Oregon Social Sciences Teacher Update #137
January 5, 2015
- Archaeological Novel, Diggin’ It, Available
- Nikkei Legacy to Launch “Before Memories Fade” Exhibit
- “Anne Frank: A History For Today” Exhibit Comes to OJMCHE in 2015
- C-GEO Conference and Institutes
- Classroom Law Project Events and Resources
- Oregon History Bee and Bowl
- Teaching with Primary Sources Workshop -- Still Seeking Winter Cohort Members
- Free Books for Read Across America Day
- Law-Related Education “Teacher of the Year” Contest
- The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Teacher Fellowship Program
- Rethinking Schools Offers A People’s Curriculum for the Earth
- ODE Resources (in every issue)
1. Archaeological Novel, Diggin’ It, Available
An archaeological adventure novel, Diggin’ It, written by retired State Archaeologist for Oregon, Dr. Leland Gilsen is set in our state. It is based around a family of professional archaeologists working in the Pacific Northwest. The brother and sister invite a school friend to help on an excavation in central Oregon. They show their friend how digs work. The brother suspects nearby campers are illegally looting a site and stealing artifacts. Spying on the other campers gets them involved in unforeseen and dangerous adventures as well as testing survival skills. The novel is set within backgrounds on how archeologists work, their relationships with Tribes, and with law enforcement. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle. Gilsen’s web site is
2. Nikkei Legacy to Launch “Before Memories Fade” Exhibit
The Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center will launch “Before Memories Fade”, an exhibit that gives voice to a family’s story, on Dec. 13 at 121 NW 2nd Avenue, Portland.
An all-volunteer exhibit team created the exhibit, which tells the family’s story using first-hand materials and community recollections and enables visitors to walk in the footsteps of Kenjiro and Kay Kida and their son George, who passed away in 1998. Made possible in part through a grant from the Oregon Heritage Commission, the multimedia exhibit takes viewers on a journey with the Kidas’ from immigration, through forced removal during World War II, to the end of a century, intersecting one Japanese American family with the American experience.
For further information, call (503) 224-1458 or visit Oregon Nikkei online.
3. “Anne Frank: A History For Today” Exhibit Comes to OJMCHE in 2015
Between 1942 and 1944, Anne Frank [born 1929] hid with her family in an attic in Amsterdam, writing daily in her diary. She did not survive the war and died of typhus in a concentration camp. Anne Frank: A History for Todaydepicts Anne Frank’s brief life story, abundantly illustrated with family photos and passages from her diary.
The exhibit goes beyond the Anne Frank story and encourages the viewer to consider fundamental social values – tolerance, mutual respect, human rights, and democracy – as a way to educate the viewer about our individual and collective responsibilities to understand and respect diversity in our contemporary society.
In Hiding, a small exhibit of pastel drawings by the painter Henk Pander, will also be on view. These rarely displayed works depict Pander's childhood in Haarlem, barely ten miles from Anne Frank's hiding place.
Anne Frank: A History for Today was developed by the Anne Frank House and is sponsored in North America by the Anne Frank Center USA.
The exhibit has been generously funded by the Holzman Foundation Inc./Renee and Irwin Holzman. Additional funding has been gratefully received from Nathan Cogan; Lisa Kaner; Leonard and Lois Schnitzer Supporting Foundation of OJCF; Jewish Federation of Greater Portland; Gloria Bacharach and Family; Howard and Wendy Liebreich; Jeanne Newmark; Friends of the Oregon Holocaust Memorial; Multnomah County Cultural Coalition; Oregon Holocaust Survivors, Refugees and Families; and the Next Generation Group; Never Again Coalition; and Zeitgeist Northwest.
Educator's Open House
Wednesday, January 14, 4:00-5:30pm (immediately prior to Opening Reception), at OJMCHE | RSVP
This Educator's Open House is open to teachers and educators from around the region and is a chance to learn directly from one of New York's Anne Frank Center's Docent Trainers about how to integrate Anne Frank's Diary into their classroom.
School Group Tours of Anne Frank: A History for Today are recommended for grades 6 and higher; however we encourage teachers and educators of all age levels to attend this informative Open House.
Book Discussion: What We Talk about When We Talk About Anne Frank
Wednesday, February 11, 2015, 7:00pm, at OJMCHE
Ticket Info: General Public: $10; OJMCHE Members: $8; Students: $5
Gail Sherman, Professor of English and Humanities at Reed College, leads a discussion about Nathan Englander's powerful short story, What We Talk About when We Talk About Anne Frank.
In the story two couples argue about who would hide whom in the event of another Holocaust. The story alludes to Raymond Carver's short story, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, but with a very different worldview.
Attendees are encouraged to read the story in advance and participate in a lively conversation.
You can read the storyherein this December 2011 issue of the New Yorker.
OJMCHE Cinema: Above and Beyond
Wednesday, February 18, 2015, 7:00p.m., at OJMCHE | Watch Trailer
Ticket Info: General Public: $10; OJMCHE Members: $8; Students: $5
In 1948, just three years after the liberation of Nazi death camps, a group of Jewish American pilots answered a call for help. In secret and at great personal risk, they smuggled planes out of the U.S., trained behind the Iron Curtain in Czechoslovakia and flew for Israel in its War of Independence. As members of Machal – “volunteers from abroad” – this ragtag band of brothers not only turned the tide of the war; they also embarked on personal journeys of discovery and renewed Jewish pride.
ABOVE AND BEYOND is their story. Directed by Roberta Grossman and produced by Nancy Spielberg
The Legacy of Anne Frank: a Talk with Laureen Nussbaum
Sunday, February 22, 2015, 2:00p.m., at OJMCHE
Ticket Info: General Public: $10; OJMCHE Members: $8; Students: $5
Laureen Nussbaum, Anne Frank scholar and Holocaust survivor, will speak on Holocaust history and the legacy of Anne Frank's work during this afternoon lecture.
Professor Emerita at Portland State University's Department of Languages and Literature, Nussbaum has written and taught at length on the literary and social implications of Anne Frank's diary. Like Anne Frank, Nussbaum was born in Frankfurt and emigrated to Amsterdam with her family after the start of the Second World War. Both the Franks and the Nussbaum families moved within the same Amsterdam social circles and after discovering they had both survived the Holocaust, Nussbaum and Otto Frank developed a lifelong friendship.
Interfaith Panel Discussion: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Sunday, March 1, 2015, at First United Methodist Church (1838 SW Jefferson St.)
Free with RSVP
Join spiritual and faith leaders from around Oregon for this special conversation framed around Simon Wiesenthal's thought provoking book The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limitations of Forgiveness. In the first half of the book Wiesenthal recounts his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp and what he did when asked for forgiveness by a dying SS soldier. In the second half of the book distinguished men and women from around the world offer their own reflections about whether or not Wiesenthal did the right thing in response to the dying man.
Rabbi Joshua Stampfer, Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Neveh Shalom, will be joined by prominent leaders from other faith-based communities including Mary Jo Tully, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon; Linda Neale of the Earth & Spirit Council; and David Leslie, Executive Director of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon.
This panel is presented in partnership with Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, the Earth & Spirit Council and has been generously underwritten by Howard and Wendy Liebreich.
Looted Art: An Unfinished Business
Conversation with Bruce Guenther and Susan Winkler
Wednesday, March 11, 7:00p.m., at OJMCHE
Ticket Info:General Public: $10; OJMCHE Members: $8; Students: $5
Accounts of art looted from museums and private collections in Europe by the Nazis during the Second World War have been recounted many times in film, non-fiction and novels.
Join Bruce Guenther, recently retired Chief Curator of the Portland Art Museum, and Susan Winkler, author of Portrait of a Woman in White, for a lively conversation that explores historical and art historical insights into the subject of looted art. Winkler's latest work of fiction follows the theft of a Matisse painting from a Jewish family and provides a provocative springboard on a subject - seventy years after the end of the war - that still captures our attention.
Also on Exhibit at OJMCHE
Lyric Truth
Embroideries by Rosemarie Beck
January 14 – March 22, 2015
Rosemarie Beck (1923-2003), the daughter of Hungarian Jewish immigrants, was a New York painter, needleworker, musician, and passionate journal writer. Lyric Truth includes Beck's joyous figure drawings, dense and colorful embroideries, and large, rigorously organized paintings inspired by themes from classical mythology and literature.
Co-organized with the Portland Community College Rock Creek and Portland State University's College of the Arts.
4. C-GEO Conference and Institutes
A. "Geography: Putting History in its Place,” March 7, 2015, at Western Oregon University, from 9 to 3.
The keynote speaker will be Dr. Greg Smith, a leader in place-based geography. Presentations include place-based education, geography and the civil war, mapping strategies, Family Geography Nights, and much more.
Free: maps, atlases, lunch (for those who pre-register by February 20), and a chance to win a FREE trip to the 2015 NCGE conference in Washington, DC!
Cost: $20 (pre-service teachers $10)
Application available on line at
B. C-GEO 2015 SUMMER INSTITUTE
“Megalopolis: An Examination of the historical geography of the Northeastern Seaboard,” June 19- July 2, 2015
Participants will visit the five major metropolitan regions of the Boston-Washington corridor to understand the history of the physical and human geography of Megalopolis.
- Cost: $100
- Includes: Four graduate credits and 80 professional development units; airfare; all lodging; guided tours and admissions; daily continental breakfast; some dinners; and ground transportation.
All Oregon preK-12 teachers and pre-service teachers are encouraged to apply, regardless of teaching assignment. Application form available at
C. C-GEO 2015 SUMMER INSTITUTE
“Washington D.C.: Geographic Exploration and Education,” August 2-9, 2015
Participants will explore the various geographies of Washington, D.C. and attend the 100th Annual Meeting of the National Council for Geographic Education.
- Cost: $50
- Includes: Two graduate credits and 40 professional development units; lodging; conference registration; three dinners, and $1,000 to cover airfare, ground transportation and food (maximum of $600 for non-airfare expenses).
All Oregon preK-12 teachers and pre-service teachers are encouraged to apply, regardless of teaching assignment. Application form available at
5. Classroom Law Project Events and Resources
We the People Book Club
Tuesdays, 5:00pm-8:00pm, Lucky Lab Brewery, 915 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Portland
Join Classroom Law Project for another series of fascinating books that connect with Constitutional principles and current events! Meetings bring together teachers of all levels from around the Portland-metro area to discuss a variety of topics, network, and learn. Dinner is provided by Classroom Law Project, and 3 optional semester credits are offered through Lewis & Clark. For more information, please visit
- February 24: Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution, Woody Holton
- April 28: Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution, John Paul Stevens
- May 26: So Help Me God: The Founding Fathers and the First Great Battle Over Church and State, Forrest Church
- June 16: Deportation Nation: Outsiders in American History, Daniel Kanstroom
REGISTRATION IS OPEN Seeing is Believing: A We the People Workshop for High School Teachers
Classroom Law Project invites high school teachers to the Hatfield Federal Courthouse on Saturday, January 17, for an interactive workshop that combines observing the highly acclaimed We the People competition with discussion of the curriculum, and how to get started in your school.
- Who: High school teachers using the We the People: The Citizen & the Constitution textbook, teachers who wish they were, and teachers wanting to know more.
- When: Saturday, January 17, 2013, 9:00am – 4:00pm
- Where: Hatfield U.S. District Court, 1000 SW 3rd Ave., downtown Portland
- Why: Students begin We the People knowing little about the Constitution but leave owning it. Teams compete in mock congressional hearings posing as experts testifying about the Constitution. They are questioned by state and federal judges, constitutional scholars, and other civic leaders. At the culminating event – the high school competition – the top six classes from across the state compete for the honor of representing Oregon at the national finals in Washington, D.C. For more information and to register, please visit
Oregon High School Mock Trial Competition – Registration closes January 5th
This year’s case deals with a teacher, baseball, a taser, and mistaken identity. Registration is open for the 2015 Mock Trial Competition and the case is available for registered and paid teams! Statewide regional competitions will be held on Saturday, February 28th. For more information and to register, please visit
The Bob and Marilyn Ridgley Classroom Law Project Scholarship
Classroom Law Project announces the Bob and Marilyn Ridgley Classroom Law Project Scholarship! This opportunity is open to high school seniors who have participated in a CLP program and intends to attend a college or university in the fall. The scholarship awards the selected student $2000 per year for four years. For more information on the scholarship and application process, please visit .
Susie and Tyler’s Current Events
Are you looking to include current events in your classroom? Classroom Law Project’s good friend, Susie Marcus, and program manager, Tyler Kaltenbach, do the research and lesson development for you every week! Complete with links to articles, questions to consider, lesson plans, standards (Oregon Social Studies content and CCSS), and connections to the We the People text. For this week’s current event and our archive, please visit
SAVE THE DATE! LAW DAY
April 30, 2015, Portland State University
Mark your calendar and join Classroom Law Project on Thursday, April 30, at Portland State University for the 35th annual Law Day Conference for High School Students. This one-day conference at Portland State University features 18 different workshops on legal issues concerning youth including student rights, immigration, gun control and careers in the law. Each year, more than 500 students from Oregon and SW Washington participate and learn from scholars, activists and other experts. Registration will open in the beginning of March.
6. Oregon History Bee and Bowl
by David Madden, Executive Director, National History Bee and Bowl
The National History Bee and Bowl is proud to announce that its annual Oregon History Bee and Bowl will be held at Rainier Junior / Senior High School in Rainier on Saturday, February 7. The National History Bee and Bowl is a series of history quiz tournaments that are held throughout the USA at approximately 100 state and regional tournaments through which students and teams can qualify for the National Championships each spring. The History Bee is a competition for individual students while the History Bowl is a team event. Both the Bee and Bowl use a buzzer system (somewhat like on the quiz show Jeopardy!) so they are fun and exciting for students to play. More information on the competitions can be found by clicking on the Oregon dot on the map at while registration is done at
The History Bee and the Bowl focus on all aspects of history, including American history, world history, historical geography, history of the arts and sciences, and much more. The questions are typically structured as short paragraphs, with more challenging information being presented at the start, and more familiar information coming towards the end. When students know the answer, they ring in with their buzzer, and if they are correct, they score points for themselves or their team. This approach to asking questions encourages critical thinking and rewards students with deep knowledge of historical topics who are capable of quickly evaluating the historical context.
During the lunch break of the tournament, students also have the opportunity to take the National Qualifying Exams for the US History Bee ( and the US Geography Olympiad ( If they score in the top half in their division (e.g. Varsity or Junior Varsity) they will qualify for the National Championships in those competitions too. Students are welcome to come either on their own or with a team from their school for all the events, though there is no obligation to participate in them all. Middle school students are welcome too, though the History Bee at Rainier will only have high school level divisions. Middle schoolers looking for a challenge can play in the Junior Varsity level. Otherwise, middle schools are also encouraged to sign up for the National History Bee Middle School Competition at