K-12
National Council for the Social Studies Conference
The Jack Miller Center’s Founding Civics team will be attending this year’s NCSS conference in Chicago.
Be sure to stop by our booth (#1224) to say hello to our team and pick up some JMC swag!
JMC’s own Emilee McHorney will also be leading the following session on Friday, December 4 at 2 pm in the Picasso Room:
Consistency Over Complexity: Making Primary Sources a Habit
For grades 6–12, primary sources are often treated as special-occasion documents – long, dense texts reserved for major units or assessments. This session challenges that model by demonstrating how short, focused primary source routines can be embedded into daily instruction without derailing pacing or overwhelming students.
Participants will engage in a series of 5–15 minute classroom-ready strategies using excerpts from foundational American texts, political cartoons, letters, speeches, and government documents. The emphasis is on frequency, not length – building students’ confidence with sourcing, contextualization, and evidence-based reasoning through consistent practice across the school year.