Grab a free Election Day writing activity and get ideas for Election Day read alouds. Includes ideas for themed November stations.
Learn about all 46 American presidents with FREE Presidents of the United States Book for Kids. Print in color or black and white.
Social Studies, first grade, centers, belonging, planning, centres, assessment
Learn how to tackle the challenge of teaching the five U.S. regions with limited time, using these practical tips and resources!
Print American Revolution for kids reader to explore US History with printable coloring pages to read and learn about Revolutionary War.
Interactive Notebooks are a great way to engage students in class, use multiple learning styles and for students to take ownership in the learning process.
Increase your ability to teach social studies in an informative, and entertaining way through the use of Laura Candler webinars.
Read a few ideas for civics and government activities. There are free lessons and activities as well as other fun hands-on, engaging ideas.
Using digital comics infused into your reading or writing curriculum is a great way to motivate your reluctant learners. Great for upper elementary students.
One of the first projects or themes I find fun, simple and engaging is learning about Communities (2 weeks) and making a map as the culminating activity to end the unit. (For a total of 3 weeks on Community) This week, I started by reading the class a book on maps I got on Amazon. The book was chunked over a period of 2 days to ensure understanding. Maps - Kindergarten Unit After the story, the students were shown real maps that I had saved from going on little road trips. We sat in a circle and talked about what we noticed on them. I had a few kids share out about a time they used a map with their family. Real maps - San Diego, San Francisco I also had some maps from the San Diego Zoo and and some play maps for kids from a teacher supply store. We watched a video on maps and models from the United Streaming's website. Our district purchased user licenses for all teachers to access their videos on our Promethean Boards. I pulled out our old ELD song for communities from Rigby. The red car is on velcro and sticks to the different places in the community. So we fill in the sentence frames depending on where the car lands. On Tuesday, I read the last chunk of the Map book. Then, I pulled out our Writing Web for the power word "go." (The laminated web is from a district purchased program called Learning Headquarters). I taught the sight words "go" under my own structure however as a part of this writing unit in my TPT Store called Rebus Writing using Sight Words. The word "go" is week 5 of the 8 week unit. With a pointer I pointed to the word web and we orally filled out each sentence frame from the word bank. I allowed the kids to draw their own interpretation of a map on a half sheet of drawing paper as a pre-assessment to see where they are. Most kids drew standard pictures of places but some surprised me and had some streets and people walking in the map to different places. On Wednesday, I read them a book on map keys/legends. Map Keys and Legends I put up a class legend on the Promethean board that had four requirements. The sample legend was pre filled and colored and drawn and labeled. I asked the kids to draw a map on a full sized drawing page that had a: school, police station, neighborhood of homes, and a park. The symbol for each was a: building with flag next to it, building with a car next to it, triangles to symbolize a neighborhood, and a slide to symbolize the park. I set the kids to work and could see them looking up and referencing the sample key as they drew their maps. I noticed an improvement in their pictures from the day before. Once all the required components from the class key were on their maps I passed out markers and let them fill in the blanks and put more detail in the map. I cut out small legends that were identical to the one I had on the board and had kids glue it on the corner of their map. They were allowed to take it home. By Thursday, I brought out the colorful construction paper! The neat piles of color coded paper soon got a little messy! I had pre cut them into squares or rectangles. The first to go was blue because everyone was required to put a body of water on their map somewhere. It could be a river, lake, ocean or backyard pool. Also, the black strips I precut were the first to go because those were the streets and kids were allowed to use up to four. Building community maps 1 Building community maps 2 Children got right to work. They were so excited. Each map came out truly unique. As the kids were finished up I had them set up on the rug so the glue could dry and so kids who needed inspiration could come do a carousel walk around the rug and get ideas. Finished maps One of my late finishers added a church to her map even though we never discussed it. Cute! She made her map look like quadrants! She added sand to the beach and a church! The early finishers were doing literacy centers and reading books from the community tub. Building maps was a busy day. On Friday, I handed back their maps and a blank legend key. I asked them to make a legend for their map. Each was different. map key/ legend I had them glue the legends on the back of their maps. I made them a word bank so they could copy. However, some were ready for inventive spelling and didn't need to reference it. If this were done at the end of Kindergarten I would not even offer a word bank on the board. I would ask all kids to use inventive spelling to fill out their legend. If you'd like the free blackline master for the legend see the link at the bottom of this post. IF I HAD IT TO DO OVER AGAIN... I would not have them glue the legends on the back of the maps. I would display it next to the maps because once I mounted them all on the wall I realized they were hidden. LOL! Oh well. Next year I'll have learned my lesson. Wall of Maps! Almost done. Just need to add their name tag underneath each map. After reflection, I wouldn't have just had the kids draw on blank drawing paper. So I created these blackline masters as well. Enjoy! MAPS BLACKLINE MASTERS
Integrating art and content in the ELA classroom. Tips and resources.
Use the free website, Mapmaker, to create maps and practice measuring with a digital ruler.
Use these 7 continents worksheet pagges to teach elementary age about CONTINENTS for kids. Grab continents book printable!
The connection between social studies and art includes different cultures while using art to explore history in new ways. Read more!
Social Studies Interactive Notebooks are a great tool to reinforce learning in any classroom. Give your students a forever resource this year by ...
I have been using interactive math notebooks in my classroom for as long as I can remember. Math notebooks are a great place for students to take notes, record definitions and sample problems, and practice new skills. They are perfect to use for direct instruction and guided practice, in small groups or as a whole class.…
Are you looking for quality resources to use for teaching your Social Studies Unit for History? This is the perfect unit for your 2nd or 3rd grade class! I have created short reading passages with accompanying comprehension activities. I also included pages to use as your students conduct research on influential people. The then & now passages include the following topics: Clothes Communication Food Fun & Games Homes Transportation School These passages are not editable, but can easily fit into your unit. I really hope you enjoy!! Be sure to check out the preview for examples of what the pages will look like. Each topic has multiple informational text pages with photos. Looking for other Social Studies resources to use in your classroom? Then check out these! Types of Communities- Suburban, Urban, and Rural Roles & Responsibilities Members of a Community 2nd Grade Civics
Have you ever wondered what you 'should' teach in an elementary history course? This post is for you! It can help you choose an elementary history curriculum or you can use it as a starting
Do your students have to create timelines to meet academic standards? I'm sharing 10 engaging types of timelines that make this activity FUN for students!
I love spending the final weeks of school working on projects with my students! While we complete a variety of projects throughout the year, my students become project-making machines after testing!! And we love every minute of it!! At this point in the year, the stress of fitting in curriculum has vanished, students have…
Learn about the most advanced ancient civilization in this fun, hands on Ancient Mesopotamia History Unit. This is fun for kids of all ages.
I love using my science and social studies interactive notebook curriculum to help me plan and stay organized in second grade! It is so easy to use!
Students will enjoy reporting their research on a state through these interesting and varied activities. They will create a travel brochure, flag, mini-timeline and state license plate.
It can be tough to find social studies resources that can be read by second graders and third graders , especially on the topic of immigration. I created this freebie to help! It includes a reading
Like most holidays, you're most likely wondering how to add the thanksgiving holiday to your homeschool lesson plan. I've tested and tried many great ideas over the years and have finally learned how to incorporate
Learn about South Africa for kids with these Free South Africa Mini Books. Color, read, and learn facts and information about this African country.
Learn about early American settlers in Colonial America for Kids lesson with hands-on activities and free printable worksheets for elementary
Your economics activities should not be boring. There are SO MANY fun ways to make it engaging for students, as well as teach vocabulary.
Activities for Orange Shirt Day for upper elementary and middle school with teaching ideas and resources to engage young learners.
I've been inspired by the Flipbook Fairy! In the past week, I've created three flip book projects for primary students and posted them in my TpT store. COMMUNITY HELPERS My Community Helpers Flipbook is a 14-page book that asks students to give information about what each helper does, what tools they use, and how they help their communities. Click here or on the pictures to see more. PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES The Provinces and Territories of Canada Flipbook includes a page for each province or territory with a map, flag, and space for students to fill in the capital city, population, bird, flower, and tree. Click here or on the pictures for more information. SYMBOLS OF CANADA The Symbols of Canada Flipbook includes space on each page for the students to write about why the item symbolizes Canada (or anything else you'd like them to write!). Click here or on the pictures for more information. Do you have an idea that you'd like to see as a flip book? Let me know in the comments below or email me at [email protected].
A fun and easy properties of matter cracker lab where students use their senses to observe, describe and then taste the physical properties of crackers.
Reading, writing and analysing timelines is a requirement of the Australian Curriculum but it should not have to be a chore for you or your students! Here are seven simple, yet effective, ways to get your students involved in practising timeline reading and writing skills while keeping them engaged and excited about what they are […]
Note: This is the second post in a two-part series. See the first post here. Now that you know the components of Project-Based Learning, I want to share a step-by-step example illustrating how I walked through a project with my primary kiddos. As a disclaimer, the project I am about to share is not perfect. It's a work in progress (aren't they all?), and I'm sure I'll continue to tweak it in the years to come. That said, I hope this will still provide a practical example of how you can pull off a project of this scale in a primary classroom. Here's how you can make it happen! 1. Present the Essential Question and Brainstorm Solutions As I wrote in my last post, our essential question for the project was, "How can we use economics to bring justice to the world?" I started off by presenting the students with some background knowledge: families in many countries around the world depend upon cows and other livestock for their livelihoods, but they often don't have enough. Next, I framed a central problem. Cows, which can provide extra income, cost around $500 in many countries, and that's often beyond the reach of the families that would benefit most. How could our class earn that much money and help a family develop a more sustainable livelihood? I created a problem and solution chart and had students share their ideas for how they could solve this problem. The teacher is the facilitator in this step, and can guide students towards the idea of creating their own businesses. 2. Brainstorm Ideas Individually A few years ago, I read the book Quiet by Susan Cain. I'm an introvert myself, and this book helped me better understand how to operate well in a group setting. Jumping right into brainstorming without quiet time to think is an incredibly stressful experience for me, and I don't typically feel comfortable processing things verbally in front of others. According to Cain, it turns out that extrovert-oriented brainstorming sessions don't necessarily lead to the best ideas. Everyone, whether introvert or extrovert, has the best ideas when they are given time to think quietly on their own before coming together with a larger group. I see individual brainstorming time as one of the most important steps of the problem-solving process. Giving your students time to think individually before they collaborate with peers will help them prepare their valuable contributions to their group. 3. Collaborate as a Group After students have written down their individual business ideas, it's time for them to share their concepts with their group. Before your students break off into groups, review and model appropriate social skills for collaboration. I can't say this often enough: assume nothing and model everything. It's easy for adults to take for granted the skills we've mastered for working well with others. Don't forget, though, that learning how to speak is a relatively recent event in your primary students' lives. They've only been using complete sentences for a few years! It's completely reasonable and absolutely necessary to set aside time to practice how to respectfully disagree and make compromises with others. When your students do break off into their teams to share their individual ideas and come up with a group concept, remind them that they'll be allowed to tweak their ideas in the future. This isn't set in stone after the first group meeting! 4. Explore the Topic in Other Content Areas This is the fun part for me. I love referring back to my Curriculum Map and bringing the economics theme into other subject areas. Take this opportunity to cover your measurement and data standards on the value of money, hit your language arts standards on persuasive writing by creating advertising for stores, and address reading comprehension standards by reading books and articles about finances and businesses. ReadWorks is a fabulous resource for leveled articles, and you can search for resources about economics by your students' grade level. There is a wealth of quality children's literature with this theme, too. Here are some titles to help you get started! 1. A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams 2. Pedrito's Day by Luis Garay 3. A Day's Work by Eve Bunting 4. Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday by Judith Viorst 5. Once Upon a Dime by Nancy Kelly Allen 6. Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco 7. A New Coat for Anna by Harriet Ziefert 8. Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts 5. Develop a Prototype and Revise Learning how to make a plan before diving into a project is an invaluable skill that will benefit your students throughout their lives. (It's something I'm still working on myself!) Before handing over any project materials for making store products, have your students work with their team to draw a detailed plan or build a prototype out of inexpensive materials. That way, when you hand over the real supplies for creating the products to sell, your students will have a clear end goal in mind. This also helps to resolve disputes about product designs before they even start! 6. Create a Final Product Now the fun part: give your students time to create their final products! Don't be shy about asking for help from parent volunteers, and I would recommend distributing only a few supplies at a time. For example, if you have a group painting toy cars, don't give them all 20 cars at once. Give them just a few to work on initially so that there is a higher quality of workmanship. Discuss with your students the importance of offering quality products in your store. 7. Share Learning with the Community After all of that work developing their businesses, your class will be ready to celebrate! As a culmination of the project, host a market on your school campus to sell the products the students made. Again, don't be shy about recruiting volunteers! After the market, help your students calculate their earnings, pay back their loans, and use the profits to buy a cow for a family in the developing world. 8. Reflect on Learning A final, critical component of Project-Based Learning is allowing your students to reflect on their experiences. Remember, you built in room for failure, and your students learned a lot through the process of fixing those mistakes or revising their plans. That's the whole point of Project-Based Learning. This reflection step will solidify for your students what they would like to do differently when you take on your next big project together as a class. Do you feel ready to get started? If you are looking for a resource to make your first experience with Project-Based Learning a breeze, I have good news! I've included ALL of the printable materials you'll need for this project, as well as a more detailed daily pacing guide, in my Marketplace Economics packet. Click here to see more! This post contains affiliate links. This means that Amazon awards me a small referral fee when people visit their site via the links in my blog posts and purchase something (even something other than the linked product!). This doesn't affect the price you pay, and you can be confident that I only recommend products and teaching supplies I believe in and use myself. Thank you so much for your support in making this blog possible!
10 Creative ways to embed social studies into your literacy block. Find fun westward expansion activities that address literacy standards with center ideas.
Do your students have to create timelines to meet academic standards? I'm sharing 10 engaging types of timelines that make this activity FUN for students!
Looking for a new and engaging classroom management system for your classroom? I love Secret Student because all of my students buy into this system...
To make sure your upper elementary students receive high quality social studies, use this social studies interactive notebook!
Learn about twelve different USA symbols for kids with thesefun and FREE printable American Symbols Worksheets.
Set of FREE printable world map choices with blank maps and labeled options for learning geography, countries, capitals, famous landmarks
Picture books are one of my all-time favorite ways to introduce content in social studies! They're perfect for bringing in higher order thinking skills.
While making time can be a challenge, this post shows how integrated social studies language arts science and math can help you fit it all in.
*Google Slides and Print Option* *Rubric Added!* About this Product This product came as a result of my students’ love of the biography series “Who Was…?” If you have not looked into this series, I recommend that you do! They are a fun, easy read that offers an engaging way for students to learn about historical figures and important people. Although this product is based on this series, this product could be used for any biography book or project. This is a nice way to integrate Reading, Writing, and Social Studies.🛑 Are you a member of the TLL Membership? These materials are already included. If you are not a member, click here to learn more. The TLL Membership gives you an all-access pass to hundreds of ELA resources for teachers in Grades 3-5. How I Used this Product In my 3rd Grade classroom, I used multiple copies of the same book or books and paired students in partnerships. In my school, we have a 30 minute Reading Intervention Block. I began this project with students who were not pulled out or working with me in small groups during this time. This was a nice way for students to work independently or in partnerships. It also created an extension for what they could already do as readers. Plus, they had so much fun! I let them work on this project in their partnerships. This held several benefits. Many students who were not pulled out or working in small groups tend to be higher level students OR students who have untapped potential. Allowing them to work on a project like this can extend their learning, as well as find new ways to enjoy reading. While other students had special groups or went to see other teachers, it was nice for these students to have their own project too. The Poster Page is a template that you could use for students to turn in with the essay or you could use this as a planning page and then have students create a larger poster on their own. I assigned it as homework and was pleasantly surprised at what my students turned in. I saw a wonderful increase in engagement by students who had shown little motivation or enthusiasm for reading. You can see the photos in the preview or in the product itself. Please know I updated the pages after the photos were taken with more detail and provided the poster template. Good luck to you with this project! If you have any questions, please contact me! You might also LOVE... Reader’s Notebook Anchor Charts My Opinion Matters! {An Opinion Writing Unit} My Life is A Story {A Personal Narrative Writing Unit} Buzzin' in Book Clubs {Book Club Reading Unit Resources} Newspaper Article Writing Unit {Here's the Scoop!} Opinion Writing for a Literary Response Current Events Writing {What's the Scoop?}
