2018 Save Texas History Essay Contest (4th/7th Grade Students)
The Save Texas History Essay contest has officially begun!
You can have students respond to the essay question: “What history in your community is worth saving?” for a chance to be the one grand prize winner from each grade level to receive a cash prize of $500, and a Texas flag that has flown over the Texas State Capitol.
All finalists, five total for each grade, will receive a $100 prize, a Save Texas History backpack, a Texas flag that was raised over the northern-most point of the Republic of Texas in present-day Wyoming, a historic map reproduction, and a Certificate of Achievement signed by Commissioner Bush.
All entries must be received by midnight, October 31st, 2018.
Click here for more information and to access the registration form.
Midterm Election Mini-Lesson (HS)
There are over 7,000 seats up for election this year across all levels of government. Sure, there won’t be any nationally-televised conventions or presidential debates, but the Midterms are a big deal.
Reinforce learning about the legislative branch with LawCraftand Represent Me. In both games, students play as a member of Congress trying to balance multiple issues as they work to either pass a bill or get re-elected!
Immigration Nation with Liberty Bell!
Help newcomers find their American Dream with the recently upgraded Immigration Nation game. New features include:
· Classic and Puzzle mode
· Supports for English language learners
· English voiceover
· Spanish language version
Who should play this game? EVERYONE!
Great for 3rd through 12th grade, and adults too!
Sept. 14, 2018
SBOE gives preliminary approval to streamlined social studies standards
and gives final approval to a Mexican American Studies course
Texas schoolchildren will still learn of the heroic "Victory or Death" letter penned by Lt. Col. William Barrett Travis while besieged in the Alamo, under streamlined social studies curriculum standards given approval Friday by the State Board of Education to solicit public feedback.
The board rejected a proposal by an advisory group that suggested deleting the specific reference to the famous letter and deleting the word “heroic” when describing the Alamo heroes.
Instead the board unanimously voted to include this revised language to the seventh-grade Texas history standards: "Explain the issues surrounding significant events of the Texas Revolution, including the Battle of Gonzales, the siege of the Alamo, William B. Travis's letter 'To the People of Texas and All Americans in the World,' and the heroism of the diverse defenders who gave their lives there; the Constitutional Convention of 1836; Fannin's surrender at Goliad; and the Battle of San Jacinto."
Stephen Cure, a member of the Texas history work group that recommended the initial changes, said the committee recommended deleting the explicit reference to the Travis letter “because the specific reference was repetitive and unnecessary since it is impossible to teach the siege of the Alamo without teaching about the letter.” He said the work group believed that the “heroic nature of the diverse participants in the siege would be taught” whether the standard included the word heroic or not.
SBOE Chair Donna Bahorich said, “I appreciate the hard work of all those who served on the social studies work groups. The board accepted many of their recommendations, but the board unanimously felt the need to defend the Alamo. Texas has a unique history and it has been clear this past week that Texans feel passionately about telling this story.”
Today’s vote was a first reading, or preliminary, vote. The final vote on streamlining of the kindergarten through 12th grade social studies curriculum standards, known as the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, will occur at the board’s next meeting scheduled for Nov. 13-16.
The State Board of Education also gave final approval to a new course called Ethnic Studies: Mexican American Studies. It is the first ethnic studies course approved by the Texas board and is believed to be the first Mexican American Studies course approved by any State Board of Education.
The course will be available for use in Texas public schools in the 2019-2020 school year.
The one-credit elective course is based largely on a local course created by the Houston Independent School District.
United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP)
The USSYP is a unique educational experience for talented high school students who demonstrate outstanding leadership and an interest in government. Texas will select two student leaders as delegates (and two alternates) to participate in an intensive week-long educational program with students from across the nation. The program will take place from March 2, 2019, through March 9, 2019, in Washington, D.C. Delegates will be immersed in leadership activities and interact with high-level officials, including senators, cabinet members, officials of the Departments of State and Defense, and leaders of other federal agencies. The Hearst Foundations pay all expenses for the week-long Washington stay, including transportation, hotel accommodations, and meals. Each delegate is also awarded a $10,000 college scholarship for undergraduate studies. Members of all branches of the U.S. military chaperone the students for the week.
Please see the Texas Education Agency (TEA) USSYP webpage for more information: https://tea.texas.gov/USSYP/
Application due date: October 15, 2018
Texas World War I Centennial Commemoration
From August through November of 1918, Texans were fully engaged in the Great War. Nearly 200,000 were in uniform, many of them fighting in France. Over 5,100 would not return. They came from every community; from big cities and small towns. They were from all races and ethnicities. One hundred years ago, Texans sacrificed all. Today, the Texas World War I Centennial Commemoration encourages schools around Texas to incorporate commemoration of Texas and Texans in World War I as part of their 2018 Veterans Day events. Educating our youngest citizens about the significance of World War I is the goal of this program. Teaching resources are available free of charge to any school.
To learn more about how schools and communities can participate, please visit: Texas World War I Centennial Commemoration.
Social Studies TEKS Streamlining Updates
Earlier this year, the State Board of Education (SBOE) began the process to streamline the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for social studies. Final recommendations for streamlining the social studies TEKS are now available on the Social Studies TEKS Streamlining Work Group Drafts web page at
https://tea.texas.gov/Academics/Curriculum_Standards/TEKS_Texas_Essential_Knowledge_and_Skills_(TEKS)_Review/Social_Studies_TEKS_Streamlining_Work_Group_Drafts/ under the heading “Work Group E Final Recommendations.”
The SBOE’s new TEKS review and revision process for streamlining the social studies TEKS calls for multiple, separate work groups. Five social studies TEKS streamlining work groups have been convened. All work group drafts are posted to the webpage above.
Work Group E met twice in August to make recommendations for streamlining the social studies TEKS. At the first meeting, the work group completed preliminary draft recommendations. Later this month, the work group reconvened for a second meeting to finalize its recommendations, which included making additional changes to streamline the TEKS and ensure that the final recommendations are vertically aligned. The final recommendations reflect all feedback from Work Group E.
The SBOE is scheduled to discuss proposed streamlining of the social studies TEKS for first reading and filing authorization at its September meeting. The meeting is scheduled for September 11–14, 2018. A public hearing on the social studies TEKS streamlining revisions will be held on Tuesday, September 11. The Committee of the Full Board will consider the proposed revisions to the social studies TEKS for first reading and filing authorization on Wednesday, September 12. Additional information and instructions for registering to provide public testimony are available on the TEA website at https://tea.texas.gov/sboe/.
Public hearings on streamlined social studies standards
and instructional materials scheduled for Tuesday
The State Board of Education will hold public hearings Tuesday on proposed streamlined social studies curriculum standards and on new reading and language arts instructional material.
The board meeting begins at 9 a.m. in room 1-104 of the Travis Building at 1701 N. Congress Ave. in Austin. There will first be a public hearing on the new instructional material, followed by a public hearing on the curriculum standards.
Publishers submitted 226 instructional material products for review by the state. The board is seeking new material for English language arts and reading; kindergarten- grade 8; Spanish language arts and reading, kindergarten- grade 6; English Learners Language Arts, grades 7 and 8; handwriting, kindergarten-grade 5 (English and Spanish); spelling, grades 1-6 (English and Spanish); and Personal Financial Literacy.
An extensive review by Texas educator panels this summer found that 219 of the 226 submitted products were eligible for adoption by the board, including 178 products that cover 100 percent of the curriculum standards for the particular subject areas.
Any product adopted by the board during its Nov. 13-16 meeting can be purchased by districts and charter schools and will be available for use in Texas classrooms in the fall of 2019. When districts and charter schools order state adopted materials, they are guaranteed a fixed price for eight years, know the extent to which the materials cover the state curriculum standards, and can order accessible material, such as braille versions, at no charge for students with print disabilities.
The second public hearing on Tuesday focuses on streamlining the kindergarten through 12th grade social studies curriculum standards, known as the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills or TEKS. These standards were last revised and adopted by the board in 2010. The board is responding to repeated complaints that the current standards are too long.
Using a new, rotating system of review, multiple work groups made up of about 100 educators and other stakeholders spent months reviewing the standards and making recommendations for deleting, combining, clarifying or narrowing the scope of the standards.
Final recommendations from the work groups are available for review at https://tea.texas.gov/Academics/Curriculum_Standards/TEKS_Texas_Essential_Knowledge_and_Skills_(TEKS)_Review/Social_Studies_TEKS_Streamlining_Work_Group_Drafts/. Additional information about the social studies TEKS streamlining process is also available at https://tea.texas.gov/Academics/Curriculum_Standards/TEKS_Texas_Essential_Knowledge_and_Skills_(TEKS)_Review/Social_Studies_TEKS_Streamlining/.
Comments about the proposed revisions can be sent to teks@tea.texas.gov. It is helpful if specific explanations are provided to support any proposed changes.
