There's nothing better than listening to your teacher read a book about the historical event/time period you're learning about in class! I have been an upper elementary teacher for my entire teaching career (15 years) and
Learn how to tackle the challenge of teaching the five U.S. regions with limited time, using these practical tips and resources!
This is a version of "SCOOT" and a "brain dump" with an upper grade twist. This is a no-prep activity that can be used in math, science, or social studies.
5th Grade Social Studies is where it's at, my friends! In this blog post, I will share how I sequence, plan, and make social studies fun for my students. I'm fortunate to have found my niche
Tips, tricks, and strategies for using History Stations to engage your learners. Includes step by step instructions.
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…
When I was young, I LIVED for DBQs! I guess I didn’t really think about it too much at the time, but I loved that there was an answer right there in front of me; I just needed to look closely at a picture. As a VERY visual learner, being able to see history through primary sources […]
Over the past few years, I have been incorporating inquiry circles into my classroom through Social Studies and Science. Inquiry circles are a lot like most research projects. I would say the main difference is how they start. NOW AVAILABLE… One Stop Teacher Memberships Our grade-level memberships provide the BIGGEST savings on ALL One […]
Many United States teachers may not have heard of the term "hot seating" yet, but we envision this creative teaching idea jumping across the pond from the U.K very soon! Overview “Hot Seating” is a teaching strategy in which either the teacher or student takes on the role of a character from a book or real person and sits in the hot seat. Then the other classmates ask questions and the person in the “hot seat” must answer the questions the way the character or historical figure would have answered. Background Knowledge For “Hot Seating” to be effective, students involved must have background knowledge of the character/person. This will need to take place during normal classroom instruction or outside of school. In order for students to acquire the background knowledge, they must do the research/read the book. Acquiring background knowledge can be accomplished through a variety of ways: Classroom textbook/or literature book Books from the school or public library Online resources (Encyclopedia Britannica, Explora, Kids Discover, etc.) Questioning At the center of “Hot Seating” are the questions that the students will be asking. It is highly recommend that you model the questioning process. You want the questions to focus on the personal feelings and observations that the character would be familiar with. It is important that you are the moderator during the questioning period so the questions stay on topic. Grouping Hot Seating can be structured a few different ways: Whole Class- This is where the entire class takes turns to ask another student(s) in the “hot seat” questions. Small Group- This is where a small group of students (5-6) ask one another student in the “hot seat” questions. Partners- This is where one student is in the “hot seat” and the other student asks the questions. Debate One interesting twist that you could do with your class is to have opposing viewpoints as part of a debate. There are two ways to do this. The first way would be to give a student in the hot seat a specific amount of time to answer questions from the audience. Then his/her “opponent” would do the same. The second way would be for both students are in front of the class taking turns answering the same questions (back and forth). This can really help students understand different perspectives. Extension Ideas During “Hot Seating”, you could have your students take notes on how the character/person answers the questions. Once the “Hot Seating” session has ended, have each student choose how he/she would like to display what he/she learned. Some choices could be: Make a poster Write a news article Create a timeline Perform a news show Write a song Teacher Tips: Decide how you want the hot seat to look in your classroom. In other words, decide if you want to do it as a whole class, small groups, or partners. Decide which student(s) will be on the hot seat. Choose the role/figure that they will portray. Find a "hot seat" for the person. It can be a simple student chair, or a special one for the activity. You may also want to show the students how to write a bibliography if students are doing a historical figure and are taking notes from various media. When the research is complete, or the literature book is finished, organize your class and figure out how questions will be asked. Make sure to help facilitate between the character/person and the audience asking questions. Check out our Hot Seating resources here. We hope you can try "Hot Seating" in your classroom. Your students will love it! Follow us on TPT. Find us on Pinterest.
5th Grade Social Studies is where it's at, my friends! In this blog post, I will share how I sequence, plan, and make social studies fun for my students. I'm fortunate to have found my niche
Are your students loving their social studies classroom or are they feeling that it is an extension of their ELA class? Are you wondering how to increase student engagement in the classroom so that your student cannot wait to come into your classroom and learn? Keep reading for ideas to incorporate all learning styles into ... Read more
The connection between social studies and art includes different cultures while using art to explore history in new ways. Read more!
Lesson ideas and activities for listening skills practice and monitoring
Learn how to use social studies political cartoons to increase student engagement. Includes link to a free political cartoon analysis activity!
This is a free rubric that can be used for open-ended Social Studies and Science research projects. Recommended for grades 3-6. Let me know what you think if you download!
If you are getting started with Interactive Notebooks, then this blog post is just for you. With information on choosing the right book, page numbering, envelopes, bookmarks, and tables of contents, this post has it all to help you get started on the right foot. Help your upper elementary and middle school students shine with interactive notebooks that scream organization, structure, knowledge, & fun. Ideal for social studies, history, math, science, and ela, interactive notebooks are the best.
Having a little time at the end of class is something my students look forward to because they have an opportunity to do fun five minute social studies activities. If you find yourself with a
Kick off your school year with map and globe skills ! What middle school social studies classroom doesn’t cover map skills? Since map skills are a basic concept covered in middle school social studies, you'd think it would be easy to find resources for it. However, most of the resources out there a
Engage Grade 3 students with this informative reading packet on major US rivers. Students will read a captivating passage that profiles prominent rivers across America. Then they will demonstrate comprehension by completed guided reading questions, define key geography vocabulary terms, and organize content using graphic organizers. Educators can utilize this versatile resource for whole class instruction, small group work or independent assignments. With multiple choice assessments and answer keys provided, the "Major US Rivers Reading Packet" enhances social studies and literacy curriculum for homeschool or public school settings. This visually-appealing reading packet is concise, factual and introduces upper elementary students to river systems of the US in an engaging way. Major US Rivers Reading Packet
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!
Want a free pacing guide for content in third grade? This freebie will help you plan your entire year of science and social studies!
Looking to make the 3 Branches of Government more engaging? This blog post will walk you through how to make history fun!
5th Grade Social Studies is where it's at, my friends! In this blog post, I will share how I sequence, plan, and make social studies fun for my students. I'm fortunate to have found my niche
These are the perfect 4th grade social studies sub plans to use for a sub or anytime your students need some extra 4th grade social studies practice!
Are you looking for a new way to get your students out of their seats and engaged with your social studies content? Gallery Walks are a great inquiry-based activity that is easy to set up and implement. Check out some of my tips for holding an effective Gallery Walk in your social studies class.What is a Gallery Walk?A gallery walk is a classroom-based activity where students silently walk around the classroom to view images that are placed on the wall, just like an art gallery or museum. Typica
It's no secret - teaching history in the elementary classroom can be a struggle. Teachers are faced with the challenge of making people and events of the past relate-able to young students who have a hard time even remembering or caring about the events and people of last week , let alo
George Washington Unit Study For a more detailed Unit Study check out this product! For FREE Unit study and more activities to add to your unit see below! George Washington Thematic Unit StudyThis unit is perfect for the homeschool setting. Worksheets and activities can be used with both younger and older students, with most worksheets […]
If you've been wondering how to teach the several types of maps that your students need to know, you're in the right place! Ever since the existence of man, we have had maps. There have been
You will love these Creative Doodle United States Research Teach-Go Pennants™ that are perfect to start your research with and display on your bulletin boards.
Essential topics for an Ancient Greece Unit - key topics to cover on Ancient Greece for middle school or upper elementary.
Your students are returning to school! Whether they are online or in-person, the first days of school are all about building relationships and community.
Kick off your school year with map and globe skills ! What middle school social studies classroom doesn’t cover map skills? Since map skills are a basic concept covered in middle school social studies, you'd think it would be easy to find resources for it. However, most of the resources out there a
If you’re looking to launch soft starts, grab these HERE. When you enter your classroom each morning, do you immediately get to work or do you take a second to unpack, chat, or tidy up? I watched my own behaviors and realized that when *I* start my day in a softer way, it affects the ... Read More about Soft Starts in the Upper Grade Classroom
4th graders just finished a lesson about totem poles. Students learned about the significance of totem poles and that they were (and still are) made by native tribes who lived in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The big word for this project was stylize. We learned that some artists stylize their work by changing shapes, colors, etc. in order to give their work their own personal touch. Each student created one stylized animal in the style of a real totem pole. (There are some great resources on totem pole parts online here. Unfortunately, I didn't find this until we were almost done with the project!) In the past, I had kids paint the finished product, but I decided to try collage this year after seeing an example from another blog last year. I really like how clean the collage is. More importantly, the students were more successful using collage. My lesson plan can be found here. My keynote for this lesson is here. A PDF version of my keynote can be downloaded here. Feel free to use or modify for your own room!
Although we may only think of using fables in lower grades, using fables in upper elementary can be very beneficial. Not only are fables an excellent genre for teaching morals and themes in stories, but because they are short, they are wonderful to use when comparing and contrasting the treatment of similar themes and topics. Using these short stories can be both beneficial and fun, even for our older students. Finding Free Resources Finding free resources for teaching fables is easier than you may think. One wonderful resource can be found at Library of Congress. This website contains a list of classic Aesop fables that you can print or display with your overhead projector for your entire class to use. Another website is Aesop's Fables that also contains a large list of fables. A Fun "Fable Strip" Activity Recently, my students read a variety of fables that I printed from Library of Congress. The students discussed the morals of each fable, compared fables, and completed a fun writing activity. For the "Fable Strips" writing activity, students worked in groups and chose a favorite fable. Then each group collaborated together to create a comic strip style "fable strip" to display. Students sketched and planned three or four scenes about the chosen fable. Once the "fable strip" was planned, students continued working in their groups to draw and color each scene on white paper. Then they cut out each one and used a speech bubble to write the dialogue. Each group created three to four scenes for their fable strip that were then displayed on the bulletin board. Students wrote the moral of the fable on a yellow strip of paper. The moral was then placed below each "fable strip." The final result was this fun fables bulletin board. Graphic Organizers If you follow my blog, then you are not surprised that if I'm discussing reading, I must include graphic organizers. I am a huge fan of using graphic organizers to help students write about their reading, to help them increase their thinking, and to help improve comprehension. This graphic organizer is one of three that are designed specifically for fables. All three graphic organizers can be found HERE in my best selling Reading Graphic Organizers for Literature. Plan a day or two for your students to have fun with fables. They will love it! Thanks for stopping by! Connect with Me: Blog TpT Store Instagram Facebook Pinterest
If you've been wondering how to teach the several types of maps that your students need to know, you're in the right place! Ever since the existence of man, we have had maps. There have been
