The Importance of High-Quality Instructional Resources
Teachers deserve access to high-quality instructional resources (HQIRs) that increase their content knowledge, provide guidance to inform strong instruction and support implementation of grade-level appropriate assignments. Access to comprehensive HQIRs enables teachers to adapt lessons to meet the diverse needs of students and to focus their time, energy and creativity on bringing lessons to life and engaging students with the content.
Instructional resources are not just for teachers; they are critical for student success. Students deserve access to standards-aligned instructional resources and grade-level assignments to help them reach the intended learning outcomes with the Kentucky Academic Standards.
Students also deserve HQIRS that are engaging, accessible and inclusive of the cultural diversity and perspectives of their communities. They are entitled to HQIRs to use, learn from and guide their practice.
To learn more about HQIRs, including KDE’s definition and what the research says, please check out the High-Quality Instructional Resources one-pager, which can be found on the High-Quality Instructional Resources webpage.
Reading and Writing and Mathematics Instructional Resources Consumer Guides Available
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has created consumer guides to support districts in evaluating and selecting high-quality instructional resources (HQIRs) for reading and writing and mathematics.
The guides are intended to help decision-makers in Kentucky districts select high-quality reading and writing and mathematics instructional resources aligned to the Kentucky Academic Standards for Reading (KAS) and Writing and the KAS for Mathematics that meet the unique needs of students, educators and local communities. Each guide includes:
- An introduction that highlights the importance of HQIRs and how selection of instructional resources fits within the Curriculum Development Process;
- An overview of specific characteristics and markers of high-quality;
- Four key steps districts may use as they seek resources, evaluate their effectiveness and ultimately select high-quality primary and supplemental resources for use in schools;
- Key questions to consider when working through each step; and
- General and content-specific tools to support local teams in the selection process.
The guides are available on the High-Quality Instructional Resources webpage and the Model Curriculum Framework webpage on KYstandards.org.
Apply for Social Studies Performance Assessment Workshop for K-12 Teachers
The goal of the Social Studies Performance Assessment Workshop is to support K-12 classroom teachers in effectively designing and implementing performance assessments that demonstrate students' mastery of the Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) for Social Studies.
Teachers who participate in this workshop will engage in professional learning to learn how to create and implement a social studies performance assessment in their classroom. Selected teachers will engage with the Kentucky Department of Education’s Performance Assessment module through Google Classroom to learn about the value of performance assessments to assess students' mastery of the KAS for Social Studies.
Participants will receive a $950 stipend for at the conclusion of this workshop upon successful completion of the following requirements:
- Attending one virtual synchronous meeting on Sept. 25 at 5-6 p.m. ET.
- Completion of the Google Classroom assignments from the Performance Assessment module.
- Submission of high-quality deliverables: a social studies performance assessment and scoring rubric, a strongly, partially and weakly aligned student sample and a completed Student Work Review Protocol evaluating each of the three samples.
To apply for this opportunity, please complete the Performance Assessments in Social Studies Workshop Application by Sept. 15.
If you have any questions, please contact the social studies team at kdesocialstudies@education.ky.gov.
Resources for Constitution and Citizenship Day – Sept. 17
Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is Sunday, Sept. 17. This day commemorates the Sept.17, 1787, signing of the U.S. Constitution.
Each educational institution that receives federal funds for a fiscal year is required to hold an educational program about the U.S. Constitution for its students. Since this day falls on a Sunday, institutions may observe the day the week before or the week after Sept. 17.
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) does not mandate or prescribe particular curricula or lesson plans. The information below contains links to learning resources created and maintained by other public and private organizations. This information is provided for your convenience and includes examples of resources for Constitution Day that you might find helpful.
The U.S. Department of Education has assembled a variety of resources that can be used to plan your Constitution Day activity.
To assist students and educators in their studies, the National Archives and Records Administration offers a variety of resources on Constitution Day, such as:
Free online resources for Constitution Day are also available from The Library of Congress, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the U.S. Senate.
For more information, visit the KDE’s Social Studies Laws and Regulations webpage.
Standards Newsletter Archive
Did you miss last week's Standards Newsletter? You can access all previous editions of the newsletter on the Standards Newsletter Archive webpage.
|
