JCPS Social Studies Newsletter

Issue 20 - August 2020

Social Studies Colleagues,

Welcome to a new year! We begin this year with more time with our families and an opportunity to try new innovative teaching techniques to enhance the profession while providing new opportunities for our students to learn. In hindsight, 2020 will assuredly be the most studied and historic year since 2001 and 1968. But until it is history, we shall do as our governor would say "we will get through this, together."

Ryan, Rebecca, and Vincent are here to help in these interesting and exciting times. Please contact us with any needs you might have.

What's new on the JCPS Social Studies Website?

Everything!

This is the initial launch of the JCPS Social Studies website. It is just the beginning with much more on the way. The intent of the site is to house our PD, dispositional thinking, curriculum resources, instructional resources, and anything else related to promoting Social Studies. In the future we will highlight new things on the website in the newsletter, but for now, take time to explore the pages.

JCPSSocialStudies.com

Updates

Update about Field Test & Civics Exam Requirement

Field Test for the new KAS for Social Standards was scheduled for early September. Due to the nature of varied districts choosing online learning for the beginning of the year, KDE has since postponed to a later date to be determined so that they can ensure a proper sampling of student populations. We are awaiting more information about sample items.

The Civics exam will be administered virtually. Your BAC will be receiving more information about this from the JCPS District Assessment Coordinator for implementation.

NTI 2.0 Supports & Strategic Planning

You can check out the resources and supports provided my JCPS by going to the JCPS NTI 2.0 Toolkit.

You can also take a look at our curated list of distance learning resources.

As we all prepare for the digital classroom, take a look at our Strategic Planning Tool and Protocols, Tasks, and Tools to help with planning your students' experience.

DBQ Online Resources

JCPS has partnered with The Document Based Question Project to bring DBQ Online to our Social Studies classrooms. This online platform can be accessed via Clever for teachers and students. You can assign students and classes to provide students with a process for investigating documents and structuring claims and arguments. Check out this tutorial information for getting started using DBQ with your students. Please contact us if you or your department are interested in learning more about using DBQ for your virtual or brick and mortar classroom experiences.