Middle School Social Studies Adoption
Social Studies Adoption Committee wants, needs, your input: please
inspect the candidate text books and supporting materials and provide
your feedback and preferences.
These are the social studies text books
middle school students will have for many, many years. So, even if your
student is in early primary grades, they will still be affected. Now is
the time to speak up!
Viewing continues until June 18th 2015. All instructional materials are available for viewing at the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellent AND at 5 middle school libraries:
Hamilton Int'l
Washington
Madison
Aki Kurose
Washington
Madison
Aki Kurose
Eckstein
If your students happen to be at those middle school, urge
them to pop by the library and check out the texts and leave feedback.
Their input matters! If you visit the school, be sure to stop in at the
office first to register as a visitor. They can direct you to the
library.
(Note: 6th graders study ancient civilizations, 7th graders study world history, and 8th study US history to 1900)
Grade
|
Title
|
Publisher
|
Website
|
Logon Username/email
|
Password
|
6 & 7
|
Discovering Our Past: A World History (picture of king with crown and beard on cover)
|
McGraw Hill
|
Seattless
|
Ss2015
| |
6 & 7
|
World History: Ancient Civilizations Through the Renaissance (picture of King Tut on cover)
|
Holt McDougal
|
RSEATTLE
|
D2v6s3d4
| |
6
|
History Alive! The Ancient World
|
TCI
|
www.teachtci.com and click on ‘teacher sign in’ on top right hand corner of page
|
Use email seattleaw1@teachtci.com
|
seattle
|
7
|
History Alive! The Medieval World and Beyond
|
TCI
|
www.teachtci.com and click on ‘teacher sign in’ on top right hand corner of page
|
Use email seattlemw1@teachtci.com
|
seattle
|
8
|
United States History: Beginnings to 1877 (picture of Liberty Bell on cover)
|
Holt McDougal
|
My.hrw.com
|
RSEATTLE
|
D2v6s3d4
|
8
|
Discovering Our Past: A History of the United States (picture of Abe Lincoln on cover)
|
McGraw Hill
|
Seattless
|
Ss2015
| |
8
|
History Alive!
|
TCI
|
www.teachtci.com and click on ‘teacher sign in’ on top right hand corner of page
|
Use email Seattleusi1@teachtci.com
|
Comments
Sounds like, as usual, they are going through the motions rather than actually seeking input.
Mom of 4
Inspect the materials from ANY place, at ANY time, with an internet connection and a computer. That is what the table is for: how to access all textbooks plus other instruction materials online. Don't have a computer? Go to any public library.
Email your feedback and comments directly to Kathleen Vasquez, at kavasquez at seattleschools dot org
Leave Feedback
Hello?
Not sure how to interpret the quietness of this thread.
For all those who PASSIONATELY jump on the threads that are about advanced learning (pro or con) or special education, THIS is your chance to apply your voice in an arena that counts: this is the dog chow are kids are going to be fed. So, show up. On-line or in person. Review the books. Pick the one which you want in our children's hands. Arm-chair quarterbacks, your team is calling, you are needed on the actual field, so get up off the bench. Now.
PUT-UP or...
"circumvent"
To which school are you a referring and what do you like the most about what your school is using? Having both a middle schooler and an elementary school kid, I am dismayed that "resources" seem to be copied sheets of paper and handouts. Some may call this flexibility and may take it so far as to call this a means of differentiating but I call it an unfunded mandate. But I am very interested in what parents feel is working, whether via worksheets or texts. Everyone is handwaving about curriculum (It's not just about MATH!) but if nobody is viewing it, then we get what we get. My guess is that perhaps parents also feel like their feedback isn't ever actually taken by SPS or that we are not sure how to judge whether something is appropriate/good or not. I fall into both of these categories but...I am planning to review this week.
SPS Tired
I also generally think writing is weak in SPS so want whichever one requires the most writing, but I also can't tell which one that is and assume it's teacher dependent.
-sleeper
mom of 4
When I hear anecdotal feedback that teachers have been able to do wonders without a text, I really am skeptical. We just haven't experienced it. What about new teachers that haven't had years to craft a well thought out curriculum (the case in most of the classes my children have experienced)?
On one hand, I think a well chosen text is important, and will make an effort to review the materials, but on the other hand, I don't know how it will translate to improving classroom learning when teachers are seemingly under no obligation to use the texts (yet, when it came to CMP and EDM, you almost wanted the teacher to avoid using the adopted texts).
-rambling on
I've had a lot of communications with district staff on this issue, including the AL office and the SS Program Mgr. In particular, I've been pushing the idea that they need to get HCC SS teacher feedback during the adoption process, since few--if any--of those on the adoption committee who are identified to have AL experience are actually HCC middle school teachers. I was pleased to learn that Janine Madaffari from the AL dept will in fact be convening interested HC teachers who are NOT on the adoption committee, so they can review the SS materials and weigh in on the texts. Assuming she can find any interested teachers, his is an important step (since they do not have to adopt the same curricula for all groups). I hope they do something similar with SpEd and ELL teachers, if those populations are similarly underrepresented on the adoption committee.
I'm not convinced that parent feedback on the curricula, however, will make that much of a difference if teachers don't like the curricula and want to use them. It takes a lot of work to learn a new curriculum and revise your lessons and assignments to reflect it, and it'll probably take even more effort to identify new supplemental materials appropriate for use with the many different populations that need something in addition to the new texts. Since teachers aren't required to use whatever curricula we adopt, there's a good chance the new books will just sit on shelves like the old ones do now. This is especially true if we pick a book the parents like but the teachers don't. I don't quite get it why a district-adopted curriculum can be optional, but apparently that's the way of SPS. It seems teachers are going to do what teachers are going to do... If they can find among these possible adoptions a set of MS SS materials they actually like and are likely to follow, I think that's great. I will support their choices. Quite frankly, following any of the texts up for adoption will be an improvement over the anything-goes, no-text-needed approach we have now, whereby a lot of material gets missed completely.
If the teachers think we have a winner, let's go for it. But if they are lukewarm--on either the process or the end result--why bother?
A less optimistic and more resigned
HIMSmom