Social Studies Elementary News
September 2019
In This September Edition:
~ Important Reminders
~ Textbook Updates
~ Department Page Update & Added Resources
~ Upcoming PD Opportunities
~ Celebrate Freedom Week
~ Women's Suffrage Centennial
~ Thank You's
Welcome Back to School!
Reminders
2. Social studies practices are specific skills that students should apply when learning social studies. Like the social studies standards, the social studies practices increase in rigor as students get older. Students should apply these skills to create and address questions that will guide inquiry and critical thinking. These practices should be regularly applied throughout the year and are not written as stand-alone standards.
Textbook Updates
Here are the latest updates on materials:
Studies Weekly (K & 1st)- Studies Weekly should have been delivered. If you have not received Kindergarten, it should arrive soon (There was a back order on that grade level). Also, there is no large poster for 1st grade for this adoption. Studies Weekly decided to create those for Kindergarten but not for 1st grade in this adoption. Online resources are up and running! Teachers are to use their Knox County Schools email address for their username and then create any password they would like to use.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2nd)- All HMH student editions should be in schools. TEs have not arrived at any school yet. There is no online access at this time either, but the moment we have that information we will forward it along!
Gallopade (3rd-5th)- Gallopade student and teacher editions have been delivered to schools. If you have any flawed materials (example: the binding is on the wrong side or the front cover is upside down), please let us know the grade and how many, so we can get that corrected. There is no online access at this time, but it should be coming very soon! Please do NOT set up teacher online accounts by following the information on the notice that came in the box. KCS will be creating teacher and student logins by pulling info straight from Aspen. We will let you know when this has been completed!
*Coaches, if you received too many TEs or too many of anything, please make sure you send them to Joe Sumter at Knox Central! We have many schools that are short materials, and we want to take care of them!
*3-5 Teachers, if you are looking for assessments we left the common assessments from last year on your teacher resource webpages. They are linked to last year's standards, but all are word version and editable.
Social Studies Department Page
Directions on how to access resources without a direct link:
1. Visit the Knox County Schools website
2. Click Departments
3. Scroll down to Social Studies
4. On the left, find "For Elementary Teachers" and click your grade level (You must be signed in to access materials.)
Spotlight on the Latest Additions to the Department Page:
- Women's Suffrage Resource Links for Grades 1-5
- Suggested Pacing Documents for Grades 3-5 (Also attached below) *There are no suggested pacing guides for K-2, since there are many different approaches to teaching Social Studies in these grades. However, we will be happy to come out to a PLC or grade level planning meeting to help any grade level with planning and pacing out the year!
Upcoming PD Opportunities
- September 5- Coaches Summer Standards Overview and Textbook Updates (for coaches)- This session is designed for Instructional Coaches to receive an overview of the K-5 Social Studies summer standards training and up-to-the-minute updates on the newly purchased Social Studies textbooks. Sign up on My Learning Plan.
- September 5- Constitution Day and Women's Suffrage PD (for teachers or coaches)- Join us for a fun-filled session led by KCS Social Studies and Hannah Rexrode from the East TN History Center as we provide resources and lesson plan ideas to use in your classroom to celebrate Constitution Day (Celebrate Freedom Week) and the Centennial Celebration of Women's Suffrage. Sign up on My Learning Plan.
- October 2- Tennessee History for Kids Fall Retreat (for 4th & 5th grade teachers)- The East Tennessee event will take place on Wednesday, October 2, at the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site in Greeneville. Each event will run from 8:30 to 3:30 (local time). Each retreat will feature fascinating standards-based presentations on Tennessee's statehood era; newspaper advertising and slavery in Tennessee; the Civil War in the Volunteer State; the passage of the suffrage amendment and the Civil Rights Movement in Tennessee. More info can be found here. *PDs offered during a regular school day, require teachers to submit a professional leave request. Unfortunately, the Social Studies Department does not have money to pay for substitutes.
- October 17- “Battle for the Ballot: An Inquiry Based Workshop on Woman Suffrage in Tennessee" (focus on 5th grade standards)- This will be a collaborative, standards-based workshop sponsored by the Tennessee State Library and Archives, the Tennessee State Museum, and the Official Committee of the State of Tennessee Woman Suffrage Centennial. We’ll be traveling to 12 cities across Tennessee, including Knoxville on October 17. To learn more or to register, visit: https://sos.tn.gov/tsla/education-outreach-upcoming-events *PDs offered during a regular school day, require teachers to submit a professional leave request. Unfortunately, the Social Studies Department does not have money to pay for substitutes.
Celebrate Freedom Week
Women's Suffrage Centennial
100 years ago Congress passed the 19th Amendment and the ratification process in the states began. 36 out of the then 48 states were needed to ratify the amendment to make it law. From June of 1919 to August of 1920, states ratified and rejected the 19th Amendment until Tennessee became the 36th state to vote “aye” on August 18th, 1920.
Over the next school year, we will celebrate the Centennial of Women’s Suffrage and Tennessee’s place within this momentous event.
During the 2019-20 school year, TDOE will highlight content about the women’s suffrage movement, which will be hosted on a new “Centennial of Women’s Suffrage” web page. On this page, districts will find resources on a new focus topic that they can use to meet the requirements of a new law (T.C.A. § 49-6-1028), which states that all districts must ensure that students receive instruction about the women’s suffrage movement at all grade levels (i.e., K–12) during each month of the 2019-20 school year.
Thank You!
~Rachel Brantley, Sabrina Brittain, Ronna Gregory, Audra Warner, Kristi Bender, Pamela Cox,
Tracy Frady, Angela Patrick, Amy Bowles, Lynnsey Metcalf, Leslie Stoner, Katherine Beeler,
Tina Corea, Alyssa Hill, Carrie Johnson, Kristy Johnson, Molly Smelser, Linda Shanton,
Lisa Tarantino, Traci Lentz, Angie Maxey, Sarah Shoesmith, & Angela Stokes~
Social Studies Department
As a three-person social studies district team, we serve every elementary, middle, and high school in the district. For the 2019-2020 school year, Katherine and Dean will be working primarily with secondary schools, and Kristin will be working primarily with elementary schools. However, please know you may call on any member of the social studies department- Katherine, Dean, or Kristin- for any social studies related need or question you may have.
Dean Burress, K-12 Social Studies Facilitator dean.burress@knoxschools.org
Kristin Risdahl, K-12 Social Studies Facilitator kristin.risdahl@knoxschools.org