Online Pedagogy Session – Foundations and Framework
2025-09-18 16:00 - 17:30 (America/Chicago) | Online
This opening pedagogy session will provide a brief overview of the new Minnesota K–12 Academic Standards in Social Studies, followed by an introduction to the structure and goals of the Navigating U.S. History Eras pedagogy sessions. Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) Social Studies Specialist Brittany Rawson-Haeg will guide participants in understanding how the series is designed to support inquiry-based, standards-aligned approaches to teaching U.S. History.
All Pedagogy Sessions will be conducted via Zoom. Educators who participate in all Pedagogy Sessions will leave the year with a complete U.S. History course aligned to the new standards.
Educators are invited to participate in companion Content Sessions.
Registration
Pedagogy Sessions are designed for high school U.S. History teachers and may also be relevant for 5th and 7th grade educators. Educators are welcome to register for individual sessions that align with their interests and schedules. Join us for one or more sessions throughout the year.
This event is free but registration is required. Separate registration is required for each offering.
Registration Questions: Brittany.Rawson-Haeg@state.mn.us
Register Now
This offering is part of Navigating the U.S. History Eras: Content, Pedagogy, and Inquiry in the Classroom is a yearlong professional learning opportunity supporting implementation of Minnesota’s 2021 K–12 Academic Standards in Social Studies presented by MHC and MDE.

Winona - Shorelines and Storylines: An Artist Gathering
2025-09-19 18:00 - 21:00 | Minnesota Marine Art Museum, 800 Riverview Drive, Winona, 55987, United States
Join us for a special evening of reflection, story, and shared warmth around the fire (weather permitting). This gathering offers an opportunity to connect with the artists of Once Upon A Shore through a special panel conversation moderated by guest exhibition curator, Heid E. Erdrich. Enjoy passed appetizers, and purchase drinks from Minnesota Marine Art Museum (MMAM)’s Water Bar Cafe & Provisions. The Minnesota Humanities Center is excited to partner with MMAM to highlight artists Gwen Nell Westerman, Tashia Hart, and Cole Redhorse Taylor who have contributed to the Native American Lives Series, books by and about Dakota and Ojibwe Minnesotans, for middle grade readers. Guests are also invited to purchase a variety of books created by exhibition artists, including the newest publications Ella Cara Deloria: Dakota Language Protector, Charles Albert Bender: National Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher, Peggy Flanagan: Lieutenant Governor, and Carrie Cavender Schommer: Dakota Language Teacher, and have your copy signed and personalized.
Registration
Shorelines and Storylines is organized by the Minnesota Marine Art Museum. Registration through the Minnesota Marine Art Museum is required to attend.
Register Now

St. Paul - Learning from Place: Bdote for Educators
2025-09-20 08:30 - 15:30 | Minnesota Humanities Event Center, 987 Ivy Avenue East, Saint Paul, MN, 55106, United States
This special session, offered in partnership with Saint Paul Public Schools, is designed for 4th–7th grade teachers and district administrators. Space is limited.
Learning from Place: Bdote is an immersive, place-based learning experience that brings participants to sites of deep significance to Dakota people in the Twin Cities. Through stories shared by Dakota community members, educators will engage with histories and perspectives that are often absent from our state’s narrative.
Sites visited:

Fort Snelling State Park
Wicaḣapi (we-CHA-ha-pee; formerly Indian Mounds Regional Park)
Oȟéyawahe/Pilot Knob Preservation Site (oh-HAY-ya-wa-hee)

Coach bus transportation will be provided, beginning and ending at the Minnesota Humanities Center. Participants need to bring their own lunch, beverages, and snacks.
The day will take place entirely outdoors and includes approximately 1.5 miles of walking, sometimes on unpaved paths, and standing for extended periods. Audio headsets will be provided for clear listening. For questions about accessibility, please contact Eden Bart at eden@mnhum.org or 651-772-4261.
Your co-leads: Ramona Kitto Stately and Fern Naomi Renville
Ramona Kitto Stately is an enrolled member of the Santee Sioux Dakhóta Nation. She has a BA in Dakota Art and Culture and a MAE in Teacher Leadership. She is Project Director for We Are Still Here Minnesota and serves as chairperson of the Minnesota Indian Education Association. Ramona was the Recipient of the 2021 Ron McKinley Award from Minnesota Education Equity Partnership, currently serves as 2023’s Indigenous Elder in Residence for Carleton College, and McKnight Culture Bearers Award Recipient in March 2023.
Fern Naomi Renville is an artist, storyteller, enrolled citizen of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, and seventh-generation descendant of Chief Gabriel Renville. Born on the Lake Traverse Reservation in South Dakota, Fern currently lives and works in Saint Paul as an educator sharing music, story, and land-based learning to promote greater understanding and knowledge of Dakota people.
K-12 educators will receive 5 clock hours.
Registration
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org | MHC Cancellation Policy
Register Now

Online Content Session - Era Two: Settler Colonialism and Atlantic Slavery
2025-10-07 16:00 - 17:30 | Online
Dive into the development of the institution of slavery and multiple perspectives on European colonization and early American society. Led by Dr. David Aiona Chang and Dr. Katharine Gerbner, this session will provide deep historical context, source analysis, and thematic framing.

View Dr. David Aiona Chang’s Bio

I am a Native Hawaiian historian of Indigenous people, colonialism, borders and migration in Hawaii and North America, focusing especially on the histories of Native American and Native Hawaiian people. My work moves between hyperlocal and global scales while centering the perspectives and experiences of Indigenous people and integrating close textual analysis, granular social history, theoretically informed analysis of race, gender, sexuality and nationalism, and Indigenous epistemologies and methodologies.

My second book, The World and All the Things Upon It: Native Hawaiian Geographies of Exploration was published in 2016 by the University of Minnesota Press. It speaks to a foundational imperative in Indigenous studies: the need to not just understand Indigenous people from their own perspectives, but to understand the world from their perspectives as well. It traces the ways that Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) explored the outside world and generated understandings of their place in it in the century and half after James Cook stumbled on their islands in 1778. In doing so, this book examines indigenous people as the active agents of global exploration, rather than the passive objects of that exploration, broadening our understanding of geographical knowledge production and power in the context of colonialism.

My first book, The Color of the Land, argues for the central place of struggles over the ownership of Native American lands in the history of racial and national construction by Creeks, African Americans, and whites in the Creek Nation and eastern Oklahoma. The Color of the Land was awarded the 2010 Theodore Saloutos Prize for best book in agricultural history from the Agricultural History Society and was granted Honorable Mention in the competition for the American Studies Association’s 2011 Lora Romero First Book Prize.

View Dr. Katharine Gerbner’s Bio

My research explores the religious dimensions of race, authority, and freedom in the early modern Atlantic world. My book, Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018), shows how debates between slave-owners, black Christians, and missionaries transformed the practice of Protestantism and the language of race in the early modern Atlantic World. I am currently at work on a few different projects. One, entitled “Constructing Religion, Defining Crime,” examines how some non-European religions—particularly those that were practiced under slavery—have been excluded from the category of religion and criminalized over the past three centuries. A related project investigates the religious and medical practices of enslaved Africans in the Caribbean, paying particular attention to obeah. I am interested in how Afro-Caribbean ideas about healing, prayer, and worship influenced the construction of European categories such as religion and medicine. I have also been working on an article about Missionaries and Maroons, which takes a micro-historical look at how and why maroon leaders sought to create alliances with Christian missionaries.

All Content Sessions will be conducted via Zoom and a Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)-hosted Canvas learning community. Each session’s lectures and discussions will be recorded and registered participants will receive access to the Canvas course with session recordings, curated resources, and collaborative planning tools.

High school U.S. History teachers and 5th and 7th grade educators are invited to participate in companion Pedagogy Sessions.

Registration
Content Sessions are open to all K–12 educators interested in historical content and source-based instruction. Educators are welcome to register for individual sessions that align with their interests and schedules. Join us for one or more sessions throughout the year.

This event is free but registration is required. Separate registration is required for each offering.

Registration Questions: Brittany.Rawson-Haeg@state.mn.us

Register Now

This offering is part of Navigating the U.S. History Eras: Content, Pedagogy, and Inquiry in the Classroom is a yearlong professional learning opportunity supporting implementation of Minnesota’s 2021 K–12 Academic Standards in Social Studies presented by MHC and MDE.

St. Paul - Minnesota Humanities Center at the 2025 MEA Conference
2025-10-16 07:30 - 14:30 | Saint Paul RiverCentre, 175 Kellogg Blvd, St. Paul, MN, 55102, United States
The Minnesota Humanities Center will be at the annual MEA Conference this year — stop by our table to connect with us and explore resources to bring more diverse voices and perspectives into your classroom. Enter our drawing for a chance to win books and say hello — we’d love to see you!
We’ll be highlighting:

Native American Lives book series – engaging biographies for young readers that center Native stories.
Navigating the U.S. History Eras: Content, Pedagogy, and Inquiry in the Classroom – a new online series supporting history educators with content-rich, inquiry-based approaches.
Reconstruction Destructed: The Most Misunderstood Period in American History – the latest film in the “Juneteenth Reckoning with Slavery” series.

We’ll also be sharing more about our broader work and resources for educators.
The MEA Conference is organized by Education Minnesota. It is the state’s largest professional development event for teachers, offering a full day of workshops, networking, and classroom resources.
Exhibits: 7:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
General session: 9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m.
Workshops: 10:45 a.m.-4:15 p.m.
Registration
Free and open to Education Minnesota members and students only. Registration through Education Minnesota is required to attend.
Registration Questions: meaconference@edmn.org
Register Now

Online - Building Questioning Across the Social Studies Disciplines
2025-10-22 07:30 - 08:30 | https://www.mnhum.org/event/online-building-questioning-across-the-social-studies-disciplines/
Develop strategies for fostering strong questioning skills across the five strands of social studies. Examine a discipline-specific question and how it supports deeper inquiry and critical thinking. We will consider strengthening both teacher questioning and supports for developing student questioning in the inquiry process, as well.
The Minnesota Department of Education in partnership with the Minnesota Humanities Center will host virtual and in-person sessions to support planning for and implementation of the 2021 K-12 Academic Standards in Social Studies monthly during the 2025-26 school year. These monthly sessions are open to anyone with building or district-level responsibilities for curriculum planning and development in all social studies content areas, including curriculum directors, department leads, and teachers. Pre-registration is required for in-person sessions.
Virtual sessions will have content similar to in-person sessions, and whenever possible will feature the same speakers.
In-person sessions will be an hour longer than virtual sessions and will allow time for supported collaborative work and networking.
While districts are encouraged to have a representative at each monthly session, either in-person or virtual, participants do not need to commit to attending all nine sessions. Participants are also welcome to attend either session type throughout the year, as is best suited to their needs and schedule.
K-12 educators will receive 1 clock hour.
Registration
Registration Questions: brittany.rawson-haeg@state.mn.us
Register Now

Minneapolis - Building Questioning Across the Social Studies Disciplines
2025-10-23 09:00 - 11:00 | Minnesota Department of Education, 400 NE Stinson Blvd, Minneapolis, MN, 55413, United States
Develop strategies for fostering strong questioning skills across the five strands of social studies. Examine a discipline-specific question and how it supports deeper inquiry and critical thinking. We will consider strengthening both teacher questioning and supports for developing student questioning in the inquiry process, as well.
The Minnesota Department of Education in partnership with the Minnesota Humanities Center will host virtual and in-person sessions to support planning for and implementation of the 2021 K-12 Academic Standards in Social Studies monthly during the 2025-26 school year. These monthly sessions are open to anyone with building or district-level responsibilities for curriculum planning and development in all social studies content areas, including curriculum directors, department leads, and teachers. Pre-registration is required for in-person sessions.
Virtual sessions will have content similar to in-person sessions, and whenever possible will feature the same speakers.
In-person sessions will be an hour longer than virtual sessions and will allow time for supported collaborative work and networking.
While districts are encouraged to have a representative at each monthly session, either in-person or virtual, participants do not need to commit to attending all nine sessions. Participants are also welcome to attend either session type throughout the year, as is best suited to their needs and schedule.
K-12 educators will receive 2 clock hours.
Registration
Registration Questions: brittany.rawson-haeg@state.mn.us
Register Now

St. Paul – Fall Metro Indian Education Gathering
2025-10-23 11:00 - 13:30 | Minnesota Humanities Event Center, 987 Ivy Avenue East, Saint Paul, MN, 55106, United States
Join us for the Fall Metro Indian Education Gathering hosted at the Minnesota Humanities Center. Anyone connected to American Indian Education and/or American Indian students are welcome to attend. Lunch will be served potluck style. A main dish will be provided. Please register so we can plan accordingly and bring a side dish or dessert to share!
The agenda will include:

Byron Ninham: Community Outreach Miin – Program Updates
MDE Indian Education – Updates from Annie Huberty
TNEC Update to include PD for 2025-25 – Beth Tepper
Compass/Equitable Access AI Specialist – Jodie Sheets
Free Course Offerings
Tony Drews/Tiwahe Foundation/American Indian Family Empowerment program/youth scholarships
ISD622 American Indian Education new curriculum website

If you have questions about the session and agenda, please contact Robin Nelson at rnelson4@isd622.org.
About the Metro Indian Education Gathering
The Metro Indian Education Gathering is a group of urban American Indian Educators that come together on a regular basis, 2-3 times a year to share ideas and discuss challenges while celebrating successes. We create a space for networking and access to people who can help navigate the rules and regulations governing American Indian Education programs. This group has been meeting since January 2013.
Registration
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT HAS CLOSED

Pedagogy Session – Eras 1 & 2: Indigenous Histories, Settler Colonialism, and Atlantic Slavery
2025-10-30 16:00 - 17:30 | Online
This pedagogy session will draw on content and sources from both Era 1 and Era 2 of the Navigating U.S. History Eras series. Participants will explore the histories of America’s first peoples before European contact, as well as the development of the institution of slavery and multiple perspectives on European colonization and early American society. Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) Social Studies Specialist Brittany Rawson-Haeg and experienced classroom educators will lead this hands-on workshop supporting high school U.S. History teachers in designing inquiry-based, standards-aligned units.
All Pedagogy Sessions will be conducted via Zoom. Educators who participate in all Pedagogy Sessions will leave the year with a complete U.S. History course aligned to the new standards.
Educators are invited to participate in companion Content Sessions.
Registration
Pedagogy Sessions are designed for high school U.S. History teachers and may also be relevant for 5th and 7th grade educators. Educators are welcome to register for individual sessions that align with their interests and schedules. Join us for one or more sessions throughout the year.
This event is free but registration is required. Separate registration is required for each offering.
Registration Questions: Brittany.Rawson-Haeg@state.mn.us
Register Now
This offering is part of Navigating the U.S. History Eras: Content, Pedagogy, and Inquiry in the Classroom is a yearlong professional learning opportunity supporting implementation of Minnesota’s 2021 K–12 Academic Standards in Social Studies presented by MHC and MDE.

Online Content Session - Era Three: Freedom, Unfreedom, and Revolution
2025-11-05 16:00 - 17:30 | Online
Analyze revolutionary movements and founding documents to understand how ideas of freedom and justice evolved in the United States. Led by Dr. Daina Ramey Berry and moderated by Dr. Katharine Gerbner, this session will provide deep historical context, source analysis, and thematic framing.

View Dr. Daina Ramey Berry’s Bio

Dr. Daina Ramey Berry is Professor of History and Michael Douglas Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She came to Santa Barbara in August 2022 after serving as the Oliver H. Radkey Regents Professor and Chair of the Department of History and Associate Dean of the Graduate School at The University of Texas. She is an internationally recognized scholar of the enslaved and a specialist on gender and slavery and Black women’s history in the United States. Professor Berry completed her B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in African American Studies and U.S. History at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Dr. Berry is the award-winning author and editor of six books and numerous scholarly articles. Her most recent book, A Black Women’s History of the United States, won the 2021 Susan Koppelman Award for the Best Book in Feminist Studies, was a 2021 NAACP Finalist for Literary Non-Fiction, and received honorable mention for the 2021 Darlene Clark Hine Book Award sponsored by the Organization of American Historians. Her other book, The Price for their Pound of Flesh: The Value of the Enslaved, from Womb to Grave, in the Building of a Nation, received the Phyllis Wheatley Award for Scholarly Research from the Sons and Daughters of the US Middle Passage, the 2018 Best Book Prize from the Society for the History of the Early American Republic, and the 2018 Hamilton Book Prize from the University Co-op for the best book among UT Austin faculty. Berry’s book was also a finalist for the 2018 Frederick Douglass Book Prize awarded by Yale University and the Gilder Lehrman Institute. She is completing two other contracted books, The Myths of Slavery (Beacon Press) and a biography of Anna Murray Douglass (Yale University Press).

All Content Sessions will be conducted via Zoom and a Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)-hosted Canvas learning community. Each session’s lectures and discussions will be recorded and registered participants will receive access to the Canvas course with session recordings, curated resources, and collaborative planning tools.

High school U.S. History teachers and 5th and 7th grade educators are invited to participate in companion Pedagogy Sessions.

Registration
Content Sessions are open to all K–12 educators interested in historical content and source-based instruction. Educators are welcome to register for individual sessions that align with their interests and schedules. Join us for one or more sessions throughout the year.

This event is free but registration is required. Separate registration is required for each offering.

Registration Questions: Brittany.Rawson-Haeg@state.mn.us

Register Now

This offering is part of Navigating the U.S. History Eras: Content, Pedagogy, and Inquiry in the Classroom is a yearlong professional learning opportunity supporting implementation of Minnesota’s 2021 K–12 Academic Standards in Social Studies presented by MHC and MDE.

Online - Beyond Learning from Place: Featuring Native Governance Center
2025-11-13 12:30 - 15:00 | https://www.mnhum.org/event/online-beyond-learning-from-place-featuring-native-governance-center/
Beyond Learning from Place workshops offer participants supplemental learning opportunities after attending a Learning from Place experience. This session is designed to support Bdote trip participants as well as anyone seeking guidance in developing authentic, respectful relationships with Native Nations.
We are excited to partner with Native Governance Center to host this Beyond Learning from Place online workshop.
Workshop Overview:
Action Planning and Engagement for Accomplices
Join Native Governance Center, a Native-led nonprofit, for a practical and interactive session on building authentic partnerships and taking actionable next steps. This workshop will equip participants with tools for creating supportive action steps using Native Governance Center’s action planning framework. Attendees will also learn how to prepare themselves and understand protocol before partnering with Native Nations. While rooted in working with Native Nations and communities, these tools can also support meaningful engagement with other groups.
Expect real-life examples and plenty of opportunities for discussion in a welcoming, beginner-friendly space.
Learning Objectives
Participants will:

Deepen their understanding of how to prepare for and approach partnerships with Native Nations, with principles that can inform engagement in other contexts.
Gain practical tools for developing personal or organizational action steps using NGC’s action planning framework.
Exchange ideas with fellow participants in small groups to refine and inspire their own action steps.

Native Governance Center Presenters:

Cree Rose Dueker (Chippewa Cree Tribe): Program Manager for Community Engagement
Jessica Glidden (Boise Forte Band of Chippewa): Program Manager for Leadership Development

K-12 Educators will receive 2.5 clock hours.
Registration
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
Register Now

Online Pedagogy Session - Era Three: Freedom, Unfreedom, and Revolution
2025-11-13 16:00 - 17:30 | Online
Analyze revolutionary movements and founding documents to understand how ideas of freedom and justice evolved in the United States. Using content and sources from Dr. Daina Ramey Berry, Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) Social Studies Specialist Brittany Rawson-Haeg and experienced classroom educators will lead this hands-on workshop supporting high school U.S. History teachers in designing inquiry-based, standards-aligned units.
All Pedagogy Sessions will be conducted via Zoom. Educators who participate in all Pedagogy Sessions will leave the year with a complete U.S. History course aligned to the new standards.
Educators are invited to participate in companion Content Sessions.
Registration
Pedagogy Sessions are designed for high school U.S. History teachers and may also be relevant for 5th and 7th grade educators. Educators are welcome to register for individual sessions that align with their interests and schedules. Join us for one or more sessions throughout the year.
This event is free but registration is required. Separate registration is required for each offering.
Registration Questions: Brittany.Rawson-Haeg@state.mn.us
Register Now
This offering is part of Navigating the U.S. History Eras: Content, Pedagogy, and Inquiry in the Classroom is a yearlong professional learning opportunity supporting implementation of Minnesota’s 2021 K–12 Academic Standards in Social Studies presented by MHC and MDE.

Online – Teaching Bdote Educator Workshop
2025-11-15 09:30 - 11:30 | https://www.mnhum.org/event/online-teaching-bdote-educator-workshop/
The Teaching Bdote Educator Workshop is designed for educators who have attended Learning from Place: Bdote and are preparing to incorporate the experience into their classroom or lead their own classroom field trip. Whether you are looking for a refresher or preparing for your first teacher-led trip, this workshop will provide the guidance, resources, and confidence you need.
Offered in collaboration with Saint Paul Public Schools, this interactive session supports educators in aligning Bdote field trips with the 2021 Minnesota Social Studies Standards and the inquiry-based model of learning. Facilitators will also address the common questions and anxieties that non-Indigenous educators may experience when teaching Dakota history, grounding the work in Dakota voices and perspectives.
Facilitators include current classroom educators who have recently led Bdote field trips and Ramona Kitto Stately (Santee Dakota). Ramona, MHC’s primary lead for Learning from Place: Bdote, provides cultural expertise and guidance on teaching Dakota history with care.
Participants will:

Learn from classroom teachers who have recently led Bdote field trips.
Hear candid reflections from non-Indigenous educators about teaching Bdote.
Gain insights from Ramona Kitto Stately on centering Dakota knowledge and perspectives.
Access resources and lesson materials to support both classroom learning and field trip planning.

Intended Audience: While all are welcome, this workshop is especially geared toward teachers in grades 4–7.
K-12 Educators will receive 2 clock hours.
Registration
SPPS teachers: Register using discount code SPPS25 to waive the fee.
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org | MHC Cancellation Policy
Register Now

Staples - K-8 Social Studies Standards Workshop
2025-11-18 08:30 - 14:30 | Sourcewell, 202 12th Street NE, Staples, MN, 56479, United States
We invite K-8 social studies educators to a workshop that will provide an overview of the new 2021 Minnesota social studies standards. This workshop includes time for teachers to work together to bundle benchmarks into cohesive, interdisciplinary instructional units. Participants will also have work time to start aligning these units with existing resources and primary sources.
A collaboration between Sourcewell and the Minnesota Humanities Center, this workshop will be led by Sourcewell education consultant Jen McLachlan and will feature Brittany Rawson Haeg, Social Studies Content Lead for the Minnesota Department of Education.
Workshop Leader
Jen McLachlan serves as an education consultant at Sourcewell, lending her expertise to programs such as ElevatePD, New Teacher Academy, and the Social Studies Network. With a background as a middle-level educator in both math and social studies, as well as serving on a school board, she is deeply passionate about empowering teachers to become innovators and catalysts for change.
Workshop Presenter
Brittany Rawson Haeg is the Social Studies Content Specialist at the Minnesota Department of Education. She began her teaching career as a high school social studies teacher in Brooklyn, New York. She taught middle and high school social studies in the Twin Cities. Prior to teaching, she was a staff assistant in the New York City Department of Education Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. She believes in the power of social studies education to help students develop greater empathy and understanding.
Registration
$60 per participant from districts in the five-county service area and partner schools; Comprehensive Package pricing: $6 per participant; $80 per participant from all other schools; Lunch provided.
For more information and to register, visit the Sourcewell event listing.

Online - Digging Into Disciplinary Sources K-12
2025-11-19 07:30 - 08:30 | https://www.mnhum.org/event/online-digging-into-disciplinary-sources-k-12/
Learn how to identify, evaluate, and integrate disciplinary sources effectively. This session will provide strategies for engaging students with primary and secondary sources to develop their disciplinary literacy skills.
The Minnesota Department of Education, in partnership with the Minnesota Humanities Center, will host virtual and in-person sessions to support planning for and implementation of the 2021 K-12 Academic Standards in Social Studies, held monthly during the 2025–26 school year. These sessions are open to anyone with building or district-level responsibilities for curriculum planning and development in all social studies content areas, including curriculum directors, department leads, and teachers. Pre-registration is required for in-person sessions.
Virtual sessions will have content similar to in-person sessions, and whenever possible will feature the same speakers.
In-person sessions will be an hour longer than virtual sessions and will allow time for supported collaborative work and networking.
While districts are encouraged to have a representative at each monthly session, either in-person or virtual, participants do not need to commit to attending all nine sessions. Participants are also welcome to attend either session type throughout the year, as is best suited to their needs and schedule.
K-12 educators will receive 1 clock hour.
Registration
Registration Questions: brittany.rawson-haeg@state.mn.us
Register Now

Minneapolis - Digging Into Disciplinary Sources K-12
2025-11-20 09:00 - 11:00 | Minnesota Department of Education, 400 NE Stinson Blvd, Minneapolis, MN, 55413, United States
Learn how to identify, evaluate, and integrate disciplinary sources effectively. This session will provide strategies for engaging students with primary and secondary sources to develop their disciplinary literacy skills.
The Minnesota Department of Education, in partnership with the Minnesota Humanities Center, will host virtual and in-person sessions to support planning for and implementation of the 2021 K-12 Academic Standards in Social Studies, held monthly during the 2025–26 school year. These sessions are open to anyone with building or district-level responsibilities for curriculum planning and development in all social studies content areas, including curriculum directors, department leads, and teachers. Pre-registration is required for in-person sessions.
Virtual sessions will have content similar to in-person sessions, and whenever possible will feature the same speakers.
In-person sessions will be an hour longer than virtual sessions and will allow time for supported collaborative work and networking.
While districts are encouraged to have a representative at each monthly session, either in-person or virtual, participants do not need to commit to attending all nine sessions. Participants are also welcome to attend either session type throughout the year, as is best suited to their needs and schedule.
K-12 educators will receive 2 clock hours.
Registration
Registration Questions: brittany.rawson-haeg@state.mn.us
Register Now

Online Content Session - Era Four: Imperial Expansion and Native Dispossession
2025-12-02 16:00 - 17:30 | Online
Trace the effects of U.S. expansion on Native nations and examine how policies of land seizure and sovereignty denial shaped the 19th century. Led by Dr. David Aiona Chang and moderated by Dr. Katharine Gerbner, this session will provide deep historical context, source analysis, and thematic framing.

View Dr. David Aiona Chang’s Bio

I am a Native Hawaiian historian of Indigenous people, colonialism, borders and migration in Hawaii and North America, focusing especially on the histories of Native American and Native Hawaiian people. My work moves between hyperlocal and global scales while centering the perspectives and experiences of Indigenous people and integrating close textual analysis, granular social history, theoretically informed analysis of race, gender, sexuality and nationalism, and Indigenous epistemologies and methodologies.

My second book, The World and All the Things Upon It: Native Hawaiian Geographies of Exploration was published in 2016 by the University of Minnesota Press. It speaks to a foundational imperative in Indigenous studies: the need to not just understand Indigenous people from their own perspectives, but to understand the world from their perspectives as well. It traces the ways that Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) explored the outside world and generated understandings of their place in it in the century and half after James Cook stumbled on their islands in 1778. In doing so, this book examines indigenous people as the active agents of global exploration, rather than the passive objects of that exploration, broadening our understanding of geographical knowledge production and power in the context of colonialism.

My first book, The Color of the Land, argues for the central place of struggles over the ownership of Native American lands in the history of racial and national construction by Creeks, African Americans, and whites in the Creek Nation and eastern Oklahoma. The Color of the Land was awarded the 2010 Theodore Saloutos Prize for best book in agricultural history from the Agricultural History Society and was granted Honorable Mention in the competition for the American Studies Association’s 2011 Lora Romero First Book Prize.

All Content Sessions will be conducted via Zoom and a Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)-hosted Canvas learning community. Each session’s lectures and discussions will be recorded and registered participants will receive access to the Canvas course with session recordings, curated resources, and collaborative planning tools.

High school U.S. History teachers and 5th and 7th grade educators are invited to participate in companion Pedagogy Sessions.

Registration
Content Sessions are open to all K–12 educators interested in historical content and source-based instruction. Educators are welcome to register for individual sessions that align with their interests and schedules. Join us for one or more sessions throughout the year.

This event is free but registration is required. Separate registration is required for each offering.

Registration Questions: Brittany.Rawson-Haeg@state.mn.us

Register Now

This offering is part of Navigating the U.S. History Eras: Content, Pedagogy, and Inquiry in the Classroom is a yearlong professional learning opportunity supporting implementation of Minnesota’s 2021 K–12 Academic Standards in Social Studies presented by MHC and MDE.

Online - From Page to Practice: The Native American Lives Series in the Classroom
2025-12-04 07:30 - 08:30 | https://www.mnhum.org/event/online-from-page-to-practice-the-native-american-lives-series-in-the-classroom-morning/
Join us for an introductory professional development session on the Native American Lives Series—a vibrant new collection of biographies designed to support grades 1–8 educators in bringing Indigenous voices, histories, and perspectives into the classroom. This session will introduce the first four books in the series, each centering the life and legacy of a Native changemaker. Developed with Native authors, illustrators, and editors, these books provide culturally grounded content that supports both literacy development and inclusive social studies instruction.
Educators will have the opportunity to:

Engage with Minnesota Department of Education content specialists integrating indigenous content with current academic standards
Learn about classroom ready resources and educator guides
Hear from series co-editor Heid E. Erdrich and highlights about the series

K-8 Educators will receive 1 clock hour.
Registration
This event is free but registration is required. This session is also available at 4:00 p.m. on December 4, 2025.
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
Register Now

Online - From Page to Practice: The Native American Lives Series in the Classroom
2025-12-04 16:00 - 17:00 | https://www.mnhum.org/event/online-from-page-to-practice-the-native-american-lives-series-in-the-classroom-evening/
Join us for an introductory professional development session on the Native American Lives Series—a vibrant new collection of biographies designed to support grades 1–8 educators in bringing Indigenous voices, histories, and perspectives into the classroom. This session will introduce the first four books in the series, each centering the life and legacy of a Native changemaker. Developed with Native authors, illustrators, and editors, these books provide culturally grounded content that supports both literacy development and inclusive social studies instruction.
Educators will have the opportunity to:

Engage with Minnesota Department of Education content specialists integrating indigenous content with current academic standards
Learn about classroom ready resources and educator guides
Hear from series co-editor Heid E. Erdrich and highlights about the series

K-8 Educators will receive 1 clock hour.
Registration
This event is free but registration is required. This session is also available at 7:30 a.m. on December 4, 2025.
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
Register Now

Online - Building Summative Tasks for Social Studies
2025-12-17 07:30 - 08:30 | https://www.mnhum.org/event/online-building-summative-tasks-for-social-studies/
Gain insight into designing summative tasks that align with the inquiry arc. Participants will explore ways to assess students’ understanding through authentic performance-based assessments aligned to both the content and the skills of social studies benchmarks.
The Minnesota Department of Education, in partnership with the Minnesota Humanities Center, will host virtual and in-person sessions to support planning for and implementation of the 2021 K-12 Academic Standards in Social Studies, held monthly during the 2025–26 school year. These sessions are open to anyone with building or district-level responsibilities for curriculum planning and development in all social studies content areas, including curriculum directors, department leads, and teachers. Pre-registration is required for in-person sessions.
Virtual sessions will have content similar to in-person sessions, and whenever possible will feature the same speakers.
In-person sessions will be an hour longer than virtual sessions and will allow time for supported collaborative work and networking.
While districts are encouraged to have a representative at each monthly session, either in-person or virtual, participants do not need to commit to attending all nine sessions. Participants are also welcome to attend either session type throughout the year, as is best suited to their needs and schedule.
K-12 educators will receive 1 clock hour.
Registration
Registration Questions: brittany.rawson-haeg@state.mn.us
Register Now

Online Pedagogy Session – Era Four: Imperial Expansion and Native Dispossession
2025-12-18 16:00 - 17:30 | Online
Trace the effects of U.S. expansion on Native nations and examine how policies of land seizure and sovereignty denial shaped the 19th century. Using content and sources from Dr. David Aiona Chang, Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) Social Studies Specialist Brittany Rawson-Haeg and experienced classroom educators will lead this hands-on workshop supporting high school U.S. History teachers in designing inquiry-based, standards-aligned units.
All Pedagogy Sessions will be conducted via Zoom. Educators who participate in all Pedagogy Sessions will leave the year with a complete U.S. History course aligned to the new standards.
Educators are invited to participate in companion Content Sessions.
Registration
Pedagogy Sessions are designed for high school U.S. History teachers and may also be relevant for 5th and 7th grade educators. Educators are welcome to register for individual sessions that align with their interests and schedules. Join us for one or more sessions throughout the year.
This event is free but registration is required. Separate registration is required for each offering.
Registration Questions: Brittany.Rawson-Haeg@state.mn.us
Register Now
This offering is part of Navigating the U.S. History Eras: Content, Pedagogy, and Inquiry in the Classroom is a yearlong professional learning opportunity supporting implementation of Minnesota’s 2021 K–12 Academic Standards in Social Studies presented by MHC and MDE.

Online Content Session - Era Five: Slavery, Civil War, and Reconstruction
2026-01-15 16:00 - 17:30 | Online
Explore the causes, course, and consequences of the Civil War, and evaluate the transformative potential and limitations of Reconstruction. Led by Dr. Rebecca Brückmann and moderated by Dr. Katharine Gerbner, this session will provide deep historical context, source analysis, and thematic framing.

View Dr. Rebecca Brückmann’s Bio

Rebecca Brückmann (pronounced “Brookman”) is an associate professor of History at Carleton College, who specializes in African American History. She completed her Ph.D. in Modern and Contemporary History at Free University Berlin, Germany, in 2014. She is the author of the monograph “Massive Resistance and Southern Womanhood: White Women, Class, and Segregation” (University of Georgia Press, 2021), which analyzes whites supremacist women’s resistance against Black Freedom activism in Arkansas, Louisiana, and South Carolina from the 1940s to the 1960s. Her research on the Black Freedom Movement, the history of the Black Diaspora, Southern history, and the history of white supremacy has been published, e.g., in the Southern Quarterly, the South Carolina Historical Magazine, the European Journal of American Studies, and “Picturing Black History.” She is currently an Academic Leadership Fellow of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest. At Carleton, she teaches courses on Black and African American history from the 14th through the 21st centuries, including “Black Perspectives on the Civil War and Reconstruction,” “Slavery in the Atlantic World,” and “Freedom Then, Freedom Now: Reconstruction to #BlackLivesMatter.”

All Content Sessions will be conducted via Zoom and a Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)-hosted Canvas learning community. Each session’s lectures and discussions will be recorded and registered participants will receive access to the Canvas course with session recordings, curated resources, and collaborative planning tools. High school U.S. History teachers and 5th and 7th grade educators are invited to participate in companion Pedagogy Sessions.
Registration
Content Sessions are open to all K–12 educators interested in historical content and source-based instruction. Educators are welcome to register for individual sessions that align with their interests and schedules. Join us for one or more sessions throughout the year.

This event is free but registration is required. Separate registration is required for each offering.

Registration Questions: Brittany.Rawson-Haeg@state.mn.us

Register Now

This offering is part of Navigating the U.S. History Eras: Content, Pedagogy, and Inquiry in the Classroom is a yearlong professional learning opportunity supporting implementation of Minnesota’s 2021 K–12 Academic Standards in Social Studies presented by MHC and MDE.

Winona - Third Thursday MMAM and the Native American Lives Series - George Morrison: Modern Artist
2026-01-15 18:30 - 19:30 | Minnesota Marine Art Museum, 800 Riverview Drive, Winona, 55987, United States
Join us at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum for a Third Thursday book event, featuring the Native American Lives Series title, “George Morrison: Modern Artist.” Author Staci Drouillard and illustrator Tashia Hart will share their stories about how this book project was created as well as shed light on the incredible career of George Morrison, Grand Portage Anishinaabe artist, the subject of a major solo exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Native American Lives Series, a joint publishing effort between the Minnesota Humanities Center and Lerner publishing, shares real life stories of Dakota and Ojibwe leaders, artists, activists, and elders who have been influential for their communities and have shaped Minnesota and national history. The series co-editors, Heid E. Erdrich and Gwen Nell Westerman share that “These children’s books are by, for, and about Dakota and Ojibwe people and will help Dakota, Ojibwe, and other Native American children imagine their own potential and help them see their cultures represented alongside biographies of American leaders in our society.”
Presented in partnership with the Minnesota Marine Art Museum.
Registration
Registration through the Minnesota Marine Art Museum. Students may attend for free, however registration is still required.
Registration Questions: hello@mmam.org
Register Now

Online - Repeatable Routines: Building Formative Tasks for Social Studies, Session One
2026-01-21 07:30 - 08:30 | https://www.mnhum.org/event/online-repeatable-routines-building-formative-tasks-for-social-studies-session-one/
Begin a three-part series on developing effective formative assessment routines. This session will introduce strategies for using formative tasks to gauge student learning and adjust instruction in real-time.
The Minnesota Department of Education, in partnership with the Minnesota Humanities Center, will host virtual and in-person sessions to support planning for and implementation of the 2021 K-12 Academic Standards in Social Studies, held monthly during the 2025–26 school year. These sessions are open to anyone with building or district-level responsibilities for curriculum planning and development in all social studies content areas, including curriculum directors, department leads, and teachers. Pre-registration is required for in-person sessions.
Virtual sessions will have content similar to in-person sessions, and whenever possible will feature the same speakers.
In-person sessions will be an hour longer than virtual sessions and will allow time for supported collaborative work and networking.
While districts are encouraged to have a representative at each monthly session, either in-person or virtual, participants do not need to commit to attending all nine sessions. Participants are also welcome to attend either session type throughout the year, as is best suited to their needs and schedule.
K-12 educators will receive 1 clock hour.
Registration
Registration Questions: brittany.rawson-haeg@state.mn.us
Register Now

Minneapolis - Repeatable Routines: Building Formative Tasks for Social Studies, Session One
2026-01-22 09:00 - 11:00 | Minnesota Department of Education, 400 NE Stinson Blvd, Minneapolis, MN, 55413, United States
Begin a three-part series on developing effective formative assessment routines. This session will introduce strategies for using formative tasks to gauge student learning and adjust instruction in real-time.
The Minnesota Department of Education, in partnership with the Minnesota Humanities Center, will host virtual and in-person sessions to support planning for and implementation of the 2021 K-12 Academic Standards in Social Studies, held monthly during the 2025–26 school year. These sessions are open to anyone with building or district-level responsibilities for curriculum planning and development in all social studies content areas, including curriculum directors, department leads, and teachers. Pre-registration is required for in-person sessions.
Virtual sessions will have content similar to in-person sessions, and whenever possible will feature the same speakers.
In-person sessions will be an hour longer than virtual sessions and will allow time for supported collaborative work and networking.
While districts are encouraged to have a representative at each monthly session, either in-person or virtual, participants do not need to commit to attending all nine sessions. Participants are also welcome to attend either session type throughout the year, as is best suited to their needs and schedule.
K-12 educators will receive 2 clock hours.
Registration
Registration Questions: brittany.rawson-haeg@state.mn.us
Register Now

Online Pedagogy Session – Era Five: Slavery, Civil War, and Reconstruction
2026-01-29 16:00 - 17:30 | Online
Explore the causes, course, and consequences of the Civil War, and evaluate the transformative potential and limitations of Reconstruction. Using content and sources from Dr. Rebecca Brückmann, Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) Social Studies Specialist Brittany Rawson-Haeg and experienced classroom educators will lead this hands-on workshop supporting high school U.S. History teachers in designing inquiry-based, standards-aligned units.
All Pedagogy Sessions will be conducted via Zoom. Educators who participate in all Pedagogy Sessions will leave the year with a complete U.S. History course aligned to the new standards.
Educators are invited to participate in companion Content Sessions.
Registration
Pedagogy Sessions are designed for high school U.S. History teachers and may also be relevant for 5th and 7th grade educators. Educators are welcome to register for individual sessions that align with their interests and schedules. Join us for one or more sessions throughout the year.
This event is free but registration is required. Separate registration is required for each offering.
Registration Questions: Brittany.Rawson-Haeg@state.mn.us
Register Now
This offering is part of Navigating the U.S. History Eras: Content, Pedagogy, and Inquiry in the Classroom is a yearlong professional learning opportunity supporting implementation of Minnesota’s 2021 K–12 Academic Standards in Social Studies presented by MHC and MDE.

Online Content Session – Era Six: Migration, Imperialism, and Inequality
2026-02-03 16:00 - 17:30 | Online
Examine the late 19th and early 20th century through the lenses of industrialization, imperial expansion, and rising social inequality. Led by Dr. Maddalena Marinari and moderated by Dr. Katharine Gerbner, this session will provide deep historical context, source analysis, and thematic framing.

View Dr. Maddalena Marinari’s Bio

Maddalena Marinari is Professor of History at Gustavus Adolphus College. She is the author of Unwanted: Italian and Jewish Mobilization Against Restrictive Immigration Laws, 1882–1965 (2020). Her work on immigration restriction, U.S. immigration policy, and immigrant mobilization has appeared in the Journal of American History, Journal of Policy History, Journal of American Ethnic History, Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, and Social Science History Journal. She has also co-edited four books and two special journal issues on different aspects of US immigration history in the twentieth century. Her next book explores the history of family, marriage, and sexuality in U.S. immigration policy from 1875 to 2025. Professor Marinari is currently president of the Immigration and Ethnic History Society.

All Content Sessions will be conducted via Zoom and a Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)-hosted Canvas learning community. Each session’s lectures and discussions will be recorded and registered participants will receive access to the Canvas course with session recordings, curated resources, and collaborative planning tools.

High school U.S. History teachers and 5th and 7th grade educators are invited to participate in companion Pedagogy Sessions.
Registration
Content Sessions are open to all K–12 educators interested in historical content and source-based instruction. Educators are welcome to register for individual sessions that align with their interests and schedules. Join us for one or more sessions throughout the year.

This event is free but registration is required. Separate registration is required for each offering.

Registration Questions: Brittany.Rawson-Haeg@state.mn.us

Register Now

This offering is part of Navigating the U.S. History Eras: Content, Pedagogy, and Inquiry in the Classroom is a yearlong professional learning opportunity supporting implementation of Minnesota’s 2021 K–12 Academic Standards in Social Studies presented by MHC and MDE.

Online Pedagogy Session – Era Six: Migration, Imperialism, and Inequality
2026-02-19 16:00 - 17:30 | Online
Examine the late 19th and early 20th century through the lenses of industrialization, imperial expansion, and rising social inequality. Using content and sources from Dr. Maddalena Marinari, Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) Social Studies Specialist Brittany Rawson-Haeg and experienced classroom educators will lead this hands-on workshop supporting high school U.S. History teachers in designing inquiry-based, standards-aligned units.
All Pedagogy Sessions will be conducted via Zoom. Educators who participate in all Pedagogy Sessions will leave the year with a complete U.S. History course aligned to the new standards.
Educators are invited to participate in companion Content Sessions.
Registration
Pedagogy Sessions are designed for high school U.S. History teachers and may also be relevant for 5th and 7th grade educators. Educators are welcome to register for individual sessions that align with their interests and schedules. Join us for one or more sessions throughout the year.
This event is free but registration is required. Separate registration is required for each offering.
Registration Questions: Brittany.Rawson-Haeg@state.mn.us
Register Now
This offering is part of Navigating the U.S. History Eras: Content, Pedagogy, and Inquiry in the Classroom is a yearlong professional learning opportunity supporting implementation of Minnesota’s 2021 K–12 Academic Standards in Social Studies presented by MHC and MDE.

St. Paul – 2026 Minnesota Council for the Social Studies (MCSS) Conference
2026-02-21 07:30 - 16:30 | Macalester College, 1600 Grand Ave, St. Paul, 55105, United States
The Minnesota Humanities Center will be at the annual Minnesota Council for the Social Studies (MCSS) Conference this year – stop by our table to connect with us, explore educator resources, and learn more about our work with educators.
You can also find us co-presenting at the following sessions:

Experiential Civic Learning: Cultivating Communities that Practice Democracy Through We the People and Project Citizen
Rethinking History and the Meaning of Freedom
K-5 Inquiry through Primary Sources
Ethnic Studies in Action: Place-Based Learning to Strengthen Civic Engagement
Meeting the Mandate: Genocide Education in Minnesota’s Classrooms
Towards 2026: Building Disciplinary Literacy in the 2021 K-12 Academic Standards in Social Studies
From Bdote to the Classroom: Learning from Place to Inspire Civic Engagement

About MCSS
The Minnesota Council for the Social Studies supports, advocates for, and celebrates excellence in the teaching and learning of social studies in Minnesota.
Registration
Registration through MCSS is required to attend.
Register Now

North Mankato - Social Studies Standards Workshop Series
2026-02-23 09:00 - 15:00 | South Central Services Cooperative, 2075 Lookout Drive, North Mankato, 56003, United States
The Social Studies Standards Workshop Series is a two-day workshop series (February 23 and April 30, 2026) designed to equip K–12 teachers and school leaders with the knowledge and tools needed to successfully implement the new social studies standards by the 2026–27 school year. Participants will engage in a guided exploration of the revised standards, including analysis of major content shifts, vertical alignment across grade levels, and implications for curriculum planning.
Throughout the workshop, teams will connect the updated standards to the C3 Framework, deepening their understanding of high-quality instructional practices and identifying necessary instructional shifts to support student learning.
K-12 educators will receive 5 clock hours for each session.
Registration
Registration for this event is managed by South Central Services Cooperative. Fee for Series ($200.00) includes lunch both days. Registration closes Monday, February 23, 2026.
Registration Questions: 507-389-1425
Register Now
