My name is Chelsea Howells, and I serve as the ESC Region 9 Social Studies content specialist. I am here to help you in any way that you may need, including finding resources, supporting initiatives that you take on, and providing feedback and coaching. The purpose of this monthly newsletter is to provide resources that are specific to types of social studies content, as well as general instructional tools and resources, and updates and professional development opportunities that are beneficial to all.

I recently was reminded of the phases of first year teaching graph (Moir, 2011). I don't know about you, but every year felt this way when I was in the classroom! So, if you are in the survival or disillusionment phase, just look forward to the opportunity to rest, relax, and reflect that will come soon enough. Those who have settled into a comfortable rhythm, look out for your disillusioned colleagues! There is no friend like a teacher friend.

Here are just a few items to bring to your attention in this issue:

• TXCSS Conference starts Thursday!
• November 4th: Texas State Park Roundup- Wichita Falls and surrounding area!
• US History EOC Citizenship Questions Update
• Short Constructed Response Scoring Guides (released 10/7/22)
• Citizen Bee and Bee in a Box Sponsor Sign ups

As always, I would like to help in any way that I can to take something off your plate. If you ever need assistance or have a question, please do not hesitate to contact me via email (chelsea.howells@esc9.net) or social media (@ChelseaHowells9).

~Chelsea

A few important dates for this month with some resources linked:

• Sept 15-Oct 15 Hispanic Heritage Month
• All October National Bullying Prevention Month
• Oct 10 Indigenous Peoples' Day/Columbus Day
• Oct 23-31 Red Ribbon Week
• Oct 31 All Hallow's Eve

Register for the #TXCSS2022 Conference.

TXCSS is happy to announce that we have updated our #TXCSS2022 Conference registration to offer a one-day option for Saturday only.

See those rates below.

• $135.00 for Saturday with membership renewal
• $105.00 for Saturday for current member
• $90 for retiree with membership renewal
• $60 for retiree member

The reservation link for your room at the Embassy Suites is found in the ACCOMMODATIONS section.

The Embassy Suites is still accepting room reservations FRIDAY- Sunday nights.

Over Flow for Wednesday and Thursday nights are being accepted with Marriott Spring Hill Suites and the Courtyard Denton.

#TXCSS2022 October 14-16, at the Embassy Suites, Denton Convention Center, Denton TX.

3100 Town Center Trail

Denton, TX 76201.

See #TXCSS2022 Conference at a Glance for conference schedule and event details.

Upper Elementary/Middle School

For more information or to sign up, email Tracy Sult at tracy.sult@txdot.gov

The SBOE met on August 30th-September 2nd and voted to suspend overhauling the Social Studies standards until 2025. However, under Senate Bill 3 (SB3), revisions to ensure compliance were still needed. This was the catalyst for the SBOE meeting on September 26th.

During this meeting, revisions to the TEKS which add in requirements included in SB 3, 87th Texas Legislature, were presented for first reading and filing authorization.

The public comment period for the proposed TEKS revisions is October 14th-November 14th.

• Proposed Revisions to Chapter 113, TEKS for Social Studies, Subchapter A, Elementary
• Proposed Revisions to Chapter 113, TEKS for Social Studies, Subchapter B,
• Middle
• Proposed Revisions to Chapter 113, TEKS for Social Studies, Subchapter C,
• High School

The SB 3 side-by-side document provides a crosswalk between the requirements outlined in the bill and the proposed revisions.

You can view the SBOE livestream recordings of all SBOE meetings HERE.

Click the images below to access the PDF.

Click the images below to access the PDF.

House Bill 1244 requires the United States (U.S.) History STAAR End of Course (EOC) assessment to include 10 questions from the civics test used by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services during the naturalization process.

In the spring EOC administration, multiple choice questions from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service Civics Test will be included. They will not contribute to a student’s score or a campus or district’s data. Questions are incorporated into the field test slots, so the overall length of the test will not increase.

USCIS website link.

UPDATE - New Practice Test Available

There is now a NEW FULL LENGTH PRACTICE TEST available on the STAAR Redesign Website.

The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) test is being redesigned to make the test more tightly aligned to the classroom experience. House Bill 3906 established a “multiple choice cap,” meaning that no more than 75% of points on a STAAR test can be based on multiple choice questions. Preliminary information has been released about the item types. I will provide updated information as we receive it. I would highly suggest bookmarking the STAAR Redesign website page >> https://tea.texas.gov/student-assessment/assessment-initiatives/hb-3906/staar-redesign

For the next few months, this newsletter will highlight two of the new STAAR Item Types and possibilities within the classroom. If you have ideas or examples of ways that you are embedding these in your classroom, please do not hesitate to share - we are all better together.

October- Inline Choice & Match Table Grid

November- Hot Text & Short Constructed Response

December- Multipart & Multiselect

January- Hot Spot & Drag and Drop

Link to Pear Deck New Item Types Template

Description: Student selects the correct answer(s) from one or more drop-down menu(s).

Point value: These questions can be worth a maximum of 2 points with the possibility of receiving 1 point for a partially correct response.

Social studies tests that may include these questions: Grade 8 and EOC

Description: Student matches statements or objects to different categories presented in a table grid.

Point value: These questions can be worth a maximum of 2 points with the possibility of receiving 1 point for a partially correct response.

Social studies tests that may include these questions: Grade 8 and EOC

For both inline choice and match table grid, students will often be recalling information. It is critical that we not rely upon memorization for recall, but instead ensure our students have been provided the necessary tools to move the learning beyond surface, into deep learning. Example instructional strategies of deep learning include: graphic organizers, class discussions, close reading, metacognitive strategies, and reciprocal teaching.

A few notes about graphic organizers:

• Consider - transformation, not replication. How can students take the information you have provided and organize it in a way that is meaningful to their learning?
• Graphic organizers should be considered an intermediary step, a planning step - what will we do with the information once organized - write? discuss? create?
• Article: The Great and Powerful Graphic Organizer (Cult of Pedagogy)

credit: Kelly Bellar, Region 10 ESC

Registration link for Writing New Items for ELA and Social Studies using TFAR

Creating Thinkers Registration links

Session 2 - October 26th 4:30pm - 5:30pm

Session 3 - November 16th 4:30pm - 5:30pm

You don't have to attend all 3 sessions to get great information about the new STAAR Item types! We would love to see you at as many sessions as you can attend.

Throughout the summer, Regions 9, 10 and 11 conducted a series of one hour PD sessions looking at the New Item Types for STAAR with a focus on discussing how we can build capacity in our students and their critical thinking skills. We will be re-running that series in the fall in September, October and November. In conjunction with that, we have also offered an opportunity to teachers to join in on a virtual PLC to continue the conversation and serve as support for teachers this fall. If you would be interested in participating in that PLC, you can express that interest by completing the Google form linked HERE.

Dates for the PLC will be October 18, December 5, February 23, March 27 and a final follow-up on May 17. All PLC meetings will be from 4:30-5:30 via Zoom.

Forgotten Voices Registration links

Session 2 - December 6th 4:30pm - 5:30pm

Coming Spring 2023:

Session 3 - February 21st 4:30pm - 5:30pm (Trail of Tears/Cherokee Culture)

Session 4 - April 11th 4:30pm - 5:30pm (Pullman Car Museum)

Although this is a series, you don't have to attend all sessions to reap the benefits! We would love to see you at as many sessions as you can attend.

"Timelines are often used by History teachers because they are an excellent and effective method to help pupils develop their chronological awareness and understanding. Timelines can support pupils gaining a historical overview of a period, assist in recalling key dates, events and individuals and also visualise how progress, developments and change have occurred over time. A positive/negative timeline goes beyond putting events in chronological order and requires discussion, analysis and reaching a judgement. "

Click here to learn more about this strategy!

FREE Resource! Click here to register: https://get.checkology.org/

Truth, evidence and facts compete for attention alongside rumors, viral hoaxes, conspiracy theories and disinformation. This relentless stream of misinformation confuses and divides us, and can make us feel powerless. But we all can learn to identify misinformation.

News literacy — the ability to determine the credibility of news and other content — is the solution, one that’s urgently needed.

1 minute introductory video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enmB76wgaJE

Filipino American Heritage Month (FAHM), in October, commemorates the first Filipinos to arrive in the continental United States at what is now Morro Bay, California, on October 18, 1587. There are many great stories, legacies, and continuing contributions to highlight.

Resources:

FAHM, Google Arts and Culture

Medal of Honor Recipient, Telesforo Trinidad

Picture Book Recommendations

credit: Jessica Torres, Region 12

credit: Jessica Torres, Region 12

credit: Jessica Torres, Region 12

credit: Jessica Torres, Region 12

1912 Republican Convention: TR Starts the Bull Moose Party

This four-minute video provides students with an introduction to the election of 1912 and the emergence of the progressive Bull Moose party, named for Roosevelt’s saying after an assassination attempt that he was “fit as a bull moose” to become president again. Focusing on Theodore Roosevelt’s decision to challenge President William Taft for the 1912 Republican Party nomination, the video shows students how the newly created system of direct primaries affected the race, and how Roosevelt’s failure to wrest the nomination from Taft resulted in the formation of the short-lived Bull Moose party. The video is useful for lessons focused on the election of 1912, or for lessons focused on the political reforms of the progressive era.

Lesson Plan Available HERE

Click here for the entry form and rules.

Deadline: November 30th, 2022

About the Contest

Each of us can point to something in our neighborhood, town, or city that's worth saving, whether it's a building, a public space, an organization, a cultural event, or some other special feature. Every community in Texas is unique and has its own history, including yours!

Prizes

Each grand prize winner (one from 4th grade and one from 7th grade) will be awarded a gift card worth $500. The five finalists in each grade will receive $100 gift cards. In addition, all winners and finalists will receive Save Texas History backpacks, a letter of appreciation signed by Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, and other items from the Texas General Land Office and essay sponsors.

Prompt: Answer the question, "What history in your community is worth saving?"

When: Entries must be received by November 30, 2022. Grand prize winners and finalists will be announced by December 16, 2022.

All inquiries should be sent to essaycontest@glo.texas.gov.

Citizen Bee Sponsor Registration

Bee in a Box Sponsor Registration

Primary Source Pedagogy with the National Archives (Fall 2022 Webinar Series)

In the fall of 2022, Humanities Texas will partner with the National Archives and Records Administration and the National Archives Foundation to hold a webinar series on primary source pedagogy for U.S. history teachers in Texas.

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The Making of Mexican Texas, 1820–1830 (Fall 2022 Webinar Series)

In the fall of 2022, Humanities Texas will hold a series of 90-minute webinars for Texas history teachers on the profound changes that remade Texas during the collapse of the Spanish Empire and the creation of the Mexican nation.

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Civic Leaders in Texas History (Fall 2022 In-Person Workshop)

On October 12, 2022, Humanities Texas will hold a one-day workshop in San Antonio profiling significant civic leaders in Texas history.

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Teaching Media Literacy (Fall 2022 In-Person Workshop)

On October 20, 2022, Humanities Texas will hold a one-day workshop in Austin for social studies and English language arts teachers on teaching media literacy.

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Teaching the Speeches of Abraham Lincoln (Fall 2022 Webinar)

On November 9, 2022, Humanities Texas will hold a webinar for social studies and English language arts teachers on the major speeches of Abraham Lincoln.

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Teaching the Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr.

On November 30, 2022, Humanities Texas will hold a webinar for social studies and English language arts teachers on the major speeches of Martin Luther King Jr.

How to apply

Complete the online application. Apply as soon as possible. Registration occurs on a rolling basis and space is limited.

Click the images below to reach the registration page.

National Council for the Social Studies is excited to welcome our members and all social studies educators, administrators, and specialists from across the globe to the first face-to-face NCSS Annual Conference since 2019.

The NCSS Annual Conference is the largest gathering of K-12 social studies classroom teachers, college and university faculty members, curriculum designers and specialists, district and state social studies supervisors, international educators, and social studies discipline leaders. The conference will feature:

• 500+ sessions covering 6 sub-themes to increase your professional development;
• A growing lineup of featured speakers and panels;
• Opportunities to network and exchange ideas with other social studies professionals;
• An exhibit hall highlighting the latest resources and services for your classroom, school, or business; and
• Clinics, tours, and special social events.

Check them out below:

2022-2023

Volume 2, Issue 1 TEKS Revision Special Edition

2021-2022

Secondary Edition

Apr/May 2022 Feb/Mar 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 Aug/Sept 2021

Elementary Edition

Apr/May 2022 Feb/Mar 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 Aug/Sept 2021

Social Studies Specialist

Region 9 ESC

#GCT #iCivicsEducator #MIE #GridGuide #EdPuzzleCoach

Email: chelsea.howells@esc9.net
Website: https://www.esc9.net/564748_3
Location: 301 Texas 11 Loop, Wichita Falls, TX, USA
Phone: 940-397-8106
Twitter: @ChelseaHowells9