The Social Studies Connection
A Newsletter for Secondary Social Studies Teachers in CCS
Preparing students for success in college, career, and civic life
If you missed last month's edition of the Social Studies Connection, click here.
Matthew I. Doran
Office of Teaching & Learning
Curriculum Division
Southland Center
Email: mdoran2067@columbus.k12.oh.us
Website: http://www.ccsoh.us/socialstudies
Location: 3700 South High Street, Columbus, OH, USA
Phone: 380-997-0470
Twitter: @mdoran2067
February 2021
In this edition:
- Professional Development: Rise Up! February 3 District PD Day
- Curriculum and Instruction: Black History Month Resources
- Curriculum and Instruction: Social Studies Academic Electives 2021-2022
- Professional Development: NEH Landmarks, Seminars, and Institutes
- Professional Development: Virtual PD Calendar with 2021 Updates
- Professional Development: Professional Leave/Spring Virtual Conferences
- Virtual Learning Resources: DBQ Online and Newsela Home Bases
- Virtual Learning Resources: Google Drawings Graphic Organizers
- Virtual Learning Resources: Social Studies Virtual Learning Padlet of Padlets
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Professional Development
Rise Up! February 3 District PD Day
You can access the full list of session opportunities here. Use the links on the left navigation menu to view sessions offered by individual departments. Please note: This is a public website. You will not need to log in to Canvas, and you can ignore any pop-up messages about logging in. Unless otherwise indicated, no pre-registration is required.
Social Studies Sessions
(Note: There are also sessions in Instructional Technology available throughout the day. Teachers of Special Education and ESL may have required or optional offerings as well.)
8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. - Digging Deeper with Visible Learning for Social Studies: Focus on Transfer
The Visible Learning framework demonstrates that learning is not an event, but rather a process in which students move from surface-level learning to deep learning, and then onto the transfer of concepts, skills, and strategies. In this session, we will dig deeper into Phase 3, Transfer. We will identify transfer goals that align with our course curriculum, and utilize these goals teach content/skills, social-emotional learning, and the common good.
12:30 p.m. - 1:20 p.m. - Social Studies Best Practices and Resources Smackdown
Collaborate with your colleagues by sharing best practices and resources in a face-paced "smackdown." Participants will have 1-2 minutes to share out a best practice or resource that they have been using during virtual learning. The practices and resources will be submitted in advance via a Google Form, with the results sheet presented during the session. Submit your best practices or resources in advance using the form here.
12:30 - 1:20 p.m. or 1:30 - 2:20 p.m. - Making Modern Connections with Newsela
This session will focus on using Newsela's social studies collection to make connections between current events and social studies concepts, and highlight Social-Emotional Learning resources and content. Please complete the pre-survey 24 hours in advance here.
1:30 - 2:20 p.m. - Open Discussion on the Future of Social Studies Elective Courses
This will be an open discussion regarding social studies elective course offerings for the 2021-2022. Participants will be invited to share feedback regarding the possible addition of new elective courses, and discuss instructional resources for existing courses. Please complete the Social Studies Course Offerings Survey here if you have not already done so.
Additional on-demand sessions include recordings of the October PD Day sessions and presentations on Visible Learning and Media literacy.
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Black History Month Resources
February is Black History Month. The Black History Month 2021 theme, “Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity” explores the African diaspora, and the spread of Black families across the United States.
Here is a collection of helpful resources and tools from Teaching Tolerance for teaching African-American history:
Teaching Hard History
The Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance Initiative has recently released a report and curriculum materials on teaching the central role that slavery played in the development of the United States. You can read more about the report here and access the curriculum materials (aligned with the C3 Framework) here. The Teaching Hard History standards are incorporated into the Social Studies 8 and African-American Studies curriculum in CCS.
Do's and Don'ts of Black History Month
Suggestions to ensure students get the most out of black history and Black History Month.
Black History Month: Teaching Beyond Slavery
Avoid minimizing black history; include the full human experience beyond enslavement.
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Teaching Local African-American History
To incorporate local African-American history, check out the Teaching Columbus Blog: The African-American Experience in Columbus. Topics address include the Underground Railroad in Columbus, King-Lincoln and the Harlem Renaissance, and the desegregation of Columbus Schools. These articles were originally written in 2014, and recently expanded and updated.
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Free Unit from the Choices Program: Slavery in the Americas: Resistance, Freedom, and Legacies
How does the history of racial slavery shape our world today?
Racial Slavery in the Americas: Resistance, Freedom, and Legacies provides the opportunity for students to consider how the past shapes the present on these fundamental issues. This curriculum provides a wide-ranging overview of racial slavery in the Americas over many centuries.
The Digital Editions format of this unit is FREE through September 30, 2021, thanks to funding through the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice at Brown University. To access the unit for FREE, click Purchase, then add the Digital Editions Individual Teacher License to your cart and complete the checkout process.
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Newsela Resources for Black History Month
The purpose of this Collection is to highlight how Black people have historically and contemporarily succeeded while experiencing racism and prejudice. Our goal is to continue to educate people on the triumphs of Black people in this country. We will promote the contributions, influence, and achievements in the Black community that are often ignored, silenced, or belittled.
Join Newsela for a live webinar: Embedding Social Justice in your Social Studies Classroom, February 4, 2021, 4:30 p.m. EST. Come join us as we explore how to create classroom conversations that challenge ourselves and our students. Click here to register for this webinar.
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High School Social Studies Academic Electives for 2021-2022
At present, we offer the following courses:
- African-American Studies (full-year)
- Economics (semester)
- Global Issues (full-year)
- Law (semester)
- Psychology (semester)
- Sociology (semester)
The High School Department chairs have recommended additional courses for consideration, including:
- Cultural Studies
- Latinx Studies
- Women's Studies
- Critical Thinking/Information Literacy (Civic Reasoning)
To determine the viability of these proposals, we would like feedback from all high school social studies teachers. Please do so by completing the form here.
On the February 3 PD Day, we will have an open discussion session to discuss the future of all social studies elective courses and the instructional resources needed for those courses. This session will be 12:30 - 1:20 p.m.
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External Professional Development
NEH Landmarks, Seminars, and Institutes
Most of the Seminars, Institutes, and Landmarks programs will be offered online during summer 2021. All questions about specific program requirements should be directed to project directors using the information provided at each program website.
Visit the NEH Summer Programs website for a complete list of available workshops. The deadline for application is March 1, 2021.
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Virtual PD Calendar with 2021 Updates
New opportunities have been added to the 2021 calendar, including virtual sessions from the American Historical Association (January) and the International Society for the Social Studies Virtual Conference (February).
You can access this calendar from the link here. A calendar link is also available on the Social Studies homepage under the Featured Resources column on the right side of the page. Be sure to check the calendar regularly as it updated at least once a week.
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Professional Leave/Spring Virtual Conferences
Social Studies teachers may be interested in using funds to attend either the National Council for History Education Conference (April 8-11, 2021) or the Organization of American Historians Virtual Conference on American History (April 15-18, 2021).
Requests for April conferences are due to HR by February 19, 2021. However, you may want to apply earlier before funds are depleted.
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Virtual Learning Resources
DBQ and Newsela Online Home Bases
We have developed a CCS-specific "home base" for each platform with log-in information, tutorials, and curriculum alignment.
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Google Drawings Graphic Organizers
This collection of over 30 graphic organizers was created by CCS Social Studies to align with many of the suggested organizers in the curriculum. Click on the link below to access.