Social Studies Toolbox

Do you share TED Talks with your students? I started incorporating TED talks into my lessons almost 10 years ago! Most of my students enjoy them, especially talks focusing on mental health and wellness. It didn't take long before I started developing lessons based on the TED talks I most frequently used in the classroom. TED Talk lessons can be used as stand-alone lessons, supplements to prepared units, or "sub-day" lessons.  For me, they also work well with my independent study students. (As an Alt-Ed teacher, I often have quite a few independent study students assigned to me every semester. I offer Psychology, Civics, Current Events, and Life Skills as independent study courses. Over the past five years, I developed multiple TED Talk units utilizing TED Talks focusing on mental health, communication skills, healthy relationships, and civic engagement.) Tips for teaching with TED Talks When I teach a TED lesson, before viewing the video, I always go over the worksheet f...

Are you struggling with developing engaging lessons for your middle and high students focusing on historical thinking skills? There are lots of great lessons online (and free), you just need to know where to look! A few of my favorite go-to's for great historical thinking lessons are Facing History and Ourselves , The Stanford History Education Group , Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History , Zinn Education Project , and the PBS series History Detectives . Two years ago I modified a resource from the PBS series History Detectives: John Brown's Spear . I shared the episode with my 6th graders and together we worked through the lesson. The lesson went very well. My students were engaged, and many eagerly shared their observations and insights. It was wonderful to see. Last year I used the lesson with a different group of 6th graders and again, it was a hit!  If you are unfamiliar with the series , each episode focuses on two or three "history mysteries." Our ...

I am about to enter my 22nd year of public education. I've taught in urban and rural settings, grades 6-12. One constant throughout my career in education has been U.S. History. United States History is the one class I have taught my entire teaching career. Every year, before diving into the content, I spend a day or two focusing on the "how" and "why" we study the past. My methods have varied over the years. In my early years, I probably spent far too much time talking to my students and far too little time listening to my students with regard to this topic. In recent years, I've shifted my approach to be more student-centered. What I mean by that is I am very intentional in selecting materials and activities both appropriate and meaningful to my students. In addition, I strive to provide lots of opportunities for choice and student engagement!  Several years ago I developed a stations activity that I like to call my "History Lab." Each station fo...