LMITNSU

The Oklahoma State Department of Education (SDE) will be holding Oklahoma PASSAGES~- The State Superintendent’s Centennial Social Studies and Fine Arts Conference. The conference will be held Saturday, February 3, 2007 at the beautiful Moore Norman Technology Center – South Penn Campus, 13301 South Pennsylvania Avenue, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Mark your calendar now! Plan to spend an exciting, energy-filled day of learning and professional networking with hundreds of social studies teachers from across our grand state!

The conference’s theme, Oklahoma PASSAGES, will help us celebrate Oklahoma’s centennial year. Oklahoma PASSAGES conjures in the mind the many ways and means our ancestors have come to Oklahoma. It also helps us connect across the mists of time to the many defining moments in our state’s grand history. And we hope the theme will help the breakout sessions connect to the core curriculum, the Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS).

Once again, we are planning to bring in special guests from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in conjunction with the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, www.ofe.org>. More details soon!Registration information, the session proposal form, conference site information, and hotel information etc. will be available on the State Department of Education’s Web site www.sde.state.ok.us> soon. We are expanding the number of breakout sessions from 36 to 44 this year.Registration is free.

We will once again have exhibitors at the conference. It promises to be an exciting time as this is the textbook adoption year or both Social Studies and The Fine Arts! Last year, we had 40 plus exhibits and I anticipate more this year. We already have some door prizes stashed away.

We will be seeking breakout session proposals in both the Social Studies and the Fine Arts areas.~We will be asking for session proposals~with the following content:

1. Implementing the Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS)

2. Improving student achievement through best practices

3. Improving teacher’s subject content knowledge

4. Using cross curricular strategies

5. Integrating Social Studies with another content area

6. Integrating the Arts with another content area

7. Integrating technology in the classroom

8. Using data and/or scientifically-based research to

improve~instruction

9. Teaching children with special needs

In the Social Studies we will focus on our four areas in which we have statewide assessments (U.S History 5th, 8th, & high school and 7th grade

Geography) . I will identify the areas by standard and/or objective that we will need presentations from Oklahoma teachers.

If you would like to make a presentation at the conference and you are not a school teacher in Oklahoma, please consider partnering with an Oklahoma classroom teacher who uses similar instructional approaches or curriculum materials that you do. The call for proposals will be posted soon on the SDE Web site, mailed to every district superintendent, and sent out by SDE listservs. If I can answer any questions about the conference, feel free to contact me.

See you in Oklahoma City on February 3, 2007!

Kelly

Kelly S. Curtright

Director, Social Studies Education

Office of Standards and Curriculum, Suite 315 Oklahoma State Department of Education 2500 North Lincoln Boulevard Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105-4599

Phone: (405) 522-3523

E-mail: Kelly_Curtright@sde.state.ok.us

Fax: (405) 521-2971

Website: http://sde.state.ok.us