 |
News to Use in Social Studies!
What's going on in Social Studies? It's all right here!
On this link you will find updates for all levels of Social Studies, as well as community exhibits and events for the week of November 2, 2009. This information is in lieu of a district-wide email please be sure to access this site on a weekly basis to stay informed of the many aspects of teaching, technology, workshops, and general information related to Social Studies K-12. If there is something you would like to have included, please contact me! |
![]() |
 |
Grades K-4 Curriculum Guides & Maps
Grades K-4 Information - Updated!
Curriculum Guides are designed to assist teachers in their curriculum planning. Essential Questions, Illinois Learning Standards, Social Studies content and skills are included, as well as reading strategies and skills. They contain a "menu" of options for classroom activities, and much more! Additionally, Curriculum Maps were created in June, 2009. Each offers month-by-month pacing to ensure instruction. Essential Questions and Big Ideas are included, as well as Power Standards to aid in evaluation for the Standards-Based Report Cards. Curriculum for teaching Rockford in Grade 3 and Illinois in Grade 4 is found here. Teachers are strongly encouraged to incorporate Social Studies into the Literacy Block (BLIG), as well as adding Social Studies content to the instructional day. |
![]() |
 |
Grades 5-8 Curriculum Guides & Maps
Grades 5-8 Information - Updated!
These curriculum guides and maps are valuable curricular aids as teachers design their lesson plans. Social Studies has so much to offer our students - "it's all right here!" |
 |
Grades 9-12 Curriculum Maps for Social Science Courses
High School Information - Updated!
The District High School Planning Guide for 2009-2010 is linked to this page as well as Power Standards for high school Social Studies courses, curriculum maps, and online textbook support for specific courses. |
 |
TAH Grant: Freedom Project 2009-2010
Check Out These Incredible Symposiums!
Here is a PowerPoint that describes the 2009-2010 Freedom Project symposiums and field trip opportunity. It's going to be a great year! If you teach Grades 5, 7, 8, or high school Social Studies, this grant is tailored for the United States History curriculum. For additional information or to register, please contact Betsy Homewood at Roosevelt Center, (815)966-3250, ext. 4341. |
![]() |
 |
Veterans Day Observance
East High School Veterans Memorial
Rockford East High School will host a Memorial Observance in honor of the 34 Gold Star Boys, as well as other East veterans who have served our country in the armed forces, on Tuesday, November 10, 2009, at 5:30 pm in front of East High School. Returning for this honor from last year's event will be the Rockford Detachment, Marine Corps League, to present the flag honor ceremony. 34 candles will be lit to represent the 34 Gold Star Boys of Rockford East High School who walked the same hallways as the students of today. Paul Logli will be the featured speaker. His topic will be "the spririt of giving." East High School alumni, veterans, officials, and the public are invited. Please click on this link to access the full story about the Gold Star Boys of East High School. |
![]() |
 |
NEW! Rockford's Sister Cities
On which continents can our Sister Cities be found?
Click on this link to discover more about Rockford's seven Sister Cities! What connection does Rockford have with each of these?
Changzhou, China
Taszαr, Hungary
Ferentino, Italy
Tokmok, Kyrgyzstan
Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Borgholm, Sweden
Brovary, Ukraine |
 |
Census in Schools: "2010 Census: It's About Us"
From the U.S. Census Bureau
Free lessons and handouts are posted on this website, including new ideas and materials to assist in teaching students about the importance of the 2010 Census and its Social Studies implications. |
 |
Best Practices in Social Studies
To Improve the Depth of Student Learning
Best practices in Social Studies highlight strategies teachers use to support the Illinois State Learning Goals of political systems, economics, history, geography, and social systems. |
 |
Websites of the Week
Check It Out!
At this site you will find a miscellaneous website collection. |
 |
Coordinator's Email
Stay in Touch!
Kathy Cassioppi, Social Studies (K-12) Curriculum Coordinator, Rockford Public Schools, District 205, 201 South Madison Street, Rockford, IL 61104, (815) 966-8918, or via email: CassioK@rps205.com. |
![]() |
 |
PERSIA
An Outstanding Graphic Organizer!
PERSIA is a graphic organizer breaks down general knowledge into six broad human concerns and over-arching questions:
Political: Who is in charge?
Economic: How do we make a living?
Religion: What do we believe?
Social: How do we relate to one another?
Intellectual / Arts: How do we learn? How do we express ourselves?
Area / Geography: How does where we live impact how we live?
When students are asked to study a time period in history, they sometimes have difficulty organizing all the seemingly unconnected facts about different people, dates, events, and issues related to that time period. The PERSIA approach is one way to organize how the people lived in a society at a certain time in history and so help students to understand that culture.
By considering in turn different dimensions of a historical period or event, students probe deeply into the many facets and implications of the past..
You can also help students break each broad category down by providing the following specifics:
Political
Structure
War
Treaties
Courts/Laws
Leaders
Popular participation
Loyalty to leader
Economic
State control on trade/industry
Agriculture/Industry importance
Labor systems
Levels of Technology
Levels of International Trade
Gender and Slaves
Money System
Religion
Importance on societal interaction
Holy Books
Beliefs/Teachings
Conversion - role of missionaries
Sin/Salvation
Deities
Social
Family order - patriarchal, matriarchal
Gender Relations - role of women, children
Social Classes - slavery
Entertainment
Life Styles
Intellectual / Arts
Art and Music
Writing/Literature
Philosophy
Math/Science
Education
Inventions
Area / Geography
Location
Physical
Movement
Human/Environment
Need something simpler for younger kids? Go with just the PEGS - Political, Economic, Geographic, Social - and back off a bit on your expectations for specific information.
This graphic organizer comes from this address: http://historytech.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/persia-organizer.pdf |
![]() |
 |
New! Social Studies Scope and Sequence
For Grades K-12
Using these links, you can access information regarding the Social Studies program from elementary to high school in Rockford Public Schools. |
![]() |
 |
East High School Veterans Memorial
To "Inspire, Educate, and Honor"
In 1948 a Memorial Garden was formally dedicated to the memory of the 34 Gold Star Boys, graduates of East High School, who lost their lives in the service of their country in World War II. These Gold Star Boys were highlighted in the Rockford Register Stars November 11, 2007, edition. One facet of the article highlighted the eulogies written by the first principal of East High School, Mr. Harry C. Muth. Long kept in a file folder, these special comments about the young men served to illustrate the commitment and many sacrifices that the young people of Rockford East High have given in service to our country. In the years following, time and vandalism took their toll and the living memorial of 1948 disappeared. The East High School Veterans Memorial Committee was established to recreate a more lasting tribute to these 34 Gold Star Boys, as well as the other East veterans who have served in the armed forces. Todays students will learn of the sacrifice, so long forgotten, of these 34 young men who paid the ultimate price for our freedoms and of those who have served since WWII and are still serving at this time. Read more about the efforts to inspire, educate, and honor. |
![]() |
|
