Mission: To ensure all students are capable, curious and confident learners
who understand and respond to the challenges of an ever-changing world.
HS Social Studies Department Leader Curriculum Action Team Meeting Agenda
Meeting Date, Place and Time
11/13/13, 3:30 – 5:00 PM, South
High
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Teams>Social Studies
PROGAM GOAL 2013 - 2014:
Increase the relevance of lessons
and units so students see
connections between what they
are learning in school and their
daily lives.
Meetings 3:30 – 5:00 PM
12/11 @ WH, 1/8 @ CH, 2/12 @
NH, 3/12 @ FRH, 4/9 @ SH, 5/14
@ WH
Agenda Item
Relevance Goal Update
Relevance Wheel Resources
Development:
C3 Framework and ConceptBased Curriculum
Discuss pp. 23 – 34
For Dec. 11, please read pp. 35 51
Team Norms
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Keep students first
Be present and actively working
Assume good will
Be respectful and keep a safe environment for sharing ideas
Know that it is okay to challenge and/or question others’ ideas
All voices are heard
Take away the learning but not the people (maintain confidentiality)
Start and end on time
Individual Roles and Responsibilities
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Commit to being present and engaged in the work.
Understand and be able to summarize meeting content for building
administrators and staff as needed.
Be a resource and support for each other
Bring your laptop
Cell phones on vibrate
Members:
Lara Boles (WH), Cathy Dobkin (CH), Amy Grich (SH), Rebecca Langrall (ISC), Drew Lilledahl (FRH), Bob McKitrick (NH), Patrick
McPartland (SH), Zaven Nalbandian (WH), Amber Rice (SH)
Notes:
 Becky has met with two teachers of the 13 who came to the Oct. 1 Relevance Day to develop relevance-enhanced
lessons, has set up a meeting with one other, received lessons from two others, and will be contacting the
remaining teachers in the second half of this month to set up meetings.
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What changes can we make to enhance students’ sense of relevance? Support colleagues?
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Are there areas and resources we could add to or change on the relevance wheel to make it a more useful planning
tool?
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What are implications of this part of the document for creating a revised Curriculum Guide for Parkway Social
Studies – which is the BOE’s expectation coming out of the 2012 – 2013 Social Studies Program Evaluation?
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American Institute of Research and the Central Comprehensive Center (Univ. of Oklahoma) workshop: “Building the
Bridge: Connecting Social Studies and the CCSS” (Oct. 28, Jeff City) showcased modules to help teachers learn the
following: The CCSS Literacy Standards,CCSS Instructional Shifts, CCSS-based strategies for unpacking Informational
Text, Disciplinary Literacy in Social Studies, Using Challenging Texts in SS, Text-Based Evidence and Argument in SS,
Writing from Sources in SS, Academic and Disciplinary Vocabulary in SS, Connecting to Primary Sources/Library of
Mission: To ensure all students are capable, curious and confident learners
who understand and respond to the challenges of an ever-changing world.
Congress, Sustaining the Work with SS teachers.
Additional Links
 Current blue links for Social Studies (left side of OCG)
 New blue links on the left side of the OCG (new structure, ELA example)
 Schooling by Design-based Curriculum Framework
Nov. 1 Growth Measure Update Pat and Amber
Nov. 1 Missouri History Museum
Development Update: “Paradox
of Literacy: Social Studies and
the Common Core” - Becky
Nov. 14 the following assessment developers will meet from 8:00 – 3:00 PM at the Central High Media Lab:
Gov – Amy Grich, Steff Guzman, Drew Lilledahl
MUSH – Lara Boles, Melody Barger, Pat McPartland, Amy Thornhill
World History – Adam Weiss, Jim Hermann
Key ideas from Brigham Young University professor Dr. Jeffrey Nokes, author of Building Students’ Historical Literacies:
Learning to Read and Reason with Historical Texts and Evidence:
Readers are active and have four roles a. Code breakers (connecting meaning to symbols like BCE, the long S, cursive – help unpack to lighten the load on
working memory)
b. Meaning Makers (visualizing, connecting Bkgd. K., frontloading vocab, line by line summaries)
c. Text Users (purposeful reading and writing, use of evidence to substantiate a claim, gain a more balanced
perspective, stimulate historical questioning)
d. Text Critics (questioning the author’s purpose, accuracy, tone, word choice, inclusions and omissions,
authority…developing a healthy skepticism – should we believe what’s written?)
Skillful readers of history use the roles flexibly and concurrently. The task for the teacher is to provide the scaffolds
students need to practice each role. Dr. Nokes used ads about enslaved people who had run away as a platform for
showcasing the different ways to support students as historical readers in each of the four roles.
Feb. 14, 8 – 11 AM @ CH –
Maryville and Parkway Partners:
“Thinking Like A Social Scientist
through the lens of WWI. Topic:
Should the US have entered
WWI ? (historical, geographic,
economic lenses and varied
instructional strategies)
Brian Adam (CH) has agreed to partner with the professor of history; Zaven Nalbandian (WH) with the professor of
economics; and Adam Weiss (SH) with the professor of Geography. All of us will meet with Alden Craddock at CH in Brian’s
room on Monday, Nov. 25 to begin planning the sessions. Click here to view possible plan.
Curriculum
Jan. 2 – Curriculum Day
Tentative Agenda:
Mission: To ensure all students are capable, curious and confident learners
who understand and respond to the challenges of an ever-changing world.
Central High Social Studies
Commons and
Breakout rooms:
Helpful Information
8:00 – 9:00: Textbook pilot reports. DL-facilitated decision-making. (Amy and Becky met several weeks ago to develop a
protocol. Click here to view.)
9:10 – 10:10: Relevance Group lesson presentations. (Becky has met with two of the Relevance Day teachers to work on
their lesson plans and has set up meetings with two others, with more to follow later in the month.)
10:15 11:30 PM: CLT and course-alike groups review Growth Measures developed on Nov. 14.
11:30 - 12:30 PM: Lunch
12:30 – 1:15 PM: Mission –Aligned Curriculum Framework Review based on Program Evaluation Outcomes & Goals
1:20 – 3:00 PM: Choice of relevance lesson development, assessment item development, curriculum framework
development.
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Link to the HS Team Website
Many resources are available for social studies teachers, organized by Assessment, Best Practices, Curriculum,
Extended Learning, and Forms
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District Pre-Approval Form for Professional Learning
Links to ongoing Professional Learning opportunities:
 Bureau of Education & Research workshop opportunities in St. Louis
 Cooperating School Districts Workshops
 Missouri History Museum