Please continue to use the google classroom to seek answers to various content-based questions/concerns, gather and share content based resources, and receive updated news on various social studies initiatives. If you haven't joined your respective social studies Google Classroom, what are you waiting for? Join today! If you are in need of any assistance, please feel free to click on the form below. I am eager to work with you during your planning or alongside you during your instruction.

Please continue to share digital resources you are using within your class lessons. If you click on the button below, you will be directed to the growing list of digital resources I have put together to help make lesson planning a little easier. Anytime you use one of the resources, please feel free to send me feedback! To assist with navigating the resources, recent additions will be listed at the end of the list. As a suggestion, always start at the bottom of this list and scroll to the top.

New to the list this month: BouncyMaps, The True Size Of, & Native-Land

I'd like to thank Aimee Waters at Newnan High for sharing these three geography-based resources. Each of these sites will allow you to manipulate maps based on their focus. First, Bouncy Maps allows you to see the impact countries have in regard to various measurements like the economy, GDP, oil reserves, gold, health care, freedom, etc. Second, The Ture Size Of allows students to see a country's "real" size without the distortion of its location on a flat map. Finally, Native-Land provides teachers and students the opportunity to explore the ancient people of regions across our planet.

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!

It is through our social studies classes that we can teach our students the significance of our nation's democratic elections. In fact, we can use election cycles to help teach students about their civic duties and responsibilities that can be exercised by participating in our country's democratic process. To ensure that we teach the process with facts in mind, it is critical that teachers cover civics-based standards with a nonpartisan/unbiases stance. Teaching students to research, take a stance, think for themselves, and participate within our local, state, and national elections when the time comes will help empower them as participating members of our society.

A few tips:

• Stay Neutral- Teachers should maintain political neutrality, so all students can feel as if their beliefs and opinions matter. For guidance on navigating difficult discussions, two sites offer guidance for teachers: Difficult Dialogues, Vanderbilt University; Civil Discourse in the Classroom, Teaching Tolerance.
• Remain focused on the election/democratic process- Keep discussions focused on civic duties and responsibilities, the election process, voting qualifications, electoral college, popular vote. Try to stay away from specific political party beliefs, discussions on candidates, etc. If students ask questions that open up opinion-based responses from teachers or other students, direct students to have those discussions with their parents.
• Connect political conversations back to the GSE for Social Studies- Civics and government standards are present in all grade levels K-8 and most high school courses. Allow students to connect course/grade-level standards to current events.
  

"A Starting Point" provides teachers and students the opportunity to research and discuss various civic-based questions that are sorted by various categories. In each category, various topics are up for questioning and are answered by current government officials on both sides of the aisle. Click on the image below to explore.

ProCon.org provides teachers and students a place to see where candidates stand across various political talking points and issues. Teachers can also utilize the "Teacher's Corner" for additional support materials. Click on the image below to explore.

Georgia Public Broadcasting has provided numerous that may help guide your instruction on the democratic process. Please access the Google Doc consisting of student-friendly resources that will assist in your conversations.

S3Strategies PL Session:

Attention teachers- If you teach grades 3-5, you won't want to miss out on this awesome professional learning session. I have secured funding to bring back S3Strategies for a fun, engaging, and high energy workshop that will focus training around the difficulties of engaging students through the hybrid teaching model. In this session titled, "Integrating ELA into your Social Studies Classroom" you will gain insight and resources that can be immediately implemented into your classroom lessons the very next day. Did I mention that the Coweta County School System will pay you to attend this training? Preview the two videos below for more information. Register by clicking on the registration link in the "event" box below.

K-2 Teachers:

Check the Google Classroom for the resources shared at our first social studies curriculum meeting. If you need any additional support, please do not hesitate to reach out to Jennifer Zoumberis (JZoumberis@doe.k12.ga.us) or myself.

S3Strategies PL Session:

Attention teachers- If you teach grades 6-8, you won't want to miss out on this awesome professional learning session. I have secured funding to bring back S3Strategies for a fun, engaging, and high energy workshop that will focus training around the difficulties of engaging students through the hybrid teaching model. In this session titled, "Active Learning Strategies" you will gain insight and resources that can be immediately implemented into your classroom lessons the very next day. Did I mention that the Coweta County School district will pay you to attend this training? Preview the two videos below for more information. Register by clicking on the registration link in the "event" box below.

Teaching Strategy: Civil War

students will use one of the major tools of a historian: personal letters. These primary source materials provide firsthand evidence of events and information on the perspective, cognition, values, and attitudes of the person writing the letter. Students will read several letters from individuals who lived during the Civil War and analyze their content. Furthermore, students will formulate a character description of someone who lived during the Civil War and, in pairs of letter-writing correspondents, write one another letters concerning a major event during the war. https://gpb.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/civil-war-letters-lesson-plan/ken-burns-the-civil-war/

Georgia's Hauted History: Georgia Traveler

Looking for some Halloween Fun? Journey with the Georgia Traveler team for a Georgia Ghost Tour. Explore the Pirates House, a haunted restaurant in Georgia's most haunted city, ghoulish get a way at the Windsor Hotel, frighting family fun at Netherworld, and a local legend in Chickamauga.

High School Curriculum Meeting:

I will be holding a virtual meeting with each of the three high schools to discuss any immediate needs and/or concerns Oct. 9. Times will be sent out to your school's department head shortly.

S3Strategies PL Session:

Attention teachers- If you teach World or US History, you won't want to miss out on this awesome professional learning session. I have secured funding to bring back S3Strategies for a fun, engaging, and high energy workshop that will focus training around the difficulties of engaging students through the hybrid teaching model. In this session titled, "Active Learning Strategies" you will gain insight and resources that can be immediately implemented into your classroom lessons the very next day. Did I mention that the Coweta County School district will pay you to attend this training? Preview the two videos below for more information. Register by clicking on the registration link in the "event" box below.

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.

Join the Online Community

Schedule for Monthly Webinars​

The Observatory of Economic Complexity

The Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) is an online data visualization and distribution platform focused on the geography and dynamics of economic activities. The OEC integrates and distributes data from a variety of sources to empower analysts in the private sector, public sector, and academia. Click on the image below to explore the site and gather quality information pertaining to the economies from around the world.

Looking to connect with others in the Social Studies field? Utilize the links below to connect with various organizations that may provide expertise and resources to better your professional networks.

Connect with Georgia's virtual learning community for Social Studies

Georgia Council for the Social Studies

Georgia Council on Economic Education

Georgia Historical Society

Georgia WWI Commission

National Council for History Education

Newnan-Coweta Historical Society

Please contact Phil Sykes, Social Studies Content Specialist, with any questions comments, or concerns.

Email: phillip.sykes@cowetaschools.net
Website: https://sites.google.com/cowetaschools.net/cowetasocialstudies/home
Location: 167 Werz Industrial Boulevard, Newnan, GA, USA
Phone: 7702-254-2800
Twitter: @syked4SS