Indigenous Culture & History Classroom Resources from PBS

Season 2 of Native America returns to PBS on 10/24 (check local listings for times). A groundbreaking portrait of contemporary Indian country, this four-part Native-directed series reveals the beauty and power of today’s Indigenous world.

Access the Indigenous Culture & History folder featuring curated classroom resources from PBS LearningMedia, including materials from Native America. These multimedia support materials range in focus from New York State to across the United States. Grades K-12.

Fall 2023 New York Archives Jr! Now Available

New York Archives Jr! is a companion publication to New York Archives magazine for grades 4-8. Each issue features one article from New York Archives magazine rewritten at an upper elementary level. It features community connections, related facts, and learning activities focused on primary source analysis. 

Teachers can access the Fall 2023 New York Archives Jr! and request free classroom sets of the magazine. Classroom sets are available in packs of 25.

Email [email protected] to request New York Archives Jr! for your classroom.

The New York State Library recently published an Educator Guide for the American Revolution. It features vast primary source documents from the New York State Library, the New York State Archives, and other cultural and historical organizations.

Based upon the New York State K-12 Social Studies Framework, the American Revolution is taught in Grades 4, 7, and 11. Within the guide, there are document-based questions, ideas, and activities to utilize for lesson planning. Most activities contain interdisciplinary approaches.

Modifications of the document-based questions, ideas, and activities can be made according to your lesson planning goals and objectives, dependent upon your school and its curriculum planning, evaluation, and assessment.

The New York State and Local History and Government is a collection of resources on PBS LearningMedia designed to complement the New York State Social Studies Framework for 4th Grade.  

These media-rich resources and accompanying support materials cover disciplinary core topics from the geography of New York State to immigration and migration.  

Each topic contains video-based resources you can use to bring history to life for your students.  

Click on “Explore Collection” to see a list of featured resources all of which are aligned to New York State Learning Standards.

A New York Minute In History tells the unique tales of New Yorkers throughout American history. With the state’s hundreds of historical markers as a guide, join Devin Lander and Lauren Roberts as they explore the people, places, and experiences that made New York. How is the Erie Canal used today? Where did baseball get its start? And who inspired the story of the headless horseman?

Listen to select episodes then complete the online CTLE form to receive professional development hours! Learn more about CTLE Professional Development Workshops for Educators.

Multimedia Resources for Hispanic Heritage Month

Each year, New York State joins the nation in commemorating Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15. Use this short video from the series 'All About the Holidays' as an overview piece with younger students (K-5).

The recent interview 'Hispanic? Latino? How the language of identity is shifting over time' from PBS NewsHour Weekend would be an excellent resource to use as a discussion starter with middle and high school students.

A partial eclipse will take place in North America on Saturday, October 14, 2023. Local libraries and cultural organizations are planning many different types of eclipse-related events and activities to encourage participation by students and adults. Eclipse resources have recently been expanded and updated, so check the Eclipse Resources page often for new ideas and information.

Registration is open for a free statewide early literacy webinar on October 12th entitled “30 Favorite Storytime Books and How to Use Them.” 

In this webinar, you’ll learn about: 

• Current picture book titles that work well for storytime 
• Criteria/best practices for selecting storytime books
• Picture book titles that can be paired for easy thematic storytimes 
• How to pair extension activities with storytime titles
• Great process-based and STEAM-related activities that are manageable for younger audiences.

New York State Museum Presents 2024 Workshops

Evolution and Ecology Teacher Workshop

This year’s Evolution Ecology Teacher Workshop will be a one-day hybrid program held at the New York State Museum and virtually over the web on Saturday, January 27th, 2024. At this workshop, middle school and high school science teachers will learn about current evolutionary theory, recent discoveries, classroom resources, and ideas for scientific classroom exercises. This workshop is presented by PhD-level State Museum scientists. Educators will earn 8 hours of CTLE credit from the State Education Department. Register for the Evolution and Ecology Teacher Workshop here.

Anthropology Teacher Workshop

This year’s Anthropology Teacher Workshop will be a one-day hybrid program held in-person at the New York State Museum and virtually over the web on Saturday, March 23, 2024. At this workshop, teachers will learn about current scientific research, museum collections, classroom resources, and ideas for classroom exercises. This workshop is presented by PhD-level State Museum scientists. Educators will earn 8 hours of CTLE credit from the State Education Department. Register for the Anthropology Teacher Workshop here.

Connect with OCE

Please share this newsletter with education colleagues and encourage your teachers to subscribe to this bi-monthly newsletter.

Also, staff from the Office of Cultural Education will also be at various New York State education conferences this fall, and we would love to connect in person! Find us at NYLA, NYSATA, SAANYS, and STANYS.

Thanks for reading!