R9 Secondary Social Studies Support

For those who are new to this resource, welcome! My name is Chelsea Howells, and I am the Region 9 Social Studies Specialist. I am here to support you with content, instructional strategies, classroom management, and anything else that will make your life easier!

I sincerely hope your Thanksgiving Break was a time of rest with family and friends. You have made it to the final month of 2021! When I reflect back on this year, some things have gotten better while others have gotten more difficult. Think back to before the pandemic began- how have you grown? What have you accomplished? Sometimes it is so difficult to see the forest for the trees, but you have done and continue to do great things in the lives of your students. Thank you so much for all you do- the kids see, and they will remember. I sincerely hope that you will be able to rest and relax during your winter break.

What can I do to help you in these last few school days of the semester? Please reach out any time!

~Chelsea

@ChelseaHowells9

chelsea.howells@esc9.net

A few important dates for this month with some resources linked:

• Dec 8th Bodhi Day
• Dec 10th Human Rights Day
• Dec 15th Bill of Rights Day
• Dec 21st Winter Solstice
• Dec 25th Christmas
• Dec 26th-Jan 1st Kwanzaa
• Dec 29th Wounded Knee Day
• Dec 31st New Year's Eve

The SBOE is now accepting applications to serve on social studies TEKS review work groups. The SBOE's TEKS review and revision process calls for multiple, separate work groups. Applicants do not need to be educators to apply. Please enter information in the application that best reflects your experience. A link is provided below to the application.

https://tea.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_39LY0ZqSaPRQO6a

Work Groups

Throughout the revision process, applications are submitted to SBOE members for their review and approval. TEA then builds work groups from the pool of approved applicants and notifies selected applicants of their invitation to serve on a work group.

• Work group members will be expected to complete an online orientation session prior to their work group meeting.
• Work group members may be asked to complete pre-work exercises prior to their meeting.
• Work group members may be asked to provide invited testimony at SBOE meetings.

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

Don't have time to participate in the work group? You can still make your voice heard!

As part of the State Board of Education’s process to review and revise the social studies Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), the Texas Education Agency (TEA) is surveying educators to help inform the recommendations of the social studies TEKS review work groups. We encourage you to provide your feedback regarding the current social studies TEKS by completing the survey.

Please note that survey will only be open for four weeks, so you are encouraged to complete the survey as soon as possible. The Social Studies TEKS Review Survey will close on December 10, 2021.

The link to the Social Studies TEKS Review Survey is https://tea.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6PXR2JYyIHIv2jc

HB 3979-> SB3

While HB 3979 went into effect September 1, 2021, the SBOE is required to revise the TEKS, as needed, by December 31, 2022. Since teachers must teach the current TEKS, they should continue teaching the current TEKS until the revision of the TEKS and the implementation of the revised TEKS have occurred. During the second special session of the Legislature, SB 3 was drafted, signed, and sent to the Governor's desk to be signed. Once it is signed (or after 30 days becomes law), it will supersede HB 3979. For more information and clarification, the Texas Council for the Social Studies has created some "guidelines" to assist with the interpretation of both - you can access those guidelines on the TXCSS website under the Advocacy tab or here for SB3 and here for HB3979.

SB 1063

SB 1063 provides for a new course combining personal financial literacy and economics. This course, once it is developed and has approved TEKS, can be used to satisfy a social studies graduation requirement. The bill did not add the course to the required curriculum. However, the State Board of Education (SBOE) has the authority to decide if the course should be part of the required curriculum and could make it so at some future date. If the SBOE does not take action, local districts will have the option to offer the course or not offer the course.

Connect2Texas is a network of Texas-based educational content providers including museums, cultural, historical, and scientific organizations, and authors. These providers utilize interactive videoconferencing to deliver live educational programs and professional development to school children and educators across the country. Bring the scientists, experts, and authors directly to your students without leaving the classroom!

Newsletter

Recordings

https://blog.tcea.org/texquest-curated-safe-customizable-online-resources-schools/

"TexQuest is a safe online environment where students can explore many age-appropriate materials in their research, homework, and academic studies. The state library recently released a report, TexQuest Resources: Overview of Access and Safety Procedures, which outlines the levels of protection that are in place."

"Let’s just put it out there. December is exhausting for teachers. The days are shorter. The weather grows colder and (at least here in Oregon) wetter. Students are anxious — whether it’s a buzzing excitement for vacation or a sense of dread that some kids feel in homes that are unsafe during the holidays.

And teachers are tired. They’re tired of redirecting behaviors and tired of the mid-year pressure of the test and simply tired of the sheer energy it takes to be a teacher.

It’s no wonder that so many teachers begin playing holiday movies around this time of year. They want to create a sense of fun and escape and enjoyment, and a motion picture promises exactly that. Maybe that’s okay. Maybe that’s a part of creating a culture of joy. So, please don’t read this post as a slam on teachers showing movies before the break. If this is a part of a positive classroom culture, keep doing it. This isn’t meant to be a guilt trip or a rant or a “you’re doing this wrong” post. This is meant to be a yes/and post offering other options."

Click here to read more.

https://www.npr.org/local/305/2021/11/22/1057964879/it-s-now-possible-to-visit-the-smithsonian-s-african-american-history-museum-virtually

Ep.3: National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

Join us as we recognize the 80th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Discover C-SPAN resources featuring archival video, eyewitness accounts, and authors’ views to use in your classroom.

Listen here

Live Interactive Classes on the Constitution

Part lecture and part lively conversation, these weekly classes are accessible to the public so that students, teachers, and parents can join in a constitutional discussion with National Constitution Center scholars, including President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen, Chief Learning Officer Kerry Sautner, and Senior Fellow for Constitutional Studies Thomas Donnelly, on core topics such as the branches of government, landmark court cases, civil rights, First Amendment’s freedoms of speech and press and the Fourth Amendment’s search and seizure. Each week this school year, three classes will be offered:

• Wednesdays at 12 p.m. Introductory Sessions – Seeking Understanding
• Wednesdays at 2 p.m.: Advanced Sessions – Beyond the Basics
• Fridays at 1 p.m.: All-Ages Sessions with Distinguished Guest Scholars

Public, 30-minute-long classes, take place on Zoom, are streamed live on YouTube, recorded, captioned, and posted on their website.

Click here for more information

Deadline: January 20, 2022

Click Here for more information

C-SPAN in the Classroom Podcast: Ep. 2 C-SPAN's 2022 StudentCam Documentary Competition

Attention High School Teachers!

Visit Citizenbee.org to learn more about the Texas Citizen Bee Competition.

Click here to get a copy of the November Flyer to post online and around your school hallways.

Click here to access the rules for our Region 9 Virtual Texas Citizen Bee competition.

Click here to sign up as your school's sponsor.

Attention 6th, 7th, and 8th grade teachers!

Visit http://beeinabox.org for resources and to order a classroom competition kit.

Email chelsea.howells@esc9.net for questions.

More resources for campaigning are coming soon!

The Ditch That Textbook Digital Summit is a FREE online conference for teachers. It brings together some of the brightest minds in education to discuss technology, pedagogy and more.

​

This year, the summit is open Dec. 13, 2021 to Jan. 7, 2022.

​

​ More than 70 on-demand video sessions

FREE PD hour certificates
Downloadable notes, prizes, and more
Hosted by @jmattmiller @DitchThatTxtbk

Go to https://ditchsummit.com/ to register.

Virtual PDs

NGPF hosts 8 free 1-hour collaborative Virtual PDs each week, all of which can be found on the calendar here: https://www.ngpf.org/pd/virtual-pd/. These events focus on:

• individual classroom resources & implementation ideas
• relevant current events & teaching strategies
• content brush-ups
• NGPF beginner series
• tech tools

Certification Courses

NGPF offers free 10-hour certification courses in various personal finance topics to help teachers develop deep ongoing content expertise. The next cohort is a 3-week "mini" cohort (Five 2-hour sessions between Nov 29 and Dec 14) with the Psychology of Money course and Careers course available this time around. We'll then resume regular cohort scheduling (5 week cohorts, 2-hour sessions 1x per week) in January. Typically, 5 to 6 courses are available per cohort. Full course availability:

• Advanced Investing (invite only after passage of Investing)
• Banking & Budgeting
• Behavioral Finance
• Careers
• Credit
• Insurance
• Investing
• Paying for College
• Psychology of Money (based on Morgan Housel book)
• Taxes

On Demand PD

Teachers' schedules are crazy, so NGPF offers free self-paced 1-hour professional development modules. All modules can be found here, with new modules released monthly: https://www.ngpf.org/ondemand/

NGPF Academy

All professional development opportunities above are parts of NGPF Academy, NGPF's program to reward teachers for their heroic professional development efforts. For every 10 hours of credit up to 40 hours (virtual, cert course, or on-demand) a teacher completes, NGPF issues gift cards and swag to teachers! Details can be found here: https://www.ngpf.org/ngpf-academy/

PBS LearningMedia is currently seeking ELA and Social Studies educators in grades 6-12 to pilot test educational materials created for the Ken Burns in the Classroom collection. This is a paid opportunity.

For each lesson tested, teachers will be paid a $250 stipend. Requirements of testing include:
-Implementing a resource and support materials in class.
-Utilizing a rubric/form to provide feedback.
-Providing sample work and reflections from two students.
-Classroom implementation observation by a member of the PBS LearningMedia team virtually or in-class(if possible/following COVID safety protocols). Additional student work samples will be requested when observation is not possible.

Application here >> https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSckbhWNRzeGM7UBKieQ1WtPlNjzGtHYULiSM5cH83TF6wfvbA/viewform

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.

Alamo Senior Curator Ernesto Rodriguez moderates a panel discussing the period in Texas history between 1810, the Mexican Revolution, and 1836, the Texas Revolution.

Who Tells Your Story?

Cultivating Inclusive Spaces for Empathy Inquiry

Brene Brown says, “Empathy is simply listening, holding space, withholding judgment, emotionally connecting, and communicating that incredibly healing message of you’re not alone.” And while the concept is clearly conveyed, teaching empathy, as it applies to understanding history especially, is not quite as clear cut or simple. This is the first of a three-part series specifically for Social Studies educators—Who Tells Your Story?

Discussions will center on how to cultivate inclusive spaces within your classroom so students can build a foundation for learning and inquiry that allows them to empathize with, and better understand different perspectives. PBS Digital Innovator All Stars Shelly Stanton and Paige Somoza will highlight exciting resources and models that you can immediately implement in your middle/high school classrooms.

Session 2: Essential Fact-Checking Skills

Webinar Series by the News Literacy Project

The second session in this series is a deep dive into the tools and skills needed to fact-check and verify the authenticity of information you encounter in various forms. To complement the recording, you’ll find the presentation and additional resources at this link.

Check them out below:

2021-2022

Secondary Edition

November 2021 October 2021 August-September 2021

Elementary Edition

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