Social Studies

News & Announcements

NEW! 15 Annotated Resource Sets for Teaching About the Historic and Civic Contributions of the LGBTQ community. These Annotated Resources Sets (ARS) were developed by Colorado teachers following two days of professional development focusing on content and pedagogy for inclusion of the historical and civic contributions of LGBTQ+. These resources are made available for teachers to use as part of their lesson planning. Providing primary sources, secondary sources, inquiry questions, and background knowledge gives teachers everything they need to start an engaging lesson that pushes students to engage in critical thinking and explore! Thank you to the following teachers who contributed to this work:

Name	School District	Name	School District
Whitney Barnes	Jeffco School District	Danielle Mawhir	Adams 12
Amy Deschamp	Mesa 51	Debra Palmer	Cherry Creek
Tyson Emborg	Douglas County	Michelle Pearson	Adams 12
Sarah Fritsche	Adams 12	Jenny Pettit	St. Vrain Valley
Steve Foster	Durango 9-R	Jana Pugsley	Adams 12
Angela Hambleton	Boulder Valley	Danielle Root	Summit SD RE-1
Laura Israelson	Adams 12	Denae Rosato	Adams 12
Colleen Kopay	Cherry Creek	Cathay Seely	Adams 12
		Kathy Zaleski	Adams 12

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.

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Academic Standards

Preparing students for the 21st century cannot be accomplished without a strong and sustaining emphasis on the social studies. The social studies provide cornerstone skills that are the key to opening doors for a more diverse, competitive workforce and responsible citizenry.

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Curriculum Support

Article IX, Section 16 of Colorado's constitution states, "Neither the general assembly nor the state board of education shall have power to prescribe textbooks to be used in the public schools." However, CDE can still serve as an advisor to help districts and schools adopt, adapt, develop, or use the materials of their choice.

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Instructional Support

Instructional support is grounded in CDE's shared approach to Best, First Instruction as well as practices and strategies supported by professional organizations and scholars at the leading edge of social studies education.

High Impact Instruction in Diverse Learning Settings This page provides a variety of resources and recommendations for providing instruction in diverse learning settings.
High Impact Instructional Strategies in the Social Studies This chart aligns high impact instructional strategies with desired student skills.
Research based instructional practices: This document outlines research based, high impact instructional strategies for the social studies.
Social Studies Lesson Planning for Learning and Reflection A sampling of lesson planning processes and ideas developed by teachers as part of the District Sample Curriculum Project.
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.

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Community

There are many opportunities to connect and grow as a professional educator with the larger Social Studies education community.

Social Studies Information

The Gilder Lehrman National History Teacher of the Year Award The National History Teacher of the Year Award recognizes outstanding K–12 American history teachers across the country. The 2023 award & honors outstanding elementary or secondary school teachers. Nominate a teacher today!
United States Senate Youth Program Colorado’s United States Senate Youth Application Now Available! The application for Colorado high school juniors and seniors to participate in the 61st annual United States Senate Youth Program is now available. The USSYP is a unique educational experience for outstanding high school students interested in pursuing careers in public service. For 2023, the 61^st annual United States Senate Youth Program Washington Week is being planned for March 4–11, 2023, in Washington, D.C. Click here for the 2023 official program brochure For more information, visit this webpage: https://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeawards/senateyouth
Social Studies Instruction and Reading Comprehension: Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study A new study finds that social studies instruction in elementary school improves student's reading scores! Here are the 2 key points from the study:
- Increased instructional time in social studies—but not in ELA—is associated with improved reading ability.
- The students who benefit the most from additional social studies time are girls and those from lower-income and/or non-English-speaking homes.
- To read the study, visit the Fordham Foundation website at https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/resources/social-studies-instruction-and-reading-comprehension
Civics as a Graduation Requirement In 2004, the Colorado State Legislature passed a bill requiring all high school students to pass a course in civics. This is the only state graduation requirement. Specifically, the law states, "Satisfactory completion of a course on the civil government of the United States and the state of Colorado ... shall be a condition of high school graduation in the public schools of this state. Here is the full text of the law: CRS. 22-1-104.

For further assistance, please contact:

Stephanie Hartman, Ph.D.
Social Studies Content Specialist
720.498.2084
Hartman_S@cde.state.co.us

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