Social Studies Newsletter
January 14, 2022
Holocaust Remembrance Week
All social studies teachers should recognize Holocaust Remembrance Week in class and are required by law to use resources that are approved by the Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission. The list of approved resources is located here. Some suggestions from the SAISD Social Studies Department are available here.
Academic Performance Assessments (MTI 3.0 Pilot Assessments) Update
Please see this memo for the latest update on the pilot Academic Performance Assessments which will be administered at the conclusion of this school year for core courses that are not STAAR tested and reach an enrollment threshold of 1000 students.
There will be opportunities for teachers to vet a part of the APAs for these courses on February 16, February 24, and March 1 from 4:30-6:00 PM. More details on the APA vetting will be shared soon.
Social Studies Professional Development Update
DBQ Online professional development will be held on January 28 and Monday, April 18. DBQ Online access has is available for Texas History and World Geography teachers and students.
Humanities Texas January and February Professional Development
Teachers can apply to attend on the Humanities Texas website.
Teaching the Civil Rights Movement
Tuesdays • January 25 and February 1, 2021 • 5:15–6:30 pm CT
These webinars will offer a nuanced understanding of the civil rights movement, incorporating significant primary documents from a number of the movement’s major figures. The first webinar will consider the traditional historical understanding of the movement, providing a broad overview before complicating the story. The second webinar will focus on Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet,” and Fannie Lou Hamer’s testimony before the 1964 Democratic National Convention’s credentials committee, considering each document's presentation of American democracy. Both webinars will highlight the most important takeaways for middle and high school students.
Teaching U.S. History with Primary Documents, 1963–2000
Wednesdays • January 26–March 2, 2022 • 5:00–6:15 pm CT
Each weekly webinar will cover a document that is crucial to understanding U.S. history in the final decades of the twentieth century: the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the Pentagon Papers, the House Articles of Impeachment for Nixon, a document relating to the 1977 National Women’s Conference, and Reagan’s “Evil Empire” speech. Each webinar will focus on one of these documents, addressing both its context (how it came to be and its impact/significance) and its actual contents (the most important things for teachers to know and share with their students).
Teaching the Transformation of Texas, 1930–1945
Mondays • January 31–February 28, 2022 • 5:00–6:30 pm CT
This webinar series will offer teachers insight into the profound changes that remade Texas during the 1930s–1940s as the Great Depression, New Deal, and World War II collectively transformed it from a region of rural farmers into a modern, urbanized state. Team-taught by a historian and two master teachers, the sessions will provide a collection of curriculum materials geared toward bringing innovative perspectives into the classroom.
Tuesdays • February 8 and 16, 2022 • 5:00–6:15 pm CT
The two webinars will offer a nuanced understanding of how Reconstruction reunited a war-torn nation, destroyed chattel slavery, and remade the American state against a backdrop of racial terrorism and radical economic upheaval. These webinars will explore how teachers can turn cutting-edge historical research into classroom-ready pedagogy. Particular emphasis will be placed on key questions, terms, and primary sources to share with students.
Teachers can apply to attend here:
http://www.humanitiestexas.org/education/teacher-institutes/application.
Please contact us with any questions: institutes@humanitiestexas.org
History Fair Updates
- The San Antonio Regional and National History Day Competitions have been moved to virtual.
- The Texas State History Day Competition has not been moved to virtual at this point in time.
- Registration will take place from January 12-January 30 and all projects must be submitted by February 5.
- Remember that the SAISD Social Studies Department will pay for all costs for participation in the Regional, State, and National contests.
Please let Patrick know if you have students that are planning to participate in the San Antonio Regional History Day Competition.
SAISD Social Studies Department
Director of Social Studies
Email: ppyle1@saisd.net
Website: https://www.saisd.net/page/socialstudies-home
Phone: 2105542531
Twitter: @SaisdSocial