Social Studies Curriculum
General Education and Applied Social Studies
Teachers:
- Utilize PISD Social Studies Curriculum
- Add accommodations and/or modifications to general education curriculum to provide Specially Designed Instruction
- Utilize UDL (Universal Design for Learning) and supplemental materials when needed
- For more information about the general education curriculum, visit: PISD Secondary Academic Services
Social Studies Strategies and UDL
*This is not an exhaustive list of the strategies presented in the classroom.
CAST - Located a short distance north of Boston, CAST is a nonprofit education research and development organization that works to expand learning opportunities for all individuals through Universal Design for Learning.
Understanding UDL - Videos and information on the brain networks, implementation of UDL, and research
Sparking Up Lessons with UDL - Article
Basic and Developmental Social Studies
- Basic = Knowledge of letters and sounds, basic knowledge of site words, and reading simplified texts
- Developmental = Limited knowledge of letters and sounds, limited knowledge of site words (pre readers)
- Teachers utilize evidence based strategies - direct instruction, guided instruction, and independent work to create individualized plans for every student.
Supplemental Materials and Strategies for Social Studies:
Unique Learning System® is an award-winning, online, standards-based set of interactive tools specifically designed for students with special needs to access the general curriculum. Used daily in school districts and classrooms across the country, Unique Learning System provides preschool through transition students with rigorous, standards-based materials specifically designed to meet their instructional needs.
Users interact with differentiated, thematic units of study with text to speech, interactive components, hundreds of activities and multiple opportunities to show what they know. Books, lessons & activities are viewable on a variety of hardware platforms, including tablets, whiteboards, and smartboards. Additionally, n2y’s proprietary user interface and tools combine with touch technology to encourage engagement and exploration of many types of content.
News-2-You is a weekly current events newspaper that provides a way for ALL learners to become connected and engaged to the world around them. News-2-You provides the weekly newspaper in five different reading levels. Subscribers access the weekly newspaper issue online with interactive speaking pages, or offline, using printable pages for instruction. More than 50 accompanying activities are delivered in the weekly theme for multiple guided practice experiences. Activities are engaging and focused on the central topic for the weekly edition of News-2-You.
In addition to weekly editions, News-2-You releases Breaking News articles in three categories: World, Sports, and Entertainment.
Explore World History (High School)
Explore World History from The Attainment Company offers standards-based curriculum for secondary students. Topics are presented in chronological order throughout history, starting with early humans and continuing through modern times. Each unit incorporates timelines, maps, tables, and historical videos providing students with opportunities to link these social studies skills to the content.
Explore American History (Senior High School)
Explore American History from The Attainment Company offers standards-based curriculum for secondary students to engage in topics outlining key historical events and figures from the year 1600 to present. Each unit integrates social study tools like graphs, maps, timelines, and videos to help students of all levels access the content.
Explore Social Studies (Middle School)
- Consists of two reading difficulty levels for grades 6-12
- 50 topics cover big ideas like the right to vote and pioneers travel west
- Spans five disciplines: Civics, Economics, American History, World History, and Geography
Additional Social Studies Manipulatives and Resources:
