CL’s Meet to Learn about SS Units and Evidence Guides

Curriculum Leaders gathered to learn more about the Evidence Guides and social studies units for grades 4th through 6th. The units focus on important grade level outcomes from mining to Colonial America to Ancient Egypt. CLs reviewed one unit, Colonial America, and learned the rest of the units will be posted by the end of the school year for implementation this fall. The units emphasize important instructional shifts (e.g. text-dependent questions and academic vocabulary) as well as incorporating the close reading strategy.

Following the introduction to the SS units, CLs reviewed the Evidence Guides. The guides work backwards from the instructional shifts and enable teachers to monitor their daily and yearly planning. As noted several times in the documents, the guides are not for evaluative purposes but instead are “designed as a developmental tool for teachers and those who support teachers.”

Unit Overview

SS Unit PowerPoint Presentation

Colonial Life Unit

CL Introduction to Evidence Guides PowerPoint

Evidence Guides are posted here

About Aaron Grossman

I am a 5th grade teacher at Roy Gomm Elementary in Reno, Nevada. I started working with elementary students as part of the Montana Reads program and AmeriCorps. In 2001, after graduating from the University of Montana and moving to Reno, Nevada, I student taught at Rita Cannan Elementary before receiving a 6th grade position at Veterans Elementary. I moved out of the classroom to be a Literacy Coordinator, then an Instructional Coach, and finally a School Improvement Program Coordinator. In 2011, I began working on the Nevada Academic Content Standards in the district’s Curriculum & Instruction Department. I returned to the classroom for the 2015-2016 school year to teach 4th grade at Huffaker Elementary. Before returning to the classroom, I helped develop the Core Task Project that has been featured by National Public Radio, the Gates Foundation, American Radio Works, Eduwonk, the Fordham Institute, Vox, and the Center for American Progress. In 2014, I received the Leader to Learn From Award for my teacher-centered initiative and work to bring college, career, and civics ready outcomes into Northern Nevada classrooms (here). In 2015, I was appointed by Governor Sandoval serve on the Statewide RPDP Council. The same year, Nevada’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction Steve Canavero placed me on the state’s State Improvement Team. This year I will be part of the National Council on Teacher Quality’s Teacher Advisory Group. I am Google Certified Educator and a Nevada Teacher Ambassador. I believe strongly that teaching content is teaching reading and I make sure my students have ample opportunities to work with social studies, history, science and art outcomes. I do what I can to blend the learning for my students and this blog is part of that effort. You can contact me at coretaskproject@gmail.com
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