Social Studies Insider
November 2020
District Collaboration and Social Studies Updates
Social Studies Digital Resource Tools
New to the List this Month: Election Edge
Election Edge aims to help teachers use nonpartisan data and resources to engage their students in civil civic discourse and push them to think critically about US History and US elections. We provide ready-to-use lesson plans with step by step instructions to facilitate innovative lessons using our live poll maps, comprehensive election history materials, learning videos, and innovative games such as scavenger hunts and election prediction challenges.
- To take a quick look at all Election Edge has to offer, you can read more here or watch this introductory video.
- To create a free teacher account you can do so here. When prompted, input the code FreeTeacher2020!
- Once in Election Edge, we encourage you to start by exploring Election History. You can view the outcomes and facts for every Presidential Election.
- You can also access Teacher Resources at the bottom of the screen. Here you will find all of our lesson plans that walk you through fun, engaging activities tied to standards. You can preview some of our favorite lesson plans here:
- Next, go to our Poll Data page and you can explore state and national poll data which is vetted twice a week from a variety of both partisan and nonpartisan resources. All our resources can be found in our Sources Cited tab along the bottom of the Election Edge screen.
- We would love to have you join us for a weekly PD event, every Wednesday at 4pm EST where we share a specific lesson that can immediately be used in the classroom.
- We cover election history, the election process, and civic engagement activities.
- You can access the archive of all our webinars online with this link. If you cannot join us at 4, no worries, we have you covered. Register anyway and we will send you a recording! Each lesson plan we cover can be found directly in Election Edge under the Teacher Resources tab. You can register for our upcoming webinars here:
Veterans Day and the Meaning of Sacrifice
Bert's Big Thank You
Teaching Thanksgiving in a Socially Responsible Way
Newnan Coweta Historical Society Scholarship Program
For the third consecutive year, the Newnan-Coweta Historical Society (NCHS) will be awarding a $10,000 scholarship to a Coweta County student intending to pursue a college education with a history or history-related major or minor.
The Newnan-Coweta Historical Society is now beginning to take applications for its annual $10,000 scholarship awarded to a local student in good standing. The scholarship will be issued at a rate of $2,500 per year, paid in installments per semester or quarter depending on the institution’s’ system.
The NCHS scholarship is intended to promote the study of history and history-related fields. History helps us understand change, society, and community, and the study of it creates well-rounded, skillful citizens. This specific scholarship is an investment in the Newnan and Coweta community and its future and serves to promote the Historical Society’s goal of preserving and protecting local history.
To be eligible for the scholarship, students must be a Coweta County resident in their senior year of high school and in good standing to graduate. Students from public school, private school, home school, and virtual school are all eligible to apply. Applicants must intend to pursue history or a history-related field as an area of study. The mailing deadline for applications is February 28, 2020. Applications must include: a completed and signed application form, official transcripts and available aptitude test scores; letter of acceptance from college/university (if received); three letters of recommendation; and a one-page personal statement. A followup interview may be requested by the NCHS staff and Scholarship Committee.
For more information or questions concerning the application process, please call the NCHS offices at 770.251.0207 or email executivedirector@newnancowetahistoricalsociety.com
Download an application here: 2020 NCHS Scholarship Application
Attention Elementary Social Studies Teachers:
I have worked with GCEE to secure free year-long GimKit Pro accounts for teachers who register and attend our first socially distanced face to face GCEE workshop. Despite the awesome GimKit subscription participants will receive, you won't want to miss this special event as GCEE rolls out a brand new workshop revolving around 10 quick lessons/activities that can be completed in 10 minutes. The workshop will be held at the Nixon Center in Newnan on Saturday, December 5, 2020 from 8 am to 11:30 am. Teachers will leave the workshop with a copy of all Ten Under Ten lessons, a paid GimKit Pro subscription for your classroom, and a $10 Chickfila Gift Card for you to grab lunch on your way home. Please use this link to register.
Integrating Social Studies into your ELA/Reading Lessons Made Easy
Located within the GA DOE Teacher Notes, teachers can find a list of standards connected books that can easily be integrated into your ELA/Reading lessons.
For Kindergarten access, Click Here.
For 1st Grade access, Click Here.
For 2nd Grade access, Click Here.
For 3rd Grade access, Click Here.
For 4th Grade access, Click Here.
For 5th Grade access, Click Here.
Teaching the Concept of Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and the Statue of Liberty
Check out this archived webinar from Jennifer Zoumberis on teaching Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and the Statue of Liberty.
Attention Middle School Social Studies Teachers:
KSU K-12 Virtual In-School Programs
Kennesaw State University's Virtual In-School Programs are provided FREE of charge to K-12 teachers and students and support the Georgia Standards of Excellence although reservations from teachers from outside of Georgia are welcomed! The Virtual In-School Programs can be completed in one of three ways:
- Sixty Minute Live Virtual Session with a Museum Educator
- Pre-Lesson and Thirty Minute Live Virtual Session with a Museum Educator
- Asynchronous Sixty Minute Lesson
Please contact Education Manager, Andrea Miskewicz (amiskewi@kennesaw.edu), with any questions.
Program Topics:
Introduction to World War II (5th + 6th Grade)
Introduction to the Holocaust (5th, 6th, 7th Grade)
The Tuskegee Airmen: The Segregated Skies of World War II (5th Grade)
Beyond Rosie: Women in World War II (5th Grade)
World War I: The War to End All Wars? (5th+ 6th Grade)
The Rise of Nazi Germany (6th Grade)
How War Shaped the Middle East (7th Grade)
Georgia in World War II (8th Grade)
The World at War (High School)
World War I & World War II Bundle *Choose 2 Programs* (5th Grade)
Frequently Asked Questions:
- How much does access to these resources cost? Nothing - these online resources are absolutely free!
- If these resources are free and online, why do educators/parents need to register? So we can share participation with the folks who help us keep these programs free & accessible!
- What are the Digital Lessons? Currently, we are offering several different online lessons for different grade-levels. We are flexible and can adjust the format to make it most functional for you and your students. Please visit the registration link for the different options.
- What do I need to participate? A device (computer, tablet, smartphone) and Internet access
- Who can participate? All digital lessons are designed for students ages 9+. We are happy to share these resources with teachers and students from near and far!
Attention High School Social Studies Teachers:
Please read the program requirements below. We can only submit one name for the district and will need any student applications by November 20, 2020. This will give my panel enough time to review the countywide applications and submit our district representative to the superintendent for final approval before being submitted to Keisha Ford-Jenrette at the D.O.E. If you have a student interested in applying, please email phillip.sykes@cowetaschools.net. A formal application will be provided and will be reviewed by the district panel.
Program Information:
The United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) is pleased to announce that the state departments of education nationwide have begun their annual selection processes for the upcoming Washington Week ONLINE which will be held in a fully virtual format for the 2021 program year. 104 student delegates will be chosen to meet their U.S. senators and other government leaders during the comprehensive online experience to be held March 14 — 18, 2021, for the program’s 59th annual Washington Week.
Each year, this extremely competitive merit-based program brings two high school juniors and seniors from every state, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense Education Activity, to Washington, D.C. for an intensive week-long study of the federal government and its leaders. The state departments of education throughout the country select the students through a rigorous nomination and selection process. Each student will also receive a $10,000 undergraduate college scholarship, with encouragement to continue coursework in history, government and public affairs. The Hearst Foundations have fully funded and administered the program since inception; no government funds are utilized.
The program agenda routinely includes meetings with senators, the president, Cabinet
secretaries, a justice of the Supreme Court, senior members of the national media and other key policymakers. Each speaking event incorporates lengthy and detailed question and answer sessions that are closed to the media. This high-level exposure is precisely what fuels and sustains the delegates’ commitment to making a difference in their country, communities, and schools.
The delegate selection is administered by each state’s chief school officer in cooperation with high school principals. Delegates must be juniors or seniors and elected or appointed student officers for the 2019-2020 or the 2020-2021 academic year. Due to COVID-19, students who are unable to serve in qualifying leadership positions for the 2020-2021 academic year may use positions held in the previous year, as verified by the state selection administrator, and they must reside in the state where they attend school. Eligibility considerations may also be made for student representatives elected or selected (by a panel, commission or board) to district, regional or state-level civic or educational organizations where the delegate is serving a constituency in a high-level leadership position for the entire academic year.
Names of students selected will be formally announced in early February 2021. Interested
students should contact their high school principal, school counselor, history or government teachers or the selection administrator for their state. Application deadlines vary by state, and specific information can be located on the state-by-state drop-down menu on the USSYP website.
Civic Engagement Diploma Seal Program
Please begin advertising this program to students. Last year, East Coweta High School honored several seniors who accomplished the criteria required in order to gain diploma endorsement. I would love to see more Coweta students gain this recognition.
Criteria and Application Information
Grade Level/Course Specific Professional Learning with Virtual Specialists
Introducing a new FREE online professional learning community exclusively for Georgia educators. The Georgia DOE has created course and grade level specific Professional Learning Communities, led by Virtual Specialists, where educators from across the State can connect with each other to share experiences, resources, lesson plans, and instructional activities.
Professional Learning for All
S3Strategies Integrating ELA into the Elementary Social Studies Classroom (Grades 3-5)
Improve language arts achievement with your social studies curriculum! Elementary teachers experience a variety of strategies that emphasize language arts standards in the social studies classroom. Special emphasis is placed on the use of visuals and primary source documents. ELA and SS? The perfect marriage of instruction to create a "two for one" learning experience.
Monday, Nov 2, 2020, 12:00 AM
Virtual
S3Strategies Active Learning Strategies for Middle School Social Studies (Grades 6-8)
Monday, Nov 2, 2020, 12:00 AM
Virtual
S3Strategies Active Learning Strategies for High School Social Studies (Grades 10 & 11)
Monday, Nov 2, 2020, 12:00 AM
Virtual
Middle School Social Studies Meeting
Thursday, Nov 19, 2020, 04:00 PM
Virtual
GCEE- Engaging Learners While Teaching Economic Concepts in the Elementary Classroom
Join us as we share exciting ways to teach elementary economic concepts while promoting engagement and enduring understanding. This special Saturday session of professional learning will be fast-paced and fun with loads of resources you can start using immediately in your classroom.
Each participant will receive:
a copy of Ten Under Ten (a guide to 10 quick lessons and activities you can use to teach important economic and personal finance concepts...in under 10 minutes each)
a paid, year-long subscription to Gimkit Pro to use in your classroom
a $10 Chick Fil-A gift card
There is no registration fee, and all resources used will be shared at no financial cost to the participants or their school system. There is a limit of 25 attendees.
*We will be adhering to a strict infection prevention protocol. We will require the wearing of face masks, staggered entrance/dismissal, social distancing, and assigned seats in the meeting location. This will not negatively impact the enormous amount of fun you're going to have on this day. It's just to keep you and those around you safe.
Want to Register? Click Here
Saturday, Dec 5, 2020, 08:15 AM
The Donald W. Nixon Centre for Performing and Visual Arts, Lower Fayetteville Road, Newnan, GA, USA
Network Connectors
Connect with Georgia's virtual learning community for Social Studies
Georgia Council for the Social Studies
Georgia Council on Economic Education
Comments, Concerns, Questions?
Email: phillip.sykes@cowetaschools.net
Website: https://sites.google.com/cowetaschools.net/cowetasocialstudies/home
Location: 167 Werz Industrial Boulevard, Newnan, GA, USA
Phone: 770-254-2800
Twitter: @Syked4SS