Social Studies

News & Announcements ​

• Special Release! Nine Sample Lessons for Secondary Teachers to Teach About the Colorado Constitution! 

This series of lessons, written by Colorado teachers, were developed to support secondary teachers in meeting the revised 2022 Colorado Academic Standards in civics which includes Evidence Outcomes on the Colorado Constitution.  The lessons include, among other topics, Colorado Statehood, How to Amend the Colorado Constitution, and the Structure and Function of Colorado’s government.  Here are the lessons:

• Lesson 1: The Rocky Road to Statehood
• Lesson 2: The Centennial State – An Introduction to the Colorado Constitution
• Lesson 3: A Scavenger Hunt of the Colorado Constitution
• Lesson 4: The Structure of Colorado’s Government
• Lesson 5: Changing the Colorado Constitution
• Lesson 6: Initiatives, Referendums, and Recalls, Oh My!
• Lesson 7: The Colorado Bill of Rights & Colorado Supreme Court Cases
• Lesson 8: Understanding Civil Disobedience
• Lesson 9: American Indian Mascots and the State of Colorado

The following teachers worked hard to complete these lessons:

1. Candice Halvorsen
2. Kelly Jones-Wagy
3. Alyson Koerner
4. Kurt Knierim
5. Stephanie Walsh
6. Sam Westerdale

• 2022 Adopted Colorado Academic Standards for Social Studies

  • At its November meeting, the Colorado State Board of Education approved final revisions to Colorado Academic Standards for social studies after adding the contributions of ethnic and religious groups as well as LGTBQ+ people in the teaching of history and civil government.  The Colorado Academic Standards for Social Studies (adopted 2022).

  • School district have until the fall of the 2024 - 2025 school year to implement the revised 2022 Social Studies Standards.
     

• Holocaust and Genocide in Colorado's Public Schools

  • NEW!!  A Holocaust and Genocide Implementation Guide.  This guide was written by members of the Holocaust and Genocide Studies committee.  The purpose of this guide is to support teachers in teaching about the Holocaust and other genocides.  Included in the guide is background information for teaching about genocide, write-ups about genocides found in the standards, a sample lesson plan, and professional development resources.

  • Holocaust and Genocide Standards.  This webpage highlights the Evidence Outcomes that are specific to the Holocaust and other genocides that must be included in a course(s) required for graduation.  

  • The Holocaust and Genocide Resource Bank. This resource bank is the work of the Holocaust and Genocide Studies Committee. The committee used a vetting tool to determine the quality, usability, and alignment with the Holocaust and Genocide standards for selection of collection resources.

• Legislation Impacting Social Studies 2019 - 2021:  During the 2019, 2020, and 2021 legislative sessions, several bills affecting social studies have been signed into law. This document provides a brief overview of the elements of each law. That which is specific to the local school districts are in italics. Since this document provides only an overview, districts are encouraged to look at the legislation for specific details.
   
• High Impact Instructional Strategies for the Social Studies Classroom Modules: These modules represent a few high impact instructional strategies for the social studies classroom. While there are numerous teaching strategies for effective social studies instruction, the research on high-impact instruction in social studies (in terms of a positive impact on student learning) focuses primarily in two areas: historical thinking, and civic knowledge and skills for citizenship. History education researchers tend to focus on how students analyze multiple historical documents and develop historical arguments, while civic education researchers focus on students’ evaluating information about public issues from multiple sources and viewpoints and develop reasoned judgments (Barton, K.C. & Avery, P.G., 2016, p. 1002). In addition to instructional strategies, each module provides examples that can be used in the classroom, as well as resources for further learning.

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