March 19th, 2020

Social Studies Curriculum Update

As was shared on March 5th, as well as in previous announcements in the Monday Minute and Leadership Memo, the adopted 2020 Colorado Academic Standards are leading to some changes in Jeffco units of study.  When teachers load their YAAG’s (Year-at-a-Glance) next year, there will be some noticeable differences. Today we are going to provide some more details relating to the changes in Social Studies across K-12.
Revisions Applicable to All Grades in Social Studies:

• The right side sections within the Academic Context and Connections have been re-titled to Colorado Essential Skills, Inquiry Questions, Nature and Skills of the Discipline (e.g., Economics), and Disciplinary, Information and Media Literacy. This alignment of the right-hand side of document illuminates considerations of essential skills, inquiry, and disciplinary practices relevant to the given Prepared Graduate Statements (PGSs) and Grade Level Expectations (GLEs).
• All applicable math PFL Evidence Outcomes (EOs) have been moved into the economics (PFL) GLEs and EOs.
• The stronger partnership between Social Studies and the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion team will be evident in all grade levels with a renewed focus on multiple perspectives and elevation of minorities.  This partnership is also represented in how the requirements of HB19-1192 will be fulfilled in the high school curriculum and supported K-8 to build knowledge and skills beforehand.
• Proficiency Scales aligned to prioritized standards will be available in each unit of study, starting with the first units in each grade level as organized in Bridge to Curriculum.

Revisions for Kindergarten through 2nd Grade:

• The history EOs include more disciplinary-based language (i.e.: primary and secondary sources, compare/contrast, sequence, etc.) for better alignment within and across grade levels.
• The geography and civics EOs have been revised to promote critical thinking, inquiry, and consideration of multiple perspectives. 
• The economics GLEs and EOs shifted to improve alignment and increase rigor by including common economics language.
• The PFL EOs focus on costs and benefits of making informed financial decisions.
• Kindergarten and 2nd grade will have the same units of study, with updated standards and aligned proficiency scales.  1st grade will combine two units of study from the current state to make a new unit and allow for Science to restructure their units.

Revisions for 3rd grade:

• The language in the history EOs was revised to include more disciplinary-based language, such as primary and secondary sources, that better aligns them across grade levels and underscores the importance of disciplinary inquiry.
• The PFL Evidence Outcomes engage learners in higher-level thinking and action to plan and set financial goals.
• Units of study in 3rd grade will shift to a regional focus and divide the state into 4 quadrants.  This will allow for more flexibility across the year as teachers will be able to teach the units in any order they would like, as well as providing options on depth and breadth of content.  For example, if a school team decides to only teach one unit, all of the prioritized and supporting standards as well as proficiency scale requirements can be met in one unit. Or if a team decides to teach all four of the units, the standards and scales can be paced across the examples in each regional study.

Revisions for 4th grade:

• Content examples were provided to add clarification to the EOs, such as adding Native Americans as required content.
• Removed risk management from the EOs, leaving a cohesive focus on opportunity cost.
• 4th grade units of study will be reorganized to focus on Colorado.  The current units of Choices and Opportunity Cost, The Impact of Place on People, and Regions of the United States will be retired and corresponding standards will be placed in one of five new units of study that are organized chronologically from early civilizations in the Colorado region to modern day civic applications across the state.  This move also allows for a more equitable approach that will allow for all people of the Colorado region to be included in the story.

Revisions for 5th grade:

• 5th grade will remain focused on the American Revolution time period but units will be revised with a greater focus on equity and adding multiple perspectives to early American history. Some units will have a new title and focus while others will simply be updated to the new evidence outcomes and proficiency scales.

Revisions for Middle School (6th grade through 8th grade):

• The foci of both the 6th and 7th grade shifted from a historical to a regional lens (Western and Eastern Hemisphere respectively), in an effort to better integrate, align, and focus the 6th and 7th grade standards.  6th and 7th grade units of study were rewritten and now spiral over 2 years. Teachers will notice that the units of study have the same name and the YAAG reverses the order from 6th to 7th grade. This was designed to help with continuity of concepts and building knowledge of the globe across two academic years.
• Grade 6 PFL: The revised EOs focus on the role of consumers, competition, resource distribution, and marketing within market economies.
• Grade 7 PFL: The revised 7th Grade EOs focus on comparing financial systems, workplace conditions, consumer choices, and the role of government among global economies.
• Few revisions were made at the 8th grade level. 
  • Revisions include improving the clarity of the time period to be studied and language to improve understanding.
  • Content examples were provided to add clarification to the EOs.
  • Resources and examples were added to provide equity as well as support for HB19-1192.
• Grade 8 PFL: In an effort to address disconnects between PFL EOs and middle grade-level social studies concepts, the Grade 8 PFL GLE and EOs were revised to address fundamental consumer and employment issues as relevant to the study of U.S. History.

Revisions for High School Geography:

• Evidence Outcomes were added about the impact of climate patterns and land use over the course of history.
• The practices of the discipline, as well as focus on interconnectivity and human-environment interaction have been emphasized through the addition of specific geographic language. 
• There was some shifting of EOs between GLEs to clarify focus and alignment with the GLEs.

Revisions for High School Civics (9th grade through 12th grade):

• Duplicate content has been removed and gaps in the content of the political process and increase the focus on civic virtue and democratic principles have been filled.
• Changes have been made to units of study to reflect the requirements of HB19-1192.

Revisions for High School History:

• All United States History EOs have been moved into GLE 2 and the World History EOs have been moved to GLE 3.
• Inclusion of inquiry as central to students’ understanding of the historical method is outlined in the PGSs, GLE 1, and the EOs, creating a sequential skills-based approach to the study of history.
• Changes have been made to units of study to reflect the requirements of HB19-1192.
• World History and US History units have been adjusted to ensure that students will be able to complete new content addressing terrorism, minituration of technology, the Space Race, and the Digital Age.

Revisions for High School Economics:

• The focus shifted to decision making, micro-economics, macro-economics, and global economics which more closely aligns with the true principles of economics.
• The PFL expectations focus on the four themes of financial planning and decision-making.
  • GLEs 5 through 8 are organized into four fundamental personal finance themes: Earning Capability, Investing, Spending and Saving, and Risk Management.
  • Adjusted language for rigor, higher-level thinking, logically grouping concepts to reinforce skills introduced in the earlier grades, and leading learners to apply basic lifelong financial decision-making skills.

Units of Study and Year-at-a-Glance documents should be available in Bridge to Curriculum following the regular timeline with everything being visible by the end of May.  Proficiency scales and resources will be uploaded over the course of June and will continue into the 2020-2021 school year. Minor changes and adjustments to units will continue to occur next year as well based on teacher feedback and revision teams.  We are excited to share this work with everyone in Jeffco and look forward to feedback and implementation. We also want to take a moment to thank the teachers that have partnered with Social Studies to accomplish this work this year. Our teacher teams have rolled up their sleeves to prioritize evidence outcomes, create proficiency scales, and pilot new units of study.  Thank you for all of your hard work and partnership!

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