On Feb. 8, 2019, 177 History-Social Science (HSS) teachers attended the annual SDCOE HSS Conference. The theme this year, “From Inquiry to Action,” connects really well to the HSS & C3 Frameworks as well as the Civic Learning Resolution adopted by SDUSD in April 2014.
The morning began with keynote speaker Sarah McGrew, a PHD candidate from Stanford History Education Group (SHEG) , who presented on Civic Online Reasoning, which involves teaching students how to evaluate online information as a vital skill to maintain democracy. She explained the various approaches that historians and fact checkers take as they examine the information on the website.
She demonstrated the Lateral vs. Vertical reading to determine the reliability of information. While historians typically read vertically (from beginning to end), fact-finders read laterally (checking on the source and bias of article information). Through this process, students will begin to think in terms of: Who is source? Who is behind the information? What evidence is being used to determine these? What do other sources say about the topic? SHEG is a free open resource designed to assist teachers with teaching this skill to students as well as offering a host of innovative world and U.S. history lessons.
The rest of the conference enabled teachers to attend sessions of their choice with breaks and lunch in between for teams to share their learning and network with HSS teachers around the District and county. The excitement and energy around the new Framework is intoxicating!
