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Call for Content - World Communities: What Is a Culture?
• Does your school want to spotlight its efforts to increase student achievement at the elementary level?
• Does your school or district want to share best curriculum practices with a statewide audience?
Here is an opportunity to start a professional dialogue with other New York State educators, and be referenced as a contributor to statewide core curriculum guidance material.
The New York State Education Department (NYSED), in partnership with the New York State Council for the Social Studies (NYSCSS) and the New York State Social Studies Supervisors Association (NYS4A), is seeking standards-based course models, curriculum maps, and case studies created by New York State teachers of the grade 3 social studies core curriculum. Submissions will be linked to the World Communities: What Is a Culture? online teacher resource guide for grade 3 social studies.
Submissions will be juried using criteria similar to those established by the New York State Academy for Teaching and Learning (NYSATL) for its Statewide Peer Review process. For the purpose of review, a submission should be based on the New York State Learning Standards, existing New York State core curriculum, and the curriculum guidance materials and templates found in World Communities: What Is a Culture?; developed by an elementary school and/or local school district; and accessible in an electronic format.
The deadline for submitting work is March 15, 2009. Please e-mail all submissions to either Lawrence Paska at lpaska@mail.nysed.gov or Jo Ann Larson at jlarson@mail.nysed.gov.
LYC / NYSBA Education Conference: Effective Democracy ~ Social Movements & Social Engagement
The 32nd annual education conference sponsored by the Law, Youth, and Citizenship (LYC) and the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) will be held from October 22-24, 2008 at the Fort William Henry Conference Center, Lake George.
The conference will feature a series of seminars and workshops addressing civic and law-related education issues, including (but not limited to) voting history, civic engagement, participatory government, lobbying, the right to petition, advocacy for change, and teaching for action. Attendees historically include teachers, administrators, program directors, youth leaders, lawyers, academicians, historians and constitutional scholars.
Please visit www.lycny.org to pre-register.
Announcing the New York State Historical Association Annual October Conference
The New York State Historical Association Annual October Conference will be held from Thursday, October 16 - Saturday, October 18, 2008. During this 50th anniversary event, classroom teachers, museum educators, consultants, and NYSED representatives will offer a diverse selection of workshops and seminars that include: pedagogical discussions, hand-on activities, classroom best-practices, technological innovations, and museum and village tours.
For further information, visit http://www.nysha.org/nysha/for_teachers/october_conference.
Administration Dates for the November 2008 Grade 5 Social Studies Test
Administration Dates:
Make-Up Dates:
Visit the Office of State Assessment’s Examination Schedules Web link to obtain the 2008-2009 dates for all New York State assessments.
Announcing the 2008-2009 United States Senate Youth Program
Further information regarding this scholarship, including a full description of the program and an application form, can be downloaded at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/socst/senateyouth.html
Each year the William Randolph Hearst Foundation sponsors a scholarship for two student leaders from each state and the District of Columbia to visit Washington, D.C. (all expenses paid), as guests of the Hearst Foundation and a $5,000 college scholarship for undergraduate studies at an accredited United States university or college. During the visit to Washington, D.C., students engage in a series of seminars and briefings with Senators and members of the House of Representatives and meet with officials from the executive and judicial branches of government.
The principal of a New York State high school may select only one candidate for this statewide competition. Any high school junior or senior is eligible. Districts with more than one high school can nominate a candidate from each high school. The nominee must currently (2008- 2009) be serving in an elected capacity in any one of the following student government offices:
- Student body president, vice-president, secretary or treasurer
- Class president, vice-president, secretary or treasurer
- Student council representative
A student who is a representative to a district, regional or state-level civic or education organization may also be nominated.
IMPORTANT 2008 - 2009 New York State Senate Youth dates are:
• Friday, August 1, 2008 - NYSED posts United States Senate Youth announcement and application form
• Monday, October 6, 2008 - Applications are due to the NYS Education Department
• Wednesday, October 29, 2008 - Review Committee selects semi-finalists
• Monday, November 10, 2008 - Interviews to select 2 delegates and 2 alternates
• March 7-14, 2009 - United States Senate Youth Washington Week Experience
Important Scoring Notice Affecting Social Studies Regents Examinations
In order to make the Regents level social studies scoring materials easier to use, the Rating Guides for the Regents examinations in Global History and Geography and United States History and Government have each been split into two volumes, beginning with the August 2008 administration.
Volume 1 for each examination contains the scoring key for Part I (multiple-choice questions) and Rating Guide for Part II (thematic essay). Volume 2 contains the Rating Guide for Part III A (scaffold questions) and Part III B (document-based essay question).
The Department welcomes your reaction to this change by e-mailing your comments to the Office of State Assessment at emscassessinfo@mail.nysed.gov.
Constitution Day: Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Educational institutions which receive Federal funding are required to hold an educational program pertaining to the United States Constitution on September 17 of each year. In 2008, schools can celebrate Constitution Day on Wednesday, September 17.
For a description of Constitution Day resources available online, please visit: http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/socst/constitutionday.html.
Call for Content: Global History and Geography
Current Learning Experiences (by unit and title): Word
The New York State Education Department (NYSED) is seeking standards-based global history and geography learning experiences created by New York State teachers for each subsection the Global History and Geography core curriculum. Learning experiences can include individual lesson plans, teaching strategies, and resources - such as books, internet sites, and multimedia -- and will be featured in the new Global History and Geography Online Resource Guide.
Submissions will be juried using criteria similar to those established by the New York State Academy for Teaching and Learning (NYSATL) for its Statewide Peer Review process. A learning experience should identify specific New York State Social Studies Learning Standards, list key ideas and performance indicators for each standard addressed, and be linked to the existing New York State Global History and Geography Core Curriculum. It should require students to demonstrate the use of the content, skills and methodologies that are central to the learning standard. Learning experiences accepted according to pre-established criteria will be shared through the NYSED Virtual Learning System and the Global History and Geography Online Resource Guide.
The deadline for submitting work is Friday, August 29, 2008. Please e-mail all submissions to either Jo Ann Larson at jlarson@mail.nysed.gov or Lawrence Paska at lpaska@mail.nysed.gov. Please note that you will be contacted only if your work is accepted. You will be able to have one final review of your work prior to its posting online. No work will be returned to you.
2008 Louis E. Yavner Awards Information
The Board of Regents invites nominations for the 2008 Louis E. Yavner Teaching and Citizen Awards. These awards provide recognition of a teacher and a citizen who have made outstanding contributions to New York State education about the Holocaust and other violations of human rights. The awards were established by the Regents and funded by the late Regent Emeritus Louis E. Yavner. State Education Department staff are not eligible for these awards.
Complete information, including nomination forms, are available at www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/yavner.html. The deadline for submission of nominations is Friday, January 30, 2009. For more information, please contact Larry Paska, Yavner Awards coordinator, at lpaska@mail.nysed.gov.
The 2007 winners of the Louis E. Yavner Teaching and Citizen Awards were announced in a recent press release.
NEW! Global History and Geography Online Resource Guide
The New York State Education Department has posted the Global History and Geography Online Resource Guide at http://www.nysed.gov/ciai/socst/ghgonline/home.html to help school districts implement their Global History and Geography instructional programs.
This rich online resource provides direct access to:
NEW! NYSED Civics Education Toolkit
Education in civics is fundamental to ensuring that all of New York State's students graduate ready for active and informed citizenship. This toolkit promotes a standards-based, interdisciplinary focus for civics education. It includes a crosswalk that describes the infusion of civics throughout all New York State Learning Standards. It includes a rationale for teachers, curriculum supervisors, and school district administrators with responsibilities for planning a standards-based instructional program that infuses civics education across content areas; definitions and frequently-asked questions about civics education; and strategies and online resources for strengthening civics education in local school districts.
Visit the toolkit now at www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/civics.html.
The NYSED Champlain/Hudson/Fulton Commemoration Online Resource
The Curriculum, Instruction and Instructional Technology Team has posted a Champlain/Hudson/Fulton Commemorations Online Resource at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/chf/chf.html to help local school districts celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Samuel de Champlain and Henry Hudson explorations, and the 200th anniversary of the launching of Robert Fulton’s steamboat, Clermont.
This online resource includes 10 standards-based, interdisciplinary elementary, middle and commencement level instructional modules, and 3 scholarly overviews that focus on the broad themes of encounter, trade and commerce. It also provides Strategies for Using the Champlain, Hudson, Fulton Online Resource that was designed to help local school districts infuse the modules into their local instructional programs.
Which Students May Be Admitted to the January Social Studies Regents Examinations?
All students must complete their course of study before they are entitled to take a social studies Regents examination. Therefore, students who are completing their course of study in January or who have completed the course, albeit unsuccessfully, in a previous school year may take a social studies Regents examination in January. Schools may not administer January Regents Examinations to classes of students who are enrolled in a full year social studies course of study in Global History and Geography or U.S. History and Government.
For complete information, please see http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/socst/ssfaq.html#fourth
Revised Instructional Resource on Social Studies Document-Based Questions (DBQs)
This resource provides an overview of DBQs, and how to develop them for local classroom instruction to model the structure of DBQs found on State assessments. Revisions to this tutorial include:
This tutorial is only available online. It is also available on the Social Studies Publications web page.