Bringing History to Life: Mukwonago High School’s Commitment to Social Studies Education

Mukwonago High School, located just outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is redefining how students engage with history.

The school’s social studies department has made it a priority to provide students with a rigorous and relevant history education that not only deepens their understanding of the past but also equips them with essential life skills, such as critical thinking, media literacy, and effective communication.

“We don't want to teach kids what to think. We're teaching kids how to think in history,” said social studies teacher Elise Merschdorf. “We're teaching them how to seek out good sources and how to use those sources to form an opinion that is based on the evidence you find in those sources.”

Through strategic investments in curriculum development, instructional resources, and cutting-edge educational tools such as Savvas Learning Company’s World History Interactive, Mukwonago High School is ensuring that social studies education is not just about memorizing dates and events — it’s about preparing students to navigate the complexities of the modern world.

Making Social Studies Matter

Mukwonago High School's social studies instruction is driven by a passionate team of educators dedicated to history and student learning. The department consists of 12 educators and is led by Principal Stephanie Blue and Associate Principal Debra Paradowski, who can’t help but smile when speaking about the team.

“They're passionate about their content,” Debra said. “You see it in the classroom, you see the engaging lessons. I love being in that classroom just because of how they present it. They make learning fun for our kids.”

However, Carlos, who is also the president-elect of the Wisconsin Council for the Social Studies, expressed concern about a growing trend in Wisconsin: more social studies teachers are leaving the profession than entering it, causing a statewide shortage of social studies teachers that could lead to social studies not being taught as a core subject.

As a result, Carlos and his colleagues have made a concerted effort to emphasize the importance of social studies instruction to their students and their community at large to show how teaching this critical subject should be prioritized.

Mukwonago, which remains committed to having a robust cadre of social studies teachers, has redoubled its efforts, investing in resources, personnel, and time to ensure its students have access to a quality social studies education. Its educators recognize that social studies offers students a host of benefits that extend far beyond the memorization of historical facts.

“Social studies is more than just learning about history and government,” Carlos said. “It's also learning about what worldly impact that you have as an individual. What impact can you have? Social studies is going to provide that.”

To ensure that all students receive a well-rounded education that includes the many benefits of social studies courses, the team developed a guaranteed and viable curriculum. This framework ensures that all students have access to the same essential content and skills and that the curriculum can be realistically taught within the school year.

Building a Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum

To create a meaningful and cohesive history education experience, Mukwonago’s social studies team took on the task of developing their own curriculum. This process began with setting clear learning goals that aligned with state history standards and best classroom practices for history teachers.

Starting with the End Goals

Before creating the curriculum, the team first decided on its goals. They knew they wanted to provide instruction that went beyond delivering lectures to creating immersive learning experiences that challenge students to think critically about historical events and their impact on society.

They established that the instruction should help students engage with the content they teach and focus on fostering analytical skills, encouraging students to question sources, evaluate evidence, and construct well-supported arguments.

“We wanted students to be able to ask questions and answer those questions on their own,” said Principal Stephanie Blue. “We wanted students to be critical thinkers.”

The team also strongly believed that by prioritizing media literacy, students become better equipped to navigate the flood of information in today’s digital age, distinguishing between credible and unreliable sources of news and fact-based information versus misinformation.

Additionally, they wanted students to develop strong communication skills, learning to articulate their thoughts effectively in both written and verbal formats — a skill set that will serve them well in any career path they choose.

Creating Learning Units and Assessment Opportunities

From there, the educators worked collaboratively to design units that followed both a logical historical timeline and addressed essential themes that connected past events to present-day issues.

“When we started building timelines of content that we wanted to cover, we would check in with each of our groups to say, ‘Okay, so we're going to cover this,’” said Carlos. “We didn't want to have overlap if we didn't have to.”

Assessment was another key component of the curriculum development process. The team recognized that frequent, meaningful assessments would allow them to gauge student understanding and adjust instruction accordingly.

By incorporating a variety of assessment methods — including formative assessments, document-based questions (DBQs), project-based learning, and traditional exams — they ensured that students had multiple opportunities to demonstrate their learning in different ways.

Enhancing Instruction with World History Interactive

In order to help them deliver their guaranteed and viable curriculum, Mukwonago High School’s social studies team sought out high-quality instructional resources to support their teaching. After careful evaluation, the department adopted Savvas Learning Company’s World History Interactive, a dynamic and engaging program that brings history to life for students.

“We wanted to decide what was important and now we're choosing the resource that we feel like can help us get to that goal,” said Stephanie. “In the case of World History Interactive, it just very much checked off a lot of the things that we were looking for and that we felt would benefit student learning in social studies.”

World History Interactive provides digital and print resources that help bring the school’s vision to life by offering interactive learning opportunities that go beyond traditional textbooks.

The program’s multimedia features, such as primary-source analysis tools, interactive maps, and video-based storytelling, allow Mukwonago students to engage with historical content in ways that resonate with their learning styles. The ability to analyze historical events through various media helps reinforce the school’s emphasis on critical thinking and media literacy.

World History Interactive is also housed on Savvas Realize, a user-friendly online learning management system, where teachers can easily find teaching resources that accompany their lessons.

“We've been able to just go to that online World History Interactive [platform] and find things that are high quality and get what we want the kids to get without wasting our time,” said Elise. “And it helps us to pour ourselves into other things that matter more.”

Transformative Outcomes and Student Success

The impact of Mukwonago High School’s investments in its social studies department is evident in the positive outcomes achieved by both students and educators. Classrooms have transformed into vibrant learning environments where students actively participate in historical discussions, challenge perspectives, and develop informed opinions.

“We are seeing huge growth with our students and huge engagement with our students, which is great. It’s what we need to see,” said Carlos.

Students report feeling more engaged and confident in their ability to analyze and interpret historical events. Teachers have observed significant improvements in students’ ability to think critically, write persuasively, and present arguments effectively. Beyond academic achievement, these skills empower students to become informed citizens who can engage thoughtfully in civic discourse and contribute meaningfully to their communities.

Looking ahead, Mukwonago High School remains committed to continuously refining its approach to social studies education. By staying at the forefront of innovative teaching methods and leveraging high-quality resources like World History Interactive, the school ensures that its students receive a world-class history education that prepares them for success in their college, careers, and civic life.

Through the dedication of its educators, a well-structured curriculum, and cutting-edge instructional tools, Mukwonago High School is not just teaching history — it is shaping the historians, leaders, and critical thinkers of tomorrow.

“It's been so fun to watch our world history team,” said Stephanie, the principal. “Our community is super lucky to have this group of teachers so dedicated to their kids.”