New York State
K-12 Social Studies Update
Patricia Polan
Associate in Instructional Services, Social Studies
Office of Curriculum and Instruction
Louis E. Yavner Awards
The Board of Regents invites nominations for the Louis E. Yavner
Teaching and Citizen Awards. These awards provide recognition
of a teacher and a citizen who have made outstanding
contributions to New York State education about the Holocaust
and other violations of human rights. The awards were
established by the Regents and funded by the late Regent
Emeritus Louis E. Yavner.
See: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/Yavner/
Deadline: December 15, 2014
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Board of Regents
Adopted the New York State K-12 Social Studies
Framework in April 2014
Informed of regulation change for Social Studies at
September 2014 meeting
Presented with regulation change language at the
October 2014 meeting
Regulation Language to be posted on the State Register
http://www.dos.ny.gov/info/register/2014.html
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Proposed Regulation Change
Social Studies:
• 2 units of credit Global History and Geography
• 10th grade Regents exam (only 10th grade
content)
• June 2018 will be first administration of new
exam
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Test Development Timeline
• Spring 2015
– Training of item writers
• Spring 2016
– Piloting of new items
• Spring 2017
– Full-scale field testing of items
• June 2018
– Global History & Geography II first administration
• June 2019
– US History & Government first administration
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New York State K-12 Social Studies Framework
Same 5 NYS Social Studies
Learning Standards
• Standard 1: History of the United States and
New York
• Standard 2: World History
• Standard 3: Geography
• Standard 4: Economics
• Standard 5: Civics, Citizenship, and
Government
Course of Study Remains Same
Grade
Course of Study
Kindergarten
Grade 1
Grade 2
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
Grade 9
Grade 10
Grade 11
Self and Others
Grade 12
My Family and Other Families, Now and Long Ago
My Community and Other Communities
Communities around the World
Local History and Local Government
The Western Hemisphere
The Eastern Hemisphere
United States and New York History – I
United States and New York History – II
Global History and Geography – I
Global History and Geography – II
United States History and Government
Participation in Government
Economics and Economic Decision Making
The Foundation:
Key Ideas, Conceptual Understandings &
Content Specifications
KEY
IDEAS
CONCEPTUAL
UNDERSTANDINGS
CONTENT
SPECIFICATIONS
Social Studies Practices
1. Gathering, Using, and Interpreting Evidence
2. Chronological Reasoning and Causation
3. Comparison and Contextualization
4. Geographic Reasoning
5. Economics and Economics Systems
6. Civic Participation
Common Core Literacy Skills
• Reading




Key Ideas and Details
Craft and Structure
Integration of Knowledge & Ideas
Range of Reading & Text Complexity
• Writing




Text Types and Purposes
Production and Distribution of Writing
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
Range of Writing
• Speaking and Listening


Comprehension and Collaboration
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
Unifying Themes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Individual Development & Cultural Identity
Development, Movement & Interaction of Cultures
Time, Continuity & Change
Geography, Humans and the Environment
Development and Transformation of Social Structures
Power, Authority & Governance
Civic Ideals
Creation, Expansion and Interaction of Economic Systems
Science, Technology and Innovation
Global Connections and Exchange
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How to Read the Framework
Key
Idea
Conceptual
Understanding
4.5 IN SEARCH OF FREEDOM AND A CALL FOR
CHANGE: Different groups of people did not have equal
rights and freedoms. People worked to bring about
change. The struggle for rights and freedoms was one
factor in the division of the United States that resulted
in the Civil War.
(Standards: 1, 5; Themes: ID, TCC, SOC, CIV)
4.5a There were slaves in New York State. People
worked to fight against slavery and for change.

Content
Specifications

Students will examine life as a slave in New York State.
Students will investigate people who took action to abolish
slavery, including Samuel Cornish, Fredrick Douglass,
William Lloyd Garrison, and Harriet Tubman.
NY Social Studies Framework
3 Instructional Shifts
• Focus on Conceptual Understanding.
• Foster Student Inquiry, Collaboration,
and Informed Action.
• Integrate Content and Skills
Purposefully.
Instructional Shift #1:
Focus on Conceptual Understanding
From
To
Facts
Concepts and
Content????
Knowledge
Breadth of Topics
Depth within
????
Topics
Recall
Transfer and
????
Connections
Instructional Shift #2:
Foster Student Inquiry, Collaboration,
and Informed Action
From
To
Teacher as
Disseminator
Teacher as Facilitator
????
of Investigation
Students Learn Facts
from Textbook
Students Investigate the
Social Sciences
???? Using
Multiple Sources
Students Retell
Interpretations
Students Construct
Interpretations
???? and
Communicate Conclusions
Instructional Shift #3:
Integrate Content and Skills Purposefully
FROM A Social Studies Classroom
Where…
TO A Social Studies Classroom
Where…
Students experience an additional
nonfiction reading class or
textbook focused instruction
Students learn to read, discuss,
and write like????
social scientists
Students develop literacy skills
and social studies practices
separately
Students develop disciplinary
literacy skills ????
and social science
practices in tandem
Students learn content knowledge
Students integrate and apply
???? and content
concepts, skills,
knowledge
C3 Inquiry Arc
What is the C3 Framework?
Inquiry Arc
• Dimension 1: Developing Questions and
Planning Inquiries
• Dimension 2: Applying Disciplinary Tools
and Concepts (Civics, Economics,
Geography, and History)
• Dimension 3: Evaluating Sources and
Using Evidence
• Dimension 4: Communicating
Conclusions and Taking Informed Action
NYS K-12 Social Studies
Resource Toolkit Project
• To marry the global vision of the C3 Framework to the
content specifics of the NYS Framework in a way that
honors, supports, and extends teachers’ and
students’ best classroom ambitions
• Partnership with SUNY Binghamton; collaboration
with C3 authors
• Develop Toolkit to equip teachers and districts to
design curriculum and instruction
The toolkit project
What…and When
•Resources —14 Annotated Inquiries (1 per grade) and 70
Abridged Inquiries/(5 per grade) July 2014-August, 2015
•Professional Development—District, State-Level, and
National/July 2014-August 2015
•Assessment—Assistance with design of new Regents
exams/Spring 2015-Spring 2018/19
A new paradigm for social studies
• In content-rich subjects, traditionally it has
been facts first, thinking later
…and it hasn’t worked.
* * * * *
• The C3 Inquiry Arc starts with thinking with a
purpose
…answering a compelling question
Compelling questions
• Intellectually meaty
• Kid friendly
Intellectually meaty
• Reflects an enduring issue, concern, or debate
in the field
• Demands the use of multiple disciplinary
lenses and perspectives
Kid friendly
• Reflects a quality or condition that we know
children care about
• Honors and respects children’s intellectual
efforts
Did Reconstruction Really Free African
Americans?
•Intellectually meaty?
•Kid friendly?
Compelling…or not so compelling?
1 Why do we need rules?
2 What are the five largest sources of oil for
U.S. markets?
3 Why is Albany the capital of New York?
4 Who are our community helpers?
5 Can Canada and the US be friends forever?
6 Who won the Cold War?
Why inquiries rather than units…
• Inquiries are not fully-developed content units or
modules
• An inquiry need not necessarily cover an entire key
idea
• A Key Idea (e.g., Native Americans in New York) may
necessitate several inquiries
• Teacher expertise and agency is key
What should teachers do NOW?
• Review Introduction & Social Studies Practices
for Grade Level
• Evaluate current instructional practices
• Professional Development Readings
• Professional Organizations:



National, State & Local Councils for the Social Studies
New York Geographic Alliance
• http://www.nygeographicalliance.org/
New York Elementary Classroom Teachers Association
• http://www.nysecta.org/
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A Program that Supports Teaching,
Learning and Assessment