to think about how to design and implement action. What counts as action, and how can they carry it out in concrete, purposeful ways, beyond just “doing something”? Addressing these questions requires a more analytic approach to both the goals of action and the supporting methods. Once students decide on the message they want to share to effect change, they move on to explore multiple levers of change. Levers of
change refer to individuals, groups, and institutions in decision-making roles and processes at the municipal, state, or federal levels that can help them solve problems and make change in society. These levers extend beyond traditional politics and governmental institutions to include non-governmental groups and platforms, such as civil society organizations, mainstream media outlets, social media, activist groups, influencers, and even celebrities. Hence, the key questions for effective civic action are: “What are the right levers of change to pull?” and “How can we pull them successfully?”
The concepts of voice and influence are key to addressing these questions.10 Voice, or civic expression, is an expressive mode of action, and it is important in its own right. Something as simple as changing a profile picture on Instagram to show support for a social movement can be an act of voice. Public speech, art, music, spoken word or poetry, petitioning, and protests or rallies are important tools for voice, or raising awareness. Influence operates differently. It seeks to bring about change in the behavior of others, particularly those in positions of power who make decisions affecting shared social life and the institutions that shape it. Activities like voting, electoral campaigns, ballot measures, lobbying, and contacting politicians serve this purpose. The boundary between voice and influence is often blurred in practice, but change requires both in tandem.
In short, tactically effective choices require identifying the goals—whether the aim is voice, influence, or both—and determining appropriate tactical strategies, so that students feel empowered and capable of pulling the right levers.11 This, too, is the essence of being authentic about the levers of change. If their goal is voice, students identify ways to educate audiences, build supportive communities, and share their message through meaningful channels. If their goal is influence, they identify key players in decision-making processes—in government, civil society, or community leadership—and develop targeted strategies to reach them. If the goal is both—as it often is—they should consider both paths simultaneously.
In parallel, students should strengthen their disciplinary knowledge of history, government,
and decision-making processes to pursue more effective action. What’s more, today’s young people can employ a wide range of multimodal methods to deliver messages to various levers of change. Beyond conventional letter writing, they create videos, images, murals, maps, paintings, comic strips, posters, audio pieces, poetry and spoken word, speeches, music and performances, crafts, and other creative forms of expression.12 Still, this dimension—though less explored than culturally relevant or socially bridging aspects— deserves greater attention in both research and practice. One way to engage it in the classroom is through a ranked-choice activity, such as a Q-sort; this strategy helps students sort and prioritize several action options, weighing which ones best match their goals (voice, influence, or both), and ultimately select the most effective one.13
Classroom Tool: The Ten Questions
How can teachers effectively advance the three dimensions of authenticity in student-led civics in their classrooms? Table 1 (see p. 284) presents a pedagogical tool I developed in collaboration with the Democratic Knowledge Project to support this work. This tool employs an action-reflection framework, known as “The Ten Questions for Young Changemakers” (commonly referred to as the Ten Questions), see image at right. Distilled from the major findings of a multi-year research project sponsored by the MacArthur Research Network on Youth and Participatory Politics (2009–2017), the Ten Questions were designed to help young people reflect on key ethical considerations in civic engagement and have since been widely adopted in a range of curricular resources, including the state guidebook for student-led civics.14
Table 1 presents the Ten Questions and their alignment with the three dimensions of authenticity, as well as the six stages of the student-led civics. Questions 1 and 2 help students introspect on their personal identities and values, underpinning culturally relevant choices. Students also need to give forethought to any risks or challenges they may face as they move forward, so that they are mentally prepared.
At Questions 3, 4, and 5, students pivot from “I” to “we,” and focus on questions of group building and the coordination of divergent interests.
Students need to authentically understand the issue and consider different viewpoints. When soliciting input from the broader public sphere (Questions 6 and 7), students are tasked with balancing the informed judgments and potential shortcomings of public sentiment. These aspects require active attention to socially bridging choices.
The last three questions (Questions 8, 9, and 10) help students make tactically effective choices by articulating their civic goals—voice, influence, or both—and choosing appropriate levers of change, supporting strategies, and allies. In practice, this developmental sequence of the Ten Questions doesn’t always progress in a linear fashion—students often move back and forth between steps. And while all three dimensions apply throughout the entire process, each tends to connect more distinctly with certain stages than others.
For the curriculum design, each question was continued on page 285
Table 1. An example of designing student-led civics in three dimensions of authenticity in civic choices*
Three Dimensions Six Stages The Ten Questions
Authentic about the Self: Culturally Relevant Choice
Stage 1: Examining Self & Civic Identity
Stage 2: Identifying an Issue
1. What matters to me and why?
2. How much should I share?
Student-Facing Items (Reflecting on Performance)
1-1. Explain why your specific project topic matters to you.
1-2. How does this topic connect to your own identity and/or to your values?
2. Did you face any personal risk by sharing your topic with others? Please explain what the risk was, and why it was a risk to you. (“Risk” involves something that hurts your feelings, reputation, relationships, emotional safety and/or physical safety.)
Yes / No
Yes / No
3-1. Beyond yourself, whom does this project topic also matter to? Be sure to identify who these people (or concrete group of people) are.
3-2. Why does this topic also matter to them?
Authentic about the Levers of Change: Tactically Effective Choice
Stage 3: Research and Investigation
3. How do I make it about more than myself?
4. Where do we start?
5. How can we make it easy and engaging for others to join in?
6. How do we get wisdom from crowds?
7. How do we handle the downside of crowds?
Stage 4: Making a Plan
8. Are we pursuing voice or influence or both?
9. How do we get from voice to change?
4-1. Where did you find these other people whom your topic also matters to? Please identify the specific online and/or physical space(s).
4-2. Why did you choose the space(s)? (“Other people” refers to whom you named in Question 3-1.)
5-1. What strategies did you use to make it easy and engaging for others to join in your cause?
Yes / No
Yes / No
Yes / No Authentic about the Issue: Socially Bridging Choice
Yes / No Yes / No
5-2. Why did you choose these strategies? Yes / No Yes / No
6-1. How did you find credible and trustworthy sources of information about your topic?
6-2. Why did you find them to be credible and trustworthy?
7-1. What pushback or challenges did you face in including other perspectives different from yours about the topic?
7-2. How did you respectfully address the pushback and challenges?
Stage 5: Taking Action 10. How can we find allies?
Stage 6: Reflecting & Showcasing
/ No Yes / No
7-3. Why do you think your method helped in addressing the pushback and challenges? Yes / No Yes / No Yes / No
8-1. Was your primary goal of the project to make change through: (a) informing others about your issue or (b) reaching those who are in decisionmaking roles and processes or (c) both?
8-2. Why did you choose this as your primary goal?
Explain the specific steps you took to achieve your primary goal by choosing one of the following options:
If your primary goal was informing others, please explain:
9-1. Who did you reach out to in order to inform about your issue? Why did you choose this audience? How did you reach them?
If your primary goal was reaching those in decision-making roles and processes, please explain:
9-2. Who did you reach out to in order to influence decisions relating to your issue? Why did you choose them? How did you reach them?
If your primary goal was both (informing others and reaching those in decision-making roles and processes), please explain:
9-3. Who did you reach out to in order to inform? Who did you reach out to in order to influence decisions relating to your issue? Why did you choose them? How did you reach them?
10-1. Beyond the audience or those in decision-making roles and processes you described above, who else did you find as an ally or supporter of your cause?
10-2. Explain specifically how this ally or supporter advanced your project. (Allies or supporters of your cause might be adults, community leaders, influencers, etc.)
Students review the checklists and reflect on the processes and outcomes via a journal entry
Yes / No Yes / No
Yes / No
Yes / No
Yes / No
Yes / No
Yes / No
This table is adapted from the Civic Thinking Summary, an assessment tool developed by the Democratic Knowledge Project for student-led civics. It is available at: https://sites.google.com/g.harvard.edu/dkp-civic-action-workbook/assessment-civic-thinking-summary
Centering Students in High School Psychology
Al Wood
In 2024, College Board announced significant revisions to the Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology Course and Exam Description (CED). These revisions, which had been anticipated for some time, placed a firmer emphasis on scientific knowledge, skills, and perspectives.1 They also positioned AP Psychology under both College Board’s “History and Social Sciences” portfolio of courses and its “Sciences” portfolio.2 College Board’s revisions derived from the work of the Introductory Psychology Initiative by the American Psychological Association (APA), which sought to strengthen and streamline college introductory psychology courses by emphasizing scientific knowledge and skills.3 The latest revision of APA’s National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula was also grounded in this initiative.4 Given the lack of psychology standards in many states, the APA National Standards are often the only guidance non-AP high school psychology teachers have for organizing their courses.
Last year, my colleague and I published a research study in which we sought to learn how high school psychology teachers were navigating pressure from both College Board and APA to conceptualize psychology as a science course.5 From extensive interviews with six high school psychology teachers, we found that what was once a well-fought pursuit to balance the presence of concepts traditionally associated with “science” or “social studies” in the high school psychology curriculum has transformed into a movement to nearly eliminate social studies perspectives. Some teachers were more prepared for this shift than others, but most expressed at least some concerns that this psychology-as-science push only added curricular expectations to their already tight agendas. We concluded that high school psychology
teachers should enact the revised APA National Standards using an interdisciplinary approach that centers students’ relationships with psychological knowledge and shows them how both scientific and social studies perspectives can work together to help students understand themselves and the world around them.
In this article, I aim to provide psychology teachers with guidance on how to make sense of recent revisions to both the AP Psychology CED and the APA National Standards in ways that still allow them to center students’ motivations and lived experiences. I begin by outlining what it should mean to teach high school psychology as a science. Next, I explore the deeper historical context behind APA’s ongoing push to position high school psychology as a science course. Finally, I describe seven considerations for teachers as they revise their psychology courses and navigate increasing calls to emphasize scientific thinking in high school psychology.
What Is Meant by “Science?”
It is important to begin by defining how teachers should think about “science” as they develop a deeper understanding of the revised AP Psychology CED and APA National Standards. The APA National Standards seek for students to earn high school science credit for completing a high school psychology course, linking APA’s understanding of “science” with that of high school science departments.6 APA also grounded their understanding of “science” in the Next Generation Science Standards by centering the value of empirical data and emphasizing inquiry-based and kinesthetic learning. The “Scientific Inquiry and Research Methods” aspect of the APA standards also asks students to differentiate between
“scientific” and “nonscientific” approaches to knowledge, emphasizing the scientific method as the means by which scientists develop knowledge in rigorous, reproducible ways and data literacy as a vital skill for understanding such knowledge. However, the APA standards do not elaborate further on what counts as “nonscientific” approaches to knowledge.
Many researchers challenge the exclusivity of the scientific method as the sole factor in developing rigorous research.7 Social constructivism argues that while physical phenomena and biological processes apply to all humans, our lived experiences shape the impact those phenomena and processes have on the way we see the world.8 Thus, while the scientific method can certainly shed light on a social constructivist paradigm for knowledge production, drawing strict lines between “scientific” and “nonscientific” knowledge leaves room for high school psychology teachers to rely exclusively on the scientific method to explain the human experience. In psychology, this has the power to foster psychophysical reductionism, a belief that our understanding of the human mind can be simplified to biological and anatomical processes (i.e., nature) without consideration for lived experiences (i.e., nurture).9 In other words, human emotions, perceptions, biases, and prejudices cannot be fully understood through the scientific method. Thus, I recommend that high school psychology teachers heeding calls to emphasize “science” in their courses incorporate a social constructivist perception of knowledge that values both biological brain processes and sociocultural context.
History of Promoting Psychology as a “Science”
In the late 1800s, educational theorist and psychologist John Dewey argued two reasons for teaching psychology in high schools: to help teenagers better understand themselves and to develop critical thinking skills and openness to new ideas.10 During the same era, educational psychologist Edward Thorndike argued for teaching psychology as preparation for collegelevel, “scientific” studies of the human brain.11 In Thorndike’s case, “science” equated to exploring the human brain using the scientific method, like laboratory work conducted in physics, chemistry,
and biology. The contrast between Dewey’s and Thorndike’s thinking created the foundation of an ongoing debate about whether high school psychology should help students better understand themselves or prepare students for college-level psychology courses. In the 1960s, psychologist T. L. Engle split the difference by proposing two alternatives for high school psychology: an AP Psychology course that would provide an opportunity for the study of psychology at a college level and a standard high school psychology course that would present psychological principles as a means for helping students to better understand themselves, without college preparatory aims.12
AP Psychology was not created until the early 1990s. This was also the decade when APA authored their initial draft of national standards, which for the first time provided a framework for teaching high school psychology across the many states without psychology standards.13 The initial draft rightly sought to ensure the presence of scientific thinking across all psychology classrooms— even those without college preparatory aims. It also created a necessary balance between social studies and science thinking. But through two revisions of these standards in 2005 and 2011, APA initiated a push to further disconnect psychology from the social studies domain. During this push, one group of psychologists and high school psychology teachers expressed a fear that “too many … students still experience classes that lean heavily toward self-discovery and adjustment, rather than contemporary psychological science,” as if teaching psychology as a science disallows its use as a means for students to learn more about themselves.14
Current Dilemmas Faced by High School Psychology Teachers
In their most recent standards revision in 2022, APA only referenced NCSS and the C3 Framework in describing previous eras of curricular thought.15 Our study interviewed six Michigan high school psychology teachers to better understand how they navigated the increasing velocity at which high school psychology is being positioned as a science.16 These teachers taught us that scientific principles indisputably play an important role in high school psychology. However, many were
also concerned that embracing the degree of scientific emphasis required by APA and College Board could lead to an increased emphasis on memorizing scientific concepts and fewer opportunities to connect psychology to students’ lived experiences. Because psychology is an elective course, most teachers described the importance of emphasizing content relevance to motivate student enrollment. Teachers also emphasized that not all students who take high school psychology are looking for the degree of scientific emphasis expected by APA. While these teachers saw science content as important for the course, several were wary about emphasizing science content more than social studies content, particularly for those students not in college preparatory courses.
The 2024 AP Psychology CED addressed several concerns raised by the teachers in our study. For instance, the revised CED enumerates about 750 key terms that all AP Psychology students are expected to know, allowing teachers to narrow students’ memorization from the approximately 4,000 psychology-specific terms used across the most common textbooks.17 The revised CED also implements a new assessment design that reduces the number of multiple-choice questions and incorporates two new written response structures.18 This allows teachers to place deeper emphasis on applying skills and less emphasis on memorizing concepts, opening more opportunities for students to demonstrate their knowledge by making meaningful content connections. Yet even with these important revisions, high school psychology teachers still must be very intentional about ensuring that the science push does not distract from a broader goal of relating psychology content to students’ lives.
Considerations for Implementing Revised Psychology Curricula
While the revised AP Psychology CED provides some progress toward ensuring a balanced, relevance-focused execution of APA’s emphasis on scientific knowledge, many high school psychology teachers do not teach AP, and many who do still feel pressure to “cover” content instead of emphasizing meaningful student relationships with psychology. In this section, I offer seven takeaways from our research that psychology teachers
should consider as they implement recent revisions to the AP Psychology CED and APA National Standards.
1. Be Skeptical, But Not Dismissive of the “Science” Push.
While high school psychology concepts traditionally taught in science classes are important, so are those traditionally taught in social studies courses. Don’t be fooled by harmful rhetoric that good psychology teachers must be science teachers. Research shows that students who are minoritized by their race, gender, and sexuality are less likely to perceive themselves as successful in science courses.19 Research also shows that, for high school students from England and Slovakia, social science-related concepts make up most of the top motivating factors for enrolling in high school psychology.20 Thus, while high school psychology teachers should be prepared to confidently teach both science and social studies aspects of the course, they should also be skeptical of any training or research that argues psychology must be strictly presented as a science course to be taught well.
2. Don’t Get Overwhelmed by the “Science” Push.
One of the largest ironies of our study was that 69% of high school psychology teachers hold a social studies credential and only 42% have a psychology-specific credential.21 This means that many high school psychology teachers are expected to embrace increased expectations around scientific literacy and analysis without proper training. Thus, don’t get subsumed by recent curricular revisions. It is okay to figure out revised content requirements and AP exam structures alongside your students. Figure 1 shows several resources available to support teachers in making this transition.
3. Don’t Undercut the “Self-Discovery” Aspects of the Curriculum.
Despite harmful rhetoric disassociating “selfdiscovery” from the rigorous, “scientific” study of psychology,22 connections between high school psychology concepts and student health and wellness play an important role in psychology.
The revised AP Psychology CED recognized this by including new content on positive psychology, affirming that deeper self-understanding is one of the top reasons students enroll in the course.23 The Centers for Disease Control also reports that “40% of high school students felt so sad or hopeless almost every day for at least two weeks in a row that they stopped doing their usual activities,”
further suggesting that applying psychological concepts to student wellness should be an important goal.24 One teacher in our study started her clinical psychology unit by hanging a large piece of paper where students could attach sticky notes to anonymously share their experiences with mental illness. This poster of sticky notes remained visible throughout the unit, reminding
Note: Unfortunately, up-to-date online resources for high school psychology teachers are limited. Some resources specifically target AP-level teachers or insist on presenting psychology content through a scientific paradigm that is often unnecessarily restrictive. Other resources are geared for university instructors, and many resources geared for teachers are at least a decade old. In a field that changes as frequently as psychology, resources over 10 years old should be vetted with additional scrutiny. The resources below are some of the most up-to-date resources I found and commonly heard discussed among the teachers I work with.
This is more of a curricular structure than a lesson planning resource but does provide a detailed sense of the structure AP Psychology teachers should follow to prepare their students for the revised AP Psychology exam that debuted in May 2025. Included are sample AP exam questions (pp. 151–177) and descriptions and examples of effective instructional strategies (pp. 139–143).
APA National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula www.apa.org/education-career/k12/national-standards
This is more of a curricular structure than a lesson planning resource but provides a detailed sense of what content should be included in non-AP psychology courses. In states without psychology content standards, this is a vital resource for ensuring the textbook and other resources you use provide an overview across all major themes important to an introductory psychology course. Included are a sample lesson plan template and a detailed description of APA resources available to high school psychology teachers (including TOPSS; pp. 46–51).
AP Classroom
https://myap.collegeboard.org/login
This page provides AP Psychology exam preparation materials and other resources. Some resources are specifically geared for the redesign; others follow older CED structures. Access is restricted to those currently teaching an AP Psychology course. You may also be able to use these resources for on-level students but should significantly adapt them to meet your students’ needs.
Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS) www.apa.org/ed/precollege/topss
APA’s TOPSS extension is a comprehensive resource for high school psychology teachers at all levels. Curriculum guides, lesson plans, and other resources are provided. While this is the most comprehensive resource currently available for high school psychology teachers, the teachers in our study indicated that these resources still need vetting and adaptation for specific groups of students. The Resource Vetting Guide may be helpful for evaluating resources on more dated websites (including those linked through TOPSS). Be cautious, however, with the guide’s expectation that all resources must “promote students’ understanding of psychology as a science,” as our study found that such expectations can unnecessarily limit student access to psychology content.
AP Psychology Teachers Facebook Group www.facebook.com/groups/556665311050841
Several teachers in our study reported using this resource for access to free, plentiful, easy-to-implement lesson plan ideas. While the group was created for AP Psychology, teachers in our study found this page supportive for all levels of high school psychology. With over 10,000 members and some 700 posts in the last month, there is a lot to see here. You should be prepared to vet and adapt any resource you find here. To be added to the group, you will have to add your teaching position and school to your Facebook profile, at least temporarily. This prevents scammers and salespeople from accessing the page. (Note: This Facebook page is not officially connected to the College Board.)
APA YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/user/TheAPAVideo
The official APA YouTube channel provides many vetted videos to educate yourself or your students on specific real-world connections to psychology content.
NCSS Psychology Community www.instagram.com/ncsspc; www.facebook.com/groups/299997020032804
For members of NCSS, this group provides resources for psychology teachers through social media, as well as information about psychology programming at NCSS conferences. While there are regular updates, this group is not as active as the AP Psychology Teachers Facebook group.
Figure 1. Lesson Planning Resources for High School Psychology Teachers
Great Recession (see Figure 2).26 Through a lesson like this, students can develop a better understanding of not only psychological principles, but also economics and American history.
6. The Examples You Use Don’t Have to Be in the AP Psychology CED or APA Standards. I was struck by one teacher in our study who described an interdisciplinary connection between the psychological study of mob mentality and the political study of fascism but explained that she never makes that connection in her AP Psychology class because it is not explicitly listed in the CED. This situation was unfortunate not only because this teacher’s students were not presented with this real-world application of a psychological concept, but also because they were not presented with an opportunity to establish stronger neural networks that would have reinforced interdisciplinary learning in both psychology and government. The CED specifically explains, “The intention of this publication is to respect teachers’ time and expertise by providing a roadmap that they can modify and adapt to their local priorities and preferences.”27 For non-AP teachers, the APA National Standards similarly provide wide latitude for teachers to select their own resources and strategies.28 Thus, teachers should feel safely empowered to connect concepts from either the AP Psychology CED or the APA National Standards to applications grounded in students’ interests, communities, and other courses.
7. Not All Psychology Students Want to Be Prepared for College Psychology.
Too often, we saw situations where high school students’ only opportunity to learn about psychology was in a college-level course solely focused on AP exam performance. Of course, many students want high school psychology to mirror a college-level psychology course, and those students should be afforded such an opportunity. However, multiple teachers in our study lamented over how to simultaneously prepare students for the AP exam and support students who wanted to prepare for college without the stress of an AP exam. Additionally, we met on-level high school psychology teachers whose focus centered on
preparing students for college-level courses. Thus, as you embrace the new AP and APA curricula, consider how your courses can meet the needs of all your students, not just those wishing to pass the AP exam or prepare for a college psychology course.
Conclusion
While recent revisions to the AP Psychology CED and APA National Standards may present stresses and concerns, these updates also present a perfect opportunity for psychology teachers to revisit their curriculum and consider ways to center their students’ lived experiences using active learning strategies. The revisions also present an opportunity for teachers to intentionally reflect upon their perceptions of psychology. That is, do you teach psychology as a science, social studies, or an interdisciplinary blend of the two? And in what ways does your course structure support a vision of psychology that can connect to an assortment of student interests and academic goals? As you gradually revise and refine your psychology courses, I hope you will take an opportunity to reflect upon the relationship your students have with the content and use your course to empower students to make personal connections to the wonders of psychology.
Notes
1. College Board, AP Psychology Course and Exam Description, 2024, https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ ap-psychology
2. College Board, “Changes Announced to AP Psychology and AP Physics Courses,” March 1, 2024, https://allaccess. collegeboard.org/changes-announced-ap-psychology-andap-physics-courses
3. American Psychological Association (APA), “The APA Introductory Psychology Initiative,” last updated April 2024, www.apa.org/ed/precollege/undergrad/introductorypsychology-initiative
4. APA, National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula, February 2022, www.apa.org/education-career/ k12/national-standards.
5. Alexander M. Wood and Kyle A. Greenwalt, “Embracing the Interdisciplinary Nature of Psychology: Challenging the Increasing Dismissiveness of High School Psychology as a Social Studies Course,” Theory & Research in Social Education 52, no. 3 (2024): 376-413.
6. APA, National Standards
7. Mauricio Castillo, “The Scientific Method: A Need for Something Better?” American Journal of Neuroradiology 34, no. 9 (2013): 1669–1671.
8. “Social Constructivism,” Graduate Student Instructor Teaching & Resource Center, University of California Berkeley, https://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi-guide-contents/ learning-theory-research/social-constructivis
9. Denny Borsboom et al., “Brain Disorders? Not Really: Why Network Structures Block Reductionism in Psychopathology Research,” Behavioral and Brain Sciences 42 (2019): 1–63.
10. John Dewey, “Psychology in High Schools from the Standpoint of the College,” in John Dewey: The Early Works 1882-1898, ed. Jo Ann Boydston (Southern Illinois University Press, 2008), 81–89.
11. Edward L. Thorndike, “Psychology in Secondary Schools,” The School Review 10, no. 2 (1902): 114–123.
12. T. L. Engle, “Teaching Psychology at the Secondary School Level: Past, Present, Possible Future,” Journal of School Psychology 5, no. 3 (1967): 168–176.
13. Kenneth D. Keith et al., “High School Psychology: A Coming of Age Story,” Teaching of Psychology 40, no. 4 (2013): 311–317.
14. Keith et al., “High School Psychology,” 315.
15. APA, National Standards.
16. Wood and Greenwalt, “Embracing the Interdisciplinary Nature of Psychology.”
17. College Board, “AP Psychology Course and Exam Description”; College Board, “Changes Announced to AP Psychology and Physics Courses.”
18. College Board, AP Psychology Course and Exam Description, 147–149.
19. Zahra Hazari et al., “The Science Identity of College Students: Exploring the Intersection of Gender, Race, and Ethnicity,” Journal of College Science Teaching 42, no. 5 (2013): 82–91.
20. Lenka Sokolová, “Motivation toward Choosing Psychology as a Secondary School Subject: A Cross-Cultural Comparison,” Teaching of Psychology 50, no. 1 (2023): 41–46.
21. Rebecca Clay, “Promoting High School Psychology as a Science,” Monitor on Psychology 53, no. 3 (April 1, 2022): 22, www.apa.org/monitor/2022/04/news-high-schoolpsychology
22. See Keith et al., “High School Psychology,” 315.
23. College Board, AP Psychology Course and Exam Description, 116.
24. Centers for Disease Control, “Youth Risk Behavior Survey: Data Summary & Trends Report,” 2024, 56, www.cdc.gov/ yrbs/dstr/index.html
25. Walter C. Parker et al., “Beyond Breadth-Speed-Test: Toward Deeper Knowing and Engagement in an Advanced Placement Course,” American Educational Research Journal 50, no. 6 (2013): 1424–59.
26. National Council for the Social Studies, The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards (2013), 69–72, www.socialstudies.org/standards/ c3.
27. College Board, AP Psychology Course and Exam Description, 1.
28. APA, National Standards, 9.
Al Wood is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Teacher Education at Michigan State University.
Sources and Strategies
Encouraging Students to Consider How News of the Declaration of Independence First Spread
Robin Pike and Lee Ann Potter
In Philadelphia, on Thursday, July 4, 1776, the delegates to the Second Continental Congress agreed on the final text of the Declaration of Independence. Immediately after hearing the document (that formally declared the 13 American colonies independent from Great Britain) read aloud, delegates ordered that:
[T]he declaration be authenticated and printed.
That the committee appointed to prepare the declaration, superintend and correct the press.
That copies of the declaration be sent to the several assemblies, conventions and committees, or councils of safety, and to the several commanding officers of the continental troops; that it be proclaimed in each of the United States, and at the head of the army.1
Those first copies, created by the official printer to the Congress, John Dunlap, were ready the next morning and
distributed to members of Congress. The members, in turn, dispatched their copies throughout the colonies as directed, to various assemblies, conventions, and committees of safety, as well as to the commanders of the Continental troops.
And, by the evening of Saturday, July 6, the Declaration of Independence first appeared in a newspaper. The Pennsylvania Evening Post, published in Philadelphia, devoted its entire front page and nearly half of its second page to the Declaration’s complete text.
It was front page news again on July 10 in two more Philadelphia newspapers, The Pennsylvania Gazette and The Pennsylvania Journal and
Weekly Advertiser.
On July 11, the Declaration first appeared in a newspaper published outside of Pennsylvania when The New York Packet and the American Advertiser published in New York City “on Water Street between the coffee house and the old slip,” ran the text at the end of its fourth (and last) page.
For the next two weeks, additional newspapers in Philadelphia; Boston; Salem, Mass.; Hartford, Conn.; Newburyport, Mass.; and Williamsburg, Va., ran the text of the Declaration of Independence. In some cases, it was front page news, in others, it appeared on subsequent pages. Whether the newspaper was sympathetic to the Patriots or devoted to the Crown, it ran without commentary.
In your classroom, divide students into 12 groups, or pairs, and assign each group
The Pennsylvania Evening Post, July 6, 1776, page 1 (www.loc.gov/item/sn83025894/1776-07-06/ed-1).
The Pennsylvania Evening Post, July 6, 1776, page 2 (www.loc.gov/item/sn83025894/1776-07-06/ed-1)
October 2025
The Declaration of Independence Published in Colonial Newspapers
Twelve of the colonial newspapers that published the full text of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776 are available from the Library of Congress, through the Chronicling America website. They include:
• The Pennsylvania Evening Post, July 6, 1776 (www. loc.gov/resource/sn83025894/1776-07-06/ed-1)
◆ Editor at time of printing: Benjamin Towne
◆ Dates of title: Jan. 24, 1775-Oct. 26, 1784; suspended Sept. 23-Oct. 11, 1777, due to British occupation of Philadelphia
◆ Schedule: Tri-weekly
◆ Party: Began as Patriot, flipped to Loyalist on Oct. 11, 1777, flipped back to Patriot after June 18, 1778.
◆ Location of the Declaration: Page 1
◆ Headquarters: Front Street, near the London Coffee House, Philadelphia, PA
• The Pennsylvania Gazette, July 10, 1776 (www.loc. gov/resource/sn84026371/1776-07-10/ed-1)
◆ Editor at time of printing: David Hall and William Sellers
◆ Dates of title: Dec. 24, 1728-Oct. 11, 1815; suspended between Nov. 27, 1776 and Feb. 5, 1777, and between Sept. 10 and Dec. 20, 1777 due to British occupation of Philadelphia. Moved to York, PA and published Dec. 20, 1777-June 20, 1778. Moved back to Philadelphia Jan. 5, 1779.
◆ Schedule: Weekly
◆ Party: Patriot/moderate
◆ Location of the Declaration: Page 1
◆ Headquarters: New Printing Office near the Market, Philadelphia, PA
• The Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser, July 10, 1776 (www.loc.gov/resource/ sn85047530/1776-07-10/ed-1)
◆ Editor at time of printing: William and Thomas Bradford
◆ Dates of title: Dec. 2, 1742-Sept. 18, 1793; Suspended Sept. 17, 1777-Dec. 23, 1778 due to British occupation of Philadelphia.
◆ Schedule: weekly
◆ Party: Patriot
◆ Location of the Declaration: Page 1
◆ Headquarters: Corner of Front and Market Streets, Philadelphia, PA
• The New York Packet, and the American Advertiser, July 11, 1776 (www.loc.gov/resource/ sn83030135/1776-07-11/ed-1)
◆ Editor at time of printing: Samuel Loudon
◆ Dates of title: Jan. 4, 1776-Aug. 29, 1776. Moved to Fishkill, NY, due to British occupation and published Jan. 16, 1777-Aug. 28, 1783. Moved back to New York, NY, Nov. 13, 1783-Jan. 26, 1792.
◆ Schedule: weekly
◆ Party: Patriot
◆ Location of the Declaration: Page 4
◆ Headquarters: Water Street between the Coffee House and the Old Slip, New York, NY
• The Pennsylvania Ledger, or, the Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, & New-Jersey Weekly Advertiser, July 13, 1776 (www.loc.gov/resource/ sn83025898/1776-07-13/ed-1)
◆ Editor at time of printing: James Humphreys, Jr.
◆ Dates of title: Jan. 28, 1775-May 23, 1778
◆ Schedule: weekly
◆ Party: Tory (British)
◆ Location of the Declaration: Page 2
◆ Headquarters: Front street, corner of Blackhorse Alley, Philadelphia, PA
• Connecticut Courant and Hartford Weekly Intelligencer, July 15, 1776 (www.loc.gov/resource/ sn82016139/1776-07-15/ed-1)
◆ Editor at time of printing: Ebenezer Watson
◆ Dates of title: Oct. 29, 1764-Oct. 29, 1914
◆ Schedule: weekly
◆ Party: Patriot
◆ Location of the Declaration: Page 2
◆ Headquarters: near the Great Bridge, Hartford, CT
• The American Gazette, or, the Constitutional Journal, July 16, 1776 (www.loc.gov/resource/ sn83020494/1776-07-16/ed-1)
◆ Editor at time of printing: John Rogers
◆ Dates of title: June 18, 1776-July 30, 1776
◆ Schedule: weekly
◆ Party: Patriot
◆ Location of the Declaration: Page 1
◆ Headquarters: Ezekiel Russell’s Printing Office, Upper end of Main Street, Salem, MA
• The New-England Chronicle, July 18, 1776 (www.loc. gov/resource/sn83020482/1776-07-18/ed-1)
◆ Editor at time of printing: Edward Powars and Nathaniel Willis
◆ Dates of title: April 25, 1776-Sept. 12, 1776
◆ Schedule: weekly
◆ Party: Patriot
◆ Location of the Declaration: Page 1
◆ Headquarters: Office opposite the new Court House, Queen Street, Boston, MA
• The Essex Journal, and New-Hampshire Packet, July 19, 1776 (www.loc.gov/resource/ sn83020452/1776-07-19/ed-1)
◆ Editor at time of printing: John Mycall
◆ Dates of title: Dec. 4, 1773-Feb. 13, 1777
◆ Schedule: weekly
◆ Party: Patriot
◆ Location of the Declaration: Page 1
◆ Headquarters: Merimack Street, a little below the Ferry Way, Newbury-Port, MA
• The Virginia Gazette, July 20, 1776 (www.loc.gov/ resource/sn84024739/1776-07-20/ed-1)
◆ Editor at time of printing: John Dixon and William Hunter, Jr.
◆ Dates of title: Jan. 3, 1751-Dec. 4, 1778
◆ Schedule: weekly
◆ Party: Mixed. Dixon was a Patriot and Hunter was a Loyalist.
◆ Location of the Declaration: Page 2
◆ Headquarters: Williamsburg, VA
• The Boston Gazette and Country Journal, July 22, 1776 (www.loc.gov/resource/ sn83021292/1776-07-22/ed-1)
◆ Editor at time of printing: Benjamin Edes
◆ Dates of title: Dec. 21, 1719-Sept. 17, 1798
◆ Schedule: weekly
◆ Party: Patriot
◆ Page: 1
◆ Headquarters: Watertown, Boston, MA
• The Virginia Gazette July 26, 1776 (www.loc.gov/ resource/sn84024742/1776-07-26/ed-1)
◆ Editor at time of printing: Alexander Purdie
◆ Dates of title: Feb. 3, 1775-Dec. 9, 1780
◆ Schedule: weekly
◆ Party: Patriot
◆ Page: 1
◆ Headquarters: Constitutional Post Office, Williamsburg, VA
Teaching the C3 Framework
deepIDM: Designing Inquiry with AI
John Lee and Jordan McGaughey
The astronomical clock in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg in Alsace, France, is one of the most famous timekeepers in the world. At various times throughout the day, wooden apostles parade on a ledge above the clock, bowing to a figure of Christ, as a rooster crows. This show, like other human-like machine automata, seeks to represent human life through mechanical replication. Ancient Greek, Byzantine, Egyptian, and Chinese civilizations also created these mechanical human displays with gears and counterweights to represent human beliefs, practices, and desires. Such machines, as with the Strasbourg astronomical clock, mediate human spirituality and reveal divine order through human craft. But at various times (as in the Reformation), humans have recoiled from the mystery of these mechanical spectacles and stripped machines of their connections to humans to reposition them as neutral tools—a shift that may echo in our present debates about AI.
AI and the Arc of History
Of late, humans have increasingly taken charge of machines, positioning them to function in the service of human progress. Inventions like the mechanical loom, steam engine, light bulb, penicillin, and computers helped us master nature and soften life’s harsh edges. Yet from time to time, new technologies have brought us back to the moments of wonder once inspired by spiritual clocks and other mystical machines like ancient automata. For example, the telescope decentered and humbled
humanity, and electrified communication rewired how we connect and reshape our sense of self and community. Now, artificial intelligence is expanding human consciousness and extending the reach of our creative and intellectual being. We’re now pondering whether AI is just another machine designed to make life more comfortable by taking on otherwise bothersome tasks, or whether it’s redefining what it means to think, create, and learn, and reshaping the human experience. This AI moment harkens back to
those times when machines conveyed mystery and signified something more than just being a tool for efficiency. For social studies educators, this moment demands both curiosity and responsibility. We’re at a moment where the question is no longer whether AI will shape teaching and learning, but how and how much.
AI and Humans
Within the current stew of speculation about AI lurks something that is perhaps more magical—harkening back to the era of spiritual machines, when
The Astronomical Clock of the Cathedral of Our Lady, Strasbourg
Credit: Zairon / Wikimedia Commons
humans stretched their consciousness and made meaning through the devices they created. In this view, AI becomes part of our thinking apparatus, not just a tool but a partner in cognition. David Chalmers calls it Reality+—the notion that with AI we can extend our intellectual and physical capabilities for the betterment of humanity.1 Ray Kurzweil pushes further, envisioning a singularity where humans and machines merge into a greater, more powerful entity.2 Yet alongside these grand claims are voices of hesitation, like Yuval Noah Harari, who cautions that while AI inevitably changes us, it does not necessarily make us more— or less—human.3 Seen through these overlapping visions, AI emerges as both an imaginative extension of the human mind and a mirror that forces us to reconsider the boundaries of intellect, consciousness, and humanity’s future.
AI in Social Studies
Much has been written (and very quickly we might add) about how AI is impacting education and specifically social studies. Christopher Clark and Cathryn van Kessel’s recent book, Social Studies Education: Tools for Thoughtful Practice with Generative Artificial Intelligence, is a fine example.4 This edited work is the first collection to focus specifically on generative AI in social studies. The book addresses topics such as ethics, equity, multilingual learners, and AI literacy, encouraging a “technoskeptical” stance that
balances curiosity with critical evaluation. Michael and Ilene Berson have explored how generative AI—particularly tools like ChatGPT—can be integrated into social studies education to enhance teaching and learning while addressing ethical and instructional challenges. Their work emphasizes AI’s potential to support tasks such as lesson planning, rubric-based grading, real-time student feedback, and analysis of primary sources, while also noting risks like misinformation and academic integrity concerns.5
deepIDM
With all this in mind, we’ve been developing a tool and thinking partner called deepIDM (https://c3teachers.org/ deepidm)—a suite of AI chatbot tools to help educators create inquiry-based instructional materials using the Inquiry Design Model (IDM). deepIDM aims to enhance teacher learning by offering a set of custom-built GPTs (Generative Pre-Trained Transformers) that assist with each stage of the inquiry design process—from selecting content and framing compelling questions to developing supporting questions and locating sources. Grounded in principles of recursive and dialogic design, the deepIDM project leverages AI not as a content generator but as a thinking partner that encourages iterative exploration, disciplinary thinking, and pedagogical reflection. Ultimately, the goal is to build teachers’ capacity to design high-quality inquiries while advancing new
possibilities for AI-human collaboration in education.
A defining feature of deepIDM is its deliberate focus on helping teachers think deeply about the content they teach. While many AI tools in education focus on efficiency—generating readymade lessons or surface-level ideas—deepIDM resists this shortcut. Instead, its custom GPTs are designed to prompt iterative engagement with disciplinary content, encouraging educators to linger, explore tensions, complexities, and multiple perspectives before settling on the lesson design. By guiding teachers through recursive dialogue, deepIDM fosters the kind of intellectual design work that is too often compressed or skipped in the rush to get ready for the next day’s lesson plan. An emphasis on the exploration of disciplinary content as the foundation of inquiry design ensures that the resulting lessons are not just well-structured, but rich in disciplinary substance—giving students authentic opportunities to wrestle with the big ideas that define social studies.
deepIDM includes 6 stages, carefully mapped on the 10-step Inquiry Design Model (IDM) process (see Figure 1 on p. 302). IDM is an approach to creating inquiry-based instructional materials rooted in compelling questions and exercises that help students build knowledge toward making an argument.6 At its core, IDM organizes the lesson design process into a sequence: starting with an interesting content
When pushed further, tools like ChatGPT will do all of the work for you—for example, churning out a full-blown inquiry designed with IDM, if you want. Needless to say, ChatGPT is not being particularly helpful here. Educators who are not responsible for the thinking that goes into lesson design are likely to shortcut in other ways. This may ultimately undermine our capacity to support students to reach our shared goals.
As we are all learning, the ways we prompt AI are important, so we carefully built a prompt structure into deepIDM to guard against the tendency of AI chatbots to do the work for us. deepIDM scaffolds teachers’ experiences with lesson planning. Here’s an example from deepIDM. After saying you want to develop a Content Angle (step 1 in the IDM process, see Figure 1 on p. 302), the process begins with a clear and direct prompt.
deepIDM: Alright—before we narrow toward a content angle, can you tell me the topic or standard you’ve got in mind? That’ll give us a place to explore the tensions, contradictions, or unexpected pieces that could make it rich.
User: OK, I would like to focus on the American Revolution.
deepIDM: Got it — the American Revolution is a rich starting point. When you think about it, are
you more drawn to the political ideals and declarations, the military conflict, the social changes and limits, or maybe the global connections?
User: I am most interested in political ideals and declarations. The American Revolution pushed ideas about the rights of man to the forefront of colonists’ consciousness.
deepIDM: Focusing on the political ideals and declarations opens up a lot of possible tensions. One we might surface right away is the gap between the rhetoric and the reality—the lofty language of liberty, equality, and rights versus who actually benefited from independence.
This type of crisp and focused exchange is hardwired into deepIDM. As the interaction unfolds, we programmed deepIDM to respect teacher designers, gently pushing them to think deeply—thinking with us and not for us.
Weaving Content and Pedagogy
A second design feature of deepIDM supports teachers to consider content and pedagogy alongside one another as they design the inquiry. This feature enables that special purview of teacher intellectual expertise, pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Building from Lee Shulam’s seminal work on PCK,7 deepIDM aims
to provide teacher designers with recursive experiences with content and pedagogy, leveraging what they already know and gently pushing them to expand and blend their knowledge toward the PCK amalgamation that forms the intellectual basis of good inquiry design.
To demonstrate this, we will use another example focusing on the American Revolution. For this specific example, we asked the Content Angle GPT to help us develop a content angle centering around media literacy and the American Revolution. The conversation unfolded like this:
User: I would like to develop a content angle around the American Revolution through the lens of media literacy.
deepIDM: That’s an intriguing pairing—American Revolution as a historical topic, and media literacy as a conceptual lens.
Before we move too quickly:
Do you see media literacy here as about how information circulated in the 1770s (pamphlets, newspapers, rumors), or more as a modern comparative lens (how we evaluate sources now vs. then)?
User: I would like to investigate a modern comparative lens (how we evaluate sources now vs. then).
deepIDM: Perfect—that opens up some rich terrain for students. With a comparative lens, you’re setting up a tension:
Then: Colonists sorting through pamphlets, broadsides, tavern talk, newspapers—each with bias, persuasion, and limited verification.
Now: Students navigating social media, misinformation, algorithms, and questions of credibility.
After being asked if we would like to sketch a possible content angle around that theme, we developed the following:
Content angle (draft): Moments of political change—like the American Revolution—depend on how people judge what information to trust. Pamphlets and newspapers then, like social media now, shaped belief, spread rumors, and raised questions of credibility.
In this example, deepIDM helped us combine content and pedagogy by focusing the content angle around students comparing media literacy skills and lessons from the American Revolution to modern times. By focusing the content angle on what students already know about the American Revolution in order to compare historical media literacy practices to those used in modern times, deepIDM prompted us to think about how students might
show what they already know while pushing them to consider how early American media may be impacting the world around them today.
Revisiting Inquiry Ideas as a Regular Design Process
A third feature of deepIDM enables a constant revisiting of the ideas teachers are exploring in their inquiry design. Returning to ideas throughout the design process helps teachers deepen their ideas and strengthen their inquiry design. This is an intentional and purposeful process where designers are asked to push further in their work and move their thinking forward. Returning to our previous example, here’s how deepIDM prompted the revision of inquiry ideas in the design process.
User: The content angle I am working on is the following–“Moments of political change—like the American Revolution— depend on how people judge what information to trust. Pamphlets and newspapers then, like social media now, shaped belief, spread rumors, and raised questions of credibility.”
deepIDM: Great, thanks for sharing that. This content angle is rich with disciplinary tension and contemporary resonance. Before we move to drafting a compelling question, a couple of quick prompts to help you think aloud: What’s pulling you toward this angle? Is it
the information ecosystem, questions of credibility, how revolutions are fueled, or something else?
User: I think my students will be interested in this content and what you called the “information ecosystem.” It feels relevant and should open up space for my students to dig into the history of the American Revolution using authentic documents while staying connected to our present experiences with media sources.
deepIDM: That’s a strong pedagogical instinct—and you’re grounding it in both disciplinary content and contemporary experience. That’s a powerful combination.
As the dialogue continued, we moved toward developing a compelling question, but all along our deepIDM thinking partner continued to have us revisit our emerging thinking about the inquiry we were designing.
Conclusion
The interplay of these three design features will help to keep teachers using deepIDM engaged and responsible for our thinking. Through the dialogic structure of deepIDM, the ongoing support for building PCK, and the consistent revisiting of the ideas emerging, deepIDM is positioned to help teachers plan better, not quicker, and to deliberate
“We Will Say Gay”: Fostering LGBTQ+Inclusive Social Studies Classrooms
William Toledo and Bridget Maher
Since 2021 in the United States, several states and legislative bodies have successfully passed so-called “Don’t Say Gay” and other anti-LGBTQ+ laws in attempts to limit and exclude these identities and instruction about these identities in school settings.1 By 2022, thirteen states had signed anti-LGBTQ+ bills into law, and another 23 had introduced them into their state legislatures.2 The number of such bills is growing rapidly and spreading to other states.3 Some proposed bills target public schools directly; proposed or enacted legislation in states like Texas, Arizona, and Alabama target sex education programs and curriculum, banning discussion of sexual or gender identities outside of heterosexual and cisgender identities.4 Some legislation has even focused on outing and targeting LGBTQ+ students, particularly transgender students seeking gender-affirming care.5
Legislation like these leave LGBTQ+ students open to emotional and physical distress, leading them to feel unsafe in school.6 Further, teachers’ jobs may be threatened when they attempt to enact instruction honoring people’s inclusive and full identities. Navigating the contentious contexts of teaching can encourage some inclusive, social justice-minded professionals to avoid or leave the profession of teaching entirely, leaving LGBTQ+identifying students and families without positive, supportive professionals in schools.7
Despite and in the face of our sociopolitical realities, many teachers remain focused on creating
safe, affirming classroom spaces. In this article, we outline how our research and development group, comprised of LGBTQ+-identifying teacher educators and classroom social studies teachers, considered and conceptualized how we might engage in LGBTQ+-inclusive social studies education in middle and secondary schools during these contentious times. As a group, we explored ways to support current social studies teachers in creating more inclusive classrooms, even within contexts that limit or restrict how LGBTQ+ identities are presented in classrooms and curriculum. We discuss the benefits of these educational efforts and provide resources for teachers. We also include ideas for teaching and learning about LGBTQ+ topics within contexts experiencing antiLGBTQ+-legislative initiatives.
Our Research Team and Purpose
Prior research has examined the experiences of LGBTQ+ teachers and students in K–12 public schools, particularly in social studies classrooms,8 noting the importance of these spaces for including LGBTQ+ issues and identities. Our research team represents a small affinity group of teacher educators and classroom teachers puzzling over the ways we can enact LGBTQ+-inclusive social studies learning opportunities in school, including in contexts under proposed or enacted anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. Our intention is to offer examples of how to do this. We also show the affordances and synergy that resulted from
forming our affinity group around LGBTQ+ topics that cross barriers of university-based teacher educators and practicing classroom teachers in PK–12 spaces. We tie this work to current standards for social studies classrooms, specifically the National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies and the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards (see Table 1).9
Our group of LGBTQ+ educators included Alex, a high school social studies teacher who identifies as gay; Pax, a high school social studies teacher who identifies as queer; Taylor, a university professor who identifies as gay; and Beck, a university researcher/lecturer, who identifies as lesbian. The group met to consider
Table 1. LGBTQ+-Inclusive Practices for Social Studies Educators
Teach about LGBTQ+ historical figures
Teach about LGBTQ+ contemporary figures
Pax’s high school students learned about Bayard Rustin, his LGBTQ+ identity, and the ways his identities intersected to allow him to advocate for equality during the Civil Rights Movement and beyond.
Taylor’s pre-service teachers created inquiry-based activities around LGBTQ+ figures in the arts and their impact on pop culture from distant and recent history.
Teach about current LGBTQ+ civic and public issues
Students in Alex’s classroom analyzed the Respect for Marriage Act to determine how the legislation could benefit or hurt LGBTQ+ individuals and communities.
how LGBTQ+-inclusive social studies classrooms might help combat anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and sentiments from larger sociopolitical contexts.10 During the time of this research (2021–2024), members of the group worked within states that were not directly impacted by enacted antiLGBTQ+ legislation. However, both classroom teachers, Pax and Alex, worked in school districts where such legislation was proposed to their school boards, a reminder that anti-LGBTQ+ legislation can be introduced at many levels that affect our teachers, students, and public education system. When anti-LGBTQ+ legislation is “floated” in districts, administrators and other school officials often find themselves in the political crosshairs and may encourage teachers
D2.His.4.9-12. Analyze complex and interacting factors that influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras.
D2.His.12.9-12. Use questions generated about multiple historical sources to pursue further inquiry and investigate additional sources.
D2.Civ.13.9-12. Evaluate public policies in terms of intended and unintended outcomes, and related consequences.
Students engaged with primary sources to better understand LGBTQ+ history, including the intersection of the history with other fights for equal rights.
Students were able to see LGBTQ+ representation in historical figures in ways not linked to trauma and were able to identify LGBTQ+ role models in historical contexts.
Students critically engaged with current, real-world content about LGBTQ+ rights. LGBTQ+ students and allies felt empowered with new knowledge and intentional spaces to discuss current LGBTQ+ issues.
Use LGBTQ+-inclusive language.
Taylor described working with pre-service teachers to practice inclusive language (e.g., using “families” instead of “mom and dad”) and distribute student surveys for students to self-identify.
D2.Soc.10.9-12. Analyze how social structures and cultures change.
Students and families felt affirmed and supported through inclusive language. Surveys allowed students to voluntarily and discreetly report and disclose their identities.
to exclude LGBTQ+ content for fear of retaliation from community members.11
Throughout the discussions and meetings, our working group was guided by queer theory, a critical research tradition that allowed us to explore queerness and LGBTQ+ themes and identities situated within and among various political, cultural, and social contexts,12 including the public universities and social studies classrooms that serve as our workplaces. Queer theory allowed us as educators and queer-identifying people to explore the boundaries and intersections of sexual and gender identities, educational communities, sociopolitical contexts, and governing systems and environments.13
Creating LGBTQ+-Inclusive Social Studies Classrooms
In this section, we outline specific topics and resources that the group explored in social studies classrooms and settings. These resources are a valuable starting point and are exemplars for creating more LGBTQ+-inclusive classrooms. Table 1 on the previous page includes specific curricular topics for use in classrooms, each linked to the C3 Framework.
LGBTQ+ Figures in the Curriculum
In our classrooms, we found it essential for teachers to include LGBTQ+ intersectional figures. Although LGBTQ+ individuals are sometimes included in educational spaces, their queer identities are often erased or excluded. By highlighting LGBTQ+ identities, teachers can demonstrate the complexity of identity and build intentional spaces of allyship and affirmation.
LGBTQ+ History: A More Complete Story
Bringing queer histories into more commonly taught histories is an essential way to create more LGBTQ+-inclusive classrooms. Pax taught U.S. History from 1940 to the present. During a unit on the Civil Rights Movement, studying Bayard Rustin, an LGBTQ+ and civil rights activist who acted as an adviser to Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., provided an opportunity to bring queer history into the classroom in an authentic and meaningful way. The inclusion of Rustin is aligned with state standards and the C3 Framework.
Pax began the lesson with an introductory video from PBS, which highlighted Rustin’s LGBTQ+ identity14:
Some students had heard of [Rustin], but it was always in heteronormative ways. We looked at some biographies and books about him, and only one included any type of reference to his queer identity. I wanted to let students discover that piece on their own, and make them part of the inquiry process. Once they had, we delved into some sources to look at historical contexts.
Pax helped students grapple with the way Rustin was presented in historical resources that erased or downplayed his full identity. Pax asked, “What was happening during his time? Why wasn’t this mentioned? When we look at this figure from history in a way that is authentic, that includes his queer identity—that is a whole picture.”
Students began to make personal connections to the content, a key benefit of including LGBTQ+ figures and stories. “Students started to talk more about their own queer identities, or family members who were queer. Bringing these figures into the classroom helped create spaces for them to be their authentic selves, and to bring their families into our school in authentic ways,” Pax said. LGBTQ+ inclusion like this positively impacts students’ history-to-self or text-to-self connections,15 important critical thinking processes that allow students to connect the past to their own lived experiences. We encourage teachers to include other key but oftenoverlooked LGBTQ+ figures whenever possible. For example, one of Pax’s students, whose family immigrated from Mexico, spoke about the power of learning in class about Amelio Robles Ávila, a transgender man who played a central role in the Mexican Revolution.16 “Bringing someone like this into the classroom isn’t something my other teachers have done,” the student said. “This kind of helped me see there are these layers, or these levels, of who people are, and they are more complicated.”
Including Modern Day LGBTQ+ Activists and Figures
Bringing current LGBTQ+ activists and figures into the classroom is also essential for students to see the continued progress in the fight for LGBTQ+ equality. In Taylor’s social studies methods class for both elementary and secondary pre-service teachers, he taught a lesson in which pre-service teachers created inquiry-based activities around LGBTQ+ figures in the arts and their impact on pop culture from distant and recent history. Taylor began the lesson with a Google Arts and Culture guided visual tour on Frida Kahlo and the queer artists she inspired17 using the guiding question, “How have LGBTQ+ artists used visual and other arts to create social change?” Students analyzed how queer figures from the past impacted queer culture and activism today. After this, students
engaged in an inquiry into Frida Kahlo’s queer identity using primary sources.
Pre-service teachers then formed working groups to create their own inquiries using a list of 200 queer figures and LGBTQ+-inclusive history resources.18 Their lessons included a variety of contemporary and historical LGBTQ+ individuals, including Elton John, Elliot Page, and Laverne Cox. We believe that primary source inquiries like these that include student engagement with current LGBTQ+ figures are pivotal to creating queer-inclusive spaces.
After engaging in these lessons, pre-service teachers reported that their students’ historical thinking skills increased, particularly corroboration.19 In assessments that examined corroboration, students were able to consider the process more complexly. One 11th-grade student wrote,
Resources to Build LGBTQ+-Inclusive Social Studies Classrooms
American Psychological Association: The Respect Online Course, www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/programs/safe-supportive/training/respect-online-course
The American Psychological Association provides online courses for educators to learn about teaching historically significant and impactful LGBTQ+ issues, including how to bring these issues into the classroom effectively.
GLSEN Safe Space Kit, www.glsen.org/activity/glsen-safe-space-kit-solidarity-lgbtq-youth
Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) provides educators with free Safe Space Kits to support LGBTQ+-inclusive spaces. The Safe Space kits include visual materials to post in classrooms, curricular resources, and self-assessment resources for educators.
The California Department of Education provides LGBTQ+-focused curricular materials for use in social studies classrooms grades PK–12. The lessons are aligned with the C3 Framework and could be used successfully in various classroom contexts.
The Trevor Project, www.thetrevorproject.org/public-education
The Trevor Project provides Ally Training and CARE Training, two resources that can be used to create schoolwide LGBTQ+-inclusive environments.
Which States Are Considering ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bills and Where They Stand www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/curricular_laws
A set of maps that covers multiple policies related to LGBTQ inclusion in or exclusion from school curricula or standards.
“Looking across all of the sources was so important because some tried to highlight that someone was gay or trans, but others totally ignored it.”
LGBTQ+ Rights: The Continued Fight for Equality
Although teaching about LGBTQ+ histories is key, we highly recommend that teachers bring historical and current public issues facing LGBTQ+ communities into their classrooms. One way to do this is by teaching about current legislation that affects LGBTQ+ communities. For instance, the students in Alex’s 12th-grade government class examined the 2021 Respect for Marriage Act to determine how this legislation could benefit or hurt LGBTQ+ communities.20 Students analyzed the legislation itself as well as several secondary sources (e.g., op-eds) to understand different perspectives. Additionally, students looked at past legislation, such as the Defense of Marriage Act, that affected our nation’s history. This investigation allowed students to gather in-depth knowledge of important content (i.e., understanding current legislation that affects LGBTQ+ communities nationwide) and to continue developing an important historical disciplinary skill (i.e., considering and analyzing context).
Alex reported that this activity helped his students develop specific historical thinking processes, such as examining cause and effect and contextualization.21 One student noted, “It helps you see how it is all connected—the oppression led to activism, which led to oppression, which led to—it is all a cycle.” This inquiry allowed students to build a better understanding of current LGBTQ+ rights and the continued fight for equality. We recommend consulting A Queer History of the United States for Young People by Michael Bronski (Beacon Press, 2019) as a starting place to examine specific LGBTQ+-related events to bring into classrooms.
As we consider readers working within contexts where LGBTQ+ curricular content is limited, we suggest that students might engage with and analyze LGBTQ+-related laws in local, state, or national contexts. Although specific LGBTQ+ curricula may be restricted, most states have standards related to the analysis of legislation, which is an opportune time for teachers to examine with students legislation that limits instruction. Teachers
can create spaces for students to analyze primary source legislative documents from official government websites, allowing students to engage with important disciplinary concepts such as cause and effect, impact, and perspectives as they consider legislation impacting their local communities.
Beyond Curriculum and Content: More Ways to Create LGBTQ+-Inclusive Classrooms
We also recommend several other classroom practices for teachers. First, we recommend that teachers use LGBTQ+-inclusive language. Taylor described the power of language for getting to know students in his teacher education classrooms:
I work with my pre-service teachers to build inclusive vocabularies when talking about students and their families. There is some unlearning, and we utilize university spaces to practice inclusive language: instead of saying “mom and dad,” we focus on saying “families.”
Instead of assuming students’ gender identities or using school-reported data, we talk about the benefit of student surveys that allow students to self-identify and describe who they are. These are small actions, but they represent powerful ways to empower students and create LGBTQ+-inclusive classrooms.
In addition, we encourage teachers to display LGBTQ+-inclusive visuals, such as Pride flags and Safe Space signs or stickers, in areas where this is permitted. We also recommend that teachers have LGBTQ+-inclusive resources and materials accessible to students, such as biographies about LGBTQ+ historical figures. These resources create a sense of community and belonging for LGBTQ+ students and families. Beyond these specific examples, we have compiled additional resources to help educators build LGBTQ+-inclusive classrooms and school environments for educators (see sidebar on p. 309).
The Positive Impacts of LGBTQ+-Inclusive Social Studies Classrooms
We found three distinct positive impacts for
students and families when teachers teach in LGBTQ+-inclusive ways. First, intentional and affirming environments for LGBTQ+ students and families are created by building empathy, a key part of the educational process, for all students through engagement with LGBTQ+ histories and stories. Second, an increased sense of belonging for LGBTQ+ and other minoritized educators and educational professionals occurs as diverse and intersectional identities are included in classrooms. Third, this inclusion leads to an increased likelihood that the PK–12 schools and colleges we worked in would retain their LGBTQ+- identifying educators and professionals.
Affirming Environments for Students and Families
Our group found that the inclusion of LGBTQ+focused content helped all students build critical historical thinking processes, particularly empathy. Pax spoke to this:
When we started to include queer history, my students…saw intersectionality, they saw that LGBTQ+ are everywhere. That helped my students—even some who I was worried about in terms of their deficit views on LGBT communities—build empathy. The way they talked about gay communities, and trans communities—it changed as we brought the content in.
Increased Sense of Belonging for Educators and Staff
When LGBTQ+ educators created spaces to teach about LGBTQ+ content, they themselves felt an increased sense of belonging at their school sites. Alex spoke about how an LGBTQ+-identifying educator stepped into his classroom after school to thank him for teaching in inclusive ways:
[The counselor] stopped by and spoke to me about how it made her feel. She identifies as queer, and she said that some students talked about what we were learning in our class with her. She said it helped her feel more included in the school. It’s like, “Yes, we will say gay!” It is empowering.
Bringing LGBTQ+-focused histories into the classroom allowed teachers and other school staff and employees to feel a greater sense of belonging in their school sites and communities, an important step in creating more inclusive PK–12 schools and universities.
Increased Likelihood of Retaining LGBTQ+ Educators in Schools
Our group members reported that the inclusion of LGBTQ+ content increased their motivation to continue in their careers as educators, an important finding related to teacher recruitment and retention. Teacher educators and public school educators indicated feeling more motivated to continue their careers in education because they saw themselves in the curriculum and content they were teaching. Taylor, a gay Latino teacher educator who has studied the retention of LGBTQ+-identifying educators for the past eight years, spoke to the correlation between LGBTQ+-inclusive content and LGBTQ+-educator retention22:
When queer-identifying educators feel like they belong, they feel like staying. I see this in my own experience; I can bring in content that speaks not only to my experiences but to my LGBTQ+ identifying students’ experiences. They have intersectional experiences beyond my own and being able to bring [this content] into my classroom and into these educational spaces is very impactful.
As our nation faces increased teacher shortages, particularly in diverse communities, we believe that LGBTQ+-inclusive social studies classrooms can play an important role in retaining quality queer educators across the country.
Conclusion
We hope teachers, teacher educators, school administrators, and others reading this article are encouraged to create LGBTQ+inclusive educational environments, and that the resources we provide are helpful in this endeavor. By using national standards-supported
frameworks—particularly the C3 Framework—we believe that teachers in all districts can further justify and prioritize LGBTQ+-inclusive classrooms, which have many positive impacts. By promoting and creating LGBTQ+-inclusive social studies classrooms through content, curriculum, and representation, our group found that some of the negative effects of anti-LGBTQ+ legislative efforts can be mediated.
Afterword
We want to acknowledge that, in some states and districts, this work will be difficult due to restrictions from anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. However, we hope that all educators can create affirming classrooms despite potential constraints. Beck spoke to the hopes of our work: “With inquiry-based, queer-inclusive history in K–12 curricula, future voters may be less likely to succumb to mis- and disinformation, making them active future citizens seeking to make our society less discriminatory and more inclusive.” Our group members echo this sentiment and hope that this article and its resources are useful to other educators aiming to work toward a more inclusive future for LGBTQ+ students, families, and community members.
Notes
1. Nickolas B. Davis, “‘Don’t Say Gay’: The Influence of State Political Factors,” Sexuality, Gender & Policy 6, no. 2 (2023): 109–118; The LGBTQ+ community is comprised of individuals with minoritized sexual orientations or gender identities, and includes but is not limited to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender nonbinary, and queer people.
2. “Anti-LGBTQ Bills in 2022,” Human Rights Campaign, www.hrc.org/resources/state-maps/anti-lgbtqbills-in-2021
3. Kerigan Brewer, “REAPing What We Sow: The Implications and Outcomes of Mississippi House Bill 1125. The ‘Regulate Experimental Adolescent Procedures (REAP)’ Act” (honors college thesis, The University of Southern Mississippi, 2024), https://aquila.usm.edu/honors_theses/942
4. Laura Finley, “LGBTQ Activism to Counter ‘Don’t Say Gay,’ Trans Athlete Bans and Other Attacks on Affirming Education in US Public Schools,” in Global LGBTQ Activism: Social Media, Digital Technologies, and Protest Mechanisms, ed. Paromita Pain (Routledge, 2023), 198–214.
5. Matt Lavietes, “Florida House Passes ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill,” NBC News, Feb. 24, 2022, www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/
out-politics-and-policy/florida-house-passes-dont-saygay-bill-rcna17532; Jo Yurcaba, “Texas Governor Calls on Citizens to Report Parents of Transgender Kids for Abuse,” NBC News, Feb. 23, 2022, www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/ out-politics-and-policy/texas-governor-calls-citizensreport-parents-transgender-kids-abuse-rcna17455
6. Joseph G. Kosciw et al., The 2021 National School Climate Survey: The Experiences of LGBTQ+ Youth in Our Nation’s Schools (GLSEN, 2022).
7. Bridget Maher and William Toledo, “From Pre-Service to Professional Teaching: A Longitudinal Study of Two LGBTQ+-Identifying First-Year Elementary Teachers’ Experiences,” Journal of Homosexuality 69, no. 12 (2022): 2126–2147.
8. Alicia A. Lapointe, “Queering the Social Studies: Lessons to Be Learned from Canadian Secondary School Gay-straight Alliances,” The Journal of Social Studies Research 40, no. 3 (2016): 205–215; J. B. Mayo Jr, “Expanding the Meaning of Social Education: What the Social Studies Can Learn from Gay Straight Alliances,” Theory & Research in Social Education 41, no. 3 (2013): 352–381; Jon M. Wargo, “‘Can I Just Be a Human?’ Reading LGBTQ+ Youths’ Civics TalkAs-Text,” The Journal of Social Studies Research 46, no. 1 (2022): 19–33.
9. National Council for the Social Studies, National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies: A Framework for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (2010); NCSS, The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K–12 Civics, Economic, Geography, and History (2013).
10. Our research was approved by two University IRBs (HSR22-23-377). We have formal approval to conduct and present the findings from this research.
11. Elizabethe C. Payne and Melissa J. Smith, “Refusing Relevance: School Administrator Resistance to Offering Professional Development Addressing LGBTQ Issues in Schools,” Educational Administration Quarterly 54, no. 2 (2018): 183–215; Stephen T. Russell et al., “Promoting School Safety for LGBTQ and All Students,” Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences 8, no. 2 (2021): 160–166.
12. Annamarie Jagose, Queer Theory: An Introduction (NYU Press, 1996); William F. Pinar, “Queer Theory in Education,” Journal of Homosexuality 45, no. 2–4 (2003): 357–360; William F. Pinar, Queer Theory in Education (Routledge, 2012).
13. Teresa De Lauretis, “Queer Theory: Lesbian and Gay Sexualities: An Introduction,” differences 3, no. 2 (1991): iii–xviii.
Not Just Little Rock: Using Arkansas to Examine the Ongoing Process of School Desegregation
Heather McNamee
My home state of Arkansas is leading the way in whitewashing not just the national historical narrative but its own as well. Teaching the triumphant narrative of American progress that confines white supremacy to the past—ending in 1968 with the passage of the Civil Rights Act, for example—is acceptable. However, anything beyond that is soon labeled as “woke” and is banned from K–12 classrooms, despite current research that schools are becoming increasingly more racially and economically segregated.1
Arkansas has a long and dynamic history of white supremacy and of Black activism against it. Arkansas history has, however, often fallen to the pitfalls of singular moments relegated to the past only. The most infamous is the Little Rock Central High School Desegregation Crisis of 1957; the story of the Little Rock Nine and their quest to desegregate Little Rock Central High School is used in classrooms around the country. As early as elementary school, this story is used to highlight the courage and heroism of nine children. In high school, it is retold as an example of what teenage activists can accomplish or as an explanation of the role of the federal government in implementing the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling. All of this is accurate, but it is not the full story. It also does not encompass the extraordinary long process of school desegregation.
Desegregation is an ongoing and still unfulfilled process, not a singular moment. High school teachers around the country can and should use other stories from Arkansas history to complicate the narrative of school desegregation. To accurately situate the Little Rock Desegregation Crisis
and show public school desegregation as a process, this article and the included IDM (see Figure 1 on p. 315) provide teachers with examples from Hoxie and Jonesboro, Arkansas. Taken together, with the sources teachers already use to teach Little Rock desegregation, these additional resources and activities encourage students to see the longer history of school desegregation.
Unit Overview
The compelling question “How long does school desegregation take?” for the featured IDM requires students to think about desegregation as a process that evolves over time. This question frames a unit that invites students to confront historical complexity; examine multiple case studies (such as those in Hoxie and Jonesboro); and explore the ways that legal rulings, community actions, resistance, and policy decisions all influenced the pace and depth of desegregation in Arkansas. This unit also encourages connections between past and present, as students evaluate whether schools today—including their own—are truly desegregated.
Pre-Little Rock Desegregation Issues
In 1955, less than one year after the Brown v. Board ruling, in the small northeastern Arkansas town of Hoxie, the school board voted to integrate. Initially, desegregating the district was met with little to no backlash. In fact, it was so peaceful that reporters from Life magazine used the event as an example of peaceful school desegregation.2 The national publication led to tremendous white backlash, as organizations of white segregationists
(White Citizens’ Councils) from Little Rock and neighboring states bombarded the small town, intimidating Black families, and pressuring white school board members to resign. One Black family received a picture of Emmett Till in the mail—a symbol of what might happen to their son if he continued attending Hoxie schools.3
Governor Orval Faubus, who would become internationally known in the Little Rock desegregation crisis two years later, told the school board that they would not receive any assistance from the state in enforcing its decision to integrate Hoxie public schools. Although the school district
prevailed in the long legal process that followed, what could have been a peaceful and hopeful symbol of desegregation resulted in another example of white supremacist organizing and state inaction. In many ways, the events in Hoxie foreshadowed the white backlash that gained international attention two years later in Little Rock.
The formative performance task and the two featured sources for the first supporting question depict an early example of school desegregation. The first source is an entry from the Encyclopedia of Arkansas, which provides a summary of the
D2.His.14.9-12. Analyze multiple and complex causes and effects of events
D2.His.15.9-12. Distinguish between long-term causes and triggering events in developing a historical argument.
D2.His.16.9-12. Integrate evidence from multiple relevant historical sources and interpretations into a reasoned argument about the past. Staging the Question
Display the famous image of 101st Airborne leading Little Rock Nine up the steps of Central High School in 1957 (www.nps.gov/chsc/learn/historyculture/people.htm). Ask, “What story does this image tell? Is this the beginning or the end of desegregation?” Briefly discuss what it means to desegregate. Discuss the difference between a dual school system and a unitary school system.
What does the desegregation of Hoxie, Arkansas, reveal about early responses to the Brown v. Board decision?
Complete a source analysis sheet answering “What role did white backlash play in Hoxie desegregation? How did this backlash affect Black students?”
How did Black students face cultural exclusion in unitary schools in the late 1960s?
What challenges have Black students faced from the 1990s to present day?
Source A: “Desegregation of Hoxie Schools,” Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
Source B: Podcast interview with Ethel Tompkins, the first African American graduate of Hoxie High School, AR History Podcast (May 23, 2021)
Create a case brief addressing the facts of the Tate v. Board case, the central issues, the court’s decision, and its impact and significance.
Briefly reflect by answering the supporting question.
Source A: Teacher-created slideshow of the brief history of the song “Dixie” and its use as a Confederate symbol.
Source B: Tate v. Board of Education, Jonesboro, AR, 453 F.2d 975 (1972)
Create a graphic organizer explaining the major challenges.
Source A: Excerpt from “Jonesboro Parents Demand Equality for Black Students,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (1994)
Source B: “Class Action Lawsuit Filed Challenging ‘School-to-Prison Pipeline’ in [Little Rock School District],” Arkansas Times (Nov. 22, 2019)
Construct an argument using sevidence that addresses the compelling question: How long does school desegregation take?
Create a timeline or digital exhibit titled “Beyond Little Rock” showing key moments of desegregation in Arkansas.
Taking Informed Action UNDERSTAND Examine district policies and culture: Is it truly integrated and equitable today? ASSESS Identify disparities in curriculum, discipline, or representation. ACT Create and present an infographic or proposal to your school board or student council for policy, curricular, or cultural improvement.
Figure 1. Inquiry Design Model Blueprint
How Long Does School Desegregation Take?
Disciplinary Concepts and Skills
in the past.
major events and white backlash. The second source is a podcast episode that allows students to hear from Ethel Tompkins, one of the 25 Black children attending Hoxie schools during the 1955 integration. In her own words, Tompkins describes how the public reacted, how Black families were intimidated, and why recognizing this pre-Little Rock Central High School event is important.
Education Activism After Little Rock
Desegregation brought a new wave of Black activism as the white supremacy that had prevented school integration outside the schools morphed into daily indignities and discrimination inside the schools.
Our students today may find several events of youth and student activism to be inspirational. At Jonesboro High School in 1968, high school students protested the playing of the song “Dixie” at school events. This event led to a lengthy court case concerning civil rights for students and, specifically, expression for Black students.4 Supporting Question 2 uses Tate v. Board of Education of Jonesboro, Arkansas, Special School District to encourage students to think about the culture and environment of newly desegregated schools. This case highlights what happens when white perspectives and feelings are privileged in court decisions.
In the 1990s, local Black organizations actively fought the emerging school-to-prison pipeline through grassroots education activism. Many of the 1990s frustrations in education stemmed directly from unsuccessful school integration because, although schools in Arkansas desegregated, they were not yet fully integrated. In 1993, the Rights for Education of Students and Parents Educating Citizens of Tomorrow (RESPECT) formed in Jonesboro, Arkansas, out of anger over the arrests of several Black students during the previous school years. RESPECT raised several issues with the district, including school policies that targeted Black students, a curriculum that failed to acknowledge Black history, and the absence of cultural and racial bias training for district teachers.5 The sources and formative performance task for the third supporting question in this unit centers RESPECT and the concerns of Black parents about teacher bias. The supporting question asks students to consider what it means that these fights for inclusion still occurred into the 1990s, nearly 40 years after Brown v. Board. Extending conversations about inequity in public education beyond the 1990s provides a foundation for many of the inequities that exist in public education today. The sources and formative task ask students to chart how these longer histories chip away at the myth of America
Members of the 1955 desegregated class of Hoxie Public Schools. From left to right: Ethel Tompkins, Francis Green, Yvonne Taylor, Darrell Pickney, and Milena Smith. (Photo Courtesy of Heather Bradway)
as a colorblind society, a myth that many states like Arkansas rely on to justify their exclusion of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives.
Summative Performance Task and Taking Informed Action
Upon completing the synthesis essay where students answer the compelling question, invite students to research their own school district and consider whether it is successfully desegregated. This requires students to take historical knowledge and look inward to see if their school maintains exclusionary cultural habits and traditions. After they have completed their research, encourage students to present their findings and policy recommendations to their student council or school board.
What happened at Little Rock in 1957 matters. How we tell that story and how we have our students engage with it is equally important. It is imperative to highlight these longer and more complicated histories so students can have a better idea of current racial issues and movements. In an era where diversity, equity, and inclusion
are labeled redundant and unnecessary, it is even more important to ensure these stories are told.
Notes
1. Carrie Spector, “70 Years After Brown v. Board of Education, New Research Shows Rise in School Segregation,” Research Stories, Stanford Graduate School of Education (May 6, 2024), https://ed.stanford.edu/news/70-years-after-brownv-board-education-new-research-shows-rise-schoolsegregation
2. Life, “A Morally Right Decision,” (July 25, 1955): 29-31.
3. Ethel Thompkins, “Hoxie Desegregation,” interview by Heather McNamee, AR History Podcast (May 23, 2021).
4. Tate v. Board of Education of Jonesboro, Arkansas, Special School District, 453 F.2d 975 (8th Cir. 1972).
5. Heather McNamee, “The Road to Respect: African Americans and the Fight for Equal Education in Jonesboro, Arkansas Since 1920” (Ph.D. diss., University of Memphis, 2022).
Heather McNamee is an Assistant Professor of History at Washington State University. Her research examines race and education activism in her home state of Arkansas.
IDM Sources
Supporting Question 1
Source A: “Desegregation of Hoxie Schools,” Encyclopedia of Arkansas https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/desegregation-of-hoxie-schools-731
Source B: Podcast interview with Ethel Tompkins, AR History Podcast Hoxie Desegregation Episode (22 minutes): https://podcasters.spotify. com/pod/show/arhistorypodcast/episodes/Hoxie-Desegregation-e11dgvb/a-a5ld09p
Supporting Question 2
Source A: Teacher-created slideshow of the brief history of the song “Dixie” and its use as a Confederate symbol, https://docs.google.com/ presentation/d/15xYYdfomMFF0thd-wPbp8CkrU5SQk79PawWSbNIvgDY/edit?usp=sharing
Source B: Tate v. Board of Education, Jonesboro, AR, 453 F.2d 975 (1972): https://casetext.com/case/tate-v-bd-of-ed-of-jonesboro-ark-sch-dist
Supporting Question 3
Source A: Excerpt from “Jonesboro Parents Demand Equality for Black Students,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (1994), available (for a small fee) via Newsbank Online archive: https://arkansasonline.newsbank.com/search?text=jonesboro%20parents%20demand%20 equality&content_added=&date_from=&date_to=&pub%5B0%5D=ADGL
Source B: “Class Action Lawsuit Filed Challenging ‘School-to-Prison Pipeline’ in [Little Rock School District],” Arkansas Times (Nov. 22, 2019), https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2019/11/22/class-action-lawsuit-filed-challenging-school-to-prison-pipeline-in-lrsd-and-pulaski-countyjuvenile-system
Teaching With a Global Perspective
Approaches and Strategies for Secondary Social Studies Teachers
Jing A. Williams, Bárbara C. Cruz, and Anatoli Rapoport
