The Primary Source

The SAISD Social Studies Department is proud to announce the results of the 2008 SAISD History Fair! The History Fair was held on December 11, 2008 at Trinity University. The topic for this year was the Individual in History. Students were required to examine an individual who had a great influence on a global scale either in a positive or negative fashion.

The Social Studies Department would like to thank all those involved in this year's History Fair including the Social Studies Staff, all judges, Trinity University and our volunteers! All awardees at the 1st and 2nd place levels will be participating in the regional History Fair this Spring.

Category	1st Place	2nd Place	3rd Place	Honorable Mention
Senior: Group Website	Sally Ride: The First Woman in Space Jefferson H.S.	Alexander the Great Jefferson H.S.	Michael Jackson Fox Tech H.S.
Senior: Individual Documentary	Alice Paul Jefferson H.S.	Oskar Schindler Jefferson H.S.	Alexander the Great Burbank H.S.	Adolph Hitler: The Legacy Burbank H.S.
Senior: Individual Exhibit	Elizabeth Blackwell Jefferson H.S.	Norman Borlang Burbank H.S.	Upton Sinclair Jefferson H.S.	Joan of Arc Brackenridge H.S.
Senior: Group Performance	Bill Gates Jefferson H.S.	Rockabilly: Elvis Presley Brackenridge H.S.	Rosie the Riveter Fox Tech H.S.
Senior: Individual Performance	Joan of Arc Burbank H.S.	Amelia Earhart Burbank H.S.	Dorthea Dix Jefferson H.S.	Harriet Tubman Jefferson H.S.
Senior: Group Exhibits	Dan Elden Jefferson H.S.	Margaret Sanger Jefferson H.S.	Dragon Lady Jefferson H.S.	Bob Marley Burbank H.S.
Senior: Individual Papers	Muhammad: Affecting the World Today Brackenridge H.S.	Susan B. Anthony Lanier H.S.	Creating a Culture: Elvis Presley: The King of Rock and Roll Jefferson H.S.
Senior: Group Documentary	MacArthur: Legacy & Actions in the Korean War Burbank H.S.	Coco Chanel Fox Tech H.S.	Steven Jobs: The Innovator Burbank H.S.	Jonas Salk: The Man Who Saved Our Children Burbank H.S.
Junior: Individual Performance	John Ross Tafolla M.S.	Alexander Graham Bell Lowell M.S.	I Have a Dream Davis M.S.
Junior: Individual Papers	Jane Austin Davis M.S.	Dorothea Dix Tafolla M.S.	Robert E. Lee Page M.S.
Junior: Individual Exhibits	Henry Ford Lowell M.S.	Hernan Cortez Rhodes M.S.	Martin Luther King Tafolla M.S.	James K. Polk Tafolla M.S.
Junior: Individual Documentary	Franklin D. Roosevelt ML King Academy	Amelia Earhart Davis M.S.	The Web Lowell M.S.
Junior: Group Performance	Montezuma Rhodes M.S.	Milton Hershey Harris Academy	Julius Caesar Rhodes M.S.
Junior: Group Exhibits	Milton Hersey Whittier M.S.	Teddy Whittier M.S.	Gandhi Young Women’s Leadership Academy	Helen Keller Rogers M.S.
Junior: Group Documentary	Raoul Wallenberg Whittier M.S.	Harriet Tubman Rhodes M.S.	Martin Cooper Rhodes M.S.	Dan Moody Twain M.S.

The San Antonio ISD Social Studies Department is excited to announce the selection of 35 teachers from around the district to participate in the Teaching American History IV grant! Please join us in congratulating the following teachers:

• Karen Aguiar - Fox Tech HS
• Elizabeth Alvarado - Harris Academy
• Sandra Alvarado - Highlands HS
• Inez Alvarez - Connell MS
• Diana Bailey-Ken - Page MS
• Connie Baker - Jefferson HS
• Ben Crumley - Rogers MS
• Carlos DeLeon - Burbank HS
• Carol DeLeon - Houston HS
• Jeannie Derby - Lanier HS
• Dustin Domingue - Jefferson HS
• Sonia Escobedo - Davis MS
• Gilbert FLores - Poe MS
• Patrick Gonzales - Burbank HS
• Ken Grasch - Highlands HS
• Erin Gutierrez-Harbor - Lanier HS
• Ernest Herrera - Tafolla MS
• Michelle LaFontain - Edison HS
• Edelia Lira - Lanier HS
• Yvette Lopez - Bonham Academy
• Robert Martinez - Fox Tech HS
• Michael Mayfield - Rhodes MS
• Lukas Mendoza - Bonham Academy
• Chris Mills-Winkler - Fox Tech HS
• Yolanda Moran - Edison HS
• Joe Ostrowski - Brackenridge HS
• Lillian Ozuna - Navarro Academy
• Erica Parra - Edison HS
• Kim Rentie - Irving Academy
• Mary Roam - Brackenridge HS
• Nelly Rosales-Nino - Highlands HS
• Kathryn Snider - Tafolla MS
• Ray Ruiz - Longfellow MS
• Selena Tamez - Longfellow MS
• Nancy Williams - Connell MS

The Creating Vertical Teams in U.S. History grant provides for a comprehensive three year professional development program to prepare teachers in the SAISD to teach traditional American history and to increase teachers’ content knowledge of the subject. In order to positively impact the academic achievement of SAISD students in regular, Pre-AP U.S. History, and Advanced Placement United States History, teachers will study the people, ideas, events, and turning points that contributed to the development of the American experience. It will increase teachers’ knowledge of how to teach writing at a higher level using document based questions in United States History as per the College Board requirements.

Creating Vertical Teams in U.S. History will examine traditional American history content through the following independent topics selected by teachers to support significant episodes and turning points:

• Year 1 The Birth of a Nation: Colonization and Revolution (18th Century)
• Year 2 The Growth of a Nation: Expansion and Civil War (19th Century)
• Year 3 The Transformation of a Nation: To a World Power and World at War (20th Century)
• Year 4 The Challenges of a Nation: The Cold War
• Year 5 The History of our Nation: The Teacher as Scholar/Historian and Mentor

The San Antonio ISD Social Studies Department would like to congratulate the following teachers in being selected for the 2009 Muslim Histories and Cultures Project.

In April 2004, the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) and UT-Austin finalized a grant proposal that created the partnership that became known as the Muslim Histories and Cultures Program (MHC).  Much has happened since the inception of the partnership.  Creation and implementation of a model was of prime importance.  MHC recruited and directly trained 80 teachers affecting approximately 15,150 students of World History and World Geography in ten key Texas districts during the two sessions conducted in 2005 and 2006. The purpose is two-fold 1) to fulfill Governor Rick Perry's desire to better educate Texas teachers on Muslim topics and 2) to train teachers to use a cultural lens approach to understanding other cultures. Governor Perry was instrumental in getting this program off the ground.

The responsibilities of the participants are:

• to attend the 10 seminars and complete the assigned readings.
• to attend the January, March, and June meetings in Austin.
•  to create lessons concerning Islamic topics with a “cultural lens” approach tied to their grade level to share with other teachers.

The SAISD Social Studies Department was recently awarded a Teaching American History Grant of almost one million dollars from the Department of Education!

Some major points about the new Teaching American History Grant: Creating Vertical Teams in U.S. History to Increase Academic Achievement, Historical Literacy, and College Readiness in the San Antonio Independent School District:

Creating Vertical Teams in U.S. History proposal provides for a comprehensive three year professional development program to prepare teachers in the SAISD to teach traditional American history and to increase teachers’ content knowledge of the subject. In order to positively impact the academic achievement of SAISD students in regular, Pre-AP U.S. History, and Advanced Placement United States History, teachers will study the people, ideas, events, and turning points that contributed to the development of the American experience. It will increase teachers’ knowledge of how to teach writing at a higher level using document based questions in United States History as per the College Board requirements.

 

Creating Vertical Teams in U.S. History will examine traditional American history content through the following independent topics selected by teachers to support significant episodes and turning points:

• Year 1 The Birth of a Nation: Colonization and Revolution (18th Century)
• Year 2 The Growth of a Nation: Expansion and Civil War (19th Century)
• Year 3 The Transformation of a Nation: To a World Power and World at War (20th Century)
• Year 4 The Challenges of a Nation: The Cold War
• Year 5 The History of our Nation: The Teacher as Scholar/Historian and Mentor

This project will:

• Improve the content knowledge of teachers of traditional American history courses in the SAISD as measured by a pre and post test on the AP US History College level test.
• Improve academic achievement in U.S. history as measured by the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) in Grades 8 and 11; increase the college readiness and commended levels of academic achievement on the TAKS test; and increase AP US History passing rates of a 3 4, or 5 as measured by the College Board standards.
• Improve the quality of instruction by creating vertical teams to collaborate and discuss college readiness issues and skills to improve writing on AP US History exams.

The program design includes NCHE history colloquia (36 mentor teachers) using vital themes and narratives to examine the content selected for the year; 16 Saturday seminars (50 participants each) to reinforce the content themes; training in the implementation of the College Board AP and Pre-AP programs (5 sessions for 200 teachers); and integration of technology (150 teachers) in American History using the content themes. Supportive resources include: field experiences to historic sites connected to the topic; collaboration with the National Council for History Education; Trinity University; The College Board; KLRN-TV; the Alamo and Witte Museums; and Teacher’s Curriculum Institute (TCI). External evaluation of the project will be conducted by the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA).

 

Most importantly, SAISD will endeavor to teach our students how to think historically and reflect on philosophical and ethical dilemmas that all leaders and citizens face along with their human frailties. In order to help SAISD students become better citizens, this proposal seeks to build capacity in history teachers by improving their content knowledge of United States history, their delivery of instruction in the classroom, their abilities to teach critical writing skills, and their integration of technology into history teaching. Creating Vertical Teams in U.S. History will be a cornerstone in assisting primarily at-risk Hispanic students in the San Antonio Independent School District to achieve academic excellence.

Amy Jo Baker, Ed.D.

Senior Coordinator of Social Studies &

Director of Teaching American History Grants

Contributed by:

Daniel Reyes, Secondary Social Studies Teacher Specialist

 

Advocacy is a key skill in any social studies curriculum and opportunities for students to use these skills are very rare. The Annette Strauss Institute sponsors a yearly competition in Austin called "Speak Up! Speak Out!". The competition allows for the students to define, research, and enact a solution to a problem that exists in their community. The team of students gather at The University of Texas to present their topic and awards are given to the top three presentations, based on an oral report and display of their work.

 

At this year's competition, held on May 14, 2008, there were 16 teams from South Texas, Central Texas and El Paso. For the second year in a row, San Antonio Independent School District dominated the competition by taking two of the top three places: 1st place was awarded to Highlands High School for their topic on Graffiti: from Epidemic to Pandemic; 3rd place was awarded to Sam Houston High School for their topic on Child Abuse Awareness. Special mention must be given to the two teams from Lanier High School that participated in the event with presentations on Homelessness Awareness and the Dropout Rate in their community. All team members from SAISD were outstanding examples of the dedication and levels of high expectations that their teachers, Mr. John Horner from Highlands, Mr. Rance Olison from Sam Houston, and Mr. Robert Casselberry from Lanier High School, inspire each day in their classrooms. Congratulations to the students, teachers, and High Schools that participated in this event.