History/Social Science Communiqué
Volume 2, Issue 2, September 19, 2014
Updates/ Announcements
- Congratulations to all the H/SS Site Curriculum Specialists for their role in putting together zone professional development workshops for all H/SS teachers in the district. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive! Teachers had the opportunity to interact with written, taught, and tested elements of curriculum and were able to collaborate and share ideas across school sites. Stay tuned for the next round of H/SS zone workshops in November.
- District Performance Tasks for World Cultures-7, US History-8, World Geography, World History-10, US History-10, Economics, and Government courses have been posted to the R & E Canvas Page. You can find directions for administration and the corresponding rubrics there as well. PLCs determine when to administer the PT. Be on the lookout for information from your site curriculum specialist on the process for calibrating and scoring PTs. Finally, remember rubric scores should be entered into Data Director by the end of the semester.
- Translation of Performance Tasks for bilingual sections is being handled by the Office of Language Acquisition. As soon as the Spanish versions are made available, they will be posted to the R & E Canvas course.
Featured Website
Under the History/Social Science section of the Curriculum Professional Development Canvas Course, you will find a new link for sharing resources. If you are using something in your classroom that you think would benefit others, feel free to link your file via Google-drive in this section. If you need help, contact us! We hope this serves to continue the collaboration that began at the zone workshops.
Featured Video
Check out this 2 minute clip about the power of repetition when we are teaching kids historical thinking and analysis skills.
Opportunities for H/SS Teachers
Traveling Exhibit (Mendez v. Westminster):
The Southern District of California is pleased to announce that it will be hosting a traveling Exhibit on the historic class action lawsuit Mendez, et al v. Westminster, et al. This case ended the segregation of Hispanic children into separate Mexican schools 8 years before the nation was desegregated by the landmark decision of Brown v. Board of Education. The Exhibit will be displayed in the Schwartz Courthouse located at 221 West Broadway from September 29 - December 4, 2014. Public hours are Monday - Friday 9 am - 5pm. Flier is here.
San Diego County Office of Education workshops for H/SS
The SDCOE History-Social Science Department is offering a number of grade-level specific workshops aligned to content standards and the Common Core State Standards. For more information and to register for these events click here:
Teaching about Ferguson:
Here are a few ideas and resources for the classroom to help students think critically about the events in Ferguson and ways they can be proactive in their own communities.
California State Board of Education to Resume Work on H/SS Curriculum Framework:
On September 3, 2014, the State Board of Education approved a revised timeline and guidelines for the update of the History-Social Science Curriculum Framework for California Public Schools that was suspended in 2009. At its meeting on September 17-18, 2014, the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) will be approving the current draft framework for a 60-day field review as required by the California Code of Regulations. Then the revised timeline, guidelines, and the full text of the framework will be posted on the CDE Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/hs/cf/ along with a survey instrument that will allow members of the public to make comments on all or part of the draft document. The field review survey will remain open through November 25, 2014. Members of the public may also submit comments on the framework to hssframework@cde.ca.gov.
California History Project Webinars:
Participate in live webinars, download free lesson plans and receive classroom-ready excerpts of important historical documents, with concise background information for you and your students. And, get 30 days of unlimited access to recordings of each session - at no additional cost. For a list of the workshops and to sign up, click here.
History/Social Science Contacts
Olga Loya-Estrada
High School Curriculum Specialist:
Kelly León
Lead Curriculum Specialist:
Katrine Czajkowski
Special Services H/SS Support:
Shiela Fernandez
English Learners:
Rebecca Robinson
Teacher Q & A
There will be a district-provided final exam for World Cultures-7, US History-8, World History-10, and US History-11. The exams will be data-director friendly as we recognize the little turn-around time between giving the exam and turning in final grades.
We recommend that World Geography, Economics, and Government PLCs create/modify a final exam and email it to their site-curriculum specialists.
Who do I contact if I have a suggestion, comment, or question for the H/SS Communiqué?
Kelly Leon- kelly.leon@sweetwaterschools.org
Upcoming Professional Development Days
Bilingual History/Social Science Teacher Meeting:
Monday, October 13th, 4-5pm at the Parent Center on Moss Street
Contact Olga Loya Estrada for more information