Balanced Achievement and

AccountabilityBenchmarking to

Exemplary Practice in Social Studies

February 2, 2009

Why are you here?

To discuss the Social Studies Departmental role in RSD Educational Strategic Plan for 2006-2012

To help students obtain skills embedded in RSD mission statement - specifically become a productive and responsible citizen

Vision for Social Studies Department

The Social Studies Department is a learning community united in its commitment to insuring that students develop an understanding of foundational versus issue-based perspectives of human interaction from a world view to a regional view to a national view culminating in its application.

Social Studies Vision Scaffold

World View Grade 9

Regional View Grade 10

National View Grade 11

Application

Grade 12

What links the curriculum vision?

Commonality of content focus, skills development, instructional strategies and literacy development.

Grade 9- Focus on cultural, political and economic development based on physical characteristics. Emphasis is on explaining spatial patterns of phenomena that answer the how question.

Grade 10 - Build on geographical knowledge and skills that allow for a focus on regional European development and influences through the millennium. Emphasis is on analyzing spatial patterns of phenomena that answer the why question.

Grade 11 - Continue to build on previous geographic and skill knowledge for a focus on the development of the American experience and character. Emphasis is on analyzing spatial patterns of phenomena that answer the why question.

Grade 12 - Application of knowledge and skills to the understanding analysis of national and world events.

How does the departmental vision connect to the state standards?

The overall vision is based on the collective social studies standards for geography, history, civics and government, and economics.

Within specific grade level content, emphasis is placed on specific domains. For example, the content for grades 9 and 10 draws heavily from the geography and world history standards.

Curriculum priorities A standard describes the minimal behavior that a

student should demonstrate if he or she is to be considered proficient.

At a specific grade level, the strategic plan calls for the development of a curriculum so that all students can demonstrate proficiency in meeting a stated standard.

Leveled curricula must fulfill this need by having all students demonstrate proficiency on essential knowledge and skills.

Because of this need, social studies curriculum content at each grade level will be prioritized into essential, important and compact categories.

Prioritized Curriculum Map of Standards and Objectives

Essential

ImportantEssential

H

CP

CCP

Essential Important Compact

Prioritized Instructional Time Map of Curriculum Content

100% E

25% I75% E

H

CP

CCP

60% E 20% I 20% C

Development of Curriculum Map Across

Block/CourseEvery course needs to develop: A power curriculum that

prioritizes instructional design with an accompanying set of instructional objectives and a curriculum map.

…So, what is a power curriculum?

Content

Extended Thinking Skills

Summarizing

Vocabulary in Context

Advance Organizers

Non-Verbal Representations

High Impact Strategies Literacy Writing Strategies

Content Vocabulary

Writing to inform

Summary point writing

Distributed summarizing

Literacy Reading StrategiesMain Idea

Sequencing

Compare/Contrast

Fact/Opinion

Cause/Effect

Inferences

Assessment

Common Summative

Formative

Portfolio

2008-09 2009-10 2010-11Review the priority ofstandards taught at 9th and 10th grade levels.

Review the priority of essential, important and compact knowledge at different levels.

Review course map.

Incorporate research-based and literacy strategies into instructional process.

Implement the Geography Alive Curriculum in grade 9 at all levels.

Refine European History curriculum in grade 10 at all levels. Transition year to enrich current content. Teachers will build upon previous year’s learning and enrich the course with a more modern focus.

Develop common assessments for both curricula aligned to standard descriptors.

Implement the Geography Alive Curriculum in grade 9 at all levels and European History curriculum in grade 10 at all levels with necessary revisions.

The Bottom Line for 2009 Grade 9 - Course will be Human

Geography Grade 9 will use the TCI Geography

Alive! textbook Grade 10 - Course will be European

History Grade 10 will use Prentice Hall World

History: The Modern Era textbook