#r12socstud
Connecting the Past to the Needs of the Present
Volume 1 Issue 7
Welcome to #r12socstud!
Today's social studies teacher has a difficult, powerful job. Society needs our students to understand the impact of past events in order to respond to present issues. Our students are changing and often fail to connect the events of the past to their present life. Our job as an educator is to help them make connections and think deeply.
I welcome feedback on the resources and will gladly look for information that you need to serve the students! Please reach out via email or on Twitter @owl_b_torresedu #r12socstud
Articles of Interest
Websites to Share
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress offers classroom materials and professional development to help teachers effectively use primary sources from the Library's vast digital collections in their teaching.
World of 7 Billion
In the fall of 2011, world population surpassed 7 billion and as a citizen of the earth, it’s important to understand how we reached this milestone, analyze the impact of our choices, and realize that our decisions can and will impact the future.
Population Education has created this World of 7 Billion website to bring these ideas alive in the classroom. Teachers and students alike can benefit from the resources found here.
Bill of Rights Institute
https://billofrightsinstitute.org/
Established in September 1999, the Bill of Rights Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization that works to engage, educate, and empower individuals with a passion for the freedom and opportunity that exist in a free society. The Institute develops educational resources and programs for a network of more than 50,000 educators and 70,000 students nationwide.
Teaching Strategy
Digital Tool Highlight: Wakelet
With Wakelet, you can …
- create “wakes” (or collections)
- add tweets or other social media posts to them
- add more content (like text, images, PDFs and more)
- organize everything with headers
- share those collections with the world (or embed them on a webpage)
- make them visible to as narrow or broad an audience as you want
Sign up for your FREE account today! wakelet.com
Experiential Learning Opportunity: Role Plays
**An important note**
During any simulation, role play, interactive experience, it is extremely important to remember human perspective and feelings. Be sure that your experience does not ask students to place themselves in an uncomfortable or inappropriate situation.
Role-play is a technique that allows students to explore realistic situations by interacting with other people in a managed way in order to develop experience and trial different strategies in a supported environment.
7 Reasons Social Studies Teachers Should Use Role-Playing Simulations
Love Literacy!
Picture Book
Grandma wears it clasped under her chin. Aunty pins hers up with a beautiful brooch. Jenna puts it under a sun hat when she hikes. Zara styles hers to match her outfit. As a young girl observes six very different women in her life who each wear the hijab in a unique way, she also dreams of the rich possibilities of her own future, and how she will express her own personality through her hijab. Written in sprightly rhyme and illustrated by a talented newcomer, Under My Hijab honors the diverse lives of contemporary Muslim women and girls, their love for each other, and their pride in their culture and faith.
Chapter Book
I Survived Series by Lauren Tarshis
Each I SURVIVED book tells the story of one of history’s most terrifying events, through the eyes of a kid who lived to tell the tale. A mix of real history and thrilling plots will take you into the midst of events that have shaped our world, from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius to the Nazi Invasions of 1944 to the Joplin tornado of 2011. Each character will face life-or-death challenges to discover that even in history’s darkest moments, hope stays alive.
A Longer Read
Thinking Like a Historian: Rethinking History Instruction
by Nikki Mandel and Bobbie MaloneThinking Like a Historian: Rethinking History Instruction by Nikki Mandell and Bobbie Malone is a teaching and learning framework that explains the essential elements of history and provides "how to" examples for building historical literacy in classrooms at all grade levels. With practical examples, engaging and effective lessons, and classroom activities that tie to essential questions, Thinking Like a Historian provides a framework to enhance and improve teaching and learning history. We invite you to use Thinking Like a Historian to bring history into your classroom or to re-energize your teaching of this crucial discipline in new ways.
Share What You Know!
Conferences to Attend
Upcoming Sessions!
Streamlined Social Studies TEKS UPDATE
At the November 2018 State Board of Education (SBOE) meeting, the SBOE approved for second reading and final adoption revisions to the social studies Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). The revisions streamline the social studies TEKS for kindergarten–grade 8 and the following high school courses: United States History Studies Since 1877, World History Studies, World Geography Studies, United States Government, and Economics with Emphasis on the Free Enterprise System and Its Benefits.
The TEKS for middle school and high school social studies are scheduled for implementation beginning with the 2019-2020 school year and the TEKS for kindergarten–grade 5 are scheduled for implementation in the 2020-2021 school year.
Jessica Torres
ESC Region 12
#r12socstud
Email: jtorres@esc12.net
Location: ESC Region 12, West Loop 340, Waco, TX, USA
Phone: (254) 299-1118
Twitter: @owl_b_torresedu