SISD Social Studies Middle School Summit

1. SISD Social Studies Middle School Summit By Miguel A. Rivera Instructional Officer for Secondary Social Studies, Socorro ISD

2. Introductions • Miguel A. Rivera • 7 years of Teaching • Former Social Studies Department Chair and Instructional Coach – SHS • U.S. History Professional Learning Community Team Leader (2 years) • Small School Academy Leader • Extensive Nonprofit, Community-Based, and Youth Development Work including Evaluation, Data, and Program Development • Graduate Degree in Education Policy and Management • B.A. in History • Married for over 10 years • 3 Children – Ages 7, 5, and 1

3. Getting to Know the Audience • Speak to One Another • Answer the following questions • What’s your name? • What school are you currently at? • What do you teach? • How long have you taught? • What do you think makes you unique in this crowd of educators? • Prepare to share out the information from your colleagues

4. The Elephant in the Room • Negative Experiences with Professional Development • Here and at other times; please discuss the following: • What are some of the negative experiences you’ve had with professional development? • What are some of the positive experiences you’ve had with professional development? • What do you think would make professional development better?

5. Goals for this Summit • Re-Introduce Backward Planning • Introduce the Unit Plan • Access Different Tools: CSCOPE’s YAG and IFD • Pace for the 2nd Quarter • Develop an Assessment Calendar • Review 1st Quarter’s Unit Assessment Data • Plan 3 Weeks Worth of Lessons, including: • Framing the Lesson • Content and Language Objective

6. Goals for this Summit • Re-Introduce Backward Planning • Introduce the Unit Plan • Access Different Tools: CSCOPE’s YAG and IFD • Pace for the 2nd Quarter • Develop an Assessment Calendar • Review 1st Quarter’s Unit Assessment Data • Plan 3 Weeks Worth of Lessons, including: • Framing the Lesson • Content and Language Objective

7. Guiding ourselves through principles – Principle 1 • Pedagogy is a science that we must respect and use • If we don’t respect it and strive for continual improvement, no one else will • We are the practitioners of pedagogy • Definition of pedagogy – the method and practice of facilitating another’s learning, especially an academic subject or theoretical concept

8. Guiding ourselves through principles – Principle 2 • There are only three things that are important to the learning process: • what you are trying to get students to learn; • when you want them to learn it; and • what you’re trying to get them to do in order to learn it • These two concepts must be the focus of our instructional time – time spent in preparing, implementing, and reflecting about our instruction.

9. Guiding Ourselves Through Principles – Principle 3 If it’s not in the Instructional Core, it doesn’t exist

10. Pedagogy as Science – The Instructional Core David Hawkins’ Ideas on the “I, Thou, and It,” through Richard Elmore’s “Instructional Core” Continuum of Achievement/ Improved Learning Content Student Teacher

11. Guiding Ourselves Through Principles – Principle 4 Continuum of Achievement/ Improved Learning Content Student Teacher The state standards have changed (and become more rigorous), which means that according to the instructional core, the content has changed. This means that teachers must change what we do so that students can change what and how they learn

12. Guiding Ourselves Through Principles – Principle 4 • The state standards have changed (and become more rigorous), which means that according to the instructional core, the content has changed. This means that teachers must change what we do so that students can change what and how they learn through: • 1. Improved horizontal planning • 2. Working in teams to gather resources • 3. Maximizing instructional timewith the students.

13. Principle 4 - Our Feelings about STAAR and the TEKS • On a sheet of paper and in paragraph form, write a response to the following questions: • How familiar are you with your grade level’s updated Social Studies TEKS? Do you feel you need to become more familiar with your grade levels’ updated TEKS? What do you feel would help you become more familiar with what will be tested on STAAR? Do you have any reservations about STAAR? (2 minutes)

14. Guiding Ourselves Through Principles – Principle 5 • Forget about “teaching” in the traditional sense of the word; it is now about facilitating students’ learning

15. Principle 4 - Our Feelings about STAAR and the TEKS STAAR 2012 TAKS 2003 Inclusion of Students and Subjects Tested TAAS 1990 TEAMS 1982 TABS 1980 Source: State of Texas Instructional Leadership and Development Certification Training Level of Difficulty

16. Guiding Ourselves Through Principles – Principle 5 • Forget about “teaching” in the traditional sense of the word; it is now about facilitating students’ learning • Advent of technology and the speed with which one can access information has shortened students’ attention span • Lectures become difficult • Sitting in seats is difficult • Timing is VERY important for effective use of instructional time with the students • Electronic devices can be tools to learning, but they can also be a distraction, it’s all in HOW you use the devices • Kids love to use the devices! • We can either hate them, or use them to our advantage

17. Guiding Ourselves Through Principles – Principle 6 • You can’t get students to higher levels of rigor without keeping students engaged • Kagan is being introduced and implemented by the district in this coming year and we’ve incorporated some strategies • Kagan focuses on cooperative learning through engagement in the classroom through a structured format • Principles of Kagan: • P – Positive Interdependence • I – Individual Accountability • E – Equal Participation • S – Simultaneous Interaction

18. Pedagogical Strategies – Principle 6 • Brainstorm a list, individually, of all the strategies that you use in the classroom and what you call them by name; list them down the left-hand side of your paper • You have 2 minutes to brainstorm as many strategies as possible

19. Pedagogical Strategies – Principle 6 - List of Strategies o Quickwrites o Outlining o Document-Based Question development o Categorizing based on Social, Political, Religious, International, Technological and Economic Issues o PowerPoint games for academic language development o Use of video and audio media o Development of screenplay o Filming of screenplay o Role-playing o Peer evaluation o “Question of the day” questioning o Cornell note development o Multiple-choice quizzing o Characterizing of historical eras o Interactive ActivExpression use o Verbal political cartoon analysis o Lecture o Mind mapping o Thinking maps o Direct questioning o Student presentations o Classroom competitions o Small-group questioning o Case studies o Brainstorming o Assessment review

20. Guiding Ourselves Through Principles – Principle 7 • We can only do with the students, what we can, when we’ve got them • Assumption: as we work toward horizontal alignment and vertical alignment, we must focus on what we have control over – instructional time • Use our planning time effectively • Use our implementation time effectively • Use our reflectiontime effectively

21. Use of Instructional Time – Principle 7 • Answer the following questions in your teams: • Are planning time and reflection time ingrained into your school schedule? • What are the objectives of those planning and reflection times? • Is the time used wisely in the endeavor to meet those objectives? • Are the objectives effectively met? • What level of mutual buy-in and accountability exists between colleagues? • You have 5 minutes for the discussion.

22. Guiding Ourselves Through Our Principles – Principle 8 There can be no vertical alignment without horizontal alignment you are primarily responsible for what you do in your schools; We will be accountable to each other once we’ve bought in

23. Guiding Ourselves Through Our Principles – Principle 8

24. Backward Planning – An Extensive Process Understanding of STAAR Student Expectations Unit Plans – Breakdown of SEs, Academic Language, and Others Development of Pacing (YAG , SISD Social Studies YAG and District Calendar) Development of Common Unit Assessments Development of Common Academic Tasks Development of Common Lessons Development of Common Recovery Documents

25. Unit Plans – What we’re going to teach • Tool • to get acquainted with TEKS and SEs • to ensure lesson planning is focused • to ensure students are learning appropriate information and skills • to ensure that the appropriate information is being assessed • To develop strategies for the classroom to ensure that students’ learning needs are being addressed

26. Unit Plans – What we’re going to teach • Components • Unit Name • Enduring Understanding • Concepts • Topic/Take-Aways • Unit Academic Language • Social Studies Language • Assessment Language • Guiding Questions (and Root Questions)

27. Unit Plans – What we’re going to teach • Look at the Unit Plans for 8th Grade Social Studies • What strikes you about the Unit Plans? • What are some of the things you like about the Unit Plans? • What are some of the things you may not like about the Unit Plans? • What are some questions you may have about the Unit Plans? • How do the Unit Plans coincide with the Instructional Focus Documents developed by CSCOPE? • Can you see yourself developing Unit Plans for your team and your students?

28. Backward Planning – An Extensive Process Understanding of STAAR Student Expectations Unit Plans – Breakdown of SEs, Academic Language, and Others Development of Pacing (YAG , SISD Social Studies YAG and District Calendar) Development of Common Unit Assessments Development of Common Academic Tasks Development of Common Lessons Development of Common Recovery Documents

29. Middle School Social Studies YAG 2nd Quarter – When We’re Going to Teach it • Tool to • Develop a flexible common pacing based on SEs • Stay on track with pacing for common unit assessments • Ensure more Focused Lesson Planning • Coincide what happens in the classroom with what happens in the District Calendar • Prepare for changes/adjustments as necessary

30. Putting it Together • You will now have approximately 30 minutes to begin putting together your Middle School Social Studies Year-at-a-Glance based on: • Your IFD and/or Unit Plans • Common Assessment Dates (3 minimum, but dependent on policies) • Approximate Pacing Based on TEKS, but more specifically SEs

31. Backward Planning – An Extensive Process Understanding of STAAR Student Expectations Unit Plans – Breakdown of SEs, Academic Language, and Others Development of Pacing (YAG , SISD Social Studies YAG and District Calendar) Development of Common Unit Assessments Development of Common Academic Tasks Development of Common Lessons Development of Common Recovery Documents

32. Common Assessment – How we will assess them • If Planning Correctly, • You should address all SEs in the allotted time based on the agreed-upon assessment dates • It should be used as a formative assessment that you then go back and re-evaluate the need for improvement, across individual classes and across department (data-based decision-making) • Should reflect what the STAAR will assess

33. Common Assessment – How we’re going to assess them • We will now take some time to view the assessments currently available to us • What do you like? • What do you not like? • What would you change?

34. Backward Planning – An Extensive Process Understanding of STAAR Student Expectations Unit Plans – Breakdown of SEs, Academic Language, and Others Development of Pacing (YAG , SISD Social Studies YAG and District Calendar) Development of Common Unit Assessments Development of Common Academic Tasks Development of Common Lessons Development of Common Recovery Documents

35. Lesson Planning – How we’re going to teach them • Framing of Lesson • Content Objective – What students will learn • Language Objective – What students need to be able to do, specific to language, in order to demonstrate that they understand the content • Academic Task – What students will do to meet the objective • Varying strategies will address different students’ learning needs • Must have a specific academic goal pertinent to achieving the larger objective for the day • Must be related to ensuring that the student meets the SEs • Product – What students will do to demonstrate that they understand the content

36. Lesson Planning – How we’re going to teach them

37. Pedagogical Strategies – Principle 6 - List of Strategies o Quickwrites o Outlining o Document-Based Question development o Categorizing based on Social, Political, Religious, International, Technological and Economic Issues o PowerPoint games for academic language development o Use of video and audio media o Development of screenplay o Filming of screenplay o Role-playing o Peer evaluation o “Question of the day” questioning o Cornell note development o Multiple-choice quizzing o Characterizing of historical eras o Interactive ActivExpression use o Verbal political cartoon analysis o Lecture o Mind mapping o Thinking maps o Direct questioning o Student presentations o Classroom competitions o Small-group questioning o Case studies o Brainstorming o Assessment review

38. Lesson Planning – How we’re going to teach them • Putting it All Together • You will now have an opportunity to develop the first three weeks of lesson plans for the 2nd quarter • Use your IFD, Unit Plans, and Middle School Social Studies Year-At-A-Glance Tools to determine which academic tasks you will use to ensure that your students effectively meet the Student Expectations