Click here for last month's edition of the Social Studies Connection.

K-12 Social Studies Specialist

Office of Teaching & Learning

Southland Center - 3700 South High Street, Columbus, OH

www.ccsoh.us/socialstudies

mdoran2067@columbus.k12.oh.us
380.997.0470

The CCS Social Studies Curriculum Quarterly provides a preview of upcoming content. Articles highlight the units, standards, TCI lessons and other resources for each core social studies class, and outline some effective instructional strategies for all courses.

The Quarter 4 edition highlights two frequently-used strategies in fourth quarter lessons, Experiential Exercise and Visual Discovery. Strategy correlations to each TCI lesson are included in the summary of each course content.

Access the Quarter 4 edition here.

The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce is updating Ohio's Model Curriculum for Financial Literacy in High School to include the academic content on free market capitalism listed in Ohio law. The Department seeks feedback on the proposed draft model curriculum for Financial Literacy in High School.

To provide public comment, complete this survey by April 11. Direct questions to Financial.Literacy@education.ohio.gov.

Note that this content has already been added to the CCS Economics curriculum. Accordingly, this standards revision will not require significant change to the CCS Economics curriculum—only updates to standard numbers.

Senate Bill 208, signed by Governor DeWine, has repealed the ORC 3313.6025 requiring schools to teach "Proper Interactions with Peace Officers." This legislation is effective April 9, 2025.

Since this unit was placed at the end of CCS American Government course, it has been removed from District curriculum maps and is no longer part of CCS social studies curriculum.

CCS will provide individual grants ranging from $500 to $5,000 to Columbus City Schools teachers to assist in improving teaching and learning in CCS. This is an excellent opportunity for interested teachers to acquire resources to support an innovative project to increase student achievement, improve social climate and/or promote social justice.

All applications must be submitted in CCSDAS by 4:00 p.m. on April 28, 2025.

This is a district-sponsored grant; applicants will not need to submit a Grant Endorsement Form to apply but will need their principal’s or supervisor’s approval.

NOTE: A CCS email account is required to submit online. A CCS email account is required to submit online. To submit your application, click the link below and use your CCS login credentials:

https://applications.columbus.k12.oh.us/ccsdas/dreamGrantRequest/create

Here are is a list of potential social studies projects teachers may wish to consider in their application for a Dream Grant.

Humanities 9 students from Whetstone HS (Krista Buckley and Kathy Arnold, teachers) created projects for National History Day. Students conduct research, analyze and synthesize information including primary and secondary sources, write and present an argument, and create imaginative exhibits, documentaries, papers, performances, and websites.

At the Region 6 competition in March, the following Whetstone students received awards to become state qualifiers.

Senior Documentary

• Good Friday Agreement: Max Langhahls, Jahmear Lindsey, Owen Shea
• Auschwitz: Amelia Gurwin, Ella Harry, Bailee Straight
• Healing Heroes: The Nurses During the Vietnam War: Lola Duesler, Calie Gates, Bridget Nelson
  
• Billie Holiday: Rebecca Dew, Everly McNamara, Sophie Trittmann
  

Senior Group Exhibit

• IDEA: Ruthie Cannon, Harper Lynch
• Radium Girls: Scarlett DeMond-Axelrod, Hayley Jones, Kai Swies

Senior Group Website

• Jesse Owens: Axel Ramos-Jimenez, August Johnson

Senior Individual Documentary

• Wounded Knee: Tracy Vo

Students from Dominion Middle School also completed projects under the direction of Gifted Specialist Lauren Noble. The following Dominion students received state qualifier awards at the regional competition:

Junior Group Exhibit

• The Anthem that Changed the World: Ziva Botkin, Ingrid Hegley
  

Junior Individual Exhibit

• A Light Cast on the Shadows: How the Innocence Project Went from Spark to Flame: Jane Seryak
• Caring for Community: WARN’s Path to Justice: Kaya Delgado-Rivers
  
• The Wicked Witch is Not Dead: Agnes Reder-Steigman
  
• Power in Pride: Hannah Friedrich

Columbus Journalists is Training is a partnership between The Columbus Dispatch, Columbus City Schools, Society of Professional Journalists Central Ohio Pro Chapter and Columbus Association of Black Journalists.

CCS students worked with professional journalists to write and publish original articles, podcasts, and media presentations. The students attended six Saturday sessions between January and March, culminating with a graduation and awards ceremony on March 22. 2025

View the student projects on the Columbus Dispatch website here.

At the March 5 PD Day, participants viewed and discussed Shutdown, a documentary film about a profound political coming of age that happened in Columbus, Ohio in turbulent 1971. The film tells the story of a group of passionate Black teens who fought for the equality they believed they deserved — with perilous results. The teens at the center of the story lived in Linden, a community in the throes of a dramatic shift from being a white, working class neighborhood to becoming a predominantly Black working-class enclave. Linden-McKinley High School was experiencing that same rapid change. The Linden high schoolers who called themselves 'The Black Student Union' wanted their school (and their curriculum) to include and reflect Black culture and history. Inspired by the Civil Rights and Black Power movements (and supported by various adults), these teens mobilized themselves and took action.