SAISD Social Studies Newsletter
October 26, 2019
Important State Updates
First of all, Holocaust Remembrance Week has been set for January 27-31. SB 1828 which was passed during the last Texas legislative session requires all schools to recognize Holocaust Remembrance Week. Resource for Holocaust Remembrance Week have been posted by the Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission here. More information regarding Holocaust Remembrance Week will be shared in the future.
Also during the last legislative session, HB 1244 added ten questions from the U.S. Citizenship and Naturalization test to the high school U.S. History EOC. TEA announced that there will be no changes to the US History EOC blueprint for 2019-2020, and that the changes required by HB 1244 will not be implemented until 2020-2021.
Document-Based Questions Implementation
Ms. Alonzo's Students at Margil
Ms. Alonzo's Students at Margil
Ms. Perrotti's Students at Fox Tech
Anchor Charts: Creating Access and Developing Academic Language
Article: Making Content Accessible for All Our Learners
Interactive Anchor Charts
Purpose: To make thinking visible by recording content, strategies, processes, cues, and guidelines during the learning process. By keeping them visible on the classroom walls it reminds students of prior learning and enables them to make connections as new learning happens. Additionally, students can refer to the charts and use them as tools as they answer questions, expand ideas, or contribute to discussions and problem-solving in class. By including sentence stems and word banks, students can use the anchor chart as a way to practice academic language in context.
Steps:
Choose your TEKS
Choose visuals to support the TEKS.
Write a sentence Stem to practice the TEKS
Provide a word bank as necessary.
San Antonio Museum of Art Field Trip Opportunity for 6th Grade World Cultures Students
A generous donation from the estate of a former SAISD educator has provided funding for the creation of a unique experience exclusively for SAISD Sixth Grade World Cultures students. The SAISD Social Studies Department and the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) have collaborated to create a field trip experience for students to explore the SAMA and to analyze how the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome influenced other cultures worldwide.
During this museum experience, students will build an understanding of cultural diffusion using works of art in several different galleries of the museum. Students will examine at least four works of Greek and Roman art and analyze how the characteristics of these pieces can be seen in artwork in other galleries throughout the museum. Students will exercise critical-thinking skills and build cross-cultural connections in order to understand the lasting influence of Greek and Roman Art. The field trip will conclude with a hands-on art activity to synthesize the experience for students.
The SAMA can accommodate groups between fifteen and ninety students for this field trip. All costs for this field trip, including transportation costs, will be paid by the Social Studies Department using the donor funds. This experience was designed specifically to align with the TEKS for the sixth grade World Cultures course, and funding will only be provided for sixth graders.
More information regarding this opportunity, including an agenda for the museum visit, is available here. Campuses must schedule field trip dates with the San Antonio Museum of Art at least two weeks in advance using this link. Please contact Patrick Pyle, Director of Social Studies, to obtain the budget code to use for buses when scheduling this field trip. The SAMA will be invoicing the Social Studies Department directly for each campus field trip.
Ms. Perrotti's Students at Fox Tech
Ms. Perrotti's Students at Fox Tech
Ms. Widell at Whittier
After School Professional Development and Department Chair Meetings
Middle School Department Chair Meeting
Tuesday, October 29, 4:45-6:00 PM Burnet Learning Center Room 21
After School Book Study
Thursday, November 7, 4:45-6:00 PM, Burnet Learning Center Room 33
New Teacher Academy
Thursday, November 14, 4:45-6:00 PM Burnet Learning Center Room 33
High School Department Chair Meeting
Tuesday, November 19, 4:45-6:00 PM, Burnet Learning Center Room 21
After School Book Study
Thursday, December 5, 4:45-6:00 PM, Burnet Learning Center Room 33
Ms. Widell at Whittier
Mr. Tapia at Lanier
Mr. Tapia at Lanier
November 5 Election- Early Voting Has Started!
Mr. Burrell at Poe
Mr. Burrell at Poe
Ms. Ruiz at Jefferson
Articles of Interest- Resources from Social Education, The Journal of the National Council for the Social Studies
Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport, the Role of Social Studies in Safeguarding the Republic
Getting Young People to Vote: 7 Tips for the Classroom
Teaching the Constitution. . . Virtually!
Now You Can't Just Do Nothing: Unsettling the Settler Self within Social Studies Education
State Legislatures, the Census, and Redistricting: Why the 2019 Elections are Important
SAISD Social Studies Department
Director of Social Studies
Email: ppyle1@saisd.net
Website: https://saisdofficeofacademics.weebly.com/social-studies.html
Location: 406 Barrera Street, San Antonio, TX, USA
Phone: 210-554-2530
Twitter: @SAISD_Social