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Hey y’all!

I told you I’d be more consistent with the posts, so look! I’ve already updated! I did it! I hope you all are well and trying to stay afloat this summer (I know I am).

So, I keep mentioning in past posts about how I am working on developing curriculum with the county for the course I currently teach - United States History after the Civil War, informally, USII. Some of you probably wonder…what does developing curriculum actually mean or entail? If you’re not a teacher or in the field of education, you probably might have an inkling, but I doubt it. I want to give y’all, then, some context about what I do as a curriculum designer.

To be honest, I don’t know why I was chosen to be on this curriculum development team. There are many USII teachers in the county. Some have been teaching it for probably over twenty years. Once you get a history teaching position, you rarely leave it, because well…no one really checks in on us! We’re not considered as important as Math, Language Arts, and Science. Our test scores do not matter to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). We’re actually phasing out the Social Studies standardized tests (SOLs) to be replaced with what we call Local Alternative Assessments (LAA), which I will discuss with you as well.

If you’re pursuing a teaching degree, you can complete a concentration in curriculum design. I did not go that route; I went for a predoctoral history concentration because at the time I was in my master’s program, I had the silly notion that I would actually go on and get my PhD! That, of course, did not manifest, although Lisa thinks I should still go for it…maybe. We’ll see. It would be cool to try my hand for admission to William & Mary, Boston College or Yale (those would be my top three doctoral programs). I had a dream to pursue Irish historical studies at Trinity College Dublin, but lack of support from my family deterred me from putting in the application.

I should really stop listening to what other people believe is best for me…that’s a post for another time.

Anyways, although I don’t have my degree in curriculum design, my seven years of teaching, enrolling in historical professional development, and being super obsessed with giving my students high quality work has caught the eye of the “big wigs” at what we call, “The Hill” (this is the main office of the county I teach in). Somehow, they thought I’d be good enough to help develop lessons for the rest of the USII teachers, and now, two years later, I’m praying my involvement could one day, get me a job as a curriculum specialist…which means, I’d be out of the classroom, but still involved in the education field!

The VDOE voted on the new Social Studies standards we will be teaching. These standards are the topics I have to teach my students throughout the academic year. They get updated every seven years or so. I’ve been using the standards that were established in 2015. The VDOE finalized new ones a little later; we are now going to be implementing the 2023 standards. When I compare the 2015 and 2023 standards, the newer ones are more specific.

For example:

2015 Standards:

USII.5 - focuses on Spanish American War & World War I. I’d refer to this as “Unit 5” to the students.

There is a letter that is attached to the numerical standard. That letter refers to the “substandard,” or the specific topic that will be taught.

USII.5c, then, is this:

The student will apply social science skills to understand the changing role of the United States from the late nineteenth century through World War I by:

c) evaluating and explaining the reasons for the United States’ involvement in World War I and its international leadership role at the conclusion of the war.

USII.5c was the ONLY substandard that focused on World War I. USII.5 had three substandards; 5c was the last one. USII.5a and 5b were about the Spanish American War.

Lisa and I would have to go off standard, then, to effectively teach World War I because we agreed the students needed background of what was going on in Europe from 1914 to 1917 before they understood why the United States, as mentioned in 5c, decided to join World War I.

We also taught about the weapons and technology of World War I, even though the standard doesn’t say we should.

The 2023 standards fix this problem for us. The Spanish American War and World War I are now Unit 4. These are the new 2023 substandards for World War I:

The student will apply history and social science skills to explain the changing role of the United States from the late 19th century through World War I by:

c) analyzing the major causes and consequences of World War I and examining the roles of key leaders and groups;

d) examining the evolution of warfare tactics and technology including, but not limited to cavalry, air, submarine, chemical, trench warfare, and other technological advancements;

e) explaining how the war was a catalyst for the United States gaining international power and expanding its sphere of international influence;

f) examining how post-war sanctions and the failure of the League of Nations set the stage for World War II.

Everything Lisa and I taught “off standard” is now part of the unit! Yes, it seems like there is more material…but really, the 2023 standards now just provide more concrete substandards for the topics we already teach our students! We are no longer “off standard” by teaching everything else the students need to understand the significance of each unit.

What Lisa and I will be doing this year is providing activities that teachers can use to align with the 2023 standards. The activities should match the verbage of each substandard.

Example, if a student is supposed to be “analyzing the major causes and consequences of World War I,” the activity should allow students to analyze. This activity verb is usually completed by having students analyze primary or secondary sources to allow them to determine what the causes (MAIN) of World War I are.

I already have an activity created from two years ago that I made for the benefits of my students on analyzing the MAIN Causes of World War I (militarism, alliance system, imperialism, nationalism)…and now I can share my original resources with the rest of the USII teachers! They decide if they want to use my resources or keep using their own, but if they use the ones I’m providing, they will be certainly “on pace” and aligned with the standard.

Lisa and I were tasked with creating activities for Spanish American War (one of her favorites because she’s obsessed with all things Teddy Roosevelt), World War I (MY FAVORITE), and Boom/Bust (AKA: Roaring 20s, Great Depression). We also will fill in unit guides that teachers can use as a foundation for planning each unit. We will provide vocabulary words students will encounter. We will form learning targets that teachers can provide students with so both student and teacher are on track with what is being taught. The learning target pretty much rephrases the standard, but it’s rephrased to help the student understand what “activity” they will be completing with the standard.

A learning target looks something like this:

I can analyze the major causes and consequences of World War I.
I can examine the major roles of key leaders and groups of World War I.

The “I can” statement is what is supposed to make the learning target more “student friendly.”

(Most of the time, my students ignore the learning target, no matter how many times I’ve gone over it or have it posted in my classroom).

If we finish our assigned units within the allotted 40 hours we’re getting paid to work on curriculum development, we can assist with other units until we reach the threshold. Lisa and I are also probably going to assist with leading professional development sessions at the History & Social Sciences “Secondary Day” that is always scheduled during the teacher work week before we go back to school. We will be the facilitators of these sessions alongside the other four teachers who were asked to design curriculum.

During Secondary Day, the teachers will be informed about the LAA process. As I mentioned earlier, this LAA will replace the SOL test for Social Studies. This means that the Social Studies teacher embeds the LAA within the curriculum; it is a not a cumulative multiple choice test, like the SOLs for other content areas. Our LAA is what we call the “Inquiry Design Model” (IDM). Students will have three IDMs in which they do a specific inquiry of a unit, based on a compelling, or main, question. My curriculum specialist determined which units the IDMs would cover, but he asked the curriculum team for our input before he made the final decision.

Students will start with the Reconstruction IDM. This is our first unit, so we decided it would be great to get them familiar with the IDM process by choosing Reconstruction as the unit of inquiry. Their compelling question (check out the introduction to the IDM linked below) is:

Were the Freedmen free during Reconstruction?

The students will have three supporting questions and assignments that should help them eventually, answer the compelling question at the end of the inquiry. They are allowed to use notes and sources that they completed for the three supporting questions when they respond to the overall compelling question. These are their own notes, and a reflection of their own work, so there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be allowed to use these resources on their final response. The teacher rarely, if at all, gives guided/“Fill in the Blank” style notes during the inquiry; students are working collaboratively (if they choose) through each supporting question by analyzing primary sources, responding to guiding questions, completing gallery walks, and participating in simulations (example: we do a “rock paper scissors” game in the final IDM, which focuses on Cold War, to teach the differences of Communism and Capitalism). I create many scaffolds like T-Charts, Venn Diagrams, and graphic organizers for the students to use for notetaking purposes.

Example of a T-Chart I created used by students during the Reconstruction IDM. They use it to sort Reconstruction events and laws that either offered more freedom, or limited it, to the Freedmen.

The more the student participates and engages with the inquiry, more than likely, the better the student will perform on the final written response to the compelling question. I’ve had students who have a learning disability, whose first language is not English…or both…and they perform well during the inquiry thanks to the more “hands on” engagement and variety of sources that is provided. They are able to recall information much more effectively this way than if I just had them fill in the blank on a set of notes as they watch me give a PowerPoint presentation about the topic.

The second IDM is on the Spanish American War, and the final one is when we introduce the Cold War. All three IDM responses to each compelling question are sent to the county for data purposes. What Lisa and I have decided to do when we’re not giving an “official” county IDM is teach our other units in the IDM style. I have created IDM style lessons for our Westward Expansion, 1920s/1930s, World War II, and Civil Rights unit. Two years ago, we were given a Gilded Age IDM to report for data collection, but the county decided not to use the Gilded Age one and replaced it with the Spanish American War option. We still use this IDM lesson when we start the Gilded Age unit. The students, then, are always practicing inquiry and critical thinking skills by being provided similar lessons to the IDMs that I report to the county. We hope that creating “mini IDMS” (as much work as this can be) keeps their historical thinking skills fresh the entire academic year.

Clearly, Lisa and I are being kept busy with this IDM/curriculum work! We, however, enjoy making new assignments and resources, so it’s a welcomed challenge. The extra pay is, of course, a welcomed bonus. What’s refreshing is that most of the activities we can contribute to our assigned units are finished. We need to tweak and edit a few things, and relabel them to reflect the assigned 2023 standards, but we don’t have to create new activities. Tomorrow, I’m going over to her house so we can get some work finished together.

So, I’ve given you an insight into a different aspect of my teacher world. Now you’re not longer (I hope) thinking what is she on about when I mention I’m taking part in curriculum work. I’m excited to keep working on curriculum with the county. It gives me a sense of purpose and reminds myself why I ultimately, do enjoy teaching. I take pride in knowing my work is taken seriously by my department bosses; that they feel it is effective enough for other teachers to implement in their own classrooms. If you had asked me six years ago if I would ever be considered to take part in this endeavor, I would’ve laughed in your face and thought you were insane. I can’t believe that there is some faith in me as a leader in creating historical content. I’ll continue to do my best so that way that faith only deepens as I continue in the field of education. I could certainly see myself doing this long-term and one day, being the curriculum specialist that puts their faith in future teachers like myself, wanting to share their historical lessons with anyone who’s interested in using them.

As I work on the curriculum building, I’ve got 10 more (school) days of summer school/using my English expertise. I’m trying to further develop my English expertise by engaging in some summer reading. I’ve kind of lost the joy of pleasure reading since grad school forced me to read giant history tomes…but Lisa’s been trying to encourage me to pick up historical fiction, especially since I can read these types of books within a matter of days - thanks, grad school, for my freakishly fast reading speed. These historical fiction books are also helping with my inspiration and tone for the novel I’m trying to draft, so keep the suggestions coming!

I finished The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, a World War II offering, and now I’m about to tackle All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (also World War II). This latter book is also a Netflix mini series. Lisa said both the book and series are amazing, but I’ll read the book first, and then compare it to the mini series. I trust her judgment; however, I’m a classic “book first, then movie” girl.

As for the nonfiction historical book lover in me, I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned my adoration for the Soviet historian, Stephen Kotkin. Magnetic Mountain: Stalinism as Civilization was one of my favorite books I read in grad school (thanks, Dr. Barnes, for an excellent course on all things Stalin). I’ve read other Kotkin volumes since then; Armageddon Averted: The Soviet Collapse, 1970-2000 gave me more background on the Cold War experience in the Soviet Union after the fall of Stalin (and right as the fall of the Berlin Wall occurred), and his three part Stalin biography is a must-read for anyone who is fascinated by the choices and background of this 20th century despot! I’m eagerly awaiting for Kotkin to finish and publish part three (he was supposed to drop it in November of 2024, but it didn’t happen). While I (impatiently) wait for the last part of the biography, I have decided to read his first monograph…Steeltown, USSR: Soviet Society in the Gorbachev Era (1991). I’ve leafed through the book and have seen some similar resources/writing to Magnetic Mountain, so I’ll let you know my opinion on it once I’ve finished with the reading!

I know I’ll definitely get some good reading in as I wrap up summer school but I’ll be taking my summer reading with me to cure boredom on my flight to Texas. I mentioned in my previous post that I wanted to visit my family, especially my niece, so a few days after I wrote, I purchased my airfare. I can’t wait to be home for a few days, eat all the Mexican food (and Whataburger) my stomach can handle, and of course, spend time with my loved ones.

I’m going to keep praying the writing bug continues and I stay current on my posts!

Until next time…

many happy returns!

-kate.