Free Social Studies Units Launched to Honor Native American History and Culture
Each Kids Discover lesson is available for grades 3-8 and made free to raise awareness around the lack of high quality resources on the subject matter
NEW YORK (Nov. 1, 2021) — Kids Discover, a leading provider of science and social studies reading for elementary and middle school learners, will make five units entirely free to honor Native American history and culture in honor of Native American Heritage Month. Each unit can be read online at https://online.kidsdiscover.com/native-american-heritage.
Informed by meaningful conversations with members of the Indiginous Education Community, a community group of the National Council of Social Studies, Kids Discover launched this campaign to raise awareness around the lack of resources on the subject matter. The five free units cover:
- Native America
- Northwest Coastal Peoples
- Southwest Peoples
- Plains Indians
- Eastern Woodland Indians
“As an educational publisher, our goal is to provide high quality resources for educators to use in their classroom during the month of November to honor and bring heightened awareness to Native American history and culture.” said Ted Levine, president and CEO of Kids Discover. “We feel fortunate to have conducted meaningful conversations with members of the Indiginous Education Community over the past 6 months. At Kids Discover, we have and always will stand for fair, equal representation. This campaign is another step forward as we deliver on our pledge to elevate and raise up the voices that need to be heard.”
Each of the units offer 7-8 articles comprising eye-catching imagery, age appropriate writing, and a short quiz. Educators can choose from three different Lexile reading ranges for use in grades 3–4, 5–6, or 7–8. To make the materials available to as many students as possible, the free units do not require a registered account or login.
In addition to these units being made freely available, Kids Discover will be honoring a lifelong educator and professor, Glenabah Martinez as the company’s Educator of the Month for November. Martinez is an associate professor in the Department of Language, Literacy and Sociocultural Studies at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. She teaches social studies methods courses, indigenous studies, and, at the high school level, US and New Mexico History. She is an enrolled member of the Pueblo Nation of Taos and affiliated with the Navajo Nation.
Kids Discover will also be featuring a guest blog post on the Thanksgiving story from Susannah Remillard, an elementary teacher at Cape Cod Lighthouse Public Charter School in Harwich, MA. Susy holds a bachelor of arts in English, a Masters in linguistic anthropology, and is a Fulbright Distinguished Award recipient. With training at the National Museum of the American Indian, along with her work as a summer scholar with Native Americans of New England Summer Program, Susy is well versed in Northeast indigenous peoples and especially the Thanksgiving story.
Both the Educator of the Month feature and guest blog post will be published on Monday, November 15th, 2021.
Please visit https://online.kidsdiscover.com/native-american-heritage to view all five units entirely free throughout the month of November!
About Kids Discover
Now in its 30th year, Kids Discover creates beautifully crafted nonfiction products for kids ages 6-14. With a specialty in science and social studies, Kids Discover offers standards-aligned Print and Digital Solutions for the elementary and middle school Classroom. Kids Discover’s mission is simple: to get children excited about reading and learning. For information, please visit Kidsdiscover.com.