Social Studies Sec 3 Textbook
Sara Legath
Every student learns in their own way. Social Studies Techbook is specifically developed for diverse student audiences and curated by experts for ease of access. High-quality, multimodal content is essential to improving academic vocabulary, breaking down barriers to learning, providing all students multiple ways to shine, and engaging students in higher-level thinking. Meet the unique needs of your students with a variety of differentiation tools integrated at point of use. Access two Lexile levels of core content, authentic Spanish translation, 180 additional languages available through Google Translate, and strategies for teaching students with special needs and English learners.
Through our partnership with news leader MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, Discovery Education offers Global Wrap, a weekly news summary that recaps news of the week from around the world in terms students understand.
Social studies instruction is meaningful when students recognize the importance and relevance of the knowledge and skills they are acquiring, and when instruction develops the skills they will use later in life as citizens and scholars. Learn how Social Studies Techbook helps educators instill vital content knowledge in students through digital social studies textbooks.
We have used TCI products since 1998 and continue to adopt new TCI programs as they become available. Social studies teachers know that using TCI means having structures for cooperative learning, providing text that all students can comprehend and supporting the literacy goals of the district, using graphic organizers, teaching summarization skills, and engaging diverse students in learning about social studies in a real world context. I especially appreciate TCI technology, which is very user friendly; no one needs to know much about technology to make things happen in the classroom. Student usage of the technology has also increased student involvement in classroom activities.
As a Curriculum Coordinator, I helped teachers adopt TCI for elementary school. I was so impressed that I quickly expanded our adoption into middle school. I believe Geography Alive! is the finest textbook out there. After spending years in the early part of my career trying to design my own lessons, I was so pleased to come upon Geography Alive! All of the lessons are first-rate and truly do meet all of the different learning styles. I am proud to say that we now have TCI throughout our district in elementary, middle, and many high school classes.
Less than 24 hours after the Temecula Valley Unified school board again rejected the adoption of a new social studies textbook, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday he has ordered the purchase of the K-5 textbook Social Studies Alive! and would bill the district $1.6 million for the cost.
Anticipating that Newsom would go ahead and send the books to the district, as he had already vowed, Komrosky said Tuesday that he had directed the district to send them back. Interim Superintendent Kimberly Velez reminded him that to do so, the board would have to vote at a future meeting. Velez took over after the three-member majority fired existing Supt. Jodi McClay without citing a reason last month.
During the raucous meeting that reflected bitter divisions in the 28,000-student district in Riverside County, the board majority repeated a similar vote two months ago. It rebuffed the recommendation of 47 district teachers in a review committee to buy the K-5 textbook Social Studies Alive!
The textbook for elementary grades is one of four that the state board authorized in 2017. Temecula Valley teachers taught it in 18 schools during a nine-week pilot program. Parents were allowed to review the materials in March and April; nearly all of those who did were either supportive or neutral about it, the committee reported.
As currently drafted, the bill would build on an existing process for the public to file a complaint against a school district for insufficient textbooks. If found in violation, the county would order up-to-date curriculum materials and bill the district. If a board continually fails to remedy the problem, the state could impose a fine equal to the funding a district receives from the state for instructional materials. For good measure, the district would be required to post public notices listing the names of negligent board members.
Newsom and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond back the bill, which may be amended over the next several weeks in response to concerns by school organizations. Newsom favors adding an urgency clause so that the bill would take effect immediately upon passage.
Dean Broyles, an attorney who focuses on constitutional issues involving religious freedom and founded the nonprofit National Center for Law and Policy in Escondido, said AB 1078 would significantly erode the power of districts, under local control, to decide what it must teach and at what grade.
It seems that if the majority of parents and teachers in the district approved the curriculum, then the board should support their positions instead of disapproving according to their own personal beliefs. I guess the members of the board that voted to reject the curriculum do not understand their role as a responsible board member.
Good question, Jay. Frameworks are not mandatory, but frameworks must be aligned to state-approved standards so that they can provide guidance to teachers and publishers. They also incorporate state statutes like the FAIR Education Act, which were passed since the adoption of the last social studies standards, and are mandates for instruction.
The study of religion is essential for understanding the past and present, and critical for global citizenship in a religiously diverse country and world. This book provides advice, recommendations, and resources to help social studies educators know what to teach about religion and how to do it.
The U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that teaching about religion is constitutional in public schools, as long as the approach is academic, not devotional. The contributors to this book offer guidelines for classroom instruction that is both constitutionally and academically sound. They clarify the First Amendment issues that impact teachers and schools, and emphasize that the study of religion in schools is an essential part of a good education.
The authors explore the diversity of religious traditions and suggest ways of teaching about them objectively, especially through creative pedagogies that engage students actively and offer them a more profound understanding of these traditions than many textbooks provide. This invaluable book will help teachers promote knowledge and understanding in the place of stereotypes as they advance religious literacy among their students.
Charles Haynes, the editor of this book, is founding director of the Religious Freedom Center of the Freedom Forum Institute in Washington, D.C. Over the past three decades, he has been the principal organizer and drafter of consensus guidelines on religion and values in public schools, endorsed by a broad range of religious, civil liberties, and educational organizations. He is the author or co-author of six books, including Finding Common Ground: A First Amendment Guide to Religion and Public Schools.
Florida education officials have rejected dozens of social studies textbooks amid an ongoing effort by the administration of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to influence what's taught in the state's public schools.
In one case, references to the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement were removed. In another, a question mentioning "social justice issues" in the Hebrew Bible was changed to refer to "key principles" in the religious text. Descriptions of socialism and communism were also changed.
The list of rejected materials included books on U.S. history, the Holocaust, psychology and more. Officials said the books did not meet state standards, but it's unclear specifically why they were not approved.
Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat, criticized the announcement. "DeSantis and extreme MAGA Republicans are bent on dumbing down America's education system and silencing Black voices," she said in a tweet.
Earlier this year, DeSantis rejected a new Advanced Placement African American Studies course, with a spokesperson saying the class had a "political agenda." The final curriculum of the course was changed from a previous version, but the College Board said that was not because of Florida's objections. The College Board said in April that it will make further changes to the course in coming months after listening to the "diversity of voices within the field."
Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is in the process of adopting new instructional materials for Social Studies. The goal of this process is to select high-quality materials that will help students develop a deep understanding of the social studies disciplines. M-DCPS is committed to providing students with the best possible education, and we believe that high-quality instructional materials are essential to achieving this goal.
In the near future, the now established District Instructional Review Committees (DIMRC) will convene to conduct a review of and present their recommendation for the adoption of instructional materials for the courses listed below. We encourage you to participate in this process by visiting this website for regular updates and to remain informed as to the progress of the adoption. Parents and community stakeholders are also welcome to attend and observe committee meetings as they are open to the public.
All committee meetings are open to the public. To attend this meeting please sign up by scanning the QR code or by clicking this link and completing the registration form. Public observers will be required to furnish a government-issued photo identification for admission and must present their registration ID (printed or digital) upon entry to the campus and upon entering any committee room.