Social Studies Insider
February 2019
Wanted: Social Studies Go-To Teachers
Got an Idea? Need and Idea? Collaborate on Google Classroom!
Seeking the Latest and Greatest in Digital Resources
New to the List this Month: NBC Learn
NBC Learn is an online video library with 90 years of news footage, award-winning featured series, and current events. The Coweta School System has been given an opportunity to sign teachers up for a semester-long pilot account to assess this resource's value. NBC Learn provides teachers in any content area a plethora of resources that often include STEM connections. In addition, teachers are able to filter videos by the Georgia Standards of Excellence to pinpoint video segments that correlate directly with your current topic of study. This resource can be used at any grade level. To obtain access to your semester-long pilot account, please click on the link above and then sign in through the G-Suite option. If you have any questions, please reach out to Phil Sykes.
World Data Atlas is your ultimate source on world statistics. Browse key statistics by country and region, find relevant data and visualization and export them into Excel, PowerPoint and PDF all at your fingertips.
How Can GCA Help You?
Utilize the bank of questions to spiral information from your previous units of study. Select five questions per week and conduct a brief warm-up/concluding review with a daily assigned question. Take time to allow students to review their notes, discuss their understanding with a partner, and document their thoughts. Encourage them to mark out, highlight, underline segments of the question and option choices. Before reviewing the correct answer as a class, demonstrate how students should get to the correct answer by identifying what students know about the various distractors. Model for your students as you highlight key points, jot down reminders, and eliminate any incorrect options choices to solidify the correct answer.
If interested in more information about this strategy, reach out to Nessa McClure or Phil Sykes. The examples pictured below were created by Nessa McClure and cover the 5th-Gade Social Studies Georgia Standards of Excellence.
Organized Questions
Use Google Slides to organize a running list of your daily questions.
Daily Question
Teachers will present one question each day. Here students will be able to identify the DOK and linked standards. Teachers will use this question to model correct test-taking strategies by making annotations on the board.
Weekly Worksheet
Students will document their answers on this handout weekly. Students should annotate each question as their teacher models daily.
Spotlighting Excellence
Recognizing the critical need at our school for a dedicated reading and writing block based on student data, Rebecca Craver and her colleague at Elm Street willingly stepped up and advocated for an innovative approach. She and the colleague pushed to take on science and social studies in addition to their math classes. Although some may be tempted to give science or social studies a downgrade since they are no longer state tested contents in fourth grade, Ms. Craver knows the key role that they play in overall development and future learning. She's worked really hard to learn additional content areas and sift through content to find key instructional elements for learners.
One of the things that makes her most impressive is her positive attitude and her desire to bring memorable learning experiences to students. For example, when studying the American Revolution and King George, students learned how the British Parliament ruled the colonists and taxed them through a unique approach. Students pulled a role to play from a mystery bag. Roles included The King, two Parliament Members, two Tax Collectors, and Colonists. Students were each given a package of Smarties candy. The parliament members pulled statements out of a bag and read them aloud. The statements read aloud were taxes that were placed on the colonists, such as, "If you have on shoes with laces you are taxed two Smarties." Colonists had to give up the amount of Smarties taxed throughout the activity and at the end, the tax collectors counted the total number of taxes or Smarties. The King was given 70% of the collection, Parliament 20%, and the tax collector got 10%. Students most certainly loved and learned from the experience!
Ms. Craver's also used bags for History Mystery moments where a bag held a variety of items that gave clues about topics related to Westward Expansion. Items such as hot sauce, a book about Louisiana, a train, and a golden nugget were included to launch the discussion. As each item was revealed a discussion about its possible significance unfolded. Another big hit was a Land Takeover game where partners competed to control the most land on the map. No matter the standard or the content, Ms. Craver finds a way for learning to be relevant to students’ lives, and she creates experiences that draw them in. An outstanding teacher through and through, Ms. Craver remains humble and reflective, always seeking to improve her own practices and learn from others. In addition to all that she does to teach in ways that make everyone love her classes, she serves as a strong professional role model for others, including school leaders, reading and sharing great books such as “The Book Whisperer,” modeling awesome Hattie discussion practices with students (especially in math), serving on our PBIS and SBLT teams, and contributing to a positive school culture for students, teachers, and parents. We are grateful for the many incredible ways she serves our school and our school system!
Christie Thompson is a 7th grade teacher at East Coweta Middle School where she’s taught Social Studies for the past 15 years. Besides being a big Alabama fan, she is very passionate about teaching History. Because of this she continuously looks for ways to engage her students in the curriculum. Being very aware of the fact that 21st century learners are tech savvy, and how technology has revolutionized the learning process, Christie has taken on the challenge to integrate technology into her lessons in order to engage her students in learning.
One creative way that Christie integrates technology on a daily basis is through her Map Warm-Ups. For her daily Map Warm-Ups, Christie posts a picture of a map of a country that they are studying, along with a short story and pictures that relate to the story. Each day students read the story on their Chromebooks, view the pictures, then answer a couple of constructed response questions. She then reviews the constructed responses with them using her Smart Board. So, not only is she using technology to engage students in the lesson, but she’s also integrating reading and writing into the curriculum.
East Coweta Middle School recently purchased the Gallopade Clickbook Digital Curriculum for the Social Studies department. Before even receiving formal training, Christie has taken the initiative to begin using the Clickbook lessons in her classes. She’s in the beginning stages of learning the program but stated that the students are enjoying the interactive lessons over the textbooks. Most of all, she’s enjoying the Clickbook teaching tools such as planning, pacing guides, and the ability to gather real-time data on student performance.
It is always a joy to know that teachers like Christie Thompson exist. Not only is she taking the time to enhance student learning, but she’s committed to bringing excitement to the 21st century classroom through her innovative and creative teaching strategies. Awesome Job Christie! Keep up the Great Work!
Scott Zachry has a way of making history come alive for his students. From reenacting battle scenes to bringing in speakers from across the community, Mr. Zachry engages his students by making meaningful connections to the past and how it impacts students' current lives. His teaching reaches a wide range of students from collaborative, general, and advanced United States History settings at the high school level, to civics being presented to eighth graders at Madras Middle School. Mr. Zachry does a phenomenal job of blending a variety of classroom strategies to reach every learner at every level. You also can always find students following his active Twitter page to stay up to date on resources and get a few bonus points if they are lucky! We are thankful at Northgate to have such a committed faculty member who brings his love of history into the classroom and impresses upon the next generation the importance of learning from the past to make an impact on their future. Thanks Mr. Zachry!
Attention Elementary Teachers:
NBC Learn Tutorial Session; February 11, 2019; WERZ; SD2:
As many of you know, NBC Learn has provided our district's teacher a semester-long free pilot account. (You can access NBC Learn immediately by signing in with your CCSS Gmail account credentials.) This resource provides teachers over 90 years worth of primary and secondary video sources that can be used to make various connections between the real world and your specific content area. NBC Learn has added a new program that is blending all content areas together using STEM connections. I'd love for you to join in for this exciting training session. Please register for this tutorial session by clicking on the registration link within the Professional Learning for All section.
Kid Lit TV- Bringing Literature into the Social Studies Classroom
Kid Lit Tv provides teachers with a number of ways to bring nonfiction literature into the Social Studies and/or ELA classroom. The content can be aligned to your standards and will be certain to engage your students. Click Here to access.
Integrating Social Studies into your ELA/Reading Lessons Made Easy
Located within the GA DOE Teacher Notes, teachers can find a list of standards connected books that can easily be integrated into your ELA/Reading lessons.
For Kindergarten access, Click Here.
For 1st Grade access, Click Here.
For 2nd Grade access, Click Here.
For 3rd Grade access, Click Here.
For 4th Grade access, Click Here.
For 5th Grade access, Click Here.
Mission US (Most appropriate for 4-5th Grades)
Make your social studies lessons revolutionary with simulator-based historical games by Mission US. Click the link to view the game trailer. To view all versions of the game, click here.
Picturing History: Using Children's Literature to Spark Inquiry in Social Studies K-12
Save the date Thursday and Friday, June 20-21 2019! This read-aloud retreat will connect educators with professional authors and illustrators. Held at Brasstown Valley Resort & Spa, nestled in the beautiful mountains of North Georgia, we expect this retreat to fill quickly. Click here for registration information.
Check out the GCEE Workshops offered this semester! Additional professional development opportunities are located within the section titled Professional Development for All.
Attention Middle School Teachers:
NBC Learn Tutorial Session; February 11, 2019; WERZ; SD2:
As many of you know, NBC Learn has provided our district's teacher a semester-long free pilot account. (You can access NBC Learn immediately by signing in with your CCSS Gmail account credentials.) This resource provides teachers over 90 years worth of primary and secondary video sources that can be used to make various connections between the real world and your specific content area. NBC Learn has added a new program that is blending all content areas together using STEM connections. I'd love for you to join in for this exciting training session. Please register for this tutorial session by clicking on the registration link within the Professional Learning for All section.
Opportunity for Students in Grades 6-12:
The Georgia Commission on the Holocaust is looking for it's 2019 Student Community Service Award recipient. This award is given to honor students in middle and high school who are making significant contributions to their community through their time, actions, talents and dedication. Students applying for these awards will have consistently demonstrated qualities of compassion and service in their volunteer activities. Students may not receive any monetary or personal benefits from their involvement in these activities. Please encourage students to apply! We'd love to have a CCSS student recognized for the work they are doing to better our community. Click here for an application.
8th Grade Georgia Studies Economics Review App Coming Soon
GCEE is planning to release the 8th Grade Economics review app in late February, early March. Please be on the lookout. This will serve as an additional tool to help prepare our students for the Milestones.
Middle School District Social Studies Meeting
This month's meeting will be held at Arnall Middle School. Please plan to arrive by 4:10.
Picturing History: Using Children's Literature to Spark Inquiry in Social Studies K-12
Save the date Thursday and Friday, June 20-21 2019! This read-aloud retreat will connect educators with professional authors and illustrators. Held at Brasstown Valley Resort & Spa, nestled in the beautiful mountains of North Georgia, we expect this retreat to fill quickly. Click here for registration information.
Check out the GCEE Workshops offered this semester! For specific information about additional opportunities, scroll down to the section titled Professional Development for All.
Attention High School Social Studies Teachers:
NBC Learn Tutorial Session; February 11, 2019; WERZ; SD2:
As many of you know, NBC Learn has provided our district's teacher a semester-long free pilot account. (You can access NBC Learn immediately by signing in with your CCSS Gmail account credentials.) This resource provides teachers over 90 years worth of primary and secondary video sources that can be used to make various connections between the real world and your specific content area. NBC Learn has added a new program that is blending all content areas together using STEM connections. I'd love for you to join in for this exciting training session. Please register for this tutorial session by clicking on the registration link within the Professional Learning for All section.
Econ Teachers: It's Never too Early to Spiral...
General Economics and AP Economics review apps are now available in the Apple and Google Play Stores. These apps were created by GCEE and will provide students with a great review resource for general Economics and AP Economics course assessments. The current bank of questions holds nearly 400 questions and is constantly working to add additional questions. Encourage your students to download and use these apps today!
Opportunity for Students in Grades 6-12:
The Georgia Commission on the Holocaust is looking for it's 2019 Student Community Service Award recipient. This award is given to honor students in middle and high school who are making significant contributions to their community through their time, actions, talents and dedication. Students applying for these awards will have consistently demonstrated qualities of compassion and service in their volunteer activities. Students may not receive any monetary or personal benefits from their involvement in these activities. Please encourage students to apply! We'd love to have a CCSS student recognized for the work they are doing to better our community. Click here for an application.
Newnan-Coweta Historical Society Student Scholarship Program
The Newnan-Coweta Historical Society is now taking applications for its 2019 offering of a $10,000 scholarship for local students intending to pursue a college education with a history major or minor.
The NCHS has offered $1,000 scholarships to graduating seniors at each Coweta County public high school for many years, but the Scholarship Committee established last year wanted to do more to encourage the study of history. The new $10,000 scholarship — now offered for the second year — will be available to all local students, not just those in public schools. Included now are students who attend private school, virtual school, are home-schooled or are otherwise educated. The scholarship is issued at the rate of $2,500 per year, paid in installments per semester or quarter depending on the institution’s system.
The committee decided the historical society needed to take a position that will encourage talented students to consider a career in history-related studies and will generate enthusiasm and interest from parents, students, educators, and guidance counselors.
Students must be Coweta County residents and eligible for a high school graduation certificate or diploma. They must also intend to pursue history as a major or minor field. History is an important field to have some basic knowledge about, just to be a good citizen if nothing else. History helps us understand change, and understand how the world we live in came to be.
NCHS also hopes to help preserve and protect local history, and that’s nearly impossible unless people learn to appreciate it, NCHS representatives felt. This scholarship is an investment in the Newnan and Coweta community and its future, and part of the historical society’s effort to protect and preserve its past.
The scholarship application is available at the NCHS website, www.newnancowetahistoricalsociety.com. You may download an application form here or pick up a copy at the NCHS offices at McRitchie-Hollis Museum, 74 Jackson St., Newnan, GA 30263. For more information call the NCHS offices at 770-251-0207.
Mailing Deadline is March 1, 2019.Social Studies Civic Engagement Diploma Seal
If you teach at either ECHS or NHS, please advertise this opportunity to your students. I encourage each high school to run morning announcements about this opportunity to attract student interest. The finalized rubric is avaliable for viewing, please see your department head to see how student applications will be assessed.
Picturing History: Using Children's Literature to Spark Inquiry in Social Studies K-12
Save the date Thursday and Friday, June 20-21 2019! This read-aloud retreat will connect educators with professional authors and illustrators. Held at Brasstown Valley Resort & Spa, nestled in the beautiful mountains of North Georgia, we expect this retreat to fill quickly. Click here for registration information.
Check out the GCEE Workshops offered this semester! Additional professional development opportunities are located within the section titled Professional Development for All.
Network Connectors
Connect with Georgia's virtual learning community for Social Studies
Georgia Council for the Social Studies
Georgia Council on Economic Education
Professional Learning for All
NBC Learn Tutorioal Session
Monday, Feb 11, 2019, 04:00 PM
Coweta County School- WERZ; SD2
Teaching the GSE: High School Economics (Grades 9-12)
Register By: February 13
The Georgia Standards of Excellence clarify many of the vague elements that were present in the Georgia Performance Standards. In addition, there are several new concepts teachers are expected to teach. In this workshop, teachers are provided a comprehensive overview of the standards and engaging lessons in each of the five domains. There is no registration fee, materials and lunch are provided, and substitute reimbursement is available.Want to Register? Click Here
Wednesday, Feb 13, 2019, 08:30 AM
Coweta County Schools- WERZ
Instructional Technology Training: STAR Reports
Want to Register? Click Here
Thursday, Feb 28, 2019, 04:00 PM
Coweta County Schools- WERZ
Incorporating Literacy and Economics in the Grade 3 Curriculum
This workshop focuses on strategies and new materials that will help 3rd grade teachers incorporate effective literacy strategies into creative and engaging math, science, language arts, and social studies lessons. There is no registration fee for this workshop, instructional materials are provided, substitute reimbursement is available, and lunch is provided.
Want to Register? Click Here
Tuesday, Mar 5, 2019, 08:30 AM
106 Trojan Drive, Carrollton, GA, USA
Revving Review- Preparing for the 5th Grade Georgia Milestones
Want to Register? Click Here
Tuesday, Mar 5, 2019, 08:00 AM
Coweta County Schools- WERZ
Revving Review- Preparing for the 8th Grade Georgia Milestones
Want to Register? Click Here
Wednesday, Mar 6, 2019, 08:00 AM
Coweta County Schools- WERZ
Focus: South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya (7th Grade)
The Georgia Standards of Excellence have clarified and focused the countries to be studied in-depth in Africa. This one-day workshop for 7th grade teachers provides with a targeted look at the economies of these three countries and how they interact within the region and on the world stage. There is no registration fee for this workshop, instructional materials are provided, substitute reimbursement is available, and lunch is included.
Want to Register? Click Here
Friday, Mar 8, 2019, 08:30 AM
Coweta County Schools- WERZ
Focus: Canada, Australia, and the United States (6th Grade)
This one-day workshop for 6th grade teachers examines Canada and Australia in relation to the United States. The elementary curriculum is focused on six years of U.S. History and lays the groundwork for this workshop. Canada and Australia are the only two units of study in the GSE that are not taught as part of a cultural region, so this workshop demonstrates a way to organize the standards to teach economic systems, international trade, and economic growth/GDP in a comparative context. There is no registration fee for this workshop, instructional materials are provided, substitute reimbursement is available, and lunch is included.
Want to Register? Click Here
Thursday, Mar 14, 2019, 08:30 AM
Coweta County Schools- WERZ
Lights, Camera, Econ- The Economic Impact of the Film and TV Industry in Georgia (Grades 8, 9-12)
Georgia is now one of the largest hubs for television and film production in the c world. This one-day workshop for 8th - 12th grade teachers focuses on the various characteristics of Georgia that make this possible including Georgia's infrastructure, its location, crew-base and the all-important tax credit. There is no registration fee for this workshop, instructional materials are provided, substitute reimbursement is available, and lunch is included.
Want to Register? Click Here
Friday, May 10, 2019, 08:30 AM
Coweta County Schools- WERZ
Picturing History: Using Great Children's Literature to Spark Inquiry in Social Studies K-12
Thursday, Jun 20, 2019, 08:00 AM
6321 U.S. 76, Young Harris, GA, USA
Comments, Concerns, Questions?
Email: phillip.sykes@cowetaschools.net
Website: http://curriculum.cowetaschools.org/
Location: 167 Werz Industrial Boulevard, Newnan, GA, USA
Phone: 770-254-2800
Twitter: @Syked4SS