Region 10 Social Studies Support
July 2021 (Summer PD Edition Cont.)
I hope that you are currently enjoying this summer and have been able to take time to reflect, recharge, and relax. There is no doubt that this summer seems to be flying by faster than most. To that end, I just wanted to share a few additional summer PD opportunities that will be happening this month and in the month of August.
For those that joined us in June for our 2nd Annual Metroplex Social Studies Conference, we THANK YOU for your time and hope that you came away from our day and a half of learning with new ideas. A special thank you goes out to all of our presenters including several professors from TCU, the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, Ani Simmons from the Frisco Heritage Museum and Chassidy Olainu-Alade from Fort Bend ISD. We hope to see you next year.
REGION 10 SUMMER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
ETHNIC STUDIES CONFERENCE
Other Summer PD Opportunities at Region 10
Stipends for participants will be provided.
Ethnic Studies Cohort
If your role is to develop a Social Studies curriculum for your district, please join us for a series of monthly cohort meetings this spring to explore the process of implementing Ethnic Studies courses (specifically the Mexican-American and African-American Studies courses) in your district. If you have already implemented these courses, we encourage you to join in and share your experiences as well as learn new ideas to implement next year. We will discuss proposal ideas, planning the courses, instructional resources, and strategies for teaching with cultural sensitivity. Find support from educators in both Region 10 and Region 11 to create a curriculum that will be ready to implement in the 2021-2022 school year.
UPDATE:
OUR COHORT WILL CONTINUE THIS SUMMER WITH DATES ON JUNE 29, JULY 12 AND AUGUST 10. REGISTRATION IS OPEN NOW.
Additional Summer PD Opportunities Around the State & Country
Humanities Texas Summer PD Offerings
FREE HUMANITIES TEXAS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WEBINARS (SUMMER 2021)
Beginning in June, Humanities Texas will hold FREE online professional development programs for social studies and ELA teachers in Texas schools.
The programs will take place online via Zoom. Participants will receive CPE credit and a wealth of curricular materials.
Teachers can register to attend on the Humanities Texas website.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Teaching with Documents from the National Archives
June 28–July 2, 2021 and July 19–23, 2021 • 9:00–11:30 am CT
Humanities Texas will partner with the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives and Records Administration to hold two online professional development institutes for Texas teachers that immerse participants in using primary source-based educational resources designed to engage students in active, hands-on learning about important topics in civics and history. Unlike our other online institutes, attendance will be capped for each of these programs due to the interactive nature of the sessions. Teachers selected to attend will be notified in advanced and required to confirm their participation. Teachers will be expected to attend each webinar in the week-long institute.
American Society During the Early American Republic
July 5–July 9, 2021 • 10:00 am–12:00 pm CT
This online institute will address critical topics in the eighth-grade social studies curriculum, exploring diverse perspectives on American life during the years immediately following the American Revolution.
July 12–July 16, 2021 • 10:00 am–12:00 pm CT
This online institute will offer teachers new windows into the Texas Revolution and a collection of curriculum materials geared toward bringing innovative perspectives into the classroom. Team-taught by a historian and two master teachers, the institute will focus on tying the "Big Picture" of the Texas Revolution to the unique experiences of Tejanos, women, and African Americans. Teachers attending this institute will walk away with both new insights into the era and curated primary source lessons that are classroom-ready.
Civic Online Reasoning: Sorting Fact from Fiction on the Internet
July 29–July 30, 2021 • 1:00–3:00 pm CT
Humanities Texas will partner with the Stanford History Education Group (SHEG) to hold a two-part teacher professional development webinar for Texas teachers on using SHEG's Civic Online Reasoning curriculum. The curriculum, based on research conducted with professional fact checkers and tested in classrooms across the country, teaches students to effectively evaluate online content. During this interactive workshop, participants will consider the research behind the curriculum, review curricular materials, and discuss how these resources can be integrated into their own classrooms.
2021 Candy Brown Holocaust and Human Rights Educator Conference - July 26-30, 2021
On July 26-30, 2021, the Museum will hold its annual Candy Brown Holocaust and Human Rights Educator Conference. This Conference is a full immersive program geared toward not only social studies but ELAR teachers and librarians. This year’s Conference themes will be Sports, Race, and Human Rights – The Nazi Olympics to Tokyo 2021 (July 26-28, 2021) and Antisemitism and Hate Speech – From the Holocaust to Today (July 28-30, 2021). The Conference will be virtual with in-person at the Museum options.
The Conference includes:
- Break out sessions with leading educational and human rights organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League, Echoes and Reflections, USC Shoah Foundation, Special Olympics Texas, International Rescue Committee, and Genocide Watch.
- Survivor Speakers Keynote Panel with Texas of the Year and Holocaust Survivor Max Glauben, Cambodia Genocide Survivor Thear Suzuki, and Rwanda Genocide Against the Tutsis Survivor Yvonne Umugwaneza
- Keynote speakers on the Conference’s themes, including best-selling author Andrew Maraniss, Centre for Sports and Human Rights, and Dr. Robert Williams from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
- Access to exclusive digital resource drive
- CPE credit
- Continental breakfast
Registration deadline: July 12, 2021
Registration link: https://dhhrm.formstack.com/forms/2021_hhrec
Registration fee: $25.00
See the attached flyer and tentative schedule for more information, or go to: https://www.dhhrm.org/educators/educator-professional-development/
Texas Council for the Social Studies (TXCSS) & National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Conferences - Coming This November
Social Studies TEKS Review
The State Board of Education (SBOE) today announced updates to the TEKS review and revision schedule. Approved at the Board’s April meeting, the updated schedule moves up the review and revision of the social studies TEKS to the 2021-22 school year and pushes back the review and revision of the mathematics TEKS to the 2022-23 school year.
The instructional materials adoption cycle was also revised in response to the changes.
Legislative Updates
- HB 3979 - Addresses many issues including controversial issues in the classroom, political activism, etc. (More information is yet to come as this will likely be taken up again during the Special Session that starts this month)
- HB 4509 - Requires that K-12 school districts and open-enrollment charter schools teach "informed American patriotism" through the founding documents of the U.S. including the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and the Federalist Papers.
- SB 1063 - Allows for a Personal Financial Literacy course to serve as a Social Studies credit for graduation in place of the typical Economics course
I hope to share more information with you on each of these as they are clarified by TEA and the SBOE in the coming months.
Did You Know?...The National Archives Has Great Lesson Plans and Resources for Teachers
- Fundamental Principles of Government
- Congress in History
- How Congress Works
Here are some of the highlights:
- What Congress Does and Why It Matters
- The Legislative Process
- Launching the New Deal: FDR and Congress Respond to the Great Depression
- Congress, the Great Society, and Today
- In Their Own Words: Women's Petitions to Congress (1830-1971)
- Congress Protects the Right to Vote: The Voting Rights Act of 1965
- Was Reconstruction a Revolution?
- The Impact of Racial Discrimination on Black American Lives in the Jim Crow Era (1944-1960)
There are also TWO e-books with political cartoons:
Items of Interest
Past Issues...
2018-2019:
September 2018, November 2018, February 2019, March 2019, April 2019, May 2019, June 2019
2019-2020:
August 2019, September 2019, October 2019, November 2019, December 2019, January 2020, February 2020, March 2020, April 2020 (Part 1), April 2020 (Part II), May 2020 (Part I), May 2020 (Part II) June 2020, July 2020
2020-2021:
August 2020, September 2020, October 2020, October 2020 (Part II), November/December 2020, December 2020, January 2021, February 2021, March 2021 (Part I), March 2021 (Part II), April 2021 (Part I), April 2021 (Part II), May 2021 (Part I), May 2021 (Part II)
KELLY BELLAR - Region 10 K-12 Social Studies Consultant - Teaching & Learning
Email: kelly.bellar@region10.org
Website: https://www.region10.org/programs/social-studies/service-offerings/
Location: Richardson, TX, USA
Phone: 972-348-1432
Twitter: @Region10SS




