Malcolm Wallop K-12 Curriculum Project

The Wallop Civic Engagement K-12 Curriculum Project developed as a partnership with the College of Education’s Trustees Education Initiative designed to provide a library of virtual multimedia resources for K-12 social studies teachers for their classrooms. The catalog of materials includes content materials organized by different content disciplines including Social Studies and English Language Arts as well as specific projects such as the WDE Civics Ed Center, Wyoming Youth Resilience Project, Wyoming Museums Project, a Health Education Catalog, and other materials.  

Social Studies Catalog. The social studies catalog provides short courses whose content areas line up with one or more of the six Wyoming Social Studies Content Standards: 

  • Citizenship (Government and Democracy)
  • Culture and Cultural Diversity
  • Production, Distribution, and Consumption (Economics)
  • Time, Continuity, and Change (History)
  • People, Places, and Environments (Geography)
  • Technology, Literacy and Global Connections

English Language Arts Catalog. The English language arts catalog provides short courses whose content areas focus on themes of 1) culture and people of the West, 2) identity, community, and rural life, and 3) rights, liberties, and civic responsibilities. Content areas line up with Wyoming English Language Arts Anchor Standards: 

  • Reading
  • Writing
  • Speaking and Listening
  • Language

All of these materials are free for teachers and the public. Each course module in the social studies and English language arts catalogs consists of a single video and supplementary handout/teaching guide that includes discussion questions, sample exercises, and links to additional open access materials.  

The Wallop K-12 Curriculum Project represents a special commitment to reach out to the Wyoming educational community. We received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) "Integrating the Humanities Across Civics Education in Wyoming" that allowed us to expand the K-12 project across 2021-24. This project was just one of a few of the projects nationwide selected for the prestigious Humanities Initiatives at Colleges and Universities Program at the NEH. The grant allowed us to expand our existing social studies K-12 curriculum catalog, to create the English language arts catalog, and to host summer teacher professional development workshops. Special thanks to The Tucker Foundation, Rocky Mountain Power Foundation, and our generous supporters for making this project possible. The K-12 Curriculum virtual catalog is available at https://civic.catalog.instructure.com/. 

The K-12 catalog includes 130+ content modules which line up with various social studies and English language arts content and performance standards. Topics range from a discussion of Wyoming government and politics, religious freedom in the new republic, to current topics such as Bitcoin and U.S.-China relations. These resources are unique because each video presentation includes a teacher resource guide showing how the presentation addresses one or more of Wyoming’s standards and provides suggested discussion questions and/or class activities. 

WDE CIVICS EDUCATION CENTER

The Civics Ed Center was created in collaboration with the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE). The center is the result of the work of a WDE subcabinet of education stakeholders who were appointed from across Wyoming to represent the interest of students, parents, school districts, and communities. The readily available resources provided in the Civics Ed Center are intended to support the work being done by districts, schools, and community organizations. The resources provided have been aligned with Wyoming Content and Performance Standards focused on Civics and the State Board of Education’s Profile of a Graduate. The Civics Ed Center is located within the Wallop Civic Engagement Program within UW’s WyoLearn Catalog. This resource can be accessed at WDE Civics Ed Center - Malcolm Wallop Civic Engagement Project. Additional information about the project is available on the WDE website at Civics Ed Center - Wyoming Department Of Education.

Educator Testimonial

K-12 Catalog Course Examples

A Crash Course in Wyoming Politics: Culture and Participation

Dr. Jason McConnell-Assistant Professor, School of Politics, Public Affairs, and International Studies, University of Wyoming

This presentation examines the culture and political participation in Wyoming. Wyoming is similar to the nation when it comes to political culture and participation, with competing political ideologies and dominant political culture. The presentation outlines the factors affecting the culture and participation in Wyoming, including rurality, and then examines how Wyoming has a higher rate of political participation than the national average and nearby states. To wrap up the presentation, trends in political parties and elections in Wyoming are examined and discussed in comparison with the national trends. Download the accompanying Resource Guide.

The “Pristine Myth" & Its Influence Today

Dr. Zoe Pearson-Assistant Professor, School of Politics, Public Affairs, and International Studies, University of Wyoming
 
Many of us learn or come to believe that “New World” environments were pristine, mostly untouched wilderness when European colonizers arrived on the continent—especially in the Amazon rainforest. This belief is known as the “pristine myth” and we now know it to be untrue. Yet, the power of the “pristine myth” persists in the present, shaping ideas about nature and society today. In this talk, I explain the myth and how it came to be, share some of the evidence that disproves the myth, and discuss why it can be problematic for people and nature. Download the accompanying Resource Guide.

Fake News! Defining Misinformation 

Dr. Kristen Landreville-Associate Professor, Department of Communication and Journalism, University of Wyoming 
 
The terms “fake news” and “misinformation” are popular phrases among journalists, fact-checkers, politicians, partisans, and social media users. What do these terms actually mean? Do the definitions differ, depending on who is using the term? The video’s central question asks students to develop a clear, simple, and memorable definition of fake news and misinformation. This video first introduces the concepts of fake news and misinformation by relating them to rumors, a concept that students are likely familiar with. Next, a very brief history of fake news is presented, followed by a discussion of why fake news is different today due to social media. Finally, various types of fake news are considered, including satire, false information, and partisan news. The video concludes by asking students to find commonalities among these various sources and write a clear, simple, and memorable definition of fake news and misinformation. The video provides its own scholarly definition on the last slide for students to compare their definitions to.  Download the accompanying Resource Guide. 

Bitcoin

Dr. Bradley Rettler-Assistant Professor, Philosophy and Religious Studies, University of Wyoming 
 
About a decade ago, the Bitcoin network was launched by its pseudonymous creator. It promised a revolution in how money works. Here at last, some thought, was an inclusive digital system for storing and transferring value -- a system that was inflation-proof, censorship-resistant, and independent of any central and commercial bank. Bitcoin has since spawned thousands of cryptocurrencies, and they command coverage in both popular media and technical research by computer scientists, economists, and lawyers. In this presentation, I briefly explain what the Bitcoin network is. Then I discuss the features money is standardly taken to have, and based on those features, whether Bitcoin is money. Finally, I talk about whether Bitcoin is good. If Bitcoin could be money, should we use it? Download the accompanying Resource Guide. 

K-12 Curriculum Project ImpactsInfographic on the Wallop program

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