Maine Council for the Social Studies
LightNews LightNews
mainecss.bsky.social
Maine Council for the Social Studies
@mainecss.bsky.social
180 followers 180 following 25 posts
Serving social studies teachers and professionals of all levels across Maine.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Maine Council for the Social Studies
heykellyjensen.bsky.social
Due to the destruction of IMLS, the Maine State Library just laid off 13 employees and will be restructuring.

The dominos are all going to fall very fast, folks.

www.pressherald.com/2025/04/09/s...
Maine State Library lays off 13 workers, will restructure after losing federal funds
The library last received funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services on March 24 and has not gotten any updates on when — or whether — payments may resume.
www.pressherald.com
April 9, 2025 at 11:35 PM
mainecss.bsky.social
Free PD and lunch?! Join us next week in Portsmouth, NH with NHSS!
mainecss.bsky.social Maine Council for the Social Studies @mainecss.bsky.social · Apr 3
Hey MCSS members we’ve got an awesome FREE opportunity for you with our friends at the New Hampshire Council and the Federal Reserve bank of Atlanta! Classroom ready resources for all levels!

Not a member? Register for $25 and get a year membership included! Join us! April 15&16 in Portsmouth!
April 7, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Reposted by Maine Council for the Social Studies
anisekstrong.bsky.social
I just got confirmation that National History Day, a program that does more to ignite K-12 students' love of history, learning, and yes, even the United States than anything else I've ever seen, had all its funding cut yesterday by the DOGE-axe at the NEH - including for this year's ongoing contest.
A National History Day display: "Alice Paul: How She Rocked the Vote," from the 2020 contest. A National History Day display: "D-Day: How the Allies Broke Hitler's Atlantic Barrier, from March 2020, SW Michigan regional competition.
April 3, 2025 at 8:06 PM
mainecss.bsky.social
This includes all funding for National History Day, an incredible program that gets kids excited and involved in history and a renovation project by our good friends @shakervillage.bsky.social.

Please share others in Maine who may be affected!
altnps.bsky.social Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · Apr 3
Groups across the country have received letters notifying them that their grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities have been canceled, raising alarms about serious harm to museums, historical sites, and a wide range of community projects.
April 4, 2025 at 1:23 AM
mainecss.bsky.social
Hey MCSS members we’ve got an awesome FREE opportunity for you with our friends at the New Hampshire Council and the Federal Reserve bank of Atlanta! Classroom ready resources for all levels!

Not a member? Register for $25 and get a year membership included! Join us! April 15&16 in Portsmouth!
April 3, 2025 at 10:03 PM
mainecss.bsky.social
What a great conference we had yesterday! Thank you for joining us!

Also thank you to our amazing presenters, vendors, and our sponsors Wreaths Across America and the Maine Education Association!

Special thanks again to @shennabellows.bsky.social for her great keynote address! #socstudme
March 25, 2025 at 5:06 PM
mainecss.bsky.social
Keynote speaker Maine Secretary of State @shennabellows.bsky.social speaking our language and discussing the power of primary sources, experiential learning, connection, and storytelling!
March 24, 2025 at 12:52 PM
mainecss.bsky.social
It’s conference day! Snow won’t keep Maine social studies teachers away from a day of learning and community. #socstudme
Sign ways “Welcome to the Augusta Civic Center Maine Council of Social Studies Auditorium Have a great day!”
March 24, 2025 at 12:44 PM
mainecss.bsky.social
Happy Birthday Maine!! You don’t look a day over 200.

Our conference schedule is online! Have you registered yet? Just over a week to go!

Go to mainesocialstudies.org to register and check out our amazing sessions! #socstudme
Maine Council for the Social Studies - Home
mainesocialstudies.org
March 15, 2025 at 5:51 PM
mainecss.bsky.social
20 days until the State conference!! Have you registered yet?!! Visit mainesocialstudies.com and do so today! You’ll get to take part in awesome sessions like this one supporting multilingual learners!
Text on image reads: Session Announcement Patty MacKinnon and Hayden Tittle Lewiston Public Schools Bridging Language & Learning: Empowering Multilingual Students in Social Studies Grade Level(s): 7-12 This session provides a checklist of classroom accommodations to support multilingual learners (ML) in acquiring grade-level content. It highlights essential strategies: creating language objectives from content objectives, building students’ background knowledge, differentiating sentence starters, and making content more accessible through structured supports and interactive activities. Participants also evaluate teaching vignettes using the ML Supports Checklist, and explore the expected language output at various English proficiency levels. The session covers legal requirements and provides resource links for further support. Register at mainesocialstudies.org
March 4, 2025 at 6:37 PM
mainecss.bsky.social
Have you registered for the MCSS Annual Conference yet?

Don’t miss this session with Bri Lolar focusing on Wabanki Studies & Equity In Systems!

Register now at: www.mainesocialstudies.org

See you on March 24 in Augusta!
Light peach flyer with blue hands holding signs reaching up from bottom Flyer reads: Session Announcement Bri Lolar MDOE Wabanaki STudies Specialist Wabanaki Studies & Equity in Systems Grade Level(s): K – Adult Educaiton In this session we will look at equity through the lens of Wabanaki Studies in the classroom. We will dig into why it is important to teach about Wabanaki, the first people of this land, as well as how to effectively. Wabanaki who were not given the right to vote until 1967, are an integral part of this state's democracy. We'll look at ways to teach about Wabanaki in a way that unites us and builds off each others strengths. Sponsor graphics for Wreaths Across America and the Maine Education Association at the bottom.
February 26, 2025 at 3:34 PM
mainecss.bsky.social
Good Monday morning! Maine teachers as you get back into the swing of things, have you checked off registering for our annual conference next month? Sign up at mainesocialstudies.org and invite a friend or colleague!

Our keynote speaker is Maine Secretary of State @shennabellows.bsky.social
Maine Council for the Social Studies - Home
mainesocialstudies.org
February 24, 2025 at 4:52 PM
mainecss.bsky.social
SecDef Hegseth recently renamed Fort Liberty in NC back to Fort Bragg. But this time it is not honoring a Confederate general but instead is named for Maine WW2 veteran and Silver Star recipient Roland Bragg.
#sschat #socstudme

www.pressherald.com/2025/02/11/f...
Sabattus man is the new namesake of North Carolina’s Fort Bragg
World War II Pfc. Roland L. Bragg lived in Maine until his 1999 death and is remembered as a hero. He replaces the fort's original namesake, Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg.
www.pressherald.com
February 12, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Reposted by Maine Council for the Social Studies
socialstudies.org
NCSS President Jennifer Morgan and Interim Executive Director Anton Schulzki have issued a statement on the January 29 Executive Order Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling: hubs.li/Q035dq8Y0
February 4, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Reposted by Maine Council for the Social Studies
chellestrat.bsky.social
Today’s Black Mainer of Genius is Phebe Ann Jacobs 1785-1850. She was brought to Maine when her enslaver became Pres of Bowdoin. She was a laundress who was widely loved. Her story will help inspire Harriet Beecher Stowe to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin. She died a free woman. 🗺️ #sschat #BlackHistory
Phebe Ann Jacobs 1785 - Born into slavery on the Beverwyck Plantation in New Jersey 1850 - Died free in Brunswick, ME Inspiration for Uncle Tom’s Cabin Born into slavery and brought to Maine by her enslavers (president of Bowdoin College) she met theologian and author Mrs Phebe Upham who would write Phebe's story. This in turn inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe as she wrote her book, Uncle Tom's Cabin. When she was granted her freedom Phebe served as a laundress to Bowdoin students. She was so well known when she passed that her funeral was attended by a large crowd of people and the Governor or Maine served as a pall bearer.
February 4, 2025 at 7:06 PM
mainecss.bsky.social
Our board secretary @chellestrat.bsky.social is sharing info on some amazing black Mainers this month! These are easy to integrate in just about any classroom.
chellestrat.bsky.social Michelle Strattard @chellestrat.bsky.social · Feb 3
Ok, so I do a thing in my classes called Real Mainers of Genius. For February I will be focusing on Black Mainers of Genius.
First up: Robert Benjamin Lewis 1802-1858, inventor and author of the first Afro-centric ethnography.
🗺️ #sschat #BlackHistoryMonth #socstudme
Text of flyer: Robert Benjamin Lewis was born in Gardiner, ME to a mother who was born enslaved and a father of unknown Native descent, though it is thought to be of Mohegan or or Pequot heritage. Little is known of Lewis' early life. The family would move to various places in Maine and eventually he would take to the sea working as a cabin boy, sailor, and cook. Lewis held three patents, a rarity for for African American inventors. His most well known was for a on oakum picking machine, which became a mainstay of Maine shipyards. Oakum picking was a tedious process but used in ships rigging. His machine made this faster and easier. He also invented a feather refresher for use in the fashion industry and improvements on brushes used in whitewashing. He also developed and sold "Lewis' Arabian Hair Oil" which promised to promote growth and shine. He grew his own hair long as proof of this promise! Lewis' most important contribution was the writing and publication of his book Light and Truth in 1836, which was the first history book to be written from an Afro-centric perspective. He included history of Native Americans, noting that they shared many similarities and a cultural heritage with Africans. This book refuted and denounced the ideas of white superiority. and asserted that all humans had a common ancestor, long before archeological evidence would confirm this. The book was published in Portland, Maine and has been reprinted many times since its initial run, including two 20th century versions. In his later life he would support colonization in Haiti, believing that Black people would never achieve equality in the US. He died in Haiti after falling ill while the ship he was working on was docked there.
February 3, 2025 at 7:40 PM
mainecss.bsky.social
Did you hear? Registration for our 2025 conference in March is open!Maine Secretary of State @shennabellows.bsky.social is our keynote speaker!!
Reserve your spot at mainesocialstudies.org
See you March 24 in Augusta!
February 3, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Reposted by Maine Council for the Social Studies
socialstudies.org
Join NCSS online next week for an open discussion for teachers to share ideas on how to approach discussions around Inauguration Day: January 20, 2025. Registration is free and open to all educators.

➡️ Sign up: www.socialstudies.org/professional... #edusky
January 8, 2025 at 3:59 PM
mainecss.bsky.social
Did you know the solar panels President Carter installed at the White House eventually ended up in Maine? Unity College used them to heat water in their cafeteria! 🗺️ #socstudme #sschat

www.nytimes.com/2025/01/02/c...
What Happened to Carter’s White House Solar Panels? They Lived On. (Gift Article)
The panels, removed under Ronald Reagan, found new homes from Maine to China. And their legacy still reverberates.
www.nytimes.com
January 6, 2025 at 4:14 PM
mainecss.bsky.social
Looking to add some #Maine flavor to your holiday playlists?
First: The classic Christmas in Maine album. Featuring the Maine Christmas song by Malinda Liberty it also has a version Longfellow’s I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day by Dave Mallett (RIP) both Mainers!
music.apple.com/us/album/chr...
Christmas in Maine (Special 30 Year Anniversary Edition) by Various Artists on Apple Music
Album · 2018 · 14 Songs
music.apple.com
December 24, 2024 at 2:48 AM
mainecss.bsky.social
Are you coming? Register to let us know at www.mainesocialstudies.org
Processing the Election with MCSS. What do you need? What dies your classroom need? JoinMCSS to gather with other interested teachers to debrief the election, how it went in your classes, and whatever else is on your mind. Via Zoom 7pm free!
November 18, 2024 at 3:35 PM
mainecss.bsky.social
Reposting to new friends! Coming up on Monday!
mainecss.bsky.social Maine Council for the Social Studies @mainecss.bsky.social · Nov 12
Maine social studies educators! Join us on Monday, November 18 via zoom to discuss the election and your classrooms. What do you need from MCSS moving forward? What would you like to chat about?
Register at www.mainesocialstudies.org
Flyer advertising Chat with Maine Council for the Social Studies on Monday, November 18 at 7pm via Zoom to discuss the election and how it went in classrooms as well as whatever else is on educators minds.
November 15, 2024 at 10:16 PM
mainecss.bsky.social
Maine social studies educators! Join us on Monday, November 18 via zoom to discuss the election and your classrooms. What do you need from MCSS moving forward? What would you like to chat about?
Register at www.mainesocialstudies.org
Flyer advertising Chat with Maine Council for the Social Studies on Monday, November 18 at 7pm via Zoom to discuss the election and how it went in classrooms as well as whatever else is on educators minds.
November 12, 2024 at 8:14 PM
mainecss.bsky.social
Looking forward to connecting with our favorite historic places and fellow councils!
November 12, 2024 at 12:55 AM