Social Studies Update and Resources
November 2019
Secondary Social Studies Teacher Leader Meetings
Check out this online flyer for more information about the secondary meetings. We will spending most of the time exploring the newly Revised Social Studies Standards.
The two remaining secondary meetings will be held Thursday, January 16, 2020, and Wednesday, February 26, 2020.
Elementary Social Studies Teacher Leader Meetings
For more information about about the elementary meetings check out this online flyer. We will spend time exploring the newly Revised Social Studies Standards and how to best increase and improve the teaching of Social Studies at the K-5 level.
Grant Funded Youth Entrepreneurship HS Club Advisors Needed
- Bendle
- Davison
- Flint
- Genesee
- Lakeville
- Linden
- Swartz Creek
Club Advisors receive the following:
- Stipend
- Professional developmental
- Curriculum
- Opportunity to apply for mini-grant for club expenses
- Cash and other prizes for local competitions
If you are interested, contact Roy Sovis via rsovis@geneseeisd.org who should be able to answer all of your questions.
DBQ Project Opportunity
Join MCSS for fun and new learning on Saturday, Dec. 14th at the Soaring Eagle Conference Center and Water Park in Mount Pleasant. The cost is only $25 for a full day of new learning, reflection, and networking. Breakfast and lunch will be provided and SCECHs will be available at no charge.
There is limited seating and reserved rooms Soaring Eagle Conference Center and Water Park in Mount Pleasant. Click here for details on reserving your room.
During our time together we will:
- Analyze student work through the norming process,
- Examine strategies for extending student discussion on a deeper level, AND
- Collaborate to strengthen evidence-based writing strategies
MCSS Annual Conference - Register Now!
The 2020 MCSS Annual Conference will be held in beautiful Traverse City, Michigan, at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa on Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18, 2020! With cherry trees blooming and a fantastic amount of history and culture to explore, MCSS is excited to bring the full conference north for the first time in over a decade!
Each Social Studies content organization will be represented and providing sessions at the conference:
- Michigan Geographic Alliance
- Michigan Council for History Education
- Michigan Council on Economic Education
- Center for Civic Education
- Michigan Council for the Social Studies
Session topics will focus on the newly Revised Social Studies Standards, the C3 Framework, disciplinary literacy, and current happenings in the world of social studies. There will be sessions for every level from elementary, middle level, secondary, post-secondary and Social Studies supervisors.
For more information and to register click here.
Call of Articles for The MCSS Journal
The Michigan Council for the Social Studies is seeking articles for the next publication of The MCSS Journal.
Have you read any books, listened to a notable podcast, or seen any movies which might be worth the time of others? Have you found a better way to teach a subject? Consider sharing it. Although all Social Studies related articles will be considered, they are particularly interested in promoting a theme of elections with this issue. (Articles focused on news, reviews, or scholarly articles must be submitted in APA style on .doc format.)
Please submit any articles or questions to pettapiece@wayne.edu.
The deadline is New Years’s Day (1/1/2020). Avoid the holiday rush, send your articles ASAP.
Michigan Council for History Education Electronic News Update
Each month MCHE publishes in PDF format an update of news, events and resources via a distribution list. You can join the list by sending a request via email to Associate Editor Dr. Tamara Shreiner or Dr. Jim McConnell.
Here is the Table of Content for the November edition which you can access here.
- Using Primary Sources to Teach World War I
- 20th Annual Lost Mariners Remembrance, Sun., Nov. 10, 6-8 p.m.
- “History Comes Alive at Oakland University, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019. 7 pm
- Equality and the American Experience
- The Ford Foundation and Detroit Public TV welcome Fulcrum to Detroit
- The Paul Gagnon Prize
- Don’t miss upcoming Michigan History Alliance meetings!
- Help Preserve Michigan Civil War Battlefield Flags
- Call for Proposals – Midwest History Conference
- Plan now to commemorate 100th Anniversary of Woman Suffrage in 2020
- Book Your Presidential Drama Early!
- Resources, articles south by Bob Pettapiece for MCSS Journal
- Plan Now for Mayflower 400
- Orchestra Hall celebrates 100
- Set a date to visit the Michigan Supreme Court Learning Center
- National History Day Award Winner
- From Isolationist to Internationalist: Senator Arthur Vandenberg
- Education News from the National WWI Museum and Memorial
- Free Field Trip Offered to the DIA
- New Innovative Curriculum from the Henry Ford
- News from “Bridge” (The Center for Michigan)
- Selected Items from the History News Network (www.hnn.us)
About Stossel in the Classroom
"Stossel in the Classroom videos are created to encourage critical thinking in schools. By making it easy for teachers to include a fresh perspective in their classroom, these videos have inspired millions of students to expand their understanding of free markets, and of life.
Each DVD includes a teacher guide with lesson plans and ideas for complementary activities.
In addition to our free DVDs, we also offer streaming videos, which can be browsed by category or searched by keyword. The segments from our free DVDs are also available to stream.
The Stossel in the Classroom program is sponsored by the Center for Independent Thought, an IRS 501(c) 3 tax-exempt non-profit educational foundation, funded entirely by private donations."
Resources for Teaching and Learning About Korean War
World History Digital Education is sponsored by The Korea Foundation.
They offer a set of free resources for teachers of Advanced Placement World History on the Korean War. AP World teachers can use our curriculum guides on comparison, contextualization, and causation and continuity/change (CCOT) to help students better understand the Korea War.
Clickable Maps for Almost Everyone
MDE Accepting Applications for Social Studies Item Writers and Review Committee Members!
MDE relies on teachers from all content areas, K-12, from across the state to help develop, write, and review items for our state assessments, including M-STEP, MI-Access, and Early Literacy and Mathematics Benchmark Assessments. Our online application process recently underwent some improvements and is now back up and ready to go! This application process lets teachers apply to work on any of the following committees:
- Content Advisory Committees – to review and make content related recommendations to items before and after field testing
- Bias and Sensitivity Committees - to review and make bias and sensitivity related recommendations to items before and after field testing
- Item Writers – to write items for Michigan Assessment Programs (M-STEP, MI-Access, Michigan Early Literacy and Mathematics Benchmark Assessments)
- Rangefinding Committees – To set the “range” for score point designation from an established rubric for hand scoring items such as constructed response items.
- Standard Setting – to follow a prescribed process post-test administration to recommend cut scores or re-establish cut scores based on performance level descriptors and performance data. This process happens periodically during the life of an assessment, less frequently than the other committees above.
Interested educators are encouraged to learn more about the state’s assessment system generally and to access the online application at the MDE’s main website. Select “Student Assessment” from the navigational options listed on the MDE homepage. The online application can also be found at the M-STEP, MI-Access, and Early Literacy and Mathematics Benchmark Assessment web pages. For your convenience, a direct link to the application can be found at https://www.cvent.com/d/pgq6sr.
Coordinator for Instruction - Roy Sovis
Email: rsovis@geneseeisd.org
Location: 2413 West Maple Avenue, Flint, MI, USA
Phone: 810-591-4520
Twitter: @roysovis