HGSS Standards: It’s Not Pure Gold

KEEN Conference 2014

History, Government and Social Studies (HGSS)

• Created by Kansans• 35 Individuals, most of them

educators• From all 10 Board of Education

districts• From all levels of education from K

through Post Secondary• From all 4 Social Studies Disciplines

(History, Government, Economics, and Geography)

• 18 month process• More than 90 days for public

comment• Presented to the Kansas BOE in

February 2013• Adopted unanimously by the Board

April 2013

Mission Statement

An informed citizen possesses the knowledge needed to understand contemporary political, economic, and social issues. A thoughtful citizen applies higher order thinking skills to make connections between the past, present, and future in order to understand, anticipate, respond to, and solve problems. An engaged citizen collaborates, contributes, compromises, and participates as an active member of a community.

The Kansas Standards for History, Government, and Social Studies prepare students to be informed, thoughtful, engaged citizens as they enrich their communities, state, nation, world, and themselves.

1. Choices have consequences

2. Individuals have rights and responsibilities

3. Societies are shaped by beliefs, ideas, and diversity

4. Societies experience continuity and change over time

5. Relationships between people, places, ideas, and environments are dynamic

5 Standards Statements

Think of it like this

We are asking your students to learn about these 10 things

• Choices• Consequences• Rights• Responsibilities• Beliefs• Ideas• Diversity• Continuity• Change• Dynamic (Changing) Relationships

With these 4 points of view

• Historic

• Political

• Economic

• Geographic

Each Standard has 4 Benchmarks asking students to engage in a process of• Recognizing and evaluating• Analyzing context and draw conclusions• Investigate and connect• Construct/create and justify/defend

Benchmarks

• History• Reformation, Declaration of

Independence, WW I neutrality, dropping the “bomb”

• Geography• GPS systems, Climate,

immigration, natural resources

• Economics• Minimum Wage, scarcity,

capitalism, distribution of wealth

• Civics/Government• Separation of Power,

Federalism, Religious Freedom, Patriotism

• Choices• Consequences• Rights• Responsibilities• Beliefs• Ideas• Diversity• Continuity• Change• Dynamic (Changing)

Relationships

What our kids know.We’ve taught our kids to recognize this

as gold.But we haven’t taught them to

recognize this as gold.

Teachers have mined it, refined it, molded

it, polished it and told students “This is

gold!”

Raw Material: crude or unprocessed material that can be converted by processing into a new and useful product.

What are the raw

materials of your

course?

• Students need to work with;• Primary sources• Research and Data• Multiple interpretations• Conflicting information • Challenging text

We need to let our kids work with the raw material

Its kind of like the difference between mining and archeology

Mining Archeology

Education as

MiningIn mining you discard all of the surrounding material (slag) to look

for and obtain the nuggets of valuable

material

ArcheologyIn archeology you

carefully analyze the surrounding material to learn all that you

can about the object you have discovered.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=NrwDPq_ck5IIzM&tbnid=HNIf6rrl5NlcBM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.etsy.com/listing/157384811/chamber-pot-porcelain-pot-with-lid&ei=YHECU6eJHOL4yQGBiICgBA&bvm=bv.61535280,d.aWc&psig=AFQjCNHTHhVqwcx8qRMSOOcnqHBETKU9Pg&ust=1392755291887031

• Discuss multiple perspectives and disciplines• Recognize multiple causes and consequences• Use primary sources• Engage in intellectual work with a purpose• Engage in higher order thinking• Effectively communicate about various issues

across the social studies disciplines• Employ multiple means of communication• Be able to research and construct knowledge

Best PracticesStudents should be able to:

Reading a variety of primary and secondary sources so that it is possible to

determine the meaning and main idea, identifying and analyzing evidence, relationships, and supporting details. interpret words, discipline-specific phrases, analyze text structure, identify purpose, bias, and point of view. evaluate an argument or claim citing evidence in support of, or against, the argument or claim. analyze two or more texts on the same topic drawing conclusions about the similarities and differences. comprehend complex and difficult text within the discipline. identify and evaluate critical information communicated in multiple forms of media.

Literacy Expectations

Writing clearly and coherently

to support a claim, or make an argument using evidence, logic, and reasoning. to inform or explain an event, relationship, position, or opinion. to tell a story. so that each example is open to revision and rewriting. by applying the appropriate technologies for the purpose and audience. by gathering multiple sources of information and integrating them into short and long term projects.

Communicating effectively by

preparing and collaborating with diverse partners in conversations about topics within the discipline. evaluating information from various formats. presenting information and evaluation to others in a manner that is not totally written text. gathering and organizing information and evidence. designing and delivering a presentation on a specific topic. using multiple modes of communication and adjusting presentations to meet the requirements of the task or audience.