Hello, I am Teaven Barnum the District Instructional Specialist for Secondary Social Studies. I'm excited to help you in any way that you need. You can reach me at teaven.barnum@killeenisd.org, text at 254-446-2873 or call my desk phone at 254-336-0253.

Classroom teachers, instructional coaches, campus and district content specialists, and administrators can serve in a variety of ways.

• Educator Item Review - each potential question for a state test is reviewed and approved by a committee of Texas educators
• Subject-Area Advisory Groups - groups of educators are convened to provide feedback on subject-area-specific topics
• Standard-setting - groups are convened to establish cut scores that define the performance levels
• Anchor Approval Committee - educators are convened to set the scoring boundaries for student constructed responses based on the rubric

Educator Committee Application

On February 2, 2024, in Carrollton, Texas, experts from the Genocide Education Project along with Texas descendants of the Armenian Genocide will present a one-day workshop for secondary social studies and English language arts teachers, including classroom applications for teaching about the Armenian Genocide in the high school World History Studies course. A live-stream will be provided for those unable to attend in person.

You may register online for the workshop. For more information see the event flyer or contact Shevan Basmadjian at gshevan@gmail.com.

February Topic: Social Studies STAAR

The social studies team at TEA is committed to enhancing opportunities for stakeholder engagement across the state of Texas. Social Studies Stakeholder Engagement Sessions allow the TEA social studies team to expand information sharing and interaction with stakeholders. Each session has a different informational focus and includes a fifteen-to-twenty-minute presentation from TEA staff, followed by an opportunity for general questions and discussion related to social studies. Stakeholder engagement sessions will be provided on two different days at two different times (during and outside of the school day) to provide stakeholders multiple opportunities to attend. The information shared will be the same in each meeting. All social studies stakeholders (parents, teachers, administrators, etc.) are invited to attend by registering below.

February Topic: Social Studies STAAR

Target Audience: Social Studies Stakeholders- Teachers, District Administrators, Campus Administrators, Education Service Center Specialists, Parents, Professional Organizations

Dates & Times

Monday, February 26th, 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Registration Link

Tuesday, February 27th, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Registration Link

You can access the TEA presentations from the previous stakeholder engagement sessions on the TEA social studies web page.

This spring, Humanities Texas will hold FREE online and in-person professional development programs for social studies and English language arts teachers in Texas schools.

Teachers can apply to attend on the Humanities Texas website.

The programs are free of charge to teachers and their schools. All participants will receive CPE credit and a wealth of curricular materials.

Additional spring programs—both in-person and online—will be announced soon!

UPCOMING IN-PERSON PROGRAMS

Teaching Landmark Supreme Court Cases

Fort Worth: February 28, 2024 • Austin: February 29, 2024

These workshops will focus on milestone cases in Supreme Court history related to civil liberties, civil rights, defining federal power, and criminal procedure. Cases to be discussed include, but are not limited to, Marbury v. Madison (1803), McCullough v. Maryland (1819), Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), Hernandez v. Texas (1954), Mapp v. Ohio (1961), Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), and United States v. Lopez (1995).

UPCOMING ONLINE PROGRAMS

Texas History: Cotton, Cattle and Railroads

Mondays: January 22 and 29 and February 5 and 12, 2024 (5:00-6:30pm CT) • Zoom Webinar

Team-taught by a historian and two master teachers, this four-part webinar series will examine the transformative era of "cotton, cattle, and railroads" in Texas history, from the 1870s through the 1890s. This webinar series will explore the demise of American Indians in the aftermath of the Civil War; the simultaneous rise of the cattle industry; the role of railroad in ending cattle drives and driving down cotton prices across the state; and how Texas farmers led one of the largest political revolts in American history during the 1890s.

Teaching the U.S. Constitution: Amendments, the Supreme Court, and Rights and Liberties

Wednesdays: January 24 and 31 and February 7, 2024 (5:00-6:15 pm CT) • Zoom Webinar

These webinars will focus on post-Civil War amendments and landmark cases that cover voting rights, fundamental rights, and equality. Presentations will explore how the Supreme Court has contributed to our understanding of what freedom entails.

Responding to Student Writing

March 5, 2024 (5:00-6:15 pm CT) • Zoom Webinar

This webinar for social studies and English language arts teachers will provide a variety of strategies to help teachers assess and respond to student writing. The webinar will support students' development in the skills of critical thinking, analysis, research, and writing.

Please contact us with any questions: institutes@humanitiestexas.org.

Happy Holidays!

Humanities Texas Education

Please click the link below to familiarize your self with the new scoring process. If you have any questions please let me know.

This analysis strategy gives students the chance to demonstrate their critical thinking skills using music as a springboard for learning. Students use a pre-selected set of lyrics, apply a focus lens, and make connections between the words and phrases and social studies' concepts.

"In the Quote It! Code It! strategy, students use quotes from a teacher-selected song to connect with a concept (its code) and then describe the meaning or interpretation (demonstrate critical thinking). This strategy is unique in that it challenges students to find multiple concepts in one media source while classifying information." (Stobaugh, 2019)

Find a song rich with context, and the possibilities are endless! I've included a few examples below to get your wheels turning. If you'd like a blank, editable template, click on the colorful imageto create a copy for use in your classroom! 🖇️For the PDF version of the graphic organizer, click here.

First person to e-mail me with the correct answer gets a prize.

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