About OESSTA

Promotional Text
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Looking for support towards your Social Studies Program?

The OESSTA website has lessons, videos and planning documents to help you address the 2013 Revised Social Studies Geography and History curriculum.
key features: Inquiry,Primary Source Materials, French
Cross-Curricular lessons, Combined Grades and
Disciplinary Thinking.

OESSTA needs your help to ensure that our colleagues can benefit from the resources. Pass on this note and the attached flyer announcing the launch of these new teaching resources. http://oessta-teachers.ca/
Ontario Elementary Social Studies Teachers Association

OESSTA (Ontario Elementary Social Studies Teachers Association) is collection of teachers and educators from public and Catholic School Boards, private institutions and faculties of education. We have members from different regions in the province. We are working to support educators who teach Social Studies (grades 1-6) and Geography and History (grades 7&8) in Ontario.

OESSTA was created to enable elementary teachers to have a voice in the curriculum revision process. The Ministry of Education relies on teacher created subject associations to participate in the revision and implementation process. ETFO provided seed money to enable us to participate in the process.

OESSTA has participated in several major initiatives including Financial Literacy, Environmental Education, OTF Summer institutes and SSHG Roll Out projects.

We invite teachers to actively participate in our learning community that provides a voice for elementary teachers.

The resources on the OESSTA webpage are designed to support job-embedded professional learning for teachers using evidence–based instructional strategies and practices that improve student achievement and support the development of informed citizens (e.g. problem-based global learning, higher order thinking skills, communication, use of disciplinary thinking, spatial skills.)

The webpage is:

• A site where educators can connect with colleagues who have similar interests, challenges and/or questions about the implementation of the Ontario Social Studies/History/Geography Curriculum.
• A site where educators can share ideas, resources and/or ask questions about SSHG document.
• A site where educators can exchange ideas and suggestions regarding planning, implementation and assessment of the Ontario curriculum.

How can the website support professional Learning?

The OESSTA supports are designed to be used in staff meeting, division team meetings or with teachers meeting together.

Our sections are organized to provide content, examples or provocations that individual teachers or teams can use to guide their practice. We will provide questions or prompts with the resources so teachers can identify the areas that they wish to focus on, then devise a plan of action that can be implemented within your classrooms.

After teachers try out different practices they can meet with peers sharing samples of student work and discuss next steps.

For example, the Inquiry, Combined Grades, Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, Literacy Videos and Geographic Definition resources include guiding questions that promote learning.

OESSTA recognizes the following people for their role in the development of the roll out supports for the 2013 Revised Social Studies, History and Geography curriculum:

Anna Caravaggio, Anna Presta, Annelies Groen, Antonino Giambrone, Ariel Vente, Ashwin Parvatam, Astrid DeCairos, Babe Santucci, Beate Planche, Becker Associates, Brad Parolin, Bryce Honsinger, Byron Stevenson, Cheryl Dell, Christina Breen, Christina Negrea, Christry Bannerman, Cindy VanWonderen, Claire Holland, Dan Nini, Dina Burckett, Don Jones, Ira Metani, James Steeves, Jason Donaldson, Kamla Rambaran, Karen Canapini, Kelly Speedie, Kim Davidson, Kim Stenhouse, Lange Bowen, Louise Robitaille, Lynn Wilkins, Marci Becker, Mark Lowry, Melina Ciaccia, Michelle Honsinger, Pam Miller, Peter Douglas, Philip De Rosario, Sarah Bridges, Simon Ware, Stephanie Dawson, Susan Elliot, Susan Stoute-Major, Tanya Reid, Tracy Thomson, Tracy Wheatly-Momano, Zelia Capitao-Tavares

We have an extended list of contributors who participated in the following writing projects: Financial Literacy, Primary Sources, Inquiry, Aga Khan and Sikh Heritage.

Step 1
Membership is $20. Fees can be paid through Paypal.

 

Step 2
OESSTA will forward an email containing links to the members only resources.

OESSTA has a yearly membership fee of $20.00. This nominal fee generates sustainability for the organization by addressing costs related to maintaining/moderating the website and liability insurance. In addition, we require a moderator to manage our forum.

1) Payment ($20) can be made through Paypal.

Membership Benefits

As a member you will:

• have access to new OESSTA documents
• have a voice in an organization designed to be a voice for elementary teachers with the Ministry and the Ontario Teachers Federation
• may be involved in OESSTA writing projects