R9 K-5 Social Studies Support

Happy New Year!

I hope that 2022 brings you every opportunity to achieve the goals you have for yourself both personally and professionally. As for our students, the start of a new year is a great time to reflect on what we've learned so far and the learning that we still have to come.

I would like to share with you something I have learned in this profession. It is so important to care for yourself so that you can be your best for your students. I have always been a perfectionist to a fault; at times I wore myself out trying to be everything and do everything for everyone. I encourage you to be okay with taking some things off your plate. It is okay to say "no" or to let something be less than perfect! Your best is enough!

As always, I am here to help you in any way that might make your path smoother and workload lighter. Please don't hesitate to reach out any time!

~Chelsea

@ChelseaHowells9

chelsea.howells@esc9.net

Message from TEA:

Dear social studies educators,

As you may know, the State Board of Education (SBOE) is in the process of revising the kindergarten-grade 12 social studies TEKS. As part of the review process, the SBOE convenes work groups to make recommendations for revisions to the TEKS. TEA collects applications from educators, parents, and community members who are interested in serving on work groups. There is a special need for work group applicants with experience teaching the following courses:

• Ethnic Studies: African American Studies
• Ethnic Studies: Mexican American Studies
• Government
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Special Topics in Social Studies
• Social Studies Research Methods
• World Geography

Should you have experience in one of the above courses and wish to participate, you are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Initial work groups will begin convening as early as this month. The application is available at https://tea.texas.gov/academics/curriculum-standards/teks-review/2021-2022-social-studies-teks-review.

Questions related to the application for the social studies TEKS review and revision process can be directed to teks@tea.texas.gov.

If you’re needing to bring people together in a new situation, then ice breakers are one way to do that. If you’re wanting to encourage self-assessment and reflection, entry and exit tickets can work wonders. But a different type of icebreaker and reflection tool can also be handy: the dicebreaker and the dice debrief.

Source: https://blog.tcea.org/dicebreakers-debrief-activity-templates/

Created by Elizabeth Howson.

Here is how she used this idea in her classroom: "Today we reviewed for our district Benchmark by looking for the IMPOSTER in the 4 artifacts given. The secret to creating a mystery is to put things in BOXES! Kids can touch the items but they cannot take them out. Before we move groups, they have to put the top back on to keep the mystery for the next group. Honest Moment: I just used random stuff in my classroom...I wasn't super duper organized.

This was a last minute idea that I was excited to try...and it was fun! The key was to how the kids historically explained their grouping for the 3 items that belonged together. Example: one box had rice, indigo, cotton, and oats. Some students said the oats were the IMPOSTER since the other three are cash crops for the south. Some students said the cotton since it was not a major cash crop of the colonies while the other three were.

Students had awesome discussions and worked well with their different groups. Side note in groups: I have students move and choose a new group of people to work with each time. They get to choose but it has to be new. They may end up with the same people later but NEVER IN A ROW."

Click here to make your own copy

Grade level (suggested): 4th to 6th grade

Time to complete: about 30 to 45 minutes

Click here for the blog post

Click here for the breakout site

Ep. 5 Martin Luther King, Jr.: Life and Legacy

With the recognition of Martin Luther King, Jr. this month, the team shares C-SPAN Classroom resources that reflect the life and legacy of this historic figure.

Listen here

I attended a session at the TXCSS conference that showcased the updates Studies Weekly has been making to their materials. For those who use these materials, I hope this information will be beneficial!

Below are some of the resources they are sharing out:

• https://bit.ly/NEWTX (hub for all resources)
• Link to their conference presentation
• Click Here to preview samples of the new Texas materials
• Texas support site for new materials (specific for Texas teachers only)

Preview the “new” Texas materials:

https://app.studiesweekly.com/online/

• Username: newtxteacher
• Password: earlyaccess

Most students learn about Martin Luther King Jr. in school. But it’s rare that they learn these stories from Black storytellers. As we approach MLK Day on the 17th, here are 20 books about Dr. King by Black authors, compiled by @BCBooksAuthors

https://t.co/SXQ8WYRAal

In 2019, the Texas Legislature passed a bill requiring that students in public school commemorate a Holocaust Remembrance Week to “inspire … a sense of responsibility to recognize and uphold human value and to prevent future atrocities.” In 2022, Holocaust Remembrance Week is January 24-28. I would highly recommend reviewing the resources provided by the organizations listed below. Many have worked tirelessly to create digital resources that can be used both face to face and virtually.

• Dallas Holocaust & Human Rights Museum
• Texas Holocaust Genocide & Antisemitism Advisory Commission
• Museum of Jewish Heritage
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

credit: Jessica Torres, Region 12 @owl_b_torresedu

credit: Jessica Torres, Region 12 @owl_b_torresedu

PBS KIDS offers FREE special collection of flexible self-paced learning to help inspire teachers and provide support for the classroom. Choose from several learning experiences designed to spark new ideas and expand your skill set—you may also be able to earn between one to three credit hours.

Courses: https://teach.pbskids.org/

Blog Post : https://www.pbs.org/education/blog/dive-in-and-explore-pbs-kids-self-paced-learning-for-prek-2-teachers

Humanities Texas FREE Professional Development - Spring 2022

This spring, Humanities Texas will hold FREE professional development webinar series for social studies and ELA teachers in Texas schools.

*This is just the beginning of the 2022 programming. Stay tuned for more announcements on additional opportunities for both social studies and ELA teachers.*

Teachers can apply to attend on the Humanities Texas website.

Teaching the Civil Rights Movement

Tuesdays • January 25 and February 1, 2022 • 5:15–6:30 pm CT

These webinars will offer a nuanced understanding of the civil rights movement, incorporating significant primary documents from a number of the movement’s major figures. The first webinar will consider the traditional historical understanding of the movement, providing a broad overview before complicating the story. The second webinar will focus on Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet,” and Fannie Lou Hamer’s testimony before the 1964 Democratic National Convention’s credentials committee, considering each document's presentation of American democracy. Both webinars will highlight the most important takeaways for middle and high school students.

Teaching U.S. History with Primary Documents, 1963–2000

Wednesdays • January 26–March 2, 2022 • 5:00–6:15 pm CT

Each weekly webinar will cover a document that is crucial to understanding U.S. history in the final decades of the twentieth century: the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the Pentagon Papers, the House Articles of Impeachment for Nixon, a document relating to the 1977 National Women’s Conference, and Reagan’s “Evil Empire” speech. Each webinar will focus on one of these documents, addressing both its context (how it came to be and its impact/significance) and its actual contents (the most important things for teachers to know and share with their students).

Teaching the Transformation of Texas, 1930–1945

Mondays • January 31–February 28, 2022 • 5:00–6:30 pm CT

This webinar series will offer teachers insight into the profound changes that remade Texas during the 1930s–1940s as the Great Depression, New Deal, and World War II collectively transformed it from a region of rural farmers into a modern, urbanized state. Team-taught by a historian and two master teachers, the sessions will provide a collection of curriculum materials geared toward bringing innovative perspectives into the classroom.

Teaching Reconstruction

Tuesdays • February 8 and 16, 2022 • 5:00–6:15 pm CT

The two webinars will offer a nuanced understanding of how Reconstruction reunited a war-torn nation, destroyed chattel slavery, and remade the American state against a backdrop of racial terrorism and radical economic upheaval. These webinars will explore how teachers can turn cutting-edge historical research into classroom-ready pedagogy. Particular emphasis will be placed on key questions, terms, and primary sources to share with students.

Teachers can apply to attend here:

http://www.humanitiestexas.org/education/teacher-institutes/application.

Please contact us with any questions: institutes@humanitiestexas.org

EduProtocols Worldwide FREE Conference (Virtual)

WHEN: Saturday, February 5, 2022

9:30 AM - 2:30 PM

FREE

FOUR HOURS of FREE PD + Opening session with the EduProtocol’s authors and Dr. Sonny Magana - MathReps Authors will be sharing - Tons of free templates and resources - Links to the video sessions will be provided following the event.

We'll have EduProtocols from: Mexico, India, Argentina, Switzerland, and more from all across the US!

Click here to register!

Link to register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSennU08KIAEi5cVEI2c8gQTxyD9E0Vw9KBFi5EB33mKXrefPg/viewform

Link to register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdX7uemNXVz48SvpAkLFFIJCCxVIgP205G9_w-dkdWdeAvcYw/viewform

NEH offers tuition-free opportunities for K-12 educators and higher education faculty to study a variety of humanities topics. Stipends of $1300-$3450 for residential programs and $650-$1725 for virtual programs help cover expenses for these one- to four-week programs. Applications for all programs close on March 1, 2022.

https://www.neh.gov/divisions/education/summer-programs?f%5B0%5D=summer_program_audience%3A351

Applications are open for Sphere Summit: Teaching Civic Culture Together summer 2022! Sphere Summit, a full‐​scholarship professional development program for grades 5–12 educators, returns as a fully in‐​person experience in Washington, DC, and will run July 10–14 and July 24–28. More information can be found at this website.

Who Tells Your Story?

Locating and Navigating Credible Primary Sources to Analyze Perspective

Each person has their own perspective and there is always a reason why. For example, quickly answer this question in your head: “The best show on television is _______ because _________________________.” Whether you came to your answer quickly or it took you a few minutes, you were likely able to identify a show, and you also probably have great reasons to backup your assertion. The better question is: why might your answer be more valid than that of the person sitting next to you? How about the person sitting next to him/her?

As our students form their own opinions and beliefs, and think about their views in both contemporary and historical context, what tools and strategies are they using to locate and navigate credible sources? How are they effectively analyzing perspective? This is the second episode of our series designed especially for Social Studies teachers—Who Tells Your Story? PBS Digital Innovator All Stars David Olson will highlight exciting resources and models that you can immediately implement in your middle/high school classrooms.

Session 3: Productive Conversations with People who Believe Misinformation

Webinar Series by the News Literacy Project

Watch session 3, Productive Conversations without Confrontation, which shares the skills needed to talk with someone whose beliefs are fueled by misinformation — and still have a productive, non-confrontational conversation. Access the presentation slides here.

"There's no disagreement about the severity of the problem with english language arts (ELA) outcomes in American elementary schools. Open the newspaper and read about the latest alarming round of test scores, and you'll see our system's failures writ large across the media.

Agreement on the solution, however, remains elusive — so much so that it prompted journalist Natalie Wexler, in her book The Knowledge Gap, to label the fierce debate over reading instruction as "the reading wars." But what do these "reading wars" have to do with social studies? In Part II of The Case For Elementary Social Studies, [there is an] interview [with] Ms. Wexler about how integrated ELA and elementary social studies curriculum contributes to knowledge building, a key factor in improving elementary students' reading comprehension.

Click here to read more.

Check them out below:

2021-2022

Secondary Edition

December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 August-September 2021

Elementary Edition

December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 August-September 2021

Social Studies Specialist

Region 9 ESC

#GCT #iCivicsEducator #MIE #GridGuide #EdPuzzleCoach

Email: chelsea.howells@esc9.net
Website: https://www.esc9.net/393857_4
Location: 301 Texas 11 Loop, Wichita Falls, TX, USA
Phone: 940-397-8106
Twitter: @ChelseaHowells9