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Mike Poore

I apologize for my tardiness; I suffered a time-management failure, and will be on the ball this week.
I was pleased with the new standards; they'll provide for rigor, and result in a population better-prepared to use its voice and make beneficial choices. My chief concern is the same as it has been: I see a disconnect between what we think kids should learn, and the published resources we base our curriculum on. Our textbooks are basically history books, and history-based lessons aren't always the best vehicle for teaching civics, economics, or geography. Of course, there does seem to be a move toward a broader base of resources (a move away from textbooks, I hope). Our social studies department (Ericka, Nora, and me) made a major shift this year, leaving 7th and 8th grade to split a curriculum based on American History, and me to integrate a World History text and a World Geography and Cultures text. Fitting civics into a world history framework has taken some doing...actually, we usually address civics during a separate 'current events' day. But the new standards seem to shine a light forward in terms of dealing critically with information and sources, for which I stand up and cheer! In this age when we're getting so much info from the web,  kids and adults have to be trained to keep a sharp eye on what we're consuming and where / from whom it originated.
My favorite part of all of this is History Standard SS.H3.6-8: 'Detect possible limitations in the historical record based on evidence collected from different kinds of historical sources.' My kids are always asking, 'How do we know?' which is sooooo smart, and deserves good answers. I like that the history standards are focused on this. Mark Twain said, "History is another word for advertising." I think the new standards are geared to counteract that dynamic.

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I apologize its taken me a while to make a post but our Internet speed the last few days has been really slow and I have not been able to access the site when I have tried. I really do not have many questions about the new law. I was not familiar with ACE and what it stood for but after reading several posts I have a much better idea of what it means and how it can be useful in the classroom. One question that I have is coming up with good simulations for class. My current class it is difficult to get them involved several of the students will be absent on simulation days or will just refuse to participate. This groups of students has been that way for a long time, so I am still working on that with them. I do not feel that will be an issue with next years class for me because they like simulations and other activities like simulations. One question I have for everyone, are you seeing social science being taught at the elementary level? My district is approximately 350 students K-12, all three grade levels are housed in one building. For 26 years the amount of social science that has been taught has been very limited at best. Our new principal at the elementary and junior level is trying to change that from the discussions I have had with her. I think most of these standard fit well into what I am currently doing in the classroom. The service learning is important standard to me, I feel its important for students to be involved in their community. I have had many students who were old enough work has election judges and two days before we dismissed school my Civics class helped at the local food pantry for over 2 hours. They helped unload the truck. Many of the volunteers at the food pantry are retired and they really enjoy working with the young people and appreciate the help. Its also a way for the students to interact and learn from older people in our community. I need to focus more on simulations for my classroom and getting my students to have meaningful discussion and interactions on controversial issues. I do spend a lot of time having students analyzing historical documents and thinking critically about those documents.

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I think in my own classroom I cover most of these standards, except for the economics and financial literacy standards.  My curriculum for 7th grade focuses on Early American History.

The Inquiry standards are what I try to focus on throughout the year by providing my students with a variety of primary and secondary sources and working with them to cite text evidence.  They also use similar skills in their language arts and science classes.  Across the board, all of the teachers on my 7th grade team expect our students to cite evidence when answering text based questions.  I do also feel like I cover some of the civics standards as I teach the US Constitution.  Many of my students really have no background knowledge about this topic so I spend a great deal of time covering this information.  I also really focus on map skills in my class, which fits in with the Geography standards.  This is something my students also struggle with at first, but typically each day I have my students complete a "bell ringer" and it almost always refers to a map that is in their textbook.  I notice a great improvement in students from the beginning to the end of the year with this daily practice.  Finally, within the History standards, I do think that I make an effort to cover most of these standards.  I do find that this might be the most difficult one to really dive into.  I have my students for only 40 minutes each day, and I think this is the group of standards you really need to have time to dive into.  I probably focus the most on perspectives and historical sources and evidence.

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Hey, you all are doing a great job in this conversation.  I've enjoyed reading the posts and replies.  Quick reminder:  Be sure to include your name in the title or somewhere in the post/reply.  Keep asking questions of each other and checking back to answer those questions.  Keep up the great work here.  Carry on.

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In my classroom, we have used a variety of resources to simulate social studies, civics, and government. For example, we have used iCivics to demonstrate the voting process, how a president can be elected into office, etc. There was also a neat website we used to show students what it was like to be a solider in war; students received the opportunity to make choices as if they were the soldier and see what the positive or negative outcome was for each choice. I believe there are so many resources out there to bring civics to life for students, in addition to real world examples in their communities! What resources have you used?

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The Illinois Social Science Standards are pretty new to me, having only taught middle school social studies for two years now. I see a heavy focus on inquiry. It seems possible that students could first create their own questions then research them first, which would lead into service learning. It is key to ensure that all eight of the service learning standards to ensure it is meaningful, relevant, linked to curriculum, while also being personal to the students.

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Our 7th grade SS teachers have met numerous times to discuss what standards are being met. We too have just simply applied them to the curriculum. So really not sure if we are doing it right!

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For those of you asking what an ACE is it is just like a CER.  ACE stands for Answer the question, Cite Evidence, and Explain your connection.
In addition, for the Andrew Jackson Trial my students absolutely love it.  They get super in to their roles and we learn a little bit about how a trial works and what everyone's roles are within a court room along the way.

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I agree with you regarding the standards.  The puzzle piece analogy was spot on.  Sometimes with all of these standards it is hard to make them all fit cohesively and smoothly.  I have a difficult time with that.

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I'm curious to know what ACE is as well. It is a writing strategy? We use RACE. I'm wondering if it is the same.

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I have seen the Illinois Social Science Standards and have worked with them. They fit in to the curriculum as I have aligned the curriculum with the standards. So, I do not have questions.

I have done simulations and discussions in my classroom.  Even a mock trial when learning about the judicial branch for the three branches of government.  We do much inquiry and writing.  Many of the standards are addressed in class including geography especially how humans interact with one another in an environment.

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Replies to Jen & Jessica from Joy (J POWER!!!)

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Replies to Jen & Jessica from Joy (J POWER!!!)

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Jessica; what's ACE?  Wondering if it's comparable to what we call CER...

Jen: when I focus on Geography, my admin says that's not rigorous...yet my kids can't read a map key and apply it to what they see...so who's "right"? I feel like we hit the economic decision making hard...like it may be the only one we truly feel we can easily apply in middle school?? Again, I'm not sure what we're doing is really what should be done...

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I've seen the Illinois SS Standards, and implemented some (not all) into 6th-8th as part of our district's curriculum committee. It had been our intention to make sure that each grade level had some standards embedded...but we simply applied them to the current curriculum instead of scrapping and re-doing. It feels like we have added pieces to the puzzle, hoping they fit, instead of truly building a hybrid model. Each curriculum unit has Common Core standards as well as ISBE standards, but I know from experience that more time is spent on Common Core than ISBE. It feels like an afterthought when in reality, those standards have more value for our students to truly be lifelong learners.

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I am not really sure how to exactly reply so I decided to create a new post. After I read your post, I really loved your idea of putting Andrew Jackson on trial. Did your students really get into it?

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Since I used the Illinois Social Studies Standards when I completed my undergrad and currently use it within my classroom daily I do not have any questions about the new Illinois Social Science Standards.  Within my classroom we always focus on at least 1 inquiry standard accompanied with a history, civics, geography, or economic standard.  Since my school uses ACE as a writing strategy my students are constantly using SS.IS.4, SS.IS.5., and SS.IS.6. Students are always asked to defend their arguments using evidence from the text. For example we recently put Andrew Jackson on trial for his involvement in Indian Removal.

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I have looked over the Social Studies standards numerous times so I  don't have questions about them.   The standards fit into my curriculum pretty well.  I just had my students complete an Inquiry on Manifest Destiny using the C3 Framework so that covered the Inquiry Standards.  Since we focus in on Amerian History in 7th grade, I have hit upon many of the Civics and History Standards.  The Geography and Economic/Financial Standards I try to pull into my currculum.