Social Studies Curriculum Overhaul Approved

The West Orange Board of Education approved a new curriculum for Social Studies in grades K-8 at Monday night's meeting following a presentation from district supervisors Mark Lawrence and Eric Price.

The approved curriculum will include all teaching materials as well as online resources that will have yearly updates to textbooks online — seven years in K-5 and six in grade 6-8.

"Years ago, you would have been using these books for at least five years and they would have had all the dated information," Interim Superintendent James O'Neill said. "Now you have books that can be updated on an annual basis."

In total, the overhaul of the curriculum will cost just over $338,000. For grades K-5 it will cost $242,000; for Edison Central Six $36,000: in seventh grade $29,000 and $31,000 for eighth grade.

Materials include workbooks, text books, workshops for teachers and 'just right' books, which are three different versions of supplemental reading catering to each student's learning level. 

Online materials include all print material in digital format, short films, graphic organizers, power point presentation, links to other site, interactive quizzes and a vocabulary builder.

In grades K-5, administration selected Pearson's "My World" after piloting the program along with TCI's "History Alive" in the 2012-2013 school year, each for half of the year.

"The teachers are really confident in the 'My World' program," Price said. "It will be appropriate for the West Orange students." 

At Edison Central Six and in seventh and eighth grade classes, West Orange teachers piloted the TCI and Houghton-Mifflin curriculums after piloting the same as in the elementaries schools. 

At the seventh and eighth grade levels the Houghton-Mifflin curriculums because of its increased cost in seventh grade, requiring two text books, and overall a better curriculum, Lawrence said.

"The TCI book drove me crazy," board vice president Megan Brill said, explaining her child was in seventh grade during the pilot.

In Edison, teachers selected the TCI curriculum. Despite issues at the seventh grade level, the sixth grade text book was far superior Lawrence explained. 

Brill explained when she was told the district was adopting the TCI curriculum she reviewed the book because of her issues with the seventh grade version.

"The sixth grade book doesn't have the same problems that I saw the seventh grade book have," she said.