New York State K-12 Social Studies Update

Patricia Polan

Associate in Instructional Services, Social Studies

Office of Curriculum and Instruction

Louis E. Yavner Awards

The Board of Regents invites nominations for the Louis E. Yavner Teaching and Citizen Awards. These awards provide recognition of a teacher and a citizen who have made outstanding contributions to New York State education about the Holocaust and other violations of human rights. The awards were established by the Regents and funded by the late Regent Emeritus Louis E. Yavner.

See: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/Yavner/

Deadline: December 15, 2014

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Board of Regents

Adopted the New York State K-12 Social Studies Framework in April 2014

Informed of regulation change for Social Studies at September 2014 meeting

Presented with regulation change language at the October 2014 meeting

Regulation Language to be posted on the State Registerhttp://www.dos.ny.gov/info/register/2014.html

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Social Studies:• 2 units of credit Global History and Geography• 10th grade Regents exam (only 10th grade

content)• June 2018 will be first administration of new

exam

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Proposed Regulation Change

Test Development Timeline

• Spring 2015– Training of item writers

• Spring 2016– Piloting of new items

• Spring 2017– Full-scale field testing of items

• June 2018– Global History & Geography II first administration

• June 2019– US History & Government first administration

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New York State K-12 Social Studies Framework

Same 5 NYS Social Studies Learning Standards

• Standard 1: History of the United States and New York

• Standard 2: World History

• Standard 3: Geography

• Standard 4: Economics

• Standard 5: Civics, Citizenship, and Government

Course of Study Remains Same

Grade Course of Study

Kindergarten Self and Others

Grade 1 My Family and Other Families, Now and Long Ago

Grade 2 My Community and Other Communities

Grade 3 Communities around the World

Grade 4 Local History and Local Government

Grade 5 The Western Hemisphere

Grade 6 The Eastern Hemisphere

Grade 7 United States and New York History – I

Grade 8 United States and New York History – II

Grade 9 Global History and Geography – I

Grade 10 Global History and Geography – II

Grade 11 United States History and Government

Grade 12 Participation in GovernmentEconomics and Economic Decision Making

The Foundation:Key Ideas, Conceptual Understandings &

Content Specifications

KEY IDEAS

CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDINGS

CONTENTSPECIFICATIONS

Inte

rdep

ende

nt

Social Studies Practices

1. Gathering, Using, and Interpreting Evidence

2. Chronological Reasoning and Causation

3. Comparison and Contextualization

4. Geographic Reasoning

5. Economics and Economics Systems

6. Civic Participation

Common Core Literacy Skills

• Reading Key Ideas and Details Craft and Structure Integration of Knowledge & Ideas Range of Reading & Text Complexity

• Writing Text Types and Purposes Production and Distribution of Writing Research to Build and Present Knowledge Range of Writing

• Speaking and Listening Comprehension and Collaboration Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

Unifying Themes

1. Individual Development & Cultural Identity

2. Development, Movement & Interaction of Cultures

3. Time, Continuity & Change

4. Geography, Humans and the Environment

5. Development and Transformation of Social Structures

6. Power, Authority & Governance

7. Civic Ideals

8. Creation, Expansion and Interaction of Economic Systems

9. Science, Technology and Innovation

10. Global Connections and Exchange

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How to Read the Framework

4.5 IN SEARCH OF FREEDOM AND A CALL FOR CHANGE: Different groups of people did not have equal rights and freedoms. People worked to bring about change. The struggle for rights and freedoms was one factor in the division of the United States that resulted in the Civil War.

(Standards: 1, 5; Themes: ID, TCC, SOC, CIV)

 

4.5a There were slaves in New York State. People worked to fight against slavery and for change.

Students will examine life as a slave in New York State. Students will investigate people who took action to abolish

slavery, including Samuel Cornish, Fredrick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and Harriet Tubman.

KeyIdeaKeyIdea

Content Specifications

Content Specifications

ConceptualUnderstanding

ConceptualUnderstanding

NY Social Studies Framework 3 Instructional Shifts

• Focus on Conceptual Understanding.

• Foster Student Inquiry, Collaboration, and Informed Action.

• Integrate Content and Skills Purposefully.

Instructional Shift #1:Focus on Conceptual Understanding

Transfer and Connections

Facts

Breadth of Topics Depth within Topics

From

Recall

Concepts and Content Knowledge

To

????

????

????

Instructional Shift #2:Foster Student Inquiry, Collaboration,

and Informed Action

From To

Teacher as Disseminator

Students Learn Facts from Textbook

Students Retell Interpretations

Students Investigate the Social Sciences Using Multiple Sources

Teacher as Facilitator of Investigation

Students Construct Interpretations and Communicate Conclusions

????

????

????

Instructional Shift #3: Integrate Content and Skills Purposefully

FROM A Social Studies Classroom Where…

TO A Social Studies Classroom Where…

Students experience an additional nonfiction reading class or

textbook focused instruction

Students learn to read, discuss, and write like social scientists

Students develop literacy skills and social studies practices

separately

Students develop disciplinary literacy skills and social science

practices in tandem

Students learn content knowledgeStudents integrate and apply concepts, skills, and content

knowledge

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????

????

• Dimension 1: Developing Questions and Planning Inquiries

• Dimension 2: Applying Disciplinary Tools and Concepts (Civics, Economics, Geography, and History)

• Dimension 3: Evaluating Sources and Using Evidence

• Dimension 4: Communicating Conclusions and Taking Informed Action

Wha

t is

the

C3

Fra

mew

ork? Inquiry Arc

NYS K-12 Social Studies Resource Toolkit Project

• To marry the global vision of the C3 Framework to the content specifics of the NYS Framework in a way that honors, supports, and extends teachers’ and students’ best classroom ambitions

• Partnership with SUNY Binghamton; collaboration with C3 authors

• Develop Toolkit to equip teachers and districts to design curriculum and instruction

The toolkit project

What…and When

•Resources —14 Annotated Inquiries (1 per grade) and 70 Abridged Inquiries/(5 per grade) July 2014-August, 2015

•Professional Development—District, State-Level, and National/July 2014-August 2015

•Assessment—Assistance with design of new Regents exams/Spring 2015-Spring 2018/19

A new paradigm for social studies

• In content-rich subjects, traditionally it has been facts first, thinking later

…and it hasn’t worked.

* * * * *

• The C3 Inquiry Arc starts with thinking with a purpose

…answering a compelling question

Compelling questions

• Intellectually meaty

• Kid friendly

Intellectually meaty

• Reflects an enduring issue, concern, or debate in the field

• Demands the use of multiple disciplinary lenses and perspectives

Kid friendly

• Reflects a quality or condition that we know children care about

• Honors and respects children’s intellectual efforts

Did Reconstruction Really Free African Americans?

•Intellectually meaty?

•Kid friendly?

Compelling…or not so compelling?

1 Why do we need rules?

2 What are the five largest sources of oil for U.S. markets?

3 Why is Albany the capital of New York?

4 Who are our community helpers?

5 Can Canada and the US be friends forever?

6 Who won the Cold War?

Why inquiries rather than units…

What should teachers do NOW?

• Review Introduction & Social Studies Practices for Grade Level

• Evaluate current instructional practices

• Professional Development Readings

• Professional Organizations: National, State & Local Councils for the Social Studies New York Geographic Alliance

• http://www.nygeographicalliance.org/ New York Elementary Classroom Teachers Association

• http://www.nysecta.org/

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A Program that Supports Teaching, Learning and Assessment