Free Social Studies Guide - Teaching Resources and Lesson Plans

Curriculum Mapping

Do You Struggle to Teach All Your Standards?No matter what course they teach, most teachers have at least one common problem: covering all their standards.Over my twenty-odd years of teaching, standards changed multiple times – and usually increased in number. So how...

2nd Grade Social Studies Interactive Notebooks

Are you a second-grade teacher looking for a way to increase engagement and retention in your social studies lessons? Try interactive notebooks! Why should you use interactive notebooks? Interactive notebooks are a terrific tool for covering content while also...

How to Use Formative Writing

Please also make sure to check out the rest of the "Writing in Social Studies" series. How to Integrate Writing into Social Studies Formative vs Summative Writing How to Use Summative Writing How to Use Formative Writing Looking for the Facebook Live video? Click...

How to Use Summative Writing

Please also make sure to check out the rest of the "Writing in Social Studies" series. How to Integrate Writing into Social Studies Formative vs Summative Writing How to Use Summative Writing How to Use Formative Writing Looking for the Facebook Live video? Click...

Formative vs Summative Writing

Please also make sure to check out the rest of the "Writing in Social Studies" series. How to Integrate Writing into Social Studies Formative vs Summative Writing How to Use Summative Writing How to Use Formative Writing Looking for the Facebook Live video? Click...

How to Integrate Writing into Social Studies

Please also make sure to check out the rest of the "Writing in Social Studies" series. How to Integrate Writing into Social Studies Formative vs Summative Writing How to Use Summative Writing How to Use Formative Writing Looking for the Facebook Live video? Click...

Learn Geography While Planning A Trip Across the U.S.A.

I love geography, I really do. Sadly, so many students (and adults) think geography is boring. When taught well, geography will engage your students and keep them interested! What's the secret? Make it real. One of my students' favorite projects is to plan a vacation....

Honor Your Students’ Character with End of the Year Awards

Are you looking for a unique set of classroom awards? Honor your students unique character traits with these end of the year awards featuring famous people from history. This set of 40 Character Trait Awards are named for different people. Each person represents a...

Fun – but Low Prep – End of the Year Games

There are times in the school year when teachers really need a few go-to activities that are high engagement but also integrate whatever the class is studying. Some exacmples of those times are: the day before a big break the day after the semester exam the end of the...

How To Make Your Own Magnetic Poetry Activity

Back when I first began teaching, magnetic poetry kits were all the rage - but they were pretty pricey. Today, they are still pricey - and harder to find. Teachers can make their own magnetic poetry kits for just a fraction of the cost of store bought kits! By making...

Poetry to Use in Your American History Class

Understanding poetry is an important skill for students to learn, but if your students are like mine many of them "hate" poetry. From experience I can tell you most of the groans come from students who don't really know what poetry is. In addition, a lot of poetry is...

5 Fun Ways to Use Test Prep in the Classroom

Whether you teach upper elementary, middle grades, or high school, test prep can either be fun - or a total bore. If you want students to really be engaged, test review needs to be fun and involve as many students as possible. Especially in upper grades, when students...