As you may have noticed, significant changes are being made to the K-3 Social Studies curriculum. Each unit is revised with improved backward-design elements which now include an overarching understanding, an overarching question, unit understandings, and unit questions. Additionally, we are streamlining the course to improve the overall manageability of the content, strengthen the vertical spiraling of content, skills, and vocabulary, as well as create clearer assessment targets for gauging student understanding.
In our efforts to streamline the courses, you will find a reduction in the amount of units. Our goal is to provide a curriculum with more consolidated conceptual units of study along with a reduction in the number of performance assessments. Reducing the number of units was also intended to allow teachers more flexibility in the structure of time spent teaching Social Studies, whether incorporating it into daily instruction, or as a stand-alone subject taught for a full- or half-day weekly.
It is challenging to assign a prescribed number of days to complete each unit of study, especially taking into account the differences in the amount and structure of the time given to instruction in Social Studies at various schools. Therefore, we have provided a suggested time frame within which to complete the unit, not necessarily prescribing the number of days needed for instruction of the unit content. Each course K-3 now have six to seven units that correspond closely with a calendar based on six grading periods.
Many of the performance assessments are also revised. Our intent is to address feedback issues about the skills needed to complete these assessments. We have worked to improve performance assessments by better aligning student performances with appropriate grade-level tasks.
Additionally we created a universal rubric to be used with all of the performance assessments in grades K-3 in order to build familiarity among students with the criteria for producing an exemplary performance assessment. The new rubric consists of four components in total. With each performance assessment, we have recommended the rubric components that are appropriate to assess. These are suggestions and teachers may want to customize and assess fewer components.
Please take some time to review the changes. The new courses will be implemented in the 2016-2017 school year.
We welcome your feedback and questions as we make these transitions.
Best regards,
TEKS Resource System Social Studies Team
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