R9 Social Studies Support

If you are a new visitor to this newsletter, "Welcome!" My name is Chelsea Howells, and I serve as the ESC Region 9 Social Studies content specialist. I am here to help you in any way that you may need, including finding resources, supporting initiatives that you take on, and providing feedback and coaching. The purpose of this newsletter is to provide resources that are specific to types of social studies content, as well as general instructional tools and resources, and updates and professional development opportunities that are beneficial to all.

Sincerely,

Chelsea

Other timely resources to note:

2023-2024 Student Opportunities Special Edition 🏫 R9 Social Studies Fall PD 🎓

HOLLIDAY ISD

Evan H., 1st year member

Project: Highway House Keeping - Evan, his 4H club, and his boy scout troop did a two mile highway clean-up for adopt-a-highway, and the people who drive on the road in Holliday. The project will help drivers, other people, and the environment by making it a cleaner area. “I found that one way to be better, is to work as a team. One person can't change the world, but as a world we can. This experience taught me better teamwork skills” Sponsor: Maranda Revell, Archer County 4H Extension Agent.

Congratulations, Evan!

Released Tests are Now Available!

STAAR Released Test Questions for 2022-2023 are live! Released tests are now available on the Practice Test Site. Don't forget: STAAR is now fully online, so these released test questions are not available as PDFs. For answer keys, item rationales, and SEs tested, click here.

The 2023 Short Constructed Response Scoring Guides are now available! Each scoring guide provides student exemplars at all score points, as well as annotations made by the Anchor Approval Committee. It's helpful to remember that each SCR question has an item-specific rubric, so these questions are scored, not graded.

You can find these guides and more on the STAAR Social Studies Resources Page on the TEA website.

In Case You Missed it - Summer Sessions

June Topic: Personal Financial Literacy and Economics High School Course

Target Audience: High School Social Studies Teachers, District Administrators, Campus Administrators, and Counselors

July Topic: Social Studies TEKS Revision and Instructional Materials

Target Audience: Social Studies Stakeholders- K-12 Social Studies Teachers, District Administrators, Campus Administrators, Education Service Center Specialists, Parents, Professional Organizations

August Topic: Assessment—Short-Constructed Response (SCR) Scoring Process

Target Audience: Middle School Social Studies Teachers, High School Social Studies Teachers, District Administrators, Campus Administrators, Education Service Center Specialists

You can find more information on the TEA Social Studies Website under Stakeholder Engagement.

The social studies team at TEA is committed to enhancing opportunities for stakeholder engagement across the state of Texas. Social Studies Stakeholder Engagement Sessions allow the TEA social studies team to expand information sharing and interaction with stakeholders. Each session will have a different informational focus and will include a fifteen-to-twenty-minute presentation from TEA staff, followed by an opportunity for general questions and discussion related to social studies. Stakeholder engagement sessions will be provided on two different days at two different times (during and outside of the school day) to provide stakeholders multiple opportunities to attend. The information shared will be the same in each meeting. All social studies stakeholders (parents, teachers, administrators, etc.) are invited to attend by registering below.

October Topic: State-Approved Social Studies Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) Courses

Target Audience: High School Teachers, District Administrators, Campus Administrators, Counselors, Education Service Center Specialists, Parents, and Professional Organizations

Dates & Times

• Monday, October 9th @ 4:30 p.m. Registration Link
• Tuesday, October 10th @ 11:30 a.m. Registration Link

For districts that use TEKS Resource System (all districts within Region 9),there are some NEW and EXCITING updates available.

NEW UPDATES:

• NEW Personal Financial Literacy/Economics Course PUBLISHED! This includes a Year at a Glance, TEKS Verification Document, Resources, Learning Goals, flashcards and Instructional Focus Documents)
• Learning Goals Planning Tool for all Elementary Grades
• Vocabulary Flashcards by Unit

• Tech Enhanced New Item Types
• Overarching Understandings/Questions and Concepts and Conceptual VAD Revised - The number of overarching understandings streamlined to 14 and 12 new concepts chosen to directly align to the overarching understandings. These changes necessitated a revision of the conceptual VAD, which is now streamlined for easier sorting and reflects better alignment.
• Course updates to World History (Unit 7 & 8) and Grade 5 (revised and reduced to 11 units)

• Revisions to Unit Overviews to reflect research based on the book From Story to Judgment: The Four Question Method for Teaching and Learning Social Studies by Jonathan Bassett and Gary Shiffman. Unit overviews will include questions to help focus inquiry during the unit and support planning that reflect the 4 Question Method developed by Jonathan Bassett and Gary Shiffman. This method of teaching and learning Social Studies revolves around four key questions and skills: What happened? (Narration), What were they thinking? (Interpretation), Why then and there? (Explanation), and What do we think about that? (Judgment).

Additionally, there will be updates to the Pacing Tools provided by Region 10 in the coming months to reflect these new updates.

The 2023 Texas Council for the Social Studies Conference is being held at the Royal Sonesta Houston Galleria on October 27th-29th!

Some ideas to get approval to attend this fantastic conference:

• The conference is Thursday through Sunday- if subs are an issue you can request to attend Friday- Sunday or Saturday/Sunday only
  
• TEA always presents the most recent updates- you'd get the newest social studies information straight from the source!

Ways to "level up" your conference experience:

• Make it a Family Affair -- room reservations at the Royal Sonesta for #TXCSS2023 Outdoor roof deck pool, fitness center, Galleria Shopping is a short walk. So while you are learning, the family will be entertained. The evenings can be a mini family vacation.
• Connect with Pros-- First time TXCSS Conference Attendees make sure to attend the First Timer's Event and/or stop by the TXCSS Information table just inside the exhibit hall to meet TXCSS members and get your questions answered.
• Build Your Social Studies Teams Uniquely -- Within walking distance: Post Oak Shopping Center, Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park, The Galleria, multiple restaurants. Royal Sonesta Shuttle provided within a 3 mile radius.

Find more information at: https://www.txcss.net/conference

2023 Conference at a Glance

Meet with thousands of social studies educators, administrators, and professionals from across the country to inspire your usage of best practices and rejuvenate with others in the social studies profession.

The 103rd NCSS Annual Conference will address the sub-themes of:

• Inclusive Social Studies: Who Are We?
• Starting at Home: Social Studies is Local—Where Are We?
• Collaboration in Social Studies: Building Partnerships
• Social Studies: Transcending Borders & Seeking Connections
• The Future of Social Studies—What’s Next?

You will leave the conference with strong strategies for delivering instruction that engages students, the best ways to advocate for the most pressing issues of social studies education, and a network of colleagues to support you throughout the year.

Program and registration details coming soon!

Check them out below:

2023-2024

2023-2024 Student Opportunities Special Edition 🏫

Celebrate Freedom Week Special Edition 🎆 R9 Social Studies Fall PD 🎓

2022-2023

Volume 2, Issue 5 📓 Review Resources Special Edition ✏️2023 Summer PD Special Edition 🖊️Volume 2, Issue 4, 🖍️Volume 2, Issue 3✒️Volume 2, Issue 2 📓 Volume 2, Issue 1 📋TEKS Revision Special Edition

2021-2022

Secondary Edition

Apr/May 2022 ✏️ Feb/Mar 2022 🖊️ January 2022 🖍️December 2021✒️ November 2021📓 October 2021 📋 Aug/Sept 2021

Elementary Edition

Apr/May 2022 ✏️ Feb/Mar 2022 🖊️ January 2022 🖍️ December 2021✒️ November 2021📓 October 2021 📋 Aug/Sept 2021

Region 9 ESC

#GCT #iCivicsEducator #MIE #GridGuide #EdPuzzleCoach

Email: chelsea.howells@esc9.net
Website: https://www.esc9.net/564748_3
Location: 301 Texas 11 Loop, Wichita Falls, TX, USA
Phone: 940-397-8106
Twitter: @ChelseaHowells9