The Social Studies Connection
More than a Newsletter for Secondary Social Studies Teachers
K-12 Social Studies Specialist
Office of Teaching & Learning
Southland Center - 3700 South High Street, Columbus, OH
Welcome back! I hope you had a restful Wellness Week and Happy Thanksgiving. The week prior to break, I attended the National Council for the Social Studies Conference in Boston, along with two other CCS social studies teachers.
Featured speakers included Kenneth C. Davis, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jill Lepore, Laurie Halse Anderson, Heather Cox Richardson, and Ken Burns. All the featured speakers addressed the centrality of social studies education in defending and strengthening American democracy.
In addition to the featured speakers, I attended sessions on:
- Boston Busing 50 Years on: From Fractured Past to Shared Future;
- Intercultural Competence;
- Reframing American Imperialism;
- Using Hexagonal Thinking to Make Textual Connections;
- Residential Segregation Oral Histories;
- Rethinking Historiography in the Classroom through History Puzzles;
- Local Black History in Montgomery County Public Schools;
- Crafting Professional Development;
- Making the Case for Elementary Social Studies Time; and
- Desegregation of Memphis Community History.
I look forward to sharing with you more about these sessions, and how we can apply these ideas in CCS.
As a reminder, the Professional Leave Fund provides the opportunity for teachers to attend conferences. Be sure to look for the information in the CEA Voice each fall and the August and September editions of the Social Studies Connection newsletter for more information about NCSS. Make plans early to attend NCSS 2025 in Washington D.C.!
The OER World History PLC Cohort has completed the first two seminars. On September 18, participants received an overview of the OER Project curriculum, and discussed tools and strategies for teaching about causation. On October 18, teachers participated in follow-up and discussion on the topic of causation, then examined tools for teaching contextualization.
A follow-up webinar on contextualization is scheduled for Tuesday, December 3, 3:30 - 4:30 on Zoom. PLC members should check their email for the link.
Article 507.05 of the CEA Master Agreement states teachers are required to participate in make-up sessions in the event of an absence. If you were absent for the September 18 or October 18 PD Day, you can access the make-up courses in the Canvas Course Catalog.
- Doing Social Studies (September 18)
- Social Studies for All Learners (October 18)
Once you have completed all the course requirements, you will receive a certificate of completion to share with your administrator to validate the session is made up. This course should take approximately 6 hours to complete.
January 21 will be a district-led PD Day. Social Studies teachers will report to Mifflin High School for our PD experience: Culturally-Relevant Social Studies.
We will be experimenting with some new immersive formats for this experience. Participants will choose from immersive options including:
- Museum Gallery Walk;
- Lockbox Challenge;
- Book Discussion;
- Film Screening; and
- Lab Time.
Stay tuned to email and the January newsletter for the registration link and preliminary program.
Curriculum documents are available through two locations. On the CCS Social Studies Curriculum page, the curriculum guides are provided in PDF format to allow for quick and convenient access on any device and easy printing options. Additionally, teachers can access the Google Docs preview versions of the curriculum guides on the "District-Approved Curriculum" course on Canvas.
CCS Social Studies has assessments in MasteryConnect for core classes. Assessments are optional may be administered with teacher's discretion on timing.
These assessments are available on the District MasteryConnect Curriculum Maps, which are already linked to the appropriate class sections for each teacher. Teachers can click on "Create Tracker" to begin administering the assessments are tracking student mastery of standards.
- Social Studies 6 Map
- Social Studies 7 Map
- Social Studies 8 Map
- World History Map
- American History Map
- American Government Map
In addition, the Social Studies Skills Map includes a collection of vertically-aligned social studies skills assessments. The leveled assessments can be used as a diagnostic tool to determine areas of needed Tier 2 intervention and extension. This collection is a work in progress. Additional tutorials will be added over time to allow for Tier 2 intervention and extension within the MasteryConnect platform.
Log into MasteryConnect through Classlink, Canvas, or Google.
Achieve3000 is the literacy intervention program for high schools. High School teachers and students now have access to Achieve3000 via CCS Classlink Launchpad.
At this point in the year, LevelSet should be complete, with the exception of newly-enrolled students. However, the LevelSet window remains open for students who have not yet completed it.
With LevelSet complete, teachers can assign content-specific lessons/articles aligned with your curriculum. The goal will be for each content-area teacher to assign 1 article per week, in order to help students reach maximum gains. Alignment guides for Modern World History 9, American History 10, and American Government are available on the Social Studies Curriculum page.
For additional support, see the Achieve3000 webpage here.