SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Sioux Falls will play host to a ‘Civics & History Summit‘ put on by the South Dakota Department of Education (DOE).
This event will come just two months after the South Dakota Board of Education Standards voted 5-2 to implement a new set of controversial social studies content standards.
The new standards, which will go into effect in 2025, were widely panned by the public and members of the educational system, with 1,295 public comments being received on them by the DOE; only 121 being in favor of the standards, with 1,137 in opposition and 37 neutral.
The June summit, which will run June 12-14 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center, is billed as a place for educators to ‘celebrate your love of civics and history,’ and will consist of a number of sessions and exhibits.
The DOE notes the following schedule of events:
Monday, June 12, 2023
11:00AM – 1:00PM – Registration
1:00PM – 2:00PM – Opening Keynote Speaker
2:00PM – 4:45PM – Educational Sessions
6:00PM – 9:00PM – Dinner
Tuesday, June 13, 2023
7:00AM – 8:00AM – Breakfast
8:00AM – 12:00PM – Sessions
12:00PM – 1:45PM – Lunch + Hoop Dancer
1:45PM – 5:15PM – Educational Sessions
6:00PM – 7:30PM – Dinner
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
7:30AM – 8:30AM – Breakfast
8:30AM – 11:00AM – Educational Sessions
11:00AM – 12:00PM – Closing Keynote Speaker
While the schedule has not been finalized, the site also lists an agenda of topics, which includes a large amount of sessions with historical re-enactors.
The agenda with its descriptions is listed below:
Dignitaries Dinner
Target Audience – All Attendees
Enjoy a dinner with all conference attendees featuring key figures of the American Revolutionary Period including:
- George Washington
- Benjamin Franklin
- Phyllis Wheatley
- James Forten
- Abigail Adams
An Hour with Thomas Jefferson
Target Audience – K-12 teachers
This session will be presented by Humanities Scholar Clay S. Jenkinson. Mr. Jenkinson is a nationally recognized historian, author, and public humanities scholar with special interest in Thomas Jefferson and the American republic.
Breakfast with Theodore Roosevelt
Target Audience – K-12 teachers
Dr. John “Chuck” Chalberg, a historical impersonator of American and British characters from history, will delight K-12 teachers with his characterization of America’s 26th president.
Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings & Standards
Target Audience – K-12 teachers
This session will focus on readings aligned with the Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings which may be incorporated into daily classroom lessons.
The Anti-Federalists and the Bill of Rights
Target Audience – 9-12 teachers
This session will examine the bill of rights debate and its relationship to Anti-Federalist concerns about diversity, plutocracy, and the size of a republic. Additionally, the session will examine Madison’s grand solution to the problem of factions and his ‘change of mind’ about the importance of a bill of rights.
Biographies in History for K-5 Classrooms
Target Audience – K-5 teachers
This session will note individuals and associated events that are focuses of the new standards, recommending biographies that can help teachers meet goals identified in ELA standards as well as Social Studies standards, by reading level.
Elementary Standards – A Crosswalk of Changes
Target Audience – K-5 teachers
More to come here!
Workshops: Digging into New Standards by Grade Span
Individual Breakout Sessions for K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12
More to come here!
Abraham Lincoln, Rule of Law, and Civic Engagement
Target Audience – 9-12 teachers
Using Abraham Lincoln’s much admired 1839 “The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions” address, delivered before the Springfield Young Men’s Lyceum, this session will discuss how prudence and moderation are an important part of healthy civic engagement. Lincoln’s address considers how the rule of law contributes to a healthy society and how threats of mob rule and demagoguery detract from it.
Civic Education and Elementary Literature
Target Audience – K-6 teachers
This session will introduce teachers to high-quality literature for children with strong themes applicable to American history and civics to aid teachers in their delivery of instruction aligned to both the ELA and Social Studies standards.
American Historical Theatre – 2 hour work session
Target Audience – K-6 teachers
This session will be a hands-on workshop to aid teachers in the development of first-person lessons focusing on historical figures. Session leaders will assist teachers in the creation of lesson plans centered around a historical figure of their choice.
History is Nutrition – Serving History to Hungry Minds
Target Audience – K-12 teachers
This session will be led by John Mollison, an aviation artist, writer, and filmmaker. Mr. Mollison will demonstrate resources for classrooms which engage learners and feed hungry minds.
Jacksonian America
Target Audience – 9-12 teachers
This session will introduce various primary documents from the Jacksonian Era which may be of service to instructors who teach this era of history. The Jacksonian Era is often considered as the time when democracy truly arises in America. It is also a time of great social change, namely the Second Great Awakening, the rise of Transcendentalism, and the Indian Removal Act.
Using Primary Sources
Target Audience – K-12 teachers
This session will walk teachers through secondary-level strategies for using primary sources to generate curiosity from students at the outset of a lesson, as well as to teach content found in the standards. The session will provide collaboration space to generate plans to share with other session participants.
History and Civics Grant
Target Audience – 6-12 teachers
In this session, West Central School District will share their History and Civics Grant journey.
Reconstruction
Target Audience – 9-12 teachers
This session workshop introduces various primary documents from the Reconstruction Era which may be of service to instructors who teach this era of history. An often-neglected part of American history, the Reconstruction Era is fundamental to American history in that it represents a reconsideration of what it means to be equal and how the powers of government might be used to secure equality.
State Historical Society Suitcase Kits
Target Audience – K-6 teachers
In this session, the South Dakota State Historical Society will provide a hands-on demonstration of the Buffalo Kit. The Museum’s education suitcase kit program has grown from two cases on two topics in 1996 to 32 cases on fourteen topics today. Kits include hands-on objects, topic background information, worksheets, and lesson plans for activities using the hands-on items. At this session, you can see a kit, handle the objects, and learn how the kits are assembled.
Integrating American Civic Education into the Teaching of History
Target Audience – K-5 teachers with an assignment that specifies the teaching of American history
This session will identify opportunities for teachers to integrate civics-related topics into the teaching of American history at various grade levels prior to a stand-alone high school civics / government course.
Integrating American Civic Education into the Teaching of History
Target Audience – 6-12 teachers with an assignment that specifies the teaching of American history
This session will identify opportunities for teachers to integrate civics-related topics into the teaching of American history at various grade levels prior to and within a stand-alone high school civics / government course.
Creating Lessons Focusing on the Understanding of Principles and Relationships in Civics and History
Target Audience – 9-12 teachers with an assignment that specifies the teaching of American history
More to come!
Methods for Teaching the Relationship Between Abstract Concepts and Historical Events
Target Audience – 6-12 teachers
More to come!
Facilitating Knowledge and Understanding of South Dakota and Native American Governments and Politics
Target Audience – 6-12 teachers
More to come!
First Person Workshops with Historical Interpreters
Target Audience – K-12 teachers
Individual sessions with George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Harriet Tubman, Lewis and Clark, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
And more!
Other topics to be announced soon.
South Dakota News has reached out to the DOE for more information on the materials that will be presented to educators, and will update this story if a response is received.
Registration for the event comes with free access to all sessions, complimentary lodging and a stipend.
Three speakers in particular are noted in the agenda, Clay Jenkinson, John Chalberg and John Mollison.
Mollison is a writer, filmmaker and artist, known for drawing airplanes. The agenda states he will demonstrate resources for classrooms to engage learners.
Chalberg is Catholic writer, lecturer and historian. He also preforms as a historical re-enactor, and will be pretending to be Theodore Roosevelt for a session entitled Breakfast with Theodore Roosevelt.
Jenkinson is editor-at-large at the outlet Governing and is an author and historian who studied at Oxford as a Rhodes and Danforth Scholar. Jenkinson is also known for portraying Thomas Jefferson and Robert Oppenheimer in re-enactments.
Jenkinson will be hosting a session called An Hour with Thomas Jefferson, though it is not clear from the description whether or not he will be impersonating the former president.
