Social Justice in the Classroom

Badass Women, Badass Stories: Strategies for Highlighting Local Women's History The Teaching History Her Way Podcast

Send us a textGet ready for an inspiring and thought-provoking conversation! In this special episode of the Teaching History Her Way Podcast, I’m joined by an incredible panel of educators—Karalee Wong Nakatsuka, Shannon Salter, Angela Lee, and Annie Evans—to discuss teaching women's history, particularly on the local level. Students seeing history in their own communities is incredibly powerful!We recorded this episode, in part, to build excitement for our upcoming presentation at the National Council of the Social Studies Conference in Boston on November 23, 2024. Together, we explore how educators can uncover and share the stories of everyday women whose actions shaped history, using digital tools and student-driven research to foster meaningful connections to the women closest to them geographically, genetically, or both.Whether you’re attending NCSS or simply want to enhance your teaching of women’s history, this episode is packed with strategies and inspiration to bring these stories to life.Want to chat?Angela Lee: @mrshistorylee (X) mrshistorylee.bsky.social Annie Evans: @mapmaker (X) mapm8ker.bsky.socialKaralee Wong Nakatsuka: @historyfrog (X) @historyfrog.bsky.socialShannon Salter: @shannonsalter70 (X) or @civicswithsalter.bsky.socialInterested in some of the tools we mention in this episode?  Here is a list:Thing Link, Puppet Pals, ArcGIS, Wakelet, Story Maps, Ancestry.com, FamilySearch, National ArchivesLibrary of Congress, Gilder Lehrman Institute for American HistoryLet's be friends and continue the conversation!Instagram: @teachinghistoryherwayX: http://www.twitter.com/historyherwayOn the Web/Blog: https://www.teachinghistoryherway.comFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/teachinghistoryherwayBlueSky: @historyherway.bsky.socialSupport the production of the Teaching History Her Way Podcast by purchasing some really great history tees. Click here to shop now or go to www.teachinghistoryherway.com and click on "Merch."
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Lindsay defines social justice in the classroom as a foundational and cultural mindset of partnership between teacher and student in which students are talking and grappling with meaningful work that has eyes beyond the teacher and changes the community for the better in some way. Additionally, they are able to see mirrors of their own experiences and backgrounds of their identities as well as step into someone else’s experience through this work. To do the work, and fit it into our classes, she tells us to take a topic that students are talking about and then use our historical knowledge and pedagogical background to bring those issues into the class by designing our lessons from the present to the past. She recommends the Social Justice Framework from Learning for Justice as a way to guide you through making work developmentally appropriate.

Lindsay also makes the excellent point that you need to make your classroom a place where students are prepared and ready to talk about the issues at hand as well as be able to work through disagreements. She’s so generously given us a template for Circle Planning, which is a really great discussion method, for our students. Get your free Circle Planning Template here!

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