Select the Social Studies Case Study you would like to review:
Intermediary Statements
Client: Pearson Education/Educational Systemics
Proposition
- Pearson Education commissioned Educational Systemics to supply them with an organizational framework, or Intermediary
- The Intermediary correlated to each state’s academic standards for social studies and to the C3 (College, Career, & Civic Life) Framework
- CSA developed an Intermediary of 14,000 statements that
- State a single concept (STFk)
- Give a single basic prompt (Process)
- State a single overarching topic (Concept)
- Are grade-neutral
- Are curriculum-neutral
- Demonstrate a consistent level of granularity
- Stand independent of context
Schedule
- 9 months total for all states
Team
- 1 staff project manager, 10 statement editors
Team Roles
- Project manager, statement editors
Method of Intermediary Creation
- Create correlating Intermediary statements based on text content
- Rewrite state standards as Intermediary statements
- Basic rewrite
- Conceptual examples
- Rewrite C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards as Intermediary statements
Civics Supplement Writing and Revision
Client: EMC Publishing
Proposition
- Develop 33 civics lessons to function as a state-specific workbook and supplement to a national text program for middle school
- Create new lessons and assessments
- Rewrite existing lessons to address VA civics standards
- Develop lesson templates and Scope & Sequence
- Ensure coverage of state standards for civics
Schedule
- 4 weeks
Team
- 1 staff manager, 1 editor, 2 freelance writers
Team Roles
- Social studies project manager, content editor, writers
Impact and Awards
- Project completed ahead of schedule
- Allowed EMC to offer a tailored supplement to address VA civics standards
- Civics instruction that encourages student engagement in real-world activities and topics
- Reaffirmed strong relationship with client
McGraw-Hill Social Studies
Client: McGraw-Hill Education
Proposition
- Plan and develop GK social studies program for California
- Develop planning chart/Scope & Sequence
- All-new writing for Teacher’s Edition, Inquiry and Writing Journal, and Student Research Companion
- Perform all page reviews and printer proof reviews
- Revise all GK manuscript
- Ensure coverage of state standards and correlate to page level
Schedule
- 4 months for GK planning and program development
Team
- 1 staff manager, 2 staff editors, 1 staff copy editor, 5 writers
Team Roles
- Editorial managers, content editors, writers, copy editors
Impact and Awards
- Successful implementation of social studies program in California
- Quality elementary-level instruction meeting California state standards for history/social science
- Repeat client that has worked with CSA for many years
Kids Discover Teacher’s Guides
Client: Kids Discover
Proposition
- Develop 25 Teacher’s Guides for G1–G6 to accompany Kids Discover magazine
- Develop Power Vocabulary lessons for G1–G6
- Edit manuscript for all grades
- Perform layout for all grades in InDesign
Schedule
- 4 months
Team
- 1 staff manager, 2 staff editors, 2 staff copy editors, 6 writers
Team Roles
- Editorial manager, content editors, writers, copy editors
Impact and Awards
- Successful social studies program used in multiple states
- Quality elementary-level instruction that meets the Common Core State Standards
- Extensive instruction in history, geography, government, economics, and civics
- Fostered ongoing partnership with client
Major Revision for Science and Social Studies
Client: Glynlyon
Our client prefers not to share visual examples of the project.
Proposition
- Align and provide correlations report for course materials in science and social studies G1–G2 to NGSS and C3 before and after revisions
- Develop revisions to 8 teacher workbooks and 40 student workbooks in print for G1–G2 science and social studies to remove religious references and add aligned content to NGSS and C3
- Create Scope & Sequences and all instructional materials for new science unit
- Copyedit manuscript for all grades and subjects
- Perform composition and design for all grades and subjects in PDF and InDesign
- Revisions must maintain the same level of rigor and stay within the limits of current page size, spec, and count
Schedule
- 3 months total for alignment and G1-G2 revision and development
Team
- 1 staff manager, 1 staff editor, 1 staff designer, 2 staff copy editors, 2 correlators, 5 writers
Team Roles
- Editorial manager, content editor, designer, copy editors, correlators, writers
Impact and Awards
- Successful science and social studies program used in multiple states
- 30% increase in alignment to NGSS and C3 due to revisions
- Worked within tight constraints
- Developed a new science unit that integrated seamlessly with existing model
Assessment Development for Science and Social Studies
Client: Kids Discover
Our client prefers not to share visual examples of the project.
Proposition
- Create approximately 800 assessment questions for digital-only articles that include true/false, multiple choice, short answer, and discussion
- Write answer reasoning for short answer and true/false questions and plausible distractors for multiple-choice questions
- Input all assessment questions onto a client-provided template for upload into client’s platform
- Focus on assessment creation that aligns with the Lexile level of the article
Schedule
- 3 weeks
Team
- 1 executive editor, 5 writers, 5 content editors, 1 copy editor
Impact and Awards
- Consistently ahead of schedule with each delivery
- Developed manuscript template that allowed for ease of content review, copy edit, and input onto client-provided template
- Repeat client that has worked with CSA for many years
Civics Semester 1 & 2
Client: Major Educational Publisher
Our client prefers not to share visual examples of the project.
Proposition
- Create scope and sequence based on standards, incorporating unique lesson objectives
- Create detailed planning documents that include lesson motivators, description of authoring content, and sources
- Create assessment documents aligned to standards of various DOKs
- Create final and unit exams using Understanding by Design framework
- Create unit exams and lesson activities for six units of civics instruction
- Create activity content and assessment questions based on unit exams
- Perform one round of revisions where necessary
Schedule
- Semester 1 : Planning for 6 units, 1 final exam, 5 unit exams, and 66 activities in 4 months
- Semester 1 : Planning for 6 units, 1 final exam, 5 unit exams and 73 activities in 6 months
Team
- Semester 1 : 1 project manager, 2 content editors, 4 writers
- Semester 1 : 1 project manager, 2 content editors, 5 writers
Impact and Awards
- Employed UbD framework in curriculum creation
- Successfully staffed project to accommodate quick turnaround and activity volume
- Weekly client consultations helped maintain clear directives and were very positive
World Geography Semester 1 & 2
Client: Major Educational Publisher
Our client prefers not to share visual examples of the project.
Proposition
- Create unit exams, lesson activities, unit/lesson introductions for six units of World Geography instruction
- Build each exam and activity using client-provided templates and approved fonts
- Create unit exams according to client-provided content objectives
- Create activity content and assessment questions based on pre-approved unit exams
- Perform one round of revisions where necessary
Schedule
- Semester 1 : 5 unit exams and 57 activities in 4 months
- Semester 2 : 5 unit exams, 61 activities, 6 unit introductions, 28 lesson introductions in 4 months
Team
- Semester 1 : 1 project manager, 1 content editor, 3 writers
- Semester 2 : 1 project manager, 1 content editor, 3 writers
Impact and Awards
- Navigated a unique exam-to-activity approach to curriculum development
- Successfully staffed project to accommodate quick turnaround and activity volume
- Biweekly client consultations helped maintain clear directives and were very positive
- Mutual flexibility and strong communication helped strengthen CSA-client relationship