Our Mission:
Nebraska’s social studies educators are committed to advocating for and providing a high-quality education that will enable all students to successfully understand and participate in the local, state, and national governing processes by using high quality instructional materials and methods most closely associated with:
- Civic Education – Students should be made fully aware of the liberties, opportunities, and advantages we possess and the sacrifices and struggles of those through whose efforts these benefits were gained in such a way that the youth of our state can become competent, responsible, patriotic, and civil American citizens.
- Multicultural Education – Includes, but is not limited to, studies relative to the culture, history, and contributions of African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans. Special emphasis shall be placed on human relations and sensitivity toward all races.
- Inquiry – A process for supporting students to ask questions about our social world, use concepts and tools from the disciplines, that make up social studies, analyze and argue about what they have learned, and apply that knowledge to the challenges that face our world today.
Our Vision:
To support all Nebraska students in achieving their goals in civic, college, and career life by instilling the necessary skills that will provide the courage to ask questions, deepen content understanding, evaluate the past to inform the present, identify issues and propose solutions, and be made fully aware of all rights and liberties.
Our Why:
As a core content, social studies fosters civic and political attitudes and behaviors that promote civil discourse, an engaged citizenry, and connectedness to local communities. Studies like the one released by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute in 2020 demonstrate that “increased instructional time in social studies is associated with improved reading ability” (Tyner & Kabourek, 2020). To that end, Nebraska social studies educators have a responsibility to ensure that our students graduate from high school “prepared for success in postsecondary education, career, and life pursuits” (AQuESTT).
New & Noteworthy
Mercator Projection Maps Guidance
The Nebraska legislature recently passed into law LB1329. The legislation outlines several aspects of policy, including Section 90 (pg. 102), which addresses the use of Mercator projection maps. The Mercator Projection Maps page offers more guidance regarding this law, which takes effect during the 2024-2025 school year.
New Nebraska Days of Observance
In the spring of 2024, the Nebraska legislature passed LB1102 which establishes two days of observance beginning with school year 2024/2025. October 17th is now Nebraska Missing Person’s Day. This day is dedicated to observance of people who have gone missing and were never found. This not only recognizes them and the importance of their lives, but also their families who are continuously in mourning. March 19th is now l-Hajj Malik ElShabazz, or Malcolm X Day. Malcom X has Nebraska roots, having been born in Omaha and spending a short period of his life in the state. He was recently inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame. This date is now an opportunity to recognize his ideas and accomplishments and his contributions to civil rights.
Below are resources districts, schools, or teachers may wish to utilize. Please refer to your district’s established curriculum and materials before selecting resources.
People and Ideas: The Civil Rights Movement – Malcolm X: A Radical Vision for Civil Rights
Black Separatism or the Beloved Community? Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Learning from Malcolm X
Social Studies Standards
Nebraska Social Studies Standards (2019)
Nebraska Social Studies Standards – 2019
Adopted in November of 2019, the Nebraska Social Studies Standards describe the knowledge and skills that students should learn, but they do not prescribe particular curriculum, lessons, teaching
techniques, or activities. These standards create a framework for teaching and learning, and they articulate a trajectory for knowledge acquisition across all grade levels. This ensures that student learning builds on prior knowledge and becomes more in-depth over time. Standards describe what students are expected to know and be able to do, while the local curriculum and instructional materials are used to help students master the standards. Decisions about curriculum and instructional materials are made locally by individual school districts and classroom teachers. The Nebraska Department of Education does not mandate the curriculum or instructional materials used within a local school.