Minutes of the Curriculum Committee

Thursday, November 18,2004

Baltimore,Maryland

Attending: David Barber,chair, Karen Muir, vice-chair, Henry Zeng, Scott Richardson, Caroline Starbird,Jared Stallones, Jan Warren, Debbie Moore, Ollie Thacker, Syd Golston, board liaison, Joseph Braun, representing the board, Marsha Yoder, representing the board, and Jeff Passe, President-elect.

1. The meeting began with an introduction of those present and an overview of the evening's agenda.

2. The first item of business was the consideration of a resolution passed by the House of Delegates requesting a review of the Scope and Sequence document by the Curriculum committee.After a lengthy discussion, the committee decided that an evaluation of the Scope and Sequence would be best served by the establishment of a task force by the Board. Discussion then focused on the recommended composition of the task force and a time-line that the task force should follow. Members felt strongly that the work of the task force should be presented as a final product which could be widely disseminated and should be in a format which was user-friendly.It was further decided that a proposal be drafted to be sent to the Board specifically listing the recommendations of the committee.

3. The second item of business was the presentation by Syd Golston of the proposed changes in the reorganization of the NCCS. Three major changes are being considered: the composition of the Board, a revamping of the committee system, and the restructuring of the House of Delegates.Of particular interest to the committee was the suggested merger of the curriculum, instruction, and the assessment committees. While committee members saw merit in this proposal, it was felt the further clarification and elaboration was needed to fully understand the proposed changes.

4. The third item of business was the discussion of the curriculum committee's workshop on Friday, November 19 at 12:30p.m. The focus of the workshop would be on the success stories in curriculum design and implementation. Committee members would report on positive developments in their state, region, or area.

5. The final item of business was the selection of the leadership for the coming year. David Barber agreed to head the committee for another year and Karen Muir agreed to continue as co-chair. Our committee chair then asked for suggestions for next year's presentaion. One suggestion was for a preliminary report of the task force on the Scope and Sequence review. The chair also asked for suggestions for committee members and possible speakers. The meeting was adjourned after 9p.m.

Committee Actions or Recommendations

Whereas NCSS Scope and Sequence was last examined in 1988 Whereas: Since that date the following events have occurred 1. NCSS wrote and published a set of standards 2. State and national standards movements have changed the landscape for social studies as a curricular area 3. Testing has become a priority with special emphasis on literacy (primarily reading and writing textual materials), math, and science 4. Congress passed NCLB with only a fleeting mention of history

The Curriculum Committee proposes the creation of a task force to:

• Review the existing NCSS Scope and Sequence • Survey those scope and sequences that are actually in use by states • Review the literature of scope and sequence • Determining that a new scope and sequence is necessary

We also believe that even if the task force determines that a new scope and sequence is not needed, there is still a need for a statement from NCSS regarding scope and sequence.

Assuming that the task force determines a new scope and sequence is necessary, we believe that NCSS should publish a significant document with the new scope and sequence. This document, probably a bulletin, should include the following elements:

• An introduction that includes the rationale for this project • An historical review of scope and sequences • A discussion of the current state of social studies • A set of guidelines for the development of a social studies program • A review of existing state scope and sequence documents and how they are used • The new NCSS recommended scope and sequence (this might actually include alternative versions) • An explanation of how the scope and sequence should be used

Given the current state of social studies in education and the new understandings we have about the role that social studies has and should have in the curriculum, we also believe that the new scope and sequence should include references to literacy goals and a statement of how the scope and sequence helps make social studies relevant to the lives of students in their present and future lives.

We recommend that the task force include the following members

• Three teachers (one elementary, one middle school, and one high school) • Four curriculum specialists (history, geography, economics, civics) • Three CS4 representatives. Ideally, these will be from states where a scope and sequence is actually in use • Two college professors • One literacy expert

We suggest the following timeline for the work

• February – The Board of Directors approves the task force and appoints the members • The task force meets once prior to November at the annual conference in Kansas City • The task force meets again in Kansas City and presents a preliminary report to the Board and at a conference session for feedback • The task force meets one more time to finalize the report for adoption at the 2006 conference in Washington, DC. • Results are published ASAP

The published document should meet the following goals

• Be a practical and useful documents for those developing state, district, and building scope and sequence documents • Be useful to those developing curriculum, instructional methods and materials, and assessments • Create a political presence making the case for social studies in the curriculum • Provide a framework for teach to standards in social studies and literacy • Help teachers maintain quality social studies education practices as the meet the pressures and requirements of standardized testing and NCLB.

To facilitate this process, the current curriculum committee members will provide the following support.

• Survey and provide data on current local and state scope and sequence documents in their geographical area, looking especially for those that are actively in use • Provide feedback via email and at Kansas City during the Curriculum Committee meeting and support the conference session • Contact CS4 for support and information about the current state of scope and sequence documents in their states.

Finally, the following Curriculum Committee members are interested in serving on the task force: Jared, David, and Deborah. Board Liaison Syd Goldstein suggested Jack Hoar as a potential task force member.

Committee Work Still In Progress