Connection: Information for Teachers (October 2008)

Social Studies

Program Implementation Schedule and Professional Development Opportunities
The new social studies program of studies for Kindergarten to Grade 12 is available online.  The provincial implementation schedule for social studies, Kindergarten to Grade 12, is as follows: 

School Year  Grades
2005–2006  K, 1, 2, 3
2006–2007  4 and 7
2007–2008  5, 8, 10
2008–2009  6 and 9 (optional)
11
2009–2010  6, 9, 12

The summer institute was held in Edmonton at Grant MacEwan College from August 12–14, 2008.  This institute was designed to support educators implementing grades 6, 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the new social studies program of studies.  The institute also worked to support teachers of knowledge and employability social studies.

Additional professional development opportunities are being provided by the Alberta Regional Professional Development Consortia. Contact the consortium in your region for information on sessions (English or French).

For more information regarding the social studies program, contact:

For more information regarding support for social studies implementation, contact Jim Rubuliak at 780–644–7139.

To be connected toll-free inside Alberta to any of these contacts, dial 310–0000.

Kindergarten to Grade 12 Resources Update
Recently Authorized Resources:  Review new resources authorized between May 7, 2008, and October 2, 2008:
Grade 4–Grade 6
Grade 7–Grade 9
Social Studies 10-1 and 10-2
Social Studies 20-1
Social Studies 20-2

Authorized Resource Lists: Authorized resource lists for K–5, 7 and 8 and for Social Studies 10-1 and 10-2 (including student basic, related teaching and student support resources) are available.  New support resources will be added to these lists soon.

Support resource reviews are also currently under way for grades 6, 9 and 11; lists of authorized resources from these reviews are scheduled to be available later this fall.  A support resource review for Grade 12 is scheduled for December 2008, with a list of authorized support resources scheduled to be available by the summer of 2009.

Resource Availability Schedule:  A Resource Availability Schedule for K–12 student basic and related teaching resources (English and French) and for K–12 English-language support resources is available.

Grades 6 and 9 Student Basic and Related Teaching Resources:  Two different English-language Grade 6 student basic resources were authorized in April 2008.  Two different English-language Grade 6 related teaching resources and one Grade 9 student basic resource were authorized in June 2008.  The accompanying Grade 9 teaching resource was authorized in September 2008 and is available digitally on Nelson Education's Web site.  Copies of the Grade 9 teaching resource are available for purchase from the Learning Resources Centre (LRC).

One French-language student basic resource for each of grades 6 and 9 is available for purchase from the LRC.  For the start of the 2008–2009 school year, PDF files of the first several chapters of French-language teaching resources for grades 6 and 9 have been made available online.

All grades 6 and 9 student basic and related teaching resources are available for ordering through the Learning Resources Centre (LRC).  To set up appointments to view the resources prior to making final purchasing decisions, contact the identified publishers directly, contact your regional consortium Social Studies Project Coordinator or contact the LRC.

Piloting of the grades 6 and 9 draft provincial achievement tests occurred in identified pilot classrooms in May/June 2008.  Two different forms of the Grade 6 and Grade 9 provincial achievement tests will be administered in the 2008–2009 school year.  One form will be based on the 2007 program of studies and the other form will be based on the 1990 (Grade 6)/1989 (Grade 9) programs of study.  In the 2009–2010 school year, all students will write achievement tests based on the 2007 program of studies.  The new Grade 6 and Grade 9 provincial achievement tests will contain both written response and multiple-choice questions.

Grades 11 and 12 Student Basic and Related Teaching Resources:  Two English-language Social Studies 20-1 student basic resources and one Social Studies 20-2 student basic resource were published by June 2008.  Two English-language Social Studies 20-1 related teaching resources and one English-language Social Studies 20-2 related teaching resource are scheduled to be published by October or November 2008.  One French-language student basic resource for Social Studies 20-1 is available for purchase from the LRC, with the print version of the related teaching resource scheduled to be available by November 2008.

PDF files of the first several chapters of 20-1 (French and English) and 20-2 (English) teaching resources are available online.  View files for the French-language teaching resource.  View files for McGraw-Hill Ryerson's English-language 20-1 and 20-2 teaching resources.  View files for Oxford University Press's English-language 20-1 teaching resource.

The Social Studies 30-1 and 30-2 Resource Review and Diploma Examination Piloting Project Teams (English language) completed their first semester of field testing the new custom-developed draft resources (English language) in June 2008.  The student resources are scheduled to be published in English by April/May 2009, with French-language resources scheduled to be published by August 2009.  The related teaching resources are scheduled to be published in English by the summer of 2009 and in French by the fall of 2009.  Participating Grade 12 teachers also piloted the new draft diploma examinations for Social Studies 30-1 and 30-2 in June 2008 and will continue to do so in the 2008–2009 school year.  Students in classes that participate in the diploma examination pilot will be exempted from writing the current diploma examinations and will receive a school-awarded mark for their appropriate course.  Teachers who participate in piloting the new diploma examinations will also be involved in marking the new examinations.

Digital Resources on LearnAlberta.ca:  Several new digital resources are available for social studies on LearnAlberta.ca.  Included are some provincially licenced video resources from the Alberta Education authorized support resource list that can be streamed directly to your school/classroom.  View details regarding these resources.

New Distributed Learning Resources: Several new distributed learning resources are available for social studies.  View details regarding these resources.

For more information regarding social studies resources (English language), contact:

  • Corinne Sperling at 780–422–8906 (Kindergarten, grades 1–7 and Social Studies 20-1 and 20-2)
  • Ann Marie Lyseng at 780–422–0820 (grades 8 and 9 and Social Studies 10-1, 10-2, 30-1 and 30-2).

For more information regarding K–12 social studies resources (French language), contact Keith Millions at 780–422–1899.

To be connected toll-free inside Alberta to any of these contacts, dial 310–0000.

Social Studies Online Guide to Implementation (English)
The official launch of the new LearnAlberta.ca Web site will take place later this fall. Resources from the Social Studies Online Guide to Implementation will be merged with LearnAlberta.ca and Tools4Teachers resources. During the transition period, a pre-launch version of the new LearnAlberta.ca is available.  The existing online guide and the pre-launch site will coexist until the official launch of the new LearnAlberta.ca.

Additions of resources to support the K–12 Social Studies Program Foundations and Program Rationale and Philosophy will be ongoing.  English-language content to support grade level outcomes for Kindergarten to Grade 11 is currently available. Content and resources for Grade 12 will be added in accordance with the implementation schedule for the social studies program.

For more information regarding online social studies teacher resources (English language), contact Karen LaRone at 780–422–5231.  To be connected toll-free inside Alberta, dial 310–0000.

Note:  Links to other sites are provided as sources of information to users on an "as is" basis without warranty of any kind.  Alberta Education is not responsible for maintaining these external sites.