
September SS Update
Middle School Social Studies September 2021- Volume 1
September is American Founder's Month
September (American Founders’ Month) is an important month for Social Studies instruction and one of the busiest for instructional statutes. Instructional statutes are required instruction in addition to standards aligned instruction. Please make sure that you are documenting within your lesson plans how you are embedding and meeting the instructional statutes. Below you will find a list of important dates linked to resources within our learning networks and within the MyLearning Canvas courses. As the FLDOE updates resources those will be included as well within our instructional mandates page. Also continuing this year within the LN Mandates Pages is a hyperlinked calendar with ideas and resources for the month. Please acknowledge these dates with students and within your classrooms with intentionality with students. The instruction does not need to take a whole class period; bell work; ticket out the door; Canvas discussion post are all options to be able to meet the instructional statutes.
- American Founders Month-September
- Patriot Day, September 11
- Hispanic Heritage Month September 15th – October 15th
- Constitution Day-September 17th
- Freedom Week-September 21st-25th
As each of your campuses celebrate the month with great lessons and activities, please take pictures and share them out with us via email or social media with the #PascoHonorsFoundersMonth. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions. We are eager to see the great lessons in all our classes and are looking to highlight the great shares with the superintendent staff.
Engaging New Virtual Field Trips from Discovery Education
20th Anniversary of 9/11: Paying Tribute Through Good Deeds Virtual Field Trip with 9/11 Day
Premiere: September 7th at 1 PM ET
Empower students to do good deeds by observing the 20thanniversary of 9/11 and the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance (“9/11 Day”). Designed for students born after September 11, 2001, this experience highlights the remarkable ways people throughout the United States came together, focusing on our common humanity in the aftermath of the attacks. Participants in this VFT directly affected by 9/11 discuss the event and its impact, the national and global unity that ensued, and the lessons learned which remain relevant today. This virtual field trip is appropriate for students in grades 6-12.
SAVVAS 9/11 Resources
Free Resources to Use in Your 9/11 20th Anniversary Lesson
Bridge the past and the present. Savvas Learning Company’s Hook & Inspire: Connections to Today focuses on September 11, 2001. These free resources will help you show your students how the terrorist attack on 9/11 has affected their lives today, in ways seen and unseen.
Curriculum Resources 2021- Middle School
S3 Active Reading Strategies - Resources shared from the August 4th PD Day
M/J United States
History Mystery: Roanoke - Students examine 8 sources to try to determine what happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke. High interest and perfect for Literacy Standards. It also makes it super fun to add a soundtrack of the woods at night for the atmosphere.
M/J Civics
FJCC - Resources for SS.7.C.1.4
Analyze the ideas (natural rights, role of the government) and complaints set forth in the Declaration of Independence.
M/J World History
TCI Lesson: From Hunters and Gatherers to Farmers
Description: In a Writing for Understanding activity, students learn how the Neolithic development of agriculture led to a stable food supply, permanent shelters, larger communities, specialized jobs, and trade.
Essential Question: How did the development of agriculture change daily life in the Neolithic Age?
Early Release 21-22 Overview
We are excited to share with you our plan for early release 21-2. All general education classroom teachers (including departmentalized teachers), ESE support facilitators, Speech Language Pathologists and academic interventionists will participate in professional learning workshop facilitated by District staff, school-based coach(es), admin and/or teacher leaders focused on Uplifting Literacy in Pasco County Schools.
Dates for the early release are:
September 8th - This coming Wednesday.
October 6th
November 10th
December 8th
January 12th
February 2nd
March 9th
Middle School ERD
All middle school Social Studies teachers will be joining us on our first Early Release Day on September 8th. We will have two virtual sessions based on your release time: 12:30 & 1:30. Each session will last approximately 50 minutes. Participants will experience the DBQ process and online platform with aligned DBQ topics to our required instructional mandates.
Access the Welcome Letter from Amie Polcaro for your scheduled start time below. Please follow the steps in the letter so you are set up for the day of learning next Wednesday.
12:30 Start Time - Welcome Letter
DBQ Online Feature Spotlight: Providing Student Feedback
Providing student feedback in The DBQ Online platform has never been easier. Check out the upgrades to the teacher dashboard.
You can see students' annotations
And their answers to the questions and prompts
Easily switch between students
Upcoming Professional Development
All trainings will be via zoom and participants will be registered for PD points through attendance of the virtual professional development and stipends provided.
NHD School Lead Meeting Launch - September 22
Section #29714 | NHD School Contact Lead Competition Launch
Section Dates: 09/22/2021 - 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Course #: 938 NHD History Fair Support & Strategies
NIE - Newspapers in Education
Please join the James Madison Institute, Tampa Bay Times Newspaper in Education and Florida Press Educational Services for a Zoom webinar exploring using the newspaper in the classroom and celebrating Constitution Week.
CELEBRATE FREEDOM: WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS ….
· Date: Wednesday, September 8, 2021
· Time: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
· WEBINAR via Zoom
Each year during Celebrate Freedom Week, students in Florida, Texas, and a number of other states are expected to recite a key passage from the Declaration of Independence and to spend time studying this important document. The curriculum supplement Celebrate Freedom carefully examines this key passage, helping students better understand its meaning and why it is still important today. Join Jodi Pushkin, manager and curriculum writer for the Times NIE program and William Mattox, Director, Marshall Center for Educational Options at The James Madison Institute for a webinar focusing on this publication, American Founders’ Month, Constitution Day and Celebrate Freedom Week. In addition to focusing on the content of the publication, we also will provide lesson ideas using the newspaper and other forms of informational text in the classroom.Register here.
- The Tampa Bay Times Newspaper in Education program, in conjunction with the James Madison Institute, has a new curriculum publication, Celebrate Freedom, available for Florida students.
· Celebrate Freedom Educator Survey
· Celebrate Freedom Student Pre/Post Test
· Additional resources for American Founders’ Month, Constitution Day and Celebrate Freedom Week
USF Stavros Center Professional Learning Opportunities
VIRTUAL WORLDS AND GAMING: STRATEGIES TO TEACH ABOUT DIGITAL AND FINANCIAL LITERACY
- Date: Tuesday, September 14, 2021
- Time: 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
- Location: Webinar via Microsoft Teams
During this session, we will illustrate how financial literacy and economic decision-making are embedded in many video games and virtual worlds. Through connections to digital literacy, financial/economic, and STEM standards, we will illustrate how educators have used both simple online games (lemonade stand) as well as more complex digital worlds, like Minecraft. We will provide lessons and examples from a local educator’s classroom. In addition, we will walk educators through the initial stages of accessing and using Minecraft in the classroom.
Please register at: USF Stavros Programs.
ONCE UPON A DIME WITH BAD KITTY
- Date: Thursday, September 23, 2021
- Time: 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
- WEBINAR via Microsoft Teams
During this session, we will use the popular children’s series, Bad Kitty, to illustrate financial and mathematics concepts. We will provide an economic lesson plan and a variety of decision-making lessons you can use with your students, which will also include mathematics and science connections. In addition, we will provide connections to literacy strategies to engage students with creative and critical thinking. The first twenty educators who sign up and attend will receive a copy of Happy Birthday Bad Kitty.
Please register at: USF Stavros Programs.
ELA BOOK CLUB: ECONOMIC AND HISTORICAL CONNECTIONS IN SCIENCE FICTION AND DYSTOPIAN LITERATURE
- Date: Tuesday, September 28, 2021
- Time: 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
- WEBINAR via Microsoft Teams
This is the first session in our new ELA Book Club series, where we will investigate the historic context and economic connections to fiction. We will focus on books currently in use, as well as texts included in the new Florida BEST standards. During this webinar, we welcome a special guest speaker, Ms. Jodi Pushkin, Newspaper in Education Manager, Tampa Bay Times, who will discuss details about this year's High School writing contest. The focus will be on Science Fiction and Dystopian literature, including 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and a short story in Alternate History. We will provide lesson ideas, writing strategies, and other resources to make connections from the fictional to the factual.
Please register at: USF Stavros Programs.
Teacher Growth Opportunities
Institute for Curriculum Services
Welcome to a new and exciting school year! ICS is proud to be part of your professional development community, and we can't wait to spend the year learning with you. Check out this month's FREE, live workshops to support your classroom implementation.
Teaching About Judaism
Explore one of the world’s oldest religions. This session will cover Judaism’s beliefs, behaviors, and experiences of belonging. You’ll also discover digital activities to incorporate into your instruction.
Workshop Dates
Tuesday, September 9 - 4:30pm PT / 7:30pm ET Register Now »
Thursday, September 13 - 1:30pm PT / 4:30pm ET Register Now »
This workshop supports K-12 educators.
Teaching About Religion in the Classroom
Using case studies, this session provides guidelines and compelling digital options for incorporating the study of religion into your instruction.
This workshop supports K-12 educators.
Workshop Dates
Tuesday, September 14 - 4:30pm PT / 7:30pm ET Register Now »
Thursday, September 23 - 1:30pm PT / 4:30pm ET Register Now »
This workshop supports K-12 educators.
Ancient Israel
Using archaeology, ancient texts, and current research, we will explore the society of ancient Israel in the context of ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations.
Workshop Dates
Tuesday, September 21 - 4:30pm PT / 7:30pm ET Register Now »
This workshop primarily supports 6-12 educators. However, all are welcome to participate!
Strategies for Analyzing Primary Sources
We will share tips and tricks for utilizing the Library Of Congress’ digital source analysis tools, along with other action-based source analysis tools for you and your students to explore.
Workshop Dates
Tuesday, September 28 - 1:30pm PT / 4:30pm ET Register Now »
This workshop supports K-12 educators.
Virtual Teacher Training with The Florida Holocaust Museum
Mark Your Calendars!
Teacher Training:
Rescuers of Jews During the Holocaust
Thursday, September 30
5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
The Florida Holocaust Museum in partnership with Yeshiva University’s Emil A. and Jenny Fish Holocaust and Genocide Studies Center invites you to a special teacher workshop featuring a keynote speaker, Dr. Mordechai Paldiel. The workshop will focus on Jewish and non-Jewish rescuers of Jews during Shoah.
This training will also feature presentations by Dr. Shay Pilnik, Director of the Emil A. and Jenny Fish Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Yeshiva University, and by Ursula Szczepinska, Director of Education & Research at The Florida Holocaust Museum.
About the Keynote Speaker:
Dr. Mordechai Paldiel is a leading scholar on the rescue of Jews during the Holocaust. He earned an MA and PhD in Holocaust Studies at Temple University, Philadelphia. Paldiel was the director of the Righteous Among the Nations Department at Yad Vashem – Israel’s national Holocaust Memorial, from 1982 to 2007. Under his stewardship, some 18,000 non-Jewish men and women from various countries were awarded the prestigious honor of “Righteous Among the Nations” for their role in saving Jews from the Nazis. Dr. Paldiel has published numerous books and articles on the rescue of Jews during the Holocaust. He currently teaches several courses at Yeshiva University – Stern College and Touro College in New York City.
To register, click on the link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zRYSP9PUQNuKGqrEM9TN1Q
Seats are limited, register early! No cost to attend.
Save the Date: FCSS 64th Annual Conference
FCSS 64th Annual Conference
This Year's Theme: To Form a More Perfect Union
We hope to see you October 15th and 16th online and in person at The Florida Hotel & Conference Center at the Florida Mall in Orlando.
2022 SOURCES Annual Conference Proposals
Please consider submitting a proposal for the 2022 SOURCES Annual Conference (https://www.sourcesconference.com). It will be held on the campus of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, January 15, 2022. As always, the conference is free to attend and is open to any and all educators interested in the teaching of primary sources to K-12 student populations. Presenters will provide strategies for using primary sources to help K-12 students engage in learning, develop critical thinking skills, and build content knowledge, specifically in one or more of the following ways:
- Justifying conclusions about whether a source is primary or secondary, depending upon the time or topic under study;
- Describing examples of the benefits of teaching with primary sources;
- Analyzing a primary source using Library of Congress tools;
- Accessing teaching tools and primary sources from www.loc.gov/teachers;
- Identifying key considerations for selecting primary sources for instructional use (for example, student needs and interests, teaching goals, etc.);
- Accessing primary sources and teaching resources from www.loc.gov for instructional use;
- Analyzing primary sources in different formats;
- Analyzing a set of related primary sources in order to identify multiple perspectives;
- Demonstrating how primary sources can support at least one teaching strategy (for example, literacy, inquiry-based learning, historical thinking, etc.); and
- Presenting a primary source-based activity that helps students engage in learning, develop critical thinking skills, and construct knowledge.
For more information about the SOURCES Conference and to submit a proposal, visit the conference web site (https://www.sourcesconference.com), or email Scott Waring (swaring@ucf.edu) with any questions. Proposals need to be submitted by Thursday, September 30, 2021 in order to be properly reviewed for possible inclusion.
Thank you for your consideration and for teaching with primary sources!
Scott M. Waring, Ph.D.
Professor and Program Coordinator of Social Science Education
Director of the Teaching with Primary Sources Program at UCF
Announcing Innovative Classroom Projects!
Every teacher has creative and innovative ideas to help their students engage in learning. Last year, this program provided over $50,000 to teachers across Pasco County extra resources they needed to inspire learning amongst their students.
Visit our website for the new application and guidelines!
Deadline to apply is September 13, 2021!
Social Studies Teachers Highlight
Canvas Features Spotlight
SEL
• Self-awareness. Social studies begins with an awareness of self and how individuals are members of their families, communities, and country.
• Self-Management. All education is based on the implicit assumption that students will have the self-management skills necessary to calm themselves and focus their attention so they can effectively participate in learning, including history and social studies. A further assumption is that students will have goal-setting skills to complete academic assignments.
• Social Awareness. Understanding history and social studies depends on an awareness of ourselves in relation to others—how we may be similar and different. Understanding of history and social studies also depends on an awareness of different cultures and historical experiences. It provides an opportunity to understand that people have different perspectives based on their experiences. Perspective-taking is an essential part of social awareness.
• Relationship Skills. Social studies may be explicitly organized to develop community service skills, which give students opportunities to practice communication, assertiveness, conflict resolution, and problem-solving. Project-based learning and/or cooperative learning techniques also offer opportunities for students to practice important interpersonal skills.
• Responsible Decision-making. Social studies assumes that students will have the ability to evaluate options and make effective decisions to complete assignments. Further, students have an opportunity to reflect on the values of different historical figures, and how values and beliefs can motivate service to others and their community.
On The Horizon -
Tina Stavrou-Klem, Sr. Instructional Specialist, K-12 Social Studies
Email: astavrou@pasco.k12.fl.us
Website: https://pasco.instructure.com/courses/225141
Location: 7227 Land O' Lakes Boulevard, Land O Lakes, FL, USA
Phone: (813)794-2247
Twitter: @PascoSocStudies
Erika Simmons, PD Specialist, K-12 Social Studies
Email: earellan@pasco.k12.fl.us
Website: https://pasco.instructure.com/courses/225141
Location: 7227 Land O' Lakes Boulevard, Land O Lakes, FL, USA
Phone: 813-794-2247
Twitter: @SocStudiesPasco