Presentations

Including International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is a powerful way to build critical thinking, global awareness, and real-world civic skills. Because IHL deals with the "rules of war" and complex humanitarian dilemmas, it provides a gripping, authentic context of over 120 active conflicts today, for students to investigate world events, analyze multiple perspectives, and practice active citizenship. Trace the historical development of IHL from early customary rules to modern laws regulating cyber warfare. Analyze how treaties like the Geneva Conventions bind independent nations to international standards. Assess the role of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and international tribunals. 

This session asks social studies educators to reconsider what civics instruction is actually for. New Hampshire classrooms teach the structure of government well. Students can trace how a bill becomes a law and diagram the branches of government with real fluency. What often goes untaught is the underlying civic capacity that makes those structures function at all. Self-government requires habits from the people practicing it. Those habits include deliberation, listening across disagreement, and shared work toward a common end. This session focuses on naming this formation gap and giving teachers a way to close it.

This workshop introduces Everything is a Primary Source (EPS), an inquiry-based approach to social studies instruction developed from more than two decades of classroom teaching. EPS asks students and teachers to work together to investigate the past through the artifacts, images, documents, media, and everyday objects that people created, encountered, and left behind. 

The presentation “The Dos, Don’ts, and Hows of Genocide Education” will equip educators with essential tools and strategies for teaching this difficult subject in responsible, age-appropriate, and meaningful ways. It will address how to articulate clear rationales for genocide education, select and evaluate high-quality resources, and make thoughtful decisions about which genocides to include in the curriculum. The presentation will also examine common pitfalls and best practices, and highlight suggested instructional approaches tailored to both younger and older students. Finally, the session will share practical, classroom-ready activities that promote critical thinking, empathy, and ethical reflection, helping teachers navigate this sensitive topic with confidence and care. 

New Hampshire State Archivist Ashley Miller and Civics and Voter Education Coordinator Lily Woo invite NH educators to uncover the Granite State’s past through original primary source documents that bring real stories to life. Archivist Miller will walk teachers through the NH Secretary of State’s digital resource center that provides direct access to historic records spanning New Hampshire’s diverse history — from the American Revolution and early statehood to the struggles and triumphs of women, African Americans, and Native Americans, and into the 20th century’s defining moments, including the Vietnam War. Each collection showcases the voices, decisions, and experiences that shaped New Hampshire and the nation. We will also highlight our History in the 603 Award and opportunities for field trips, school visits, virtual visits, and curriculum resources. Join us in a session that strives to connect every NH student with their state’s story, and where every teacher feels supported in teaching it. 

Join the New Hampshire Council for the Social Studies for our 50th Annual Fall Conference!

For five decades, the NHCSS Fall Conference has brought together educators, historians, organizations, and social studies professionals to learn, connect, and share ideas that make social studies education stronger. This year, we're celebrating that legacy while looking toward the future.

Whether you teach elementary, middle, or high school social studies, or support social studies education in another role, this conference is designed to give you practical resources, fresh ideas, and meaningful connections you can bring back to your school.

New Hampshire State Archivist Ashley Miller and Civics and Voter Education Coordinator Lily Woo invite NH educators to uncover the Granite State’s past through original primary source documents that bring real stories to life. Archivist Miller will walk teachers through the NH Secretary of State’s digital resource center that provides direct access to historic records spanning New Hampshire’s diverse history — from the American Revolution and early statehood to the struggles and triumphs of women, African Americans, and Native Americans, and into the 20th century’s defining moments, including the Vietnam War. Each collection showcases the voices, decisions, and experiences that shaped New Hampshire and the nation. We will also highlight our History in the 603 Award and opportunities for field trips, school visits, virtual visits, and curriculum resources. Join us in a session that strives to connect every NH student with their state’s story, and where every teacher feels supported in teaching it. 

Patriots went to war to win freedom. Poets went to work to praise them, and to express the spirit of independence and the valor that created our nation. We review some key battles of the American Revolution – the people, the tactics and outcomes – and follow each battle review with an historic poem that expresses the emotion and devotion of the soldiers and others who were affected. Thus, alongside facts, we experience the energy and enthusiasm that made America.

We also get a look at 18th Century weapons, camp practices, home lives and backgrounds of soldiers. Physical props, plus projections that show maps, paintings and other illustrations, make the factual, historic aspects of the presentation easier to grasp and appreciate. 

All battles featured in the program occurred in and around New England. Poems such as “Molly Maguire at Monmouth” and Longfellow’s “Paul Revere’s Ride” bring the emotion of the conflicts to life. The program is an enjoyable balance between important events in America’s founding, and the poetic words they stirred.

The program supports social studies education by looking beyond the historical facts and figures and giving attendees insight into the human aspects of America's founding as creatively expressed by major poets. 

Session participants will be introduced to the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire's "5 to Know" of historic African Americans whose lives, courage, and brilliance offer powerful insights into New Hampshire's Black history. Look beyond familiar narratives to discover a richer, more complex American history. Learn when and where to insert into your curriculum and what resources and materials the Black Heritage Trail of NH, based out of Portsmouth, has to offer New Hampshire educators. Dive into free curriculum, digital resources, and future professional development opportunities. Open to all educators.

It's more crucial than ever for our students to engage thoughtfully with historical context and current events, then confidently take on roles in shaping the future. But how do we move beyond textbooks to truly empower them to be active, informed humans changing the world for the better? And how can we integrate this type of work without reinventing curriculum or sacrificing rigor and deep, lasting learning?

Rooted in VEEP/NHEEP's proven experiential approach and in collaboration with the Institute for Humane Education’s Solutionary Framework, this workshop offers strategies to foster civic engagement addressing climate and energy challenges. Participants will practice identifying a climate-related problem and investigate that problem with our hands-on equipment. Then we will work to envision climate resilient communities, innovate and prioritize the most impactful, beneficial, place-based and relevant solutions, and figure out how to facilitate implementation of those solutions.  Young climate leaders will share their advice (in person if they are available, or at the very least via video) regarding how to build student and teacher investment, agency, and empowerment. This includes exploring policy initiatives and other avenues for civic action that lead to more sustainable communities. Attendees will leave with instructional tools and activities they can use right away to start integrating solutions, joy and agency into curriculum, improving NH and American education beyond where it's been for the last 250 years. 

Join the New Hampshire Council for the Social Studies for our 50th Annual Fall Conference!

For five decades, the NHCSS Fall Conference has brought together educators, historians, organizations, and social studies professionals to learn, connect, and share ideas that make social studies education stronger. This year, we're celebrating that legacy while looking toward the future.

Whether you teach elementary, middle, or high school social studies, or support social studies education in another role, this conference is designed to give you practical resources, fresh ideas, and meaningful connections you can bring back to your school.

Join Population Education for a hands-on workshop exploring spatial thinking in the classroom. Learn how to empower students to visualize complex population data, analyze geographic trends, and understand the critical link between place and population. This session provides educators with immediate, actionable techniques to integrate spatial analysis into their current curriculum.

How do you teach Civics in today’s political climate? Using the materials from Think Democracy’s Civic Action Project (CAP) transformed my students’ and my own experience of Civics education. Using a total of 12 hours of in-class time over 6 weeks, my students think about global, national, state, and then local issues that interconnect and choose the local topic that interests them the most.  Working in groups, they work to make tangible progress towards solving a problem. They work with fellow students they may or may not agree with politically. They find common ground by working on real solutions to real problems at a local level. This project has allowed me to enjoy teaching Civics more than ever. 

Attendees will learn about the videos, lesson plans and other resources on RetroReport.com 

Retro Report is an independent nonprofit news organization producing short documentary journalism and educational resources that help people understand today’s events through the lens of history. Our work serves educators, students and the broader public by bringing context, evidence and perspective to stories shaping civic life.

Join the New Hampshire Council for the Social Studies for our 50th Annual Fall Conference!

For five decades, the NHCSS Fall Conference has brought together educators, historians, organizations, and social studies professionals to learn, connect, and share ideas that make social studies education stronger. This year, we're celebrating that legacy while looking toward the future.

Whether you teach elementary, middle, or high school social studies, or support social studies education in another role, this conference is designed to give you practical resources, fresh ideas, and meaningful connections you can bring back to your school.

I plan to demonstrate how I utilize "historian as detective" in my classroom. I will talk about how teachers can either use bits and pieces of it, or go all in and "do the thing" from Aug-June. My overall goal is to try to get students to think more critically about the written history that they study, so why not try to make it fun!

Strong civic literacy is needed now more than ever. However, many teachers struggle to find engaging, objective materials. This workshop introduces educators to the extensive library of high-quality digital games and curriculum tools provided by iCivics, a non-partisan free, platform offering engaging K-12 resources.

Whether you are a dedicated secondary civics teacher or an elementary teacher trying to squeeze civics into a busy schedule,  these resources will help you teach digital literacy, history, and government effectively without extra stress.

Teaching about the Holocaust can support students' critical thinking and historical literacy skills. These foundational resources are designed to provide evidence-based lesson plans for your classroom.

“The Holocaust is not a single event. It is a series of attitudes and actions that led to an atrocity. When we look at the divisive concepts law, if we are denying people from talking about certain things, then we’re not honestly talking about the attitudes and actions.” 

“Moose on the Loose” is a social studies curriculum for the State of New Hampshire. Created by the New Hampshire Historical Society, it explores the Granite State’s history, economics, geography, and civic life, introducing students to the state’s rich cultural heritage. Designed for kids in the upper elementary grades (Grades 3-6), but much of the material is adaptable for students in other grades. "Moose on the Loose" provides many ways for kids to connect what they learn about the past to current, statewide issues. It also provides a foundation for lifelong learning about New Hampshire, America, and the democratic traditions that unite us all. 

This session explores how teachers can utilize hyper-local history and primary sources to transform standard curriculum into captivating historical inquiries. Using two distinct New Hampshire case studies, participants will discover how pairing national events and local stories can increase student interest and extend research skills. For middle school, we will examine how pairing the popular text Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer with local archival responses reveals Portsmouth’s immediate reaction to a national tragedy. For high school, we will explore how the infamous 1873 Smuttynose Murders serve as a high-interest gateway for students to learn how to conduct rigorous, hyper-local historical research.

Join the New Hampshire Council for the Social Studies for our 50th Annual Fall Conference!

For five decades, the NHCSS Fall Conference has brought together educators, historians, organizations, and social studies professionals to learn, connect, and share ideas that make social studies education stronger. This year, we're celebrating that legacy while looking toward the future.

Whether you teach elementary, middle, or high school social studies, or support social studies education in another role, this conference is designed to give you practical resources, fresh ideas, and meaningful connections you can bring back to your school.