HB 1244 from the 2018 Legislative Session requires the addition of ten questions to the U.S. History EOC from the civics test administered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) as part of the naturalization process . The law stated that this requirement begins to apply to students who are in ninth grade during the 2019-2020 school year.

Early in the school year, TEA announced that these questions would not be be included as part of the U.S. History EOC in the spring of 2020. However, in January, TEA announced that questions from the USCIS civics test would be field tested on the May 2020 U.S. History EOC. They will not be counted in the calculation of student scores or campus and district accountability rankings. The U.S. History test will not be longer because of this. The citizenship test questions will be part of the number of field tested questions that are normally included on the U.S. History EOC.

Information on the one hundred questions for the USCIS along with study materials can be found here.

Remember that the Social Studies Department will pay for substitutes for these days, but teachers must have the permission of their campus administration to attend. Please register and make the necessary arrangements if you would like to attend. Several of these days are with the DBQ Project. Please see the flyer below for information on what the DBQ Project team will be working with us on these days.

High School World History PLN- Thursday, February 13

8:00-4:00

Burnet Learning Center Room 33

Register

This is a follow up to the first semester training with the DBQ Project. If you did not attend the first semester session, it is still ok to attend this PLN.

6th Grade World Cultures and High School World Geography PLN- Thursday, February 20

8:00-4:00

Burnet Learning Center Room 33

Register

This is a follow up to the first semester training with the DBQ Project. If you did not attend the first semester session, it is still ok to attend this PLN.

High School Government and Economics PLN- Thursday, February 27

8:00-4:00

Burnet Learning Center Room 33

Register

This is a follow up to the first semester training with the DBQ Project. If you did not attend the first semester session, it is still ok to attend this PLN.

8th Grade STAAR and High School U.S. History EOC Preparation PLN

8:00-4:00

Burnet Learning Center

Register

Elementary teachers- we need your help!

The Social Studies Department will begin writing elementary curriculum this spring. The first step in this process will be to meet to Prioritize the TEKS for each grade level followed by a second meeting to draft a Year-at-a-Glance Document for each grade level. The dates for these meetings are-

Monday, February 24 from 4:30-6:00 PM: Prioritizing the Standards- Register

Tuesday, March 31 from 4:30-6:00 PM: Drafting Year-at-a-Glance- Register

Both meetings will be held in the Burnet Learning Center Cafeteria. Participants will be paid $25/hr. for each meeting. Please email Patrick at ppyle1@saisd.net or use the registration link if you are interested in participating in these stages of the curriculum writing process for Social Studies for your grade level.

High school teachers- we are going to begin the curriculum writing process for Psychology, Sociology, Mexican-American Studies, and African-American Studies this spring. The first step in this process will be to meet to Prioritize the TEKS for each elective followed by a second meeting to draft a Year-at-a-Glance Document for each grade course. The dates for these meetings are-

Wednesday, February 26 from 4:45-6:15 in Room 33 at the Burnet Learning Center: Prioritizing the Standards- Register

Wednesday, March 25 from 4:45-6:15 in Room 21 at the Burnet Learning Center: Drafting Year-at-a Glance- Register

Participants will be paid $25/hr. for each meeting. Please email Patrick at ppyle1@saisd.net or register if you are interested in participating in these stages of the curriculum writing process for Social Studies for these elective courses.

Tuesday, February 18, Bowie Cafeteria 4:00 PM-5:30 PM

Register

Tuesday, March 3, Burnet Learning Center Cafeteria- Register

Tuesday, February 25, Burnet Learning Center Cafeteria- Register

Tuesday, March 17, Burnet Learning Center Room 34- Register

Tuesday, April 28, Burnet Learning Center Room 21- Register

Are you interested in learning more about the National History Day Program? Would you like to experience some of the outstanding work of junior historians in the San Antonio region? Are you interested in supporting a competition that approximately fifty SAISD students compete in annually? The San Antonio Regional History Fair is looking for social studies teachers to judge student projects at both a preliminary round on Saturday, February 22, and on the San Antonio Regional History Fair on Saturday, March 21. Both rounds of judging will take place at Texas A&M University San Antonio.

The judging on Saturday, February 22 will be preliminary judging for documentaries, papers, and websites. On March 21, in addition to the finals for these three categories, judges are needed for the performance and exhibit categories.

If you have ever thought about getting a History Fair program going at your campus, this would be a great way to learn more about the competition and the types of projects.

Please see the introductory letter and judging form below for more information. In addition, please let Patrick know if you are interested in judging.

The Electoral Process from Icivics

What are the Primaries and Caucuses? from PBS Newshour Extra

Ready, Set, Vote: Here's Everything You Need to Know about the 2020 Primaries from the NY Times Learning Network

The Social Studies Department will be offering several engaging sessions at the February 29 EPIC Saturday:

8:45 AM-10:45 AM Sessions

Podcasting in the Social Studies Classroom: Given the recent rise in podcast popularity, it’s no surprise that audio narratives are making their way into the classroom. They offer an engaging way for teachers to merge project-based learning with digital media analysis and production skills. This session will walk you through the process of analyzing the techniques that make for good storytelling, interviewing and podcasting in the social studies classroom. (Register)

Active Classroom: Location, Location, Location: Location, location, location: it is the foundation of all we do and have done: Maps provide the visuals that are essential to the understanding of history. In this session, we will focus on the interactive maps in Active Classroom and how they can support student learning. Audience Social Studies teachers grades 6-12. (Register)

Writing Aligned Assessment Items: Teachers will pracitice writing assessment questions that are appropriately aligned to the content and verbs of the TEKS. Teachers will examine how skills and TEKS verbs should be taught and assesed across all core content areas. (Register)

11:00 AM- 1:00 PM Sessions

Active Classroom: Creating Inquiry that is Interesting and Engaging for Students: This is the nuts and bolts of "how to" create and execute an inquiry with your students. In addition, we will be providing you with specific examples that are already part of your social studies resources in Active Classroom. Audience: Social Studies teachers grades 6-12. (Register)

Developing PSAT and SAT Skills through Social Studies: Social Studies content is part of every PSAT and SAT exam. This session will examine examples of the Social Studies passages and documents used on the PSAT and SAT practice tests and analyze the types of questions for these passages. Participants will also practice writing PSAT and SAT style assessment questions using Social Studies passages and documents. In addition, we will discuss additional resources and implementation challenges. This session is intended for secondary Social Studies teachers. (Register)