The Virginia Department of Education officially adopted the 2023 History and Social Science SOLs in April 2023. Implementation of these new SOLs starts with the 2025-2026 school year. With these new SOLs comes several big changes you should be aware of.
In this blog post for Virginia teachers, you’ll find the reason for the changes, the timeline for implementation, and a list of the biggest changes to the upper elementary SOLs.
UPDATE: We’ve recorded webinars for each grade level about the new History and Social Science SOLs! Each webinar includes a breakdown of every SOL and information about how to use the new Instructional Guides. You can skip ahead to each webinar by clicking the grade level you want to watch: 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, or 5th Grade.
Why Change the Social Studies SOLs?
You may be wondering, why change the social studies SOLs? Many assume the changes were made in light of recent current events and politics.
While this is part of the reason for the changes, the bigger reason is that the VDOE is required to periodically update the Standards of Learning. By law, the VDOE must review and revise its standards every seven years. According to this timeframe, the History and Social Science SOLs were due for an update.
Timeline for Implementation
An area of confusion is when the 2023 History and Social Science SOLs should be taught because the timeline has changed SO many times. I have been working with Virginia’s SOLs for over 15 years, and I have never seen a timeline change this many times.
Currently, the 2024-2025 school year will be a crosswalk year, and full implementation will take place during the 2025-2026 school year. The 2023 History and Social Science SOLs will be tested on the spring 2026 SOL test.
For more information about the timeline, download my free Virginia Teacher’s Guide to the 2023 History and Social Science SOLs. The guide includes the biggest changes made to each grade level and other important information you need to know about the new SOLs.
Biggest Changes to the History SOLs
Overall, the 2023 History and Social Science SOLs mostly do what the VDOE told us they would do—increase rigor and incorporate more African American, Indigenous Peoples, and womens history.
But, unanticipated changes do exist throughout most grade levels.
A change that has taken place across all grade levels is the way the history skills are organized. In the previous versions of the SOLs, the first SOL for each grade level contained a list of social studies skills that should be taught throughout the school year. While the list of skills remains mostly the same, it is no longer presented as a numbered SOL. They are now just listed as “Skills” within each grade level. Like the previous SOLs, these skills are expected to be incorporated throughout all SOLs during the school year.
The other changes made to History and Social Science SOLs are more specific to each grade level. Vestal’s 21st Century Classroom specializes in content and resources for upper elementary (grades 3-5), so I have listed the major changes to those grade levels below.
For more information about the changes made to these grade levels, download the Virginia Teacher’s Guide to the 2023 History and Social Science SOLs. The guide provides a side-by-side comparison of every 2015 and 2023 SOL, along with a list of key differences between the two.
3rd Grade Social Studies SOLs
The biggest change to the 3rd-grade social studies SOLs is one that teachers will love… the SOLs have been completely reorganized! This may sound scary but, trust me, the way the SOLs are now organized is going to make your teacher life so much easier.
In the 2023 History and Social Science SOLs, everything related to a specific topic is grouped in one SOL. Previously, the content related to ancient world cultures was spread out across several SOLs. If you were teaching Ancient Greece, you would have to go back and forth between several SOLs to determine all of the information students were expected to learn about Ancient Greece.
Now, all of the content related to Ancient Greece is grouped in one SOL. The same is true for all of the other ancient world cultures, geography, and economics content.
The organization is just one change to the 3rd-grade SOLs. The video below is a short webinar all about the 2023 3rd Grade Social Studies SOLs. You’ll discover a breakdown of every SOL, information about how to use the new Instructional Guide, and resources aligned to the new 3rd-grade social studies SOLs.
Virginia Studies SOLs
I hate to break this to Virginia Studies teachers, but some of the biggest changes I have seen are within the Virginia Studies SOLs.
Many new people and events have been added to the existing SOLs. There are also two brand-new SOLs with entirely new skills and information.
Check out the webinar below for a detailed breakdown of how every Virginia Studies SOL has changed and how you can use the new Instructional Guide in your planning.
U.S. History to 1865 SOLs
For many years, districts have had control over what standards are taught in fifth grade. While some districts use the Virginia Studies SOLs in fifth grade, other districts teach U.S. History to 1865. And, a few districts even have their own non-SOL standards that are used in fifth grade.
The documentation for the 2023 History and Social Science SOLs shows U.S. History to 1865 as the fifth-grade standards. In a recent training with the VDOE, I specifically asked whether districts still have a choice over what is taught in fifth grade or whether U.S. History to 1865 is now required for fifth grade. I was told, “Course sequence is only recommended by the Virginia Board of Education. It is not required to implement or change your current sequence.”
Like the Virginia Studies SOLs, the U.S. History to 1865 SOLs incorporate many new people and events that students are expected to know. There is also the addition of one new SOL, although it mostly incorporates information that was previously part of other SOLs.
To learn more about the new U.S. History to 1865 SOLs, check out the short webinar below. I’ll break down every SOL so that you know exactly what has changed and how to use the new Instructional Guide.
What About the Curriculum Framework?
Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a training session with the VDOE about the new curriculum framework for the 2023 History and Social Science SOLs. Here are some of my biggest takeaways from that training.
The curriculum frameworks will be replaced with “instructional guides,” which are similar to what we have seen with the new math SOLs. These instructional guides are intended to be “elevated” versions of the old curriculum frameworks.
The new instructional guides have been released for every grade level.
Make sure to check out the webinars above to learn more about the Instructional Guides including how they are organized, what information will be most helpful in your instruction, and what information from the guides will be tested on the SOL.
Conclusion
The 2023 History and Social Science SOLs present some big changes for future school years in Virginia. These changes will present an initial learning curve, but implementing the revised standards will get easier with time and by having the right resources to teach the standards. I hope this information provides you with some clarity on what to expect with these new SOLs.
P.S.- Don’t forget to download the Virginia Teacher’s Guide to the 2023 History and Social Science SOLs for a more complete breakdown of the timeline and the biggest changes made to each grade level.
The Virginia Teacher Club® is a one-of-a-kind program for upper elementary teachers in Virginia. Members receive instant access to a curriculum library of SOL-aligned math, science, social studies, and ELA resources. There are lesson plans, games, assessments, passages, digital activities, and more for EVERY SOL. By using the Virginia Teacher Club®, our members save hours of planning time every month and have access to high-quality, SOL-aligned resources that students love.
CLICK HERE to join the waitlist and be the first to know when the Virginia Teacher Club® reopens for new members.
