When 138 teachers signed up to pilot a new middle school social studies curriculum last fall in Indian Prairie School District 204, administrators knew they were onto something.
The team developing the update hoped to get 45 teachers to try it, but interest far exceeded expectations, said Barbi Chisholm, director of middle school curriculum.
“It seemed that once people heard about it, they were eager to get started,” Chisholm said during a presentation on the curriculum at the latest IPSD 204 board of education meeting.
New order of classes proposed
The proposed curriculum update would shift the focus of the social studies classes taught in sixth, seventh and eighth grades. Under the plan, the youngest middle schoolers would learn about world geography and culture, seventh graders would study early U.S. history and the final year of middle school would cover more recent U.S. history.
This would replace the current sequence of classes, in which sixth graders take ancient history, seventh graders study world geography and culture, and eighth graders finish with U.S. history.
‘More resources’ for social studies teachers
Chisholm said the proposed order of classes would help students build a better base of historical and social context before beginning high school. The plan also would better support teachers, many of whom teach other courses in addition to social studies, through the use of new books and digital materials from the Teachers Curriculum Institute.
“For many of our teachers, social studies is not their primary area of expertise; it is a secondary area of expertise,” Chisholm said. “A lot of our teachers were asking for more resources to help support them in teaching social studies effectively.”
Proposed curriculum provides cohesive foundation
Teachers participating in the pilot since the fall said students have adapted well to the new classes, units and textbooks — especially since elementary schools also use books from Teachers Curriculum Institute.
“It seemed to be a very smooth and seamless transition,” said Shannon Grevas, a social studies teacher at Still Middle School.
The proposed revisions also would allow the district to meet all state mandates for social studies content in a more meaningful way, Chisholm said. This includes requirements to teach about the contributions of Americans of various ethnic and religious backgrounds and to cover economics, civics, government and financial literacy.
The new order of courses and teaching resources provide a solid structure for addressing all of the needed topics, said Christy Diamond, who teaches eighth-grade social studies at Fischer Middle School.
“I feel that the cohesion has really been a strength,” Diamond said. “It’s truly much more robust, giving the students a timeline to experience American history.”
School board action set for Jan. 26
School board members said they were pleased to hear the proposed changes would provide stronger foundational knowledge to prepare middle schoolers for inquiry-based classes in high school.
“I’m glad we’re updating this,” school board member Justin Karubas said. “I fully trust your work and where we’re heading.”
Purchasing textbooks and six years of digital access for all middle school students to support the proposed updates would cost approximately $650,000. The board is set to vote on whether to adopt the new curriculum and associated resources during its next meeting on Jan. 26.
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