BRI Finishes A Strong November
<p>As the year draws to a close, Bill of Rights Institute staff have been busy working with teachers across the country to strengthen history and civics instruction. Recent workshops and conference sessions provided educators with opportunities to explore new approaches to connecting their state standards with BRI’s classroom-ready materials.</p>
<p>In early November, BRI partnered with the Virginia Tech University Center for European and Transatlantic Studies to host a conference in Blacksburg, Va. It featured sessions that explored the interconnection between the development of American and European governance. Lori Rech, BRI’s regional programs manager, led two sessions that traced the development of constitutional and political ideas from the eighteenth century through the present.</p>
<p>On November 15, Rech and Shawn McCusker, Director of Teacher Programs, facilitated workshops for educators in Virginia and New Mexico, respectively. Both sessions focused on practical ways to navigate state history and civics standards while building lessons that help students engage with complex topics.</p>
<p>These workshops also highlighted BRI’s <a href="https://billofrightsinstitute.org/state-specific-standards-alignment-tool">standards alignment tool</a>, which is designed to help teachers identify BRI resources that can align directly with their state’s curriculum requirements.</p>
<p>Participants explored a selection of materials, including the new <a href="https://billofrightsinstitute.org/curricula/government-and-politics-civics-for-the-american-experiment">Government and Politics: Civics for the American Experiment</a> curriculum and BRI’s <a href="https://billofrightsinstitute.org/games">interactive tabletop games</a>. The sessions prompted teachers to consider how a wider range of content might fit into their courses.</p>
<p>As one New Mexico participant noted, “I really didn’t know the breadth of the BRI resources. While trying to align BRI resources to New Mexico standards, I was amazed how many topics there are—and topics that didn’t seemingly fit into what I thought of BRI, like oil production.”</p>
<p>A teacher who attended the Virginia Tech conference said while they have a different teaching situation than most educators, “I walked away with so many ideas on how I can modify resources to use. I have spent a lot of time going through what is available and making future plans.”</p>
<p>For information on upcoming workshops and sessions, visit the <a href="https://billofrightsinstitute.org/events">Events page</a> on the BRI website.</p>
