Avon East First Grade Social Studies Curriculum Program Policy Statement

Program Policy Statement All students in grade one with participate in a technology based Social Studies program. Students will be presented with the material covering the Core Ohio Academic Content Standards. They will work in whole group, small group, and participate in interactive games and activities. Teachers will co-teach this curriculum. Students will be assessed to show evidence of understanding and application of the content standards. Overview At Avon East Elementary, academic improvement is needed in the area of Social Studies. Currently, teachers are required to teach to the Ohio Academic Content Standards in this area but there is no adopted curriculum available. Teachers are relying on teaching cross-curricular with the reading program. Many teachers are not covering all areas and key standards are not being met. According to the Ohio Achievement Tests, students test scores are not at the level the school district would like to see. Their low performance rating has been researching and traced back to the primary grades. The administration is demanding that students at the primary grades be exposed to and taught the core standards in depth. Therefore, a strong and effective curriculum must be put in place at the lower grade levels to build a better foundation for this academic area. Teachers and students will be the direct stakeholders in this new policy. By implementing a new Social Studies curriculum, teachers will be given the resources and materials necessary to provide an effective learning environment. They will have a program clearly mapped out to ensure they are covering all academic areas. Students will also benefit because they will be taught in an interactive way. The new Social Studies program currently being piloted is a technology based curriculum. It is very interactive because it is all done on the Promethian Board. Students will be actively participating in discussions, photo prompts, videos, and games. They will have more hands on interactive rather than simply reading from a textbook and writing in a workbook. Although more technology is required for this program, teachers will have the resources provided. Classrooms are equipped with Promethian Boards, sound systems, and two student computers. Many teachers

may be hesitant about this new program because it is not set up in a traditional way. There is no hardback teachers manual which concerns many teachers. The entire program is online. The lesson plans and lessons are mapped out on an online site which teachers are responsible for accessing the information. Teacher leaders will need to step forward and help to teach the teachers who are less familiar with the technology. This will also benefit students by exposing them to the use of technology in the classroom. One additional barrier that may be faced is the issue of time. This program requires thirty minutes of classroom instruction, four times a week. Teachers will need to rearrange their schedules in order to make time for the lessons. Since this is a co-teaching curriculum, partner teachers will have to work together to formulate a schedule that will work for both classes. Classrooms are already operating on a very tight and strict time schedule. So, adding another half of an hour on a new set of curriculum can be a challenge. Many teachers many find it difficult to find the time to effectively teach the Social Studies curriculum. One of the main reasons for this new curriculum is because the Ohio Standards for Social Studies are changing. The cross-curricular reading material no longer addressed the standards. As a result, a new curriculum is required for students to meet the new standards. Whenever a new curriculum is implemented, it is a challenge for teachers. Training must take place to familiarize teachers with the lessons and procedures. If teachers and the curriculum director work together, a successful Social Studies curriculum will be implemented giving students a strong understanding of the core standards leading to an improvement in standardized tests scores.