The Social Studies Connection
A Newsletter for Secondary Social Studies Teachers in CCS
Preparing students for success in college, career, and civic life
If you missed last month's edition of the Social Studies Connection, click here.
Matthew I. Doran
Office of Teaching & Learning
Curriculum Division
Southland Center
Email: mdoran2067@columbus.k12.oh.us
Website: http://www.ccsoh.us/socialstudies
Location: 3700 South High Street, Columbus, OH, USA
Phone: 380-997-0470
Twitter: @mdoran2067
December 2020
In this edition:
- Curriculum and Instruction: Clarifying Content Priorities
- Curriculum and Instruction: Mastery Connect Assessment Platform
- Curriculum and Instruction: DBQ Online
- Curriculum and Instruction: Newsletter Third Quarter Text Sets
- Professional Development: Virtual PD Calendar
- Virtual Learning Resources: Google Drawings Graphic Organizers
- Virtual Learning Resources: Social Studies Virtual Learning Padlet of Padlets
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Clarifying Content Priorities
The constraints of remote learning necessitate periodic review of curriculum and instruction to ensure focused delivery of the most essential content and skills. The documents linked below are designed to help teachers prioritize and streamline.
The high school documents outline the priorities for each unit of the core courses--Modern World History 9, American History 10, and American Government--beginning with second quarter. The middle school document uses a different approach. Instead of outlining each unit, this document highlights the key skills and content in preparation for high school. This is not to suggest that these are the only topics to be addressed, but rather that they should be the primary points of emphasis.
To use the documents, open the links and click on the blue "Use Template" button. This will save a copy to your Google Drive, and allow for customization.
Modern World History
American History
American Government
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Mastery Connect Assessment Platform
It is important to note that just because an item is identified as aligned to a particular standard, does not make it so. Most publishing companies do an alignment by keyword matching, which is not an effective approach. Consequently, a large percentage of items (including those in the Certica Item Bank) are not actually aligned with Ohio's standards. The responsibility falls to teachers to vet each item before including it on an assessment. The District curriculum documents are especially helpful in helping teachers unpack the learning targets guide assessment alignment.
Mastery Connect is accessible via CCS Clever for teachers and students. A 30-minute video tutorial below provides an overview of Mastery Connect.
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DBQ Online
As we continue with virtual learning in second quarter, we want to consider ways of continuing to increase rigor and engagement in the remote setting.
The DBQ Project's full library of DBQs are available for grades 6-12 this year. This includes the full version DBQs in American History and World History, as well as Mini-Qs in American History, World History, Geography, Economics, and Literature. Teachers have the ability to customize these assignments--anything from a single document to a full DBQ with essay task.
Teachers and students access DBQ Online through Clever: http://clever.com/in/columbuscity.
See the updated CCS DBQ Online Home Base page for directions and tutorials.
If you would like to request a DBQ online Demo for your TBT, please email dbqprojectpd@dbqproject.com to schedule a time.
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Third Quarter Newsela Text Sets
Newsela text sets for third quarter content are currently under development. These sets will be published throughout December. They will be accessible from the CCS Newsela Home Base page, along with the existing sets and video tutorials.
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Professional Development
Virtual PD Calendar
You can access this calendar from the link here. A calendar link is also available on the Social Studies homepage under the Featured Resources column on the right side of the page. Be sure to check the calendar regularly as it updated at least once a week.
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Virtual Learning Resources
Google Drawings Graphic Organizers
This collection of over 30 graphic organizers was created by CCS Social Studies to align with many of the suggested organizers in the curriculum. Click on the link below to access.