We are proud to announce that the Textbook and Academic Authors Association, which reviews K-12 and College textbooks, selected Analytic Orange’s Kindergarten social studies textbook for this prestigious award! Follow us on Social Media!
There is no denying that social media has had a tremendous impact on how we humans interact. “Children today just don’t care, are irresponsible, don’t contribute to society, and are not very knowledgeable about the world when compared to children twenty to thirty years ago,” is something I have heard many adults say. For some children, not all, this statement is hard to deny, but why is it true for so many? There is no denying that social media has had a tremendous impact on how we humans interact. Could this be why so many of our youth lack empathy, discipline, character, and collaborative problem-solving skills?
Regardless of the cause in behavioral changes in adults and youth in the last twenty to thirty years, some would argue that these descriptors are indicative of a need for stronger social and emotional skills. The learning of these skills is commonly referred to by educators as Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and is defined as the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions (Casel, 2019).
“There is broad agreement among educators, policymakers, and the public that educational systems should graduate students who are proficient in core academic subjects, able to work well with others from diverse backgrounds in socially and emotionally skilled ways, practice healthy behaviors, and behave responsibly and respectfully (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2007; Greenberg et al., 2003)” (Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Taylor, & Schwllinger, 2011, n.p.).
The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) provides a framework identifying five core competencies within three settings.
Decades of research found that social and emotional learning incorporating the above five competencies resulted in increased student academic performance 11 percentage points above students who were not in such programs. (Durlak et al., 2011). The social and emotional learning programs also reduced aggression (by as much as one-half) and emotional distress among students, increased helping behaviors in school (prosocial behaviors), and improved positive attitudes toward self and others. Outcomes were immediate and long-lasting (up to three years after intervention) (Schonert-Reichl, Smith, Zaidman-Zait & Hertzman, 2012; Santos, Chartier, Whalen, Chateau & Boyd, 2011; Cain & Carnellor, 2008).
Illinois and Kansas have adopted social and emotional learning standards and have begun implementing three distinct phases of social and emotional learning programs: readiness, planning, and implementation. “The most common problem when implementing SEL programs is a lack of teacher and administrator support for the program (Durlak, et al., 2011).” Vega (2015) noted knowledge-building, developing an SEL framework, ensuring teacher capacity and readiness to implement SEL, ongoing professional development, lesson evaluation and feedback, and systemic monitoring of implementation and outcomes must all be considered when implementing an SEL program otherwise significant setbacks will arise.
References
Cain, G. & Carnellor, Y. (2008). ‘Roots of empathy’: A research study on its impacts on teachers in Western Australia. Journal of Student Wellbeing, 2(1), 52-73. Retrieved from https://www.ojs.unisa.edu.au/index.php/JSW/article/viewFile/168/227
Casel. (2019). What is SEL? [website]. Retrieved from https://casel.org/what-is-sel/
Durlak, J.A., Weissberg, R.P., Dymnicki, A.B., Taylor, R.D., & Schwllinger, K.B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405-432. Retrieved from https://casel.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/meta-analysis-child-development-1.pdf
Santos R. G., Chartier M. J., Whalen, J. C., Chateau D., & Boyd, L. (2011). Effectiveness of school-based violence prevention for children and youth: Cluster randomized controlled field trial of the Roots of Empathy program with replication and three-year follow-up. Healthcare Quarterly, 14, 80-91. Retrieved from https://www.longwoods.com/content/22367
Schonert-Reichl, K. A., & Lawlor, M. S. (2010). The effects of a mindfulness-based education program on pre- and early adolescents’ well-being and social and emotional competence (PDF). Mindfulness, 1, 137-151. Retrieved from http://mindup.org/thehawnfoundation/
Vega, V. (2015). Social and emotional learning research review: Avoiding pitfalls. [website]. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/sel-research-avoiding-pitfalls
“If you can see it, you can be it” is an adage educators who work with diverse populations know to be true. How important is it for students who are not white to see high-achieving people who look like them in the instructional materials presented to them in class? What might be the implications for “business as usual” textbook and instructional materials selection mean for students of color?
Oprah’s O Magazine ran a photo-essay titled “Let’s Talk About Race” by Chris Buck in May 2017. Perhaps you have seen the photos in the magazine or reported by CNN, The Huffington Post, or on Tumblr. The three photos show a white girl looking at rows of African American dolls in a store, a white woman serving a Latina woman tea, and several white women providing professional pedicures to Asian women. Did the images cause you to pause and reflect? What does this have to do with instructional materials? Actually quite a bit!
Research has demonstrated the benefits of a culturally diverse curriculum – not just the images, but points of view, too. “The Century Foundation Report” by Wells, Fox, and Cordova-Cobo (2016) stated, “Supporting the growing body of evidence on the educational benefits of diverse classrooms, researchers have found pedagogical value inherent in having multiple vantage points represented in classrooms, helping all students think critically about their own views and develop greater tolerance for different ways of understanding issues.” Dr. Ladson-Billings (1992) noted, “It (culturally relevant pedagogy as an approach) uses the students’ culture to help them create meaning and understand the world. Thus, not only academic success, but also social and cultural success is emphasized.” Diverse perspectives and images in instructional materials are extremely important for academic growth and the social emotional well-being for all students.
The majority of U.S. school teachers are white females according to Education Week’s article published June 5, 2019. Our job as professional educators is to ensure all students reach their highest potential and that includes closing the academic achievement gap for minority students. Don’t rely on your overwhelmed classroom teachers to gather additional resources to supplement the monochromatic/majority (white) instructional materials the district provides. Actively seek out educational publishing companies like Analytic Orange that put inclusivity and minority point-of-view first (not as a counterpoint). “Multicultural education can be taught to all children and is beneficial to all children” (Patrick Coggins, Ph.D., J.D., L.L.D., Jessie Ball, & Shawnrece D. Campbell, Ph.D.).
Does the curriculum your district has purchased and provided to schools reflect the students who will be reading and learning?
References
Ahuja, Masuma. “These Photos Are Meant to Turn Our Racial Assumptions on Their Head.” CNN. May 19, 2017. Accessed June 08, 2019. https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/19/us/race-photo-series-o-magazine-trnd/index.html.
Coggins, Patrick, Ph.D., J.D., L.L.D., and Shawnrece D. Campbell, PhD. “Using Cultural Competence to Close the Achievement Gap.” The Journal of Pan African Studies2, no. 4 (June 2008): 44-59. http://www.jpanafrican.org/docs/vol2no4/2.4_Using_Cultural_Competence_to_Close_the_Achievement_Ga1.pdf.
Ladson-Billings, Gloria. “Toward a Theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy.” American Educational Research Journal32, no. 3 (1995): 465-91. doi:10.2307/1163320.
Loewus, Liana. “The Nation’s Teaching Force Is Still Mostly White and Female.” Education Week. February 20, 2019. Accessed June 08, 2019. https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/08/15/the-nations-teaching-force-is-still-mostly.html.
Staged-Photography. “Staged-photography.” August 19, 2017. Accessed June 08, 2019. https://staged-photography.tumblr.com/post/164362420072/chris-buck-lets-talk-about-race-commissioned-for.
Stuart Wells, Amy, Lauren Fox, and Diana Cordova-Cobo. “How Racially Diverse Schools and Classrooms Can Benefit All Students.” The Century Foundation. April 03, 2017. Accessed June 08, 2019. https://tcf.org/content/report/how-racially-diverse-schools-and-classrooms-can-benefit-all-students/.
Workneh, Lilly, and Lilly Workneh. “These Profound Photos Masterfully Turn Racial Stereotypes On Their Head.” HuffPost. May 18, 2017. Accessed June 08, 2019. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/these-profound-photos-masterfully-turn-racial-stereotypes-on-their-head_n_591dceece4b03b485caf8c6d.
The 2020-2021 school year has been one for the history books! At Analytic Orange, we hope you can take time off, rest, relax, and recharge. Unfortunately, many teachers still must work.
If you have the time, please check out these interesting articles!
Education Week: Summer School is More Important Than Ever, But Teachers are FRIED and NEED a Break
We Are Teachers: Companies That Hire Teachers
Resilient Educator: Summer Self-Care for Teachers
If you follow the news, you know teacher shortages are a hot topic all over the country. At the time that this blog was written, 193 news articles were posted in the last month about this issue. City and state newspapers report the plight of countless schools that started up this fall without teachers for many classes. In Florida alone, 3,578 teaching positions were unfilled by the first day of school. (1) A school district in Nevada struggles to operate while dealing with a deficit of more than 400 teachers. (2)Districts are forced to utilize poorly qualified substitutes and even administrative staff to manage the gap.
It is concerning, but is it a fleeting problem? According to the Economic Policy Institute, it is not. Teacher shortages tripled between 2012 and 2016, and the pool of applicants continues to sharply decline. (3) College and university records show that enrollment for an education degree has dropped 35% in just five years, so help is not on the way. (4)
Not only are fewer college graduates entering into the teaching profession, but more early-career teachers are defecting to other jobs. While there are a few reasons for this mass exodus, experts claim that providing early-career support can decrease turnover. (5)
With our background in education and publishing, we saw this troubling trend and resolved to be part of the solution. Analytic Orange was conceived to meet the needs of educators today, supporting both teachers and administrators with tools paired with a robust curriculum. The student-friendly, Social Studies Interactive Workbook provides everything K-6 students need to learn and understand history from multiple perspectives, but teachers do not have to run and make copies or learn some difficult program. Most publishers expect a teacher to slog through hundreds of pages in a Teacher Supplement to prepare each lesson. Analytic Orange has put each lesson into a slide presentation. Even a novice substitute can run the presentation, read the slide notes to the class and teach a perfect lesson, just moments after walking into the classroom.
Social Studies, the study of human society, is needed now more than ever because our communities are in chaos. Unless students have a thorough understanding of society, we cannot expect them to become effective citizens and leaders because a civic mindset requires a solid foundational understanding of Social Studies. While we can’t solve the teaching crisis, we have come up with a solution that can help your students become civically competent, so check out AO’s Social Studies Interactive Workbook today!
SOURCES:
Whether you like the current U.S. President or not, there is no debating that current political events create an opportunity for social studies teachers. Highly effective social studies teachers are using current events to increase the probability that their students will:
What are some other benefits of discussing controversial topics in social studies classrooms?
Controversial issue discussions increase critical thinking skills. Controversial issue discussions can provide opportunities for young people to develop their thinking skills by processing information, reasoning, investigating, innovative thinking, and evaluating.
“In a 1994 survey of over 11,000 college graduates, the “ability to think critically” ranked as the second most important skill out of 16 in their daily life (#1 was interpersonal skills).”
Source: Cooperative Institutional Research Program, “1994 Nine Year Follow-Up Survey (of 1985 Freshmen),” Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, 1995.
Studying and debating controversial topics in school helps increase student attention, motivation, achievement, creativity, and self-esteem. “A 2009 meta-analysis of studies on teaching controversial issues found that teaching the pros and cons of controversial issues in a structured conflict format can help focus student attention, increase motivation, produce higher levels of cognitive reasoning, produce higher levels of achievement and retention, as well as increase levels of creativity and divergent thinking and students’ self-esteem.” Source: David W. Johnson, Minnesota University, and Roger T. Johnson, Minnesota University, “Energizing Learning: The Instructional Power of Conflict,” Educational Researcher, Jan. 2009.
Teaching controversial topics helps students develop non-violent strategies for dealing with conflict. Social studies teachers know that conflict and controversy are unavoidable wherever humans interact, and schools can provide a neutral venue where reasonable debate can be cultivated, and unbiased independent study can take place. Having controversial topic discussions in a classroom allows students to develop their social skills such as dealing with difficulttopics, listening to others, questioning what they do not agree with, expressing their beliefs and communicating their frustrations and fears all within a controlled, safe environment without violence. Source: P. Reitano, C. Kivunja, and K. Porter, “Teaching Controversial Issues In Schools to Prepare Children for a Sustainable Global Village,” Australian Association for Research Education website, 2008
Students who debate controversial issues in school are more likely to be engaged and active citizens. “In a 2002 survey of 1,166 youth aged 15-25, the following differences were found between youth who debated issues in class and those who did not:”
Discussing current events and debating controversial issues are associated with higher scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the largest national standardized test in the United States. “An Apr. 2013 fact sheet from the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement (CIRCLE) reported that 12th-grade students who took part in frequent discussions of current events and debates about current issues “including controversies” scored higher on the NAEP Civics test than students who did not frequently engage in those activities. Eighth graders also scored higher when regularly participating in current events discussion.
Regular discussion of current events was correlated with a 16-point gain on the NAEP Civics test for male 12th graders and a 13-point gain for females. Male eighth-graders taking part in current events discussion gained a 10-point advantage, while female eighth-graders gained five points. Frequent debates were correlated with a six-point gain for male 12th graders and an eight-point gain for female 12th graders.”
Young people, like adults, will feel the need to try to make sense of current events through discussions and debates. Social studies teachers who prepare their students by promoting constructive discussions of emotive issues among their students and teach their students appropriate skills for participating in highly-charged discussions are taking full advantage of a situation that will inevitably come up. Social studies teachers who fail to plan for controversial topic discussions in their classrooms are missing out on an opportunity for their students. They should at least prepare for spontaneous volatile student debates which will inevitably occur given these volatile times.
Judith Pace of EdWeek noted, “Classroom teachers and the professionals who support them – school leaders, teacher educators, and professional developers – need to prepare for and take educational advantage of the disequilibrium created by these events. In fact, teacher educators and school administrators should lead the way by modeling constructive talk about difficult topics in their own practice.”
How many Americans can describe the timeline for women’s rights in America? When did women win the right to vote after decades of struggling? The answers led Analytic Orange, a new social studies publishing company, to provide lessons from its recently published textbook at no charge to teachers and parents nationwide. The complementary resources parents and teachers will receive:
• Gender Pay Gap infographic
• 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th Amendment infographics and the Progressive Era Timeline
infographic, detailed lesson plans, and a PowerPoint presentation with audio
• Six-page timeline of Women’s Rights with primary sources (photos, images, and
documents along with embedded mini activities) and our Annotating Text Reading with Purpose anchor chart (close reading)
• Women’s History Expository Experience activity sheets and answer keys with Teaching Recommendations
• Includes three Flesch-Kincaid Readability Levels (2.9, 5.3, and 8.3)
• Can be completed together in a whole group, in cooperative learning groups, as literacy center work, as homework, with guided reading groups, with a partner, or individually
• Special Joan Trumpauer Mulholland Lesson – includes the student edition pages, lesson plan, worksheet, answer key, SlideShare Presentation, and Bitmoji Introduction slide
Parents and teachers typically do not have access to complete, accurate, vetted, up-to-date, standards-based lessons on women’s history to use in their classrooms and at home with students and children. Modern textbooks are purchased so infrequently; they simply don’t keep up with many new, relevant facts or our society’s rapidly changing appreciation of women’s accomplishments and what students should be taught.
“We believe students will take a deeper interest in history, and school in general, if they are inspired by the amazing accomplishments of women throughout American history,” says AO founder and CEO Dr. Kim Mogilevsky. “We recognize that parents and teachers are in desperate need of fresh, authentic lessons to use with students, especially this month. “When I was a teacher, I would have loved the lessons we’re producing now. We didn’t have them. I know many teachers are hungry for compelling, primary-source materials and relevant lesson plans,” she says.
AO textbooks, teacher editions, and support materials will be available soon nationwide for kindergarten through fifth-grade students. All materials will be conveniently available through the AO website. “Because we’ve written these materials for schools nationwide, we felt that making some of them available now to parents and teachers at home, online, and in classrooms during COVID-19 would be of great value,” says Dr. Mogilevsky. “And, given the national attention on diversity in America, it is vital we share this inclusive curriculum at this opportune time–now.”
Parents and teachers interested in lesson plan materials for Women’s History Month may request them by sending an email to info@analyticorange.com. Analytic Orange provides comprehensive, multi-perspective, and inclusive social studies textbooks and curriculum materials, including hands-on projects and community engagement while focusing on critical thinking and problem-solving.
“As veteran teachers, we are talking to teachers and educators across the country every day, so we know the desperate need for new material to engage and inspire more students and also help boost student knowledge and achievement,” says Dr. Mogilevsky.
The company says, “Our goal is for all students to see themselves reflected in Analytic Orange’s materials as leaders, role models, and innovators. All students benefit from learning about historical events from the diverse points-of-view of the people who experienced history.”
You’ll find our Women’s History Month lesson plan resources inclusive, diverse, engaging, and easy to use. For more information, contact Dr. Kim Mogilevsky at info@analyticorange.com.
Saratoga Springs, Utah — To commemorate Black History Month, Analytic Orange (AO), a teacher-led education publishing company, is offering parents and teachers free lesson plans focusing on historic African American contributions.
“We believe Black history is American history and should be taught year-round. We recognize that parents and teachers are particularly in need of fresh, authentic lessons to use with students this month,” says AO founder and CEO Dr. Kim Mogilevsky. “When I was a teacher, I would have welcomed the lessons we’re producing now. I know many teachers are hungry for compelling, primary-source materials and relevant lesson plans,” she says.
AO textbooks, teacher editions, and support materials will be available soon nationwide for kindergarten through fifth-grade students. All materials will be conveniently available through the AO website. “Because we’ve written these materials for schools nationwide, we felt that making some of them available now to parents and teachers at home, online, and in classrooms during COVID-19 would be of great value,” says Dr. Mogilevsky. “And, given the national attention on diversity in America, it is vital we share this inclusive curriculum.”
Analytic Orange provides comprehensive, multi-perspective, and inclusive social studies textbooks and curriculum materials, including hands-on projects and community engagement while focusing on critical thinking and problem-solving.
“As veteran teachers, we are talking to teachers and educators across the country every day, so we know the desperate need for new material to engage and inspire more students and also help boost student knowledge and achievement,” says Dr. Mogilevsky.
The company says, “Our goal is for all students to see themselves reflected in Analytic Orange’s materials as leaders, role models, and innovators. All students benefit from learning about historical events from the diverse points-of-view of the people who experienced history.”
Parents and teachers interested in lesson plan materials for Black History Month may visit tinyurl.com/1ljyn3cs. 
Parents, teachers, and all education facilitators looking for diverse complimentary education resources can sign up here: tinyurl.com/432wcv9j. Our March Women’s History Month will be available soon. Sign up to receive complimentary resources every month.
For information, contact us at info@analyticorange.com, 801-410-0618, and find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
School districts are clamoring for learning technology in the classroom. When talking about curriculum, everyone wants a tech component to go with it. But how useful is all of that technology in helping students learn? The answer might surprise you.
Davis (2019) stated, “A new nationwide survey from Common Sense Media found that 31 percent of educators say they’re not able to use technology because of a lack of training” (n.p.). If a teacher is struggling to figure out an educational program, it’s the wrong choice for their students. In technology, more is not better; it’s just more. A successful technology learning tool will have the simplicity of design. The user should be able to focus on the content, not get mired down in the process.
After you select an educational program for the classroom, there are still other concerns. When students log in, are they just playing around or learning? Educators want to know if the time spent in the edtech space increases student achievement (Davis, 2019).
Analytic Orange solves these problems and at a much lower cost than most other social studies curricula. The educational program does not regurgitate the printed student edition; it builds upon that knowledge. The added lessons provide another opportunity for students to read informational text as part of the ELA block in an easily navigated journey.
Students enjoy logging into AO’s learning portal while educators get real-time data. The educator portal shows where each student spends their time in the application and what they actually learn. You can see the metacognition analysis at the district level, the classroom level, and the individual student level. With our system, you can focus on those that need assistance and have peace of mind that your edtech dollars are not wasted.
References
Davis, M. (2019). K-12 Districts Wasting Millions by Not Using Purchased Software, New
Analysis Finds. EdWeek Market Brief. Retrieved from
https://marketbrief.edweek.org/marketplace-k-12/unused-educational-software-major-source-wasted-k-12-spending-new-analysis-finds/
