Enhancement of Geographic Literacy

Grant for the Enhancement of Geographic Literacy NCSS Grants Guidelines and Criteria National Council for the Social Studies honors annually the outstanding performance of teachers, researchers, and other worthy individuals and programs, and has encouraged unique and innovative social studies education projects through its award and grant programs. NCSS serves as an umbrella organization for elementary, secondary, and college educators of social studies; teacher educators; researchers; curriculum designers; and curriculum specialists. The Council engages and supports educators in strengthening and advocating social studies.

• $2,500
• Commemorative gift
• Annual Conference presentation session
• Publicity

Purpose: To promote geography education in the schools; to enhance the geographic literacy of students at the classroom, district, or statewide level; and to encourage the integration of geography into the social studies curriculum/classroom.
Criteria:

• Sound rationale and appropriate methods for incorporating the study of geography into the social studies curricula.
• Specific plans for enhancing geographic literacy.
• Feasibility of program implementation.
• Number of teachers and students served.
• Potential for program continuation or its effects after initial implementation.
• Incorporation of the National Geography Standards as identified in Geography for Life, the "Fundamental Themes in Geography", and appropriate sections of Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies.

Eligibility: Programs, not individuals, individual lessons or units, which will enhance the geographic literacy of students at the classroom, district, or statewide levels. Recipients may be individuals or groups in school districts, public institutions, or universities.
> www.socialstudies.org/awards/geographiclit/

CiviConnections Grants

CiviConnections will engage selected teachers and their students in the following sequence of activities:
1) Students and teachers choose a current issue of concern or need in the local community,
2) Students become inquiring historians as they investigate the issue through their community’s history,
3) Students compare their local findings with learning about the selected issue in our nation’s history,
4) Students look at how the issue is impacted by one or more government documents, such as the Bill of Rights,
5) Students design and conduct quality service-learning activities to work on the issue and strengthen their community, and
6) Students create a public display to educate the community and celebrate their collaborative service projects. Teachers will develop and adapt these activities based on their students’ interests and abilities, the needs or problems in the local community, and their local social studies curriculum requirements.

Requirements for the application include the following:
1) apply in a team of three teachers from grades 3-12 in the same public school district,
2) be members of National Council for the Social Studies (or agree to join if your application is accepted),
3) partner with at least one local community agency,
4) involve at least 25 students per teacher in at least 20 hours of service each (this may include a variety of activities including community interviews, advocacy activities in the classroom, service with individuals in the community, creation of the public display, and attendance at the culminating community celebration),
5) attend one 3-day summer 2006 workshop and the 2006 NCSS Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. (all funding for the workshop and conference is to be paid from the $7,500 grant),
6) implement the program during the Fall of 2006, and April 2007) comply with grant evaluation and reporting procedures.
> www.socialstudies.org/civiconnections

Christa McAuliffe Reach for the Stars Award

The purpose of the $1,500 grant is to help a social studies educator make his or her dream of innovative social studies a reality. Grants will be given to assist classroom teachers in: 1) developing and implementing imaginative, innovative, and illustrative social studies teaching strategies; and 2) supporting student implementation of innovative social studies, citizenship projects, field experiences, and community connections.

Eligibility:

• NCSS membership is required.
• Full-time social studies teacher or social studies teacher educators currently engaged with K-12 students.
• "Reach for the Stars" projects that represent excellence and innovation in social studies education and have the potential of serving as a model for other teachers.

Criteria for Selection:

• Project activities and teaching strategies should represent inquiry based teaching and learning.
• Projects should be designed to encourage students to develop understanding of concepts from the social science disciplines in order to communicate their ideas in a variety of formats spoken, written, graphic, statistical, and/or electronic.
• Projects should enable students to become involved in exploring a range of options such as information technology, primary source material, community resources and local organizations, oral histories and interpretative centers as well as traditional resources, to develop their skills.
• Projects should enable students to become involved in exploring a range of options such as information technology, primary source material, community resources and local organizations, oral histories and interpretative centers as well as traditional resources, to develop their skills.

> www.socialstudies.org/awards/grants/mcauliffe/

Save Our History

A program of the History Channel (www.history.com) and other partners, Save Our History is a national history education and preservation initiative that seeks to raise awareness and support for preserving local heritage.

As part of this effort, the History Channel awards Save Our History grants to history organizations to fund partnerships with schools or youth groups on community preservation projects. The History Channel also annually honors teachers and students who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to local history education and historic preservation.

Save Our History Grant Program: Historic organizations across the United States that are interested in funding for preservation projects developed with local schools or youth groups are encouraged to apply. History organizations, including museums, historical societies, preservation organizations, archives, libraries, and government agencies, can partner on projects with a school district, a coalition of schools, one school, or an organization that provides educational programming for children.

Save Our History National Honors (for teachers and students): The History Channel also wishes to honor teachers and students across the country who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to local history through their preservation or history education efforts. This year, twenty-four teachers who creatively integrate local history lesson plans, activities, or projects into their classroom curriculum, and twenty-four students who participate in local history/preservation projects, extracurricular history-themed service-learning projects, or independent study projects tied to history will win $1,000 cash prizes.

One teacher and one student will each receive a $5,000 cash prize and a free trip to Washington, D.C., where they will be recognized at the Save Our History National Honors Event in May 2006. (Deadline: April 7, 2006.) For complete information on the Save Our History Grant Program or Save Our History National Honors Program, visit the Save Our History Web site.
> www.saveourhistory.com/pres_org/index.html

American History and Civics Initiative

The objective of CPB’s American History and Civics Initiative is to catalyze new partnerships among public television, filmmakers and other content developers, the education community, the high technology sector, and others to design new, groundbreaking media projects that measurably improve the learning of American history and enhance civic participation among middle and high school students.
Program areas: Social studies, technology, all other
Recipients: Public school, private/charter schools
Average amount: $50,000 - $250,000
E-mail: History.Civics@cpb.org
> www.cpb.org/grants/historyandcivics/

Innovative Geography Education Projects

These grants will help support innovative geography education projects. Teachers Grants are given directly to educators to facilitate their work in promoting and increasing geographic literacy in the classroom, school, district and community. Applications are accepted from any current teacher or administrator in an accredited K-12 school within the United States.

Program areas: Science/environmental, all other
Recipients: Public, private/charter school
Average amount: Up to $5,000
E-mail: education@nationalgeographic.com
> www.nationalgeographic.com/foundation/grants_teacher.html