Scrambling to find high-quality materials to share on election day? Click over to C-SPAN in the Classroom and grab some great ideas for lessons as well as hundreds of resources that can be used for individual student research projects or [read more…]
Propaganda posters and more
Seeking new product ideas in your social studies classroom? Try this lesson on propaganda from the Canadian lesson site, CanTeach. Here you will find a step-by-step plan for teacher about propaganda and designing an assignment on the design of propaganda posters.
I love the creative element of this project and the uniqueness of using war posters as a differentiated product, but what really sold me on this lesson was the recommendation (tacked on to the very end of the lesson) to allow students to the choice of creating a [read more…]
Campaign commercials
I got this idea from The New York Times and it is a real gem. In just a few weeks, educators will be talking about elections again. Therefore, it may be time to consider using this unique learning product. Contributed by Ms. Razee, a teacher in Honolulu, this assessment involves teaching students [read more…]
Columbus Day reconsidered
Today, I am featuring a short article about teaching with cultural, regional, racial and religious diversity in mind. Jump over to Learning Liftoff, a website filled with teaching resources for families and educators, to browse materials appropriate for all grade levels. The featured ideas will [read more…]
A “comic” look at history
Kids love comics, right? So why not do as Mrs. Fritz did and have your students create comic strips illustrating what they have learned in a particular unit or lesson? Mrs. Fritz teaches middle school social studies so her learners chose topics like the life of Ghandi and the 22nd and 23rd Amendments.
This project (featured on the Technology Academy blog) focused on a digital learning skill (creativity) and allowed students to demonstrate knowledge in a variety of ways. Students were given the ability to [read more…]
Mapping out an authentic assessment
You will love this post from C. Ross Flatt on Edutopia on how a classroom game became a tool for assessment for his sixth graders. In Galactic Mappers, a social studies game about physical geography, students in his classroom compete in teams to create the most geographically diverse continent in a shared hemisphere. This project encourages students to collaborate, design, iterate, and present a finished product in a single class period. The thing I like most about Flatt’s use of the game is the many ways he uses it to [Read more…]
Students as test authors
The featured post today is written with college students in mind, but you can use it with almost any grade level. At The BOK Blog, they are suggesting that educators “flip” test prep and have students write and discuss their own proposed test questions as a way to [Read more…]
Social studies for all
Kasha Mastrodomenico is a master of differentiation, so if you are a social studies teacher you do not want to miss her blog post on differentiating from her blog, Social Studies Differentiated Instruction. You will find so many great ideas here including using familiar songs to teach new content (e.g., learn about the Incas by singing to the tune of a lullaby), creating accessible handouts and Power Point presentations, and integrating the multiple intelligences theory. If you are not [Read more…]
Got any good GOSSIP about the Berlin blockade?
Looking for a new active learning technique that will work for students in middle and high school? Try the GOSSIP game described in this student teacher’s post about an engaging social studies lesson on WWII and the Berlin blockade.
I love this sort of lesson as it honors so many different learning styles and preferences. Social students will love the chatting pieces, those needing movement get a bit of it, and those who can’t get enough of the Common Core get to do some [Read more…]
