social studies standards update

Social Studies Standards Update

Social Studies StandardsUpdateMr. Harris PayneDirector of Social Studies

September 12, 2013Omaha, Nebraska1Social Studies EducationHarris Payne, Director of Social Studies Education

As part of the process to create and review standards, NDE asked for public input on the drafts of the standards. 1043 (An NDE record) responded. Over 67% of the respondents were educators.3An analysis of the survey found two main themesEducators were concerned about the number of standardsEducators were concerned about resources to teach the standards.4

A New Free Financial Literacy Education ProgramIn conjunction with the Nebraska State Treasurers Office, the Nebraska State Bankers association has provided funding to sponsor schools to use the EverFi Financial Literacy program for free.5

JanaLangemach, NEST, 402-471-8884, [email protected]

Jennifer Sykes, EverFi, 202-625-0011 x318, [email protected]

To get EverFi set up in your school, contact Jessica Feimer. She will be happy to set up a training for a district, staff or individual teachers. A webinar briefly explaining the EverFi Financial Literacy program on August 7th, 2013, at 9 a.m. CST, 8 a.m. MST.6

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxStandards Workshops and ConsultationsX = workshop or consultation over the Nebraska State Social Studies Standards32 standards workshops have been done around the state. Some of these have had a very large audience and some a smaller one. A few have been done with district writing committees, small groups and workshops. The majority of the workshops have been done at ESUs. The workshops go over background on the standards, law, policy, standards vocabulary, combining standards together in lessons, and resources. The workshops usually end with an comparison of current standards to the new social studies standards. I am still available to do standards workshops this fall.7

Nebraska State Social Studies Standards Conference ParticipantsX= Conference Participant #= Number of Conference Participants from one school districtOn June 21, 2013, 165 socials studies educators from around the state met at the University of Nebraska Kearney student union for a social studies standards conference.8Conference EvaluationWhat did the teachers think of the conference?9Conference Evaluation10

Dr. Brad Fogo presented sessions on Historical Reading Skills and was the keynote speaker at lunch. His lunch presentation discussed Beyond the Bubble website. The website has assessment materials that require critical thinking and writing skills. Website is: http://sheg.stanford.edu/

11Reading Like a Historian Research and ResultsResearch designed to measure the effects of four dimensions:Students historical thinkingStudent ability to transfer historical thinking strategies to contemporary issuesStudent mastery of factual knowledgeStudent growth in general reading comprehensionResearch ResultsSignificant effectSignificant effectSignificant effectSignificant effect and struggling readers . . . scored significantly higher on historical thinking and factual knowledge, and higher on reading comprehensionSource: Avishag Reisman (2012) Reading Like a Historian: A Document-Based HistoryCurriculum Intervention in Urban High Schools, Cognition and Instruction, 30:1, 86-112, DOI:10.1080/07370008.2011.63408112

Name:ESU:

Proposed Social Studies WorkshopDescriptionCostStatusPossible DatesLevel of Interest: Yes No Thanks Maybe With other ESUs

Improving Reading Comprehension in the Content Area: Social StudiesFull day workshop with Dr. Brad Fogo utilizing Reading Like a Historian and Beyond the Bubble documents and assessment materials.(http://sheg.stanford.edu/)Best if held in at least 3 locations across the state.Dr. Fogo is $1000/dayNDE covers travel, meals and lodging expensesVerbal go from Dr. Fogo. Waiting for feedback from ESUsJune 2014

Nebraska Atlas ProjectGeographic Educators of Nebraska (GEON) has written a grant to fund a new 4th grade Nebraska paper atlas. The plan consists of two day workshops at ESUs. Teachers attending would receive a set of 25 atlases for use in their classroom for free. Lessons for the atlas have been developed by a team of 4th grade teachers.Grant pays for 4,000 atlases. GEON is covering presenter expenses.Grant announcement in October 2013June/July 2014

Educating the Next Generation of Nebraskans About Soil ConservationUsing the Power Of Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Join two day workshops for social studies, science and agriculture teachers. Teachers gather information about modern day soil conservation practices and create a Story Map using photos, narrative and GIS. (http://storymaps.esri.com/stories/2013/maptour-sandiego-transportation/#)Grant pays for workshops at 5 locations around the state.State GIS/LIS professional group provides webinars for follow up in the fall.Three year grant pays for food, stipends presenter costs. ESRi provides site license for K-12 schools for free.Grant announcement in February 2014.Funding available in April 2014.June/July 2014