Social Studies

During the 2017-2018 school year, Middleton Grade Level Teams completed the process of examining social studies programming for students in grades 1-5. After learning more about the new Illinois Learning Standards for Social Science (social studies) and selecting priority standards, staff reviewed a variety of classroom resources. Each Grade Level Team voted for the social studies resources that would be most engaging for students and are well-aligned with the standards. In the fall 2018, students in grades 1 & 2 began to use non-fiction books from the publisher Teacher Created Materials, and students in grades 3-5 began to use materials from the publisher Kids Discover as a part of programming in social studies. During our August 2018 Institute days, teachers attended training so that they are ready to implement these new resources. 

During the 2018-2019 school year, the McCracken Social Studies Department completed the process of examining social studies programming for students in grades 6-8. After developing belief statements and prioritizing the Illinois Learning Standards for Social Science (social studies), staff reviewed a variety of classroom resources. Each teacher participated in a pilot during the spring of 2019 in order to test-drive new materials. The team elected to adopt Teacher Curriculum Institute materials for grade 6 and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt materials in grades 7 and 8. These were selected based on alignment to belief statements and standards, ease of use, and student engagement. The Social Studies Department will receive ongoing support next year to implement the new programming.

Meyer will continue to use standards-aligned teacher developed units and readers with Kindergarten students during social studies.

The Illinois State Board of Education released revised social science standards in the spring of 2022. These standards update the previously released standards based on C3 and incorporate state mandated units into the standards.  These units include units on:

  • Geography
  • Civics
  • Economics 
  • History

Visit https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Social-Science.aspx to learn more about the new Illinois Learning Standards for Social Science.