District to adopt Studies Weekly for elementary social studies; state-funded materials for six years

The Rapid City Area School District’s elementary social-studies committee announced adoption of Studies Weekly, a resource aligned to South Dakota’s new social-studies standards, and said the state Department of Education will fund the resource for participating districts for six years.

Katie Farmer, the district’s TLI specialist helping to facilitate the adoption, told the board the state asked Studies Weekly to create a version aligned to South Dakota standards because the state’s standards are unique and no existing publisher materials fully matched them. “At the time of the training session, there were no physical materials available,” Farmer said; district teachers piloted the online platform and gave feedback to the committee.

Pilot teachers said the lessons provide direct alignment to standards and include resources that integrate reading strategies, nonfiction features and vocabulary exposure. Kate DeVelder, a second‑grade teacher at Rapid Valley, said Studies Weekly supports cross-curricular work and gives students “wonderful conversations” about topics such as the U.S. Constitution and local settlement patterns. Andrea Thedorf, a third‑grade teacher at Blackhawk, said podcasts that accompany units helped teachers build background knowledge and that hands-on activities — such as treasure‑map lessons for cardinal directions — engaged students.

Teachers raised implementation concerns: typical elementary schedules provide only limited time for social studies. Thedorf said the resource assumes 30–45 minutes daily for social studies, but many teachers currently have roughly 45 minutes a week; the committee plans to incorporate lessons into ELA blocks and create pacing guides to make the work manageable.

Committee members also said they will align the Studies Weekly lessons with the Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings (OSEU). Committee work will continue this spring and summer to finalize essential standards and pacing guides; the OSEU revisions are scheduled for a state vote April 14, the committee reported.

The district plans professional development with Studies Weekly in June and again during August in-service days; physical periodicals and classroom materials will arrive before next school year and will be distributed to buildings, the committee said. Teachers noted some classrooms may need additional physical materials, such as full‑size maps and globes, for certain lessons.

Board members asked about access for families; committee staff said a district demo account is available and that broader access plans will be finalized before full implementation.