Social Studies Newsletter

Welcome

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.

Social Studies TEKS Review Work Group Application

The State Board of Education (SBOE) will soon begin the review and revision of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for K–12 social studies. The SBOE approves a variety of positions, such as classroom teachers, campus and district-level administrators/specialists, education service center subject-area personnel, and representatives from higher education, and community members, including parents and employers, to serve on TEKS review work groups.

The SBOE is now accepting applications to serve on social studies TEKS review work groups. Applications are submitted to SBOE members for review throughout the review and revision process. TEA will notify approved applicants of their selection at each stage in the review and revision process.

To access the application and for more information regarding the K–12 social studies TEKS review, please visit the SBOE Social Studies TEKS Review 2025 web page at https://sboe.texas.gov/state-board-of-education/teks/social-studies-teks-review-2025.

Individuals interested in applying can also access the application here: Social Studies Work Group Application.

Questions regarding the application or TEKS review process may be sent via email to teks@tea.texas.gov.

Internalizing and Annotating Instructional Materials

While our primary focus is on lesson design in Social Studies, the internalization process applies across multiple resource types. You should internalize your Lowman documents, Nearpod lessons, Social Studies Success Lessons, and materials from fellow educators.

Purpose of Internalization

The process of internalizing instructional materials through annotation serves several critical functions. It enables you to differentiate instruction to meet diverse learner needs, refine your pacing for optimal student engagement, ensure alignment with TEKS standards through your Knowledge and Skills Chart, design impactful instructional experiences, and support effective lesson execution.

Annotation Components

When annotating your instructional materials, include the following elements:

Time stamps to guide pacing throughout the lesson. Document your Gradual Release of Responsibility by noting the instructional strategies you will employ at each phase. Identify potential misconceptions students may encounter and plan how to address them proactively. Make explicit connections to previous learning to activate prior knowledge and build coherence. Note any omissions you identify in the original materials that need to be supplemented. Finally, highlight content spiraling opportunities where concepts can be reinforced and revisited throughout the unit or year.

Below you will find an example of annotations for a Lowman assignment.

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8th Grade S.S. Annotations Example.pdf

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Creating Teacher Exemplars

Teacher Exemplars are not just polished student work—they are a strategic instructional tool. You should create exemplars for discussion prompts, writing assignments, DBQs, maps, graphs, charts or other tasks that require students to demonstrate mastery of Social Studies standards.

Purpose of Teacher Exemplars

Developing teacher exemplars serves several key purposes:

Provides a concrete model of high-quality student work aligned to TEKS standards.
Supports students’ understanding of the expectations for claims, evidence, reasoning, and academic discourse.
Guides your instructional planning and pacing by highlighting where scaffolding or modeling is needed.
Fosters opportunities for civil discourse, critical thinking, and rigorous discussion.
Serves as a reference point to differentiate instruction and address common student misconceptions.

Difference of Annotations versus Teacher Exemplars

Annotations are teacher-facing notes made on instructional materials to support planning, internalization, and differentiation, helping the teacher anticipate misconceptions, adjust pacing, and connect to prior learning. In contrast, a Teacher Exemplar is a polished, student-facing model of high-quality work that demonstrates mastery of the learning objective, including claims, evidence, reasoning, and civil discourse. Essentially, annotations guide teacher preparation, while exemplars guide student understanding, showing explicitly what excellence looks like and how to achieve it.

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Teacher Exemplar Lowman Assignment.pdf

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Harlem Renaissance

Harlem became the hub of African American culture in the 1920’s and 30’s and the extraordinary writing that developed during this time continues to influence American literature and culture. This seminar will explore the literature of the Harlem Renaissance in relation to its history as well as its social and cultural context. We will also examine the competing theories about race and racial identity that defined the Harlem Renaissance’s intellectual culture.This program will be conducted as a discussion, utilizing primary source documents as the only readings, and with the Professor facilitating the conversation. Registrants, therefore, are highly encouraged to read all the documents in advance and come ready with questions. Teachers will receive a Letter of Attendance at the conclusion of the seminar.

info.teachingamericanhistory.org

This no-cost workshop focuses on understanding and teaching about antisemitism as well as gaining historical context for the Holocaust. This interactive workshop provides meaningful insights, hands-on activities, and classroom-ready materials to help teachers confidently address this important topic with students.

Tuesday, December 9th: 4:15pm - 5:15pm CT REGISTER HERE

Social Studies After School Special (Civil Discourse) Dec.16 (Virtual)

We will continue our learning of Civil Discourse through a book study of the book we received last year titled Civil Discourse Classroom Conversations for Stronger Communities. If you attended Job-Alike last year (2024) you will need to bring your copy of the book. Limited copies are available for new social studies teachers only.

Click the link to sign up. https://killeen.schoolobjects.com//wshop/default.aspx?cid=26352

Lowman's Tip of the Month

Spiral to Mastery

As the fall semester comes to an end, keep key concepts fresh by using our warm-ups and/or assignments, which incorporate spiral review. Spending a few minutes each day revisiting previous lessons helps students retain content and build confidence.

Tip in Action: Our retention chart illustrates how consistent, spiraled review significantly boosts student retention over time. A structured approach to review can make a lasting impact. Learn more from Alan Lowman in our short YouTube video by clicking the link below.

Learn More in This Video