Department of Social Sciences

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SESSION TITLE: To Rigor and Beyond! Creating knowledgeable Social Scientists through rigorous instruction yielding an overall increase in student performance.AUDIENCE: Elementary PrincipalsFACILITATORS Track A: Dr. Michelle Mar and Ms. Nora Espinosa, Social Science Teachers (Track A)FACILITATORS Track B: Ms. Virginia Sanchez and Ms. Olga Marrero, Social Science Teachers (Track B)

RESOURCES: http://socialsciences.dadeschools.netPaper Slide Video Instructions:http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how+to+make+a+paper+slide+video&FORM=VIRE1#view=detail&mid=26D608844157D627E13026D608844157D627E130OUTCOMES: Upon the conclusion of this synergizing presentation, participants should be able to attest to the accuracy of the following statement:

“I understand how the subject area of Social Sciences is a valid and useful vehicle to increase students’ content knowledge and skills as well as improve students’ literacy and writing abilities. I have a clear path to how I need to improve the teacher quality of my Social Sciences department so teachers can plan rigorous and engaging lessons that yield positive outcomes in student performance.”

GUIDING QUESTIONS: What do best practices look and feel like in a rigorous Social Science classroom?

How do rigorous best practices in Social Sciences improve student literacy and writing skills?

How can infusion/use of technological resources support and increase student engagement?

How can I set the wheels in motion to improve the quality of my Social Science teachers?

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WHAT? SO WHAT? NOW WHAT?1 minute: Introduction of facilitators and overview of guiding questions.

Review session agreements:Be present, attentive, and active; Be open-minded; Trust the process; Try out something new then, reflect; Acknowledge each other as equals; Assume good will; Expect it to be messy; Confidentiality is supported; Speak from your heart; Get what you need.20 Minutes: Block Party: A Pre-Reading Text-Based Activity. See your text on the index card provided.Article: The Reasons We Must Learn History/Social Studies See article and protocol on the following pages.

Whole Group Debrief:What’s the validity of the information presented? What ramifications does the information have for your social science team? Note: Article/Blog included in the agenda on the next page.

Reflection Time: So What? Now What? (How does the content of this article shape

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your future work?

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The Reasons Why We All Must Learn History and Social StudiesR E A S O N ON E : To Help Us Develop Judgment in Worldly Affairs by Understanding the Past Behavior of People and Societies

History must serve as our laboratory, and the past must serve as our most vital evidence in the quest to figure out why people behave the way they do in societal settings. If decision makers do not consult history, they make decisions without all of the facts.

R E A S O N T W O : To Help Us Understand Change and How the Community, Nation and World We Live in Came to Be

Each person’s world view is shaped by individual experiences, as well as the experiences of the group to which he or she belongs. If we are ignorant of the contemporary and historical experiences of a variety of cultures, then we cannot hope to understand why people, communities or nations behave the way they do or make the decisions they make.

R E A S O N T H R EE : To Help Us Develop Essential Skills for Good Citizenship

Citizens are not born capable of ruling. They must be educated to rule wisely and fairly. The cornerstone of democracy is the informed citizen.

R E A S O N F O U R : To Inspire Us

History teaches us that a single individual with great convictions or a committed group can change the world.

“It is from numberless acts of courage that human history is shaped. Each time a person stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the life of others, or strikes out against injustice, he or she sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

Robert F. Kennedy (adapted)

R E A S O N F I V E : To Help Us Develop Essential Thinking Skills

Social Studies promotes:• Reading at the evaluation, synthesis, analysis and interpretation levels• Critical thinking skills through writing• Analytical thinking

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It is in social studies that students learn skills ranging from reading a map to making an argument. Students learn how to assess the validity of evidence, evaluate conflicting points of view and apply facts to making decisions. These are the skills of the real world!

“The student who learns history will unconsciously develop what is the highest value of history: judgment in worldly affairs. We gather historical knowledge, not to make us more clever the nexttime, but wiser for all time.” Jacques Barzun (adapted)

Why Our Students Must Learn Social Studies

“Any subject of study needs justification: its advocates must explain why it is worth attention. Most widely accepted subjects—and history [and Social Studies] are certainly among them—attract some people who simply like the information and modes of thought involved. But audiences less spontaneously drawn to the subject … need to know what the purpose is.”

Dr. Peter Stearns, Historian

“History must serve as our laboratory, and data from the past must serve as our most vital evidence in the unavoidable quest to figure out why our complex species behaves as it does in societal settings. This, fundamentally, is why we cannot stay away from history: it offers the o n l y extensive evidential base for the contemplation and analysis of how societies function, and people need to have some sense of how societies function simply to run their own lives.”

Dr. Peter Stearns, Historian

Dr. Stearns’ analogy of the laboratory in this instance is a powerful one. When a scientist steps into a laboratory he does so having formulated a hypothesis to be tested. The scientist predicts what will be the outcome of a series of steps then tests his theory. If his experiment fails then he knows that his hypothesis was flawed and takes a different course. Statesmen have no laboratory where they can test their hypothesis. Nevertheless, statesmen formulate hypothesis regarding the potential outcome of their policies all the time…and the stakes if they are wrong can be extremely high; involving even life or death. While there are no perfect repeats, history provides no shortage of examples of how similar results stem from similar catalysts, motivations and circumstances. If decision makers do not consult history, they make decisions without all of the facts. Furthermore, it is essential that we remember that while not everyone is a statesman, we are all decision makers each and every day of our lives.and World We Live in Came to BeIntegral to utilizing history to aid in decision making is adding the social studies elements of understanding and appreciating difference and diversity. In his new book, P o wer , F a ith, a nd F a nt a s y : A m er i c a in the Middle E a st: 1776 to the P re s e nt author Michael Oren explains that at the root of the long troubled history of American Middle East foreign policy is the fact that America has consistently viewed the Middle East through the lens of American culture, ideals and values. In other words, when the United States formulates its Middle East policy, it consistently does so based on the flawed assumption that people in that part of the world think just as we do in America. Each person’s world view is shaped by individual experiences, as well as the experiences of the group to which he or she belongs. If we are ignorant of the contemporary and historical experiences of a variety of cultures, then we cannot hope to understand why people, communities or nations behave the way they do or make the decisions they make. The simple, undeniable fact is that understanding history and social studies improves judgment. More specifically,

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understanding history and social studies arms each of us with the necessary tools to make good decisions and wise choices.

"A high level of shared education is essential to a free, democratic society and to the fostering of a common culture, especially in a country that prides itself on pluralism and individual freedom."A Nation at Risk Report, 1983

The cornerstone of democracy is the informed citizen. Solutions to social problems require the insights that emerge from diverse perspectives and experiences. Citizens learn the skills of democracy just as they learn to read or compute. They learn through experience, training and practice. Effective social studies classrooms teach students each of the following essential democratic skills:

• to actively listen, evaluate competing points of view and formulate independent points of view.

• to engage in public dialog. Public dialog requires citizens to think through their own point of view and ask, “Why do I think as I do and what do I hope to achieve?”

• to effectively resolve conflicts. Because people are different, conflict is inevitable. Negotiating interests is a major part of conflict resolution. Negotiation means moving beyond pre-set positions, knowing what one is willing to compromise, what one is not willing to compromise and being able to reach win-win solutions that meet the shared interests of all parties.

• to exercise good public judgment by hearing other points of view, thinking through the clash of values and perceiving the ground from which differences come. All citizens are motivated to a great extent by self interest, but society functions most effectively when citizens exercise cultural tolerance, social empathy and a sense of responsibility for the well-being of their fellow citizens.

• to access the tools of democracy. In order to effectively participate in their democracy, citizens must know their rights and responsibilities. They need to understand how to register to vote, how to contact lawmakers and how to gather and wield influence.

When citizens of a democracy are deprived of an effective social studies education it places both the citizen and the democracy at risk. Democratic illiteracy is no less destructive than reading illiteracy. One of the most important factors in the fall of republics great and small throughout history has been when citizens no longer felt connected to their government and became disinterested in what that government was doing.

“Citizens are not born capable of ruling. They must be educated to rule wisely and fairly. They must be drawn out of the egotism of childhood and the privacy of their homes into the public world of democratic reasoning, deliberation and consensus. This requires not only civility, but knowledge and skill.”

Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States

Reason Four: History and Social Studies Inspires Students

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Perhaps the least appreciated and among the most important roles played by social studies education is the power of inspiration. It is in social studies classrooms that students learn that a single individual with great convictions or a committed group can change the world. It is also in the social studies classroom that students learn the words and deeds of men and women, such as Mohandas Gandhi, Sister Theresa, Elie Wiesel, Rachel Carson and Martin Luther King, Jr.

“It is from numberless acts of courage that human history is shaped. Each time a person stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the life of others, or strikes out against injustice, he or she sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

Robert F. Kennedy (adapted)

The pen is mightier than the sword, words can move mountains and in each of us is the power to change the world.

Reason Five: Social Studies Teaches Students Essential Reading, Writing and Thinking Skills

Social Studies promotes reading at the evaluation, synthesis, analysis and interpretation levels.

The reading process does not end with comprehension. In the adult world, people do not ask friends or colleagues to recall specific information from a book or article they have read. Instead, they ask for an opinion on a lead story, or for analysis of the latest Wall Street trend, or for an interpretation of a controversial article…

Karen Tankersley, T he T hrea d s of R ea d i ng

The Elements of Critical Reading Found in the Social Studies Classroom:

E val u a t ion i n Re a d i n g : the ability to distinguish essential information or core concepts from what is simply interesting or eye catching.

S y n t h e sis in Re a d i n g : the ability to take new information and combine it with existing information to construct a new idea, a new way of thinking or a totally new product or criterion.

A n alysis in Re a d i n g : the ability to make comparisons between what is read and information in one’s background knowledge. Analytical reading allows the reader to make generalizations about the information which was read to form independent judgments and opinions.

I n ter p ret a t ion in Re a d i n g : takes analysis one step higher by requiring the reader not only to form opinions and judgments, but also cite viable evidence or proof from what was read to justify a position.

Developing Critical Thinking Skills through Writing in the Social Studies Classroom:

The National Assessment of Educational Progress directly links writing effectiveness to development of skills in critical thinking.

Writing requires knowledge and focuses thought. In order to write, students must acquire and present content (facts, generalizations, and concepts) when they write a social studies assignment.

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Properly designed assignments require students not only to collect knowledge, but also todetermine which knowledge to retain, which to discard, and how to present it. Such choices reveal much about what students do and do not know. Writing leads to more questions and to the discovery of connections between events, people, and ideas.

Critical Thinking in the Social Studies Classroom:

It is in social studies that students learn skills ranging from reading a map to framing an argument, and it is also in these classrooms that students learn how to assess the validity of evidence, evaluate conflicting points of view and apply facts to making decisions and articulating compelling arguments. These are the skills of the real world. Literacy and numeracy are essential for success in the modern world, yet now more than at any other time in the history of the world, students must receive a thorough liberal arts education, as well. We live in the era of globalization, where American economic, political and security interests are tied to diverse cultures from across the globe. Citizens of foreign lands can name our political leaders and describe our system of government. American children are not so well equipped. Students sitting in the classrooms of our global competitors are required to learn the English language and study American values and beliefs. Additionally, they are exposed to the representations of American culture through a prolific, although sometimes unflattering mass media. Conversely, America produces leaders who are often monolingual, largely ethnocentric and have little exposure to objective portrayals of people in other parts of the world. In light of these facts, the belief that American children will be prepared to compete globally in the 21st

century solely because they can demonstrate effective reading comprehension skills and compute at a high level, appears to reject reason and is certainly inconsistent with numerous historical examples to the contrary.Re f ere n ces C o ns u l t ed o r Q u ot ed i n t hi s Ar t i c l e :

1. McFarland, Mary. So c i a l S tu d i e s : W ha t i s I t ? W h y Do S t u d e n t s N eed I t ? , Parkway School District, St. Louis County, Missouri, 2007

2. National Commission on Excellence in Education. A N a ti o n a t R is k Re po rt , <ww w .e d . g ov / p u b s/ Na t A t R i sk / in d e x . h t m l > 1983

3. Oren, Michael. P o w e r , F a it h , an d F an t a s y: Ame ri ca i n t h e M i dd l e E a st : 17 7 6 t o t h e P r e s e n t , W. W. Norton & Company, New York, NY , 2007

4. Stearns, Peter. Me an i n g o ver Mem o r y: Rec a sti n g t h e T e a c hi n g o f H ist o r y an d C u lt u r e , UNC Press, Chapel Hill, N.C., 1993

5. Stearns, Peter. W h y S t ud y H ist o r y , American Historical Association <ww w . h ist or i a n s . or g / p u b s/F r ee / Wh yS t u d y H ist o r y . h t m > 1998*

6. Tankersley, Karen. T h e T h r e a d s o f Re ad in g : S tr a t e g i es f o r Lit e r a cy Deve l op me n t , Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria, VA, 2005

"The student who [learns] history will unconsciously develop what is the highest value of history:judgment in worldly affairs. This is a permanent good, not because "history repeats" - we can never exactly match past and present situations - but because the "tendency of things" shows an amazing uniformity within any given civilization. As the great historian

Burckhardt said of historical knowledge, it is not to make us more clever the next time, but wiser for all time.”

Jacques Barzun, Historian* The language used in reasons 1, 2 and 3 are drawn directly from W h y S t ud y H ist o r y , by Dr. Peter Sterns.

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WHAT? SO WHAT? NOW WHAT?20 Minutes:

Mini- Social Science LabSocial Science labs are an engaging and rigorous instructional approach designed to require in-depth learning and thinking on the part of the student guided by of an essential question, analysis of primary or secondary source documents, and ending in a rigorous writing assignment or other rigorous learning task.

Steps to conduct the Social Science Lab: (Show overview video on PowerPoint)

1. Share overarching/essential question.

2. Build background knowledge.3. Conduct document analysis.4. Take the learning task to the end-

e.g., writing activity or other rigorous learning task.

See next page for specific content, standards addressed, overarching/essential question, and documents related to this specific social science lab.

Reflection Time: So What? Now What? (How can Social Science Labs shape best practices back at your school)?

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Benchmark: 4th grade- SS.4.C.2.3-Explain the importance of public service, voting, and volunteerism

5th grade-SS.5.C.2.4- Evaluate the importance of civic responsibilities in American democracy. Essential Questions: What Civic responsibilities are required and which are voluntary? Which civic responsibility do you feel is more important?

Source Main Idea / Message / Important Details How does this document answer the essential question?

Source 1Political Cartoon on Taxesretrieved from-https://peopleschoiceonline.wordpress.com/peoples-criteria/taxes/ on 6/3/2015Source 2People Votingretrieved from-http://images.politico.com/global/news/110106_voters_reut_605.jpg on 6/3/2015Source 3Jury Duty Summonsretrieved from-http://www.misshannigan.com/American_Literature/angrymen/JuryService_files/image003.gif on 6/3/2015Source 4Volunteers needed signsretrieved from- http://humanesocietyofpolkcounty.org / http://www.salvationarmy.org/ on 6/3/2015

Thesis:_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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SOURCE 1

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Source-https://peopleschoiceonline.wordpress.com/peoples-criteria/taxes/

Source 2

Source- http://images.politico.com/global/news/110106_voters_reut_605.jpg

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Source 3

Source-http://www.misshannigan.com/American_Literature/angrymen/JuryService_files/image003.gif

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Source 4

Source-http://humanesocietyofpolkcounty.org/

Source-http://www.salvationarmy.org/

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7th Grade: SS.7.C.2.5 Distinguish how the Constitution safeguards and limits individual rights.

Essential Question: Should stricter laws regulating firearms be enacted? Source Main Idea / Message / Important Details How does this document answer the

essential question?

Source 1 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Source 2 Gun control political cartoon

Source 3 Infographic relating to guns in America

Source 4 Excerpt from news article, 2015

Thesis: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Source 1 – 2nd Amendment

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Source 2 – Political cartoon relating to gun control, 2013

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Source 3 – Infographic relating to guns in America, featuring various statistics

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Source 4 – Excerpt from 2015 news article about gun control march

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Moms calling for tighter gun control laws march across BrooklynBridge to City HallBY THOMAS TRACY  

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Saturday, May 9, 2015, 7:19 PM

These moms would prefer bullets to bouquets this Mother’s Day—so they can’t be used to kill again.

An army of about 300 angry moms marched across the Brooklyn Bridge and converged on City Hall Saturday to call for tighter gun-control laws and blast America’s apparent lack of “gun sense” one day after fallen NYPD police officer Brian Moore was laid to rest during a teary funeral.

Matriarchs at the Mothers Demand Action for Gun Sense in America march came from as far away as Tennessee, Colorado and Newtown, Conn., where Sandra Scain's daughter was nearly killed by gunman Adam Lanza in 2012.

“My daughter was in the first grade, which was on the other side of the building so she wasn’t hurt physically,” Scain said, holding up a sign reading “Newtown families for gun sense.”

Matriarchs at the Mothers Demand Action for Gun Sense in America march came from as far away as Tennessee, Colorado and Newtown, Conn., where Sandra Scain's daughter was nearly killed by gunman Adam Lanza in 2012.

“Things have to change,” she said of gun laws that allowed Lanza access to an assault weapon. “They must change or there will be more dead children from gun violence every day.”

WHAT? SO WHAT? NOW WHAT?10 minutes:

Using Paper Slides to Engage the Learner and Check for Document Analysis Success: Paper Slides are a valid approach using digital resources to check for student understanding in an engaging manner.

Show sample paper slides on the Social Science lab that was modeled (see Power Point).

Show instructional video on how to create paper slides. See link on page 2 of the agenda.

See rubric for evaluation purposes on next page.

Reflection Time: So What? Now What? (Why is it important to engage learners using strategies like this? Is this rigor?)

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WHAT? SO WHAT? NOW WHAT?Paper Slide Progress Monitoring:

See rubric below as an example of how students and teachers together can evaluate and analyze student work.

Reflection Time: So What? Now What?(How can this type of progress monitoring be useful to your school?)

Paper Slide Analysis/Progress Monitoring RubricDocument # & Description Scale Score of Document Analysis

(Provide rationale for score choice)1- Needs Improvement

2- Acceptable3- Spot On!

4- Advanced!!

What specific information presented helps to answer the essential question?

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WHAT? SO WHAT? NOW WHAT?15 minutes:Taking the Analysis and Rigor to a Completed Learning Task

Writing Workshop Feedback ProtocolAdministrators: Provide triads or quads with writing samples of student works based on the social science lab conducted (see samples posted throughout the room) and engage in the protocol to analyze student writing). See protocol on next page.

Reflection Time: So What? Now What? (Why is it important for teachers to have discussions about student work?)

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What Civic responsibilities are required and which are voluntary? Which civic responsibility do you feel is more important?

Sample Student Responses

Sample #1

These Civic responsibilities were importnt things for people to do. You have to do these importnt things. Because if you don’t do them you could have trouble. You shouldn’t have trouble. The very most importnt way to do this is to listen to your mother and your teacher. Then you will stay out of trouble and have Civic Responsibilities.

Sample #2

Some Civic responsibilities are things you have to due. These are things like doing what the law says and paying taxes. You have to do these things or you might have to go to jail. It is a good idea to do this and stay out of jail. There are other Civic responsibilities that are nice to do, but you won’t go to jail if you don’t do them. These are things like voting and being nice to other people. It is just a very good idea to do these things. I think that doing what the law says is the most important thing because our country would be really crazy if everyone did whatever they wanted.

Sample #3

All citizens of the United States have Civic Responsibilities. Some, like obeying the law, paying taxes, and serving on a jury are required. That means that you must do them. Other Civic Responsibilities are voluntary. That means that they are things you should do if you want to be a good citizen. I think that voting and volunteering to help your community are very important Civic Responsibilities that are voluntary. I think that obeying the law is probably the most important Civic Responsibility.

WHAT? SO WHAT? NOW WHAT?15 minutes:Reality Check: Check in Circle Protocol“Where are you?” in terms of having a social science department that engages

learners in the manner in which was modeled today? See protocol on the following pages.

Reflection Time: So What? Now What? (How can action plans developed by using the Check in Circle Protocol shape your work at your school?)5 minutes:Next Steps: Call to Action- In the chart below: Write out the steps that you will take to address the following in your school:

1. Encouraging the development of engaging lessons utilizing social science labs or other proven practices that yield improved student content and skills.

2. Encouraging the use of digital learning resources as a valid vehicle to achieve #1.3. Monitor the effective deliver of instruction in social sciences in my school.

Engaging Lessons Support Digital Learning Monitoring Progress

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WHAT? SO WHAT? NOW WHAT?4 minutesWhole Group Debrief: Have willing participants share the information listed in the chart above.

Reflection Time: So What? Now What?(Identify your obstacles& solutions to rigorous and engaging Social Science instruction)