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Educators Explore Civics and Social Studies with BRI at NCSS 

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by Bill of Rights Institute on

<p>The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) annual conference&nbsp;came&nbsp;to Washington, D.C.,&nbsp;this month. It brought&nbsp;together educators, researchers, and civic education organizations from across the country,&nbsp;and the Bill of Rights Institute (BRI)&nbsp;contributed&nbsp;sessions, resources, and discussions focused on strengthening social studies and civics instruction.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Connecting Teachers with Civics and Social Studies Resources</strong>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Throughout the conference, BRI staff spoke with hundreds of attendees about tools designed to support classroom teaching. Educators explored materials for a wide span of grade levels, including:&nbsp;</p>

    • BRI Jr., a curriculum developed for elementary social studies instruction. 

<p>These conversations highlighted ongoing interest in accessible civics content, adaptable lesson plans, and digital resources that help teachers meet state standards.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Collaboration Across the Civics Education Community</strong>&nbsp;</p>

<p>BRI also&nbsp;participated&nbsp;in several gatherings held in conjunction with&nbsp;the NCSS program. Staff met with members of the Civics Renewal Network and other organizations working to improve history and&nbsp;civics&nbsp;learning nationwide. One of the central moments of the week&nbsp;took place during a breakfast hosted jointly by BRI and iCivics as part of the&nbsp;Civics Star Challenge. This initiative&nbsp;recognizes&nbsp;individuals who support civic engagement in their communities.&nbsp;</p>

<p>At the event, BRI president David Bobb and iCivics CEO Louise Dube discussed the ongoing need to elevate civics education and encouraged attendees to continue promoting the&nbsp;<a href="https://civicstarchallenge.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Civics Star Challenge</a>.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Programs for Social Studies Leaders</strong>&nbsp;</p>

<p>BRI also coordinated an evening session with Gallaudet University for members of the Council of State Social Studies Supervisors (CS4). The program focused on emerging&nbsp;issues in social studies instruction and provided space for discussion among state-level leaders.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In addition, BRI held a gaming-focused lunch for the National Social Studies Leaders Association, where participants had the opportunity to experience&nbsp;<a href="https://billofrightsinstitute.org/games" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BRI’s tabletop games</a>&nbsp;first-hand and consider how such tools can support inquiry-based learning.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Recognizing Gary Colletti Scholarship Recipients</strong>&nbsp;</p>

<p>The conference concluded for BRI with a breakfast honoring the newest recipients of the&nbsp;<a href="https://billofrightsinstitute.org/blog/bri-announces-gary-colletti-ncss-scholarship-recipients" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gary Colletti Scholarship</a>. Established in memory of Gary Colletti,&nbsp;a former&nbsp;Director&nbsp;of teacher and student programs, the scholarship&nbsp;assists&nbsp;educators who wish to attend NCSS and engage more deeply with professional development in civics and social studies.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Educators interested in future workshops, conference sessions, or professional learning opportunities can visit the <a href="https://billofrightsinstitute.org/events" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Events page</a> on BRI’s website to see where BRI will be in the coming year.</p>