Social Studies/History
Explore and share tips, strategies, and resources for helping students develop in the social sciences.
Ideas for Teaching Students About Elections, Even in Polarized Times
Students can get timely exposure to the civic process through interesting activities that encourage them to think about important issues..298Your content has been saved!
Go to My Saved Content.Learning to Synthesize Through a Hands-On Activity
Using construction paper and glue sticks to practice a higher-order thinking skill makes the task more accessible for students—and more engaging.AI Tool Demo: Creative Uses for ChatGPT in History and ELA
Assistant editor Daniel Leonard shares a few interesting applications of ChatGPT that teachers have adopted to drive critical thinking and deeper analysis.Using Bell Ringers to Teach the Historical Method
Short activities built on examining photographs, artifacts, and other resources from the past can help students think like historians.Using a Murder Mystery Game in History Class to Kick Off the Year
Solving a ‘whodunit’ on the first day of school builds community—and introduces students to valuable skills in a historian’s tool kit.756Your content has been saved!
Go to My Saved Content.Scaffolding Discussion Skills With a Socratic Circle
Students deepen their understanding and build a sense of community by engaging with their peers’ reasoned arguments.12.2kYour content has been saved!
Go to My Saved Content.Exploring Diverse Perspectives in Social Studies With ‘Do Nows’
A short task at the beginning of class can capture students’ attention and expand their understanding of the topics they’re studying.Inquiry-Based Tasks in Social Studies
Assignments that are bigger than a lesson and smaller than a unit are a good way to experiment with inquiry-based learning.10.7kYour content has been saved!
Go to My Saved Content.7 Digital Tools That Help Bring History to Life
Challenging games, fun projects, and a healthy dose of AI tools round out our top picks for breathing new life into history lessons.Project-Based Learning: Raising Student Achievement for All Learners
Researchers in Michigan showed that project-based learning in high-poverty communities can produce statistically significant gains in social studies and informational reading—see how they did it in this video.10.4kYour content has been saved!
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6 Free Online Resources for Primary Source Documents
The Common Core Learning Standards describe the importance of teaching students how to comprehend informational text. Primary source documents are artifacts created by individuals during a particular period in history. This could be a letter, speech, photograph or journal entry. If you're looking to integrate social studies into your literacy block, try out one of these resources for primary source documents.15.7kYour content has been saved!
Go to My Saved Content.A Thematic Approach to Teaching History
A chronological approach to teaching history can make it difficult for students to see why important events happened—studying themes instead may help.360Your content has been saved!
Go to My Saved Content.Reinventing AP Courses With Rigorous Project-Based Learning
A new study shows that when implemented well, AP courses built around project-based learning can raise test scores for all students, including those in traditionally underserved demographics.4.7kYour content has been saved!
Go to My Saved Content.Bringing History to Life in Elementary School by Analyzing Photos
Guided inquiry based on primary source photographs can deepen young students’ interest in history.248Your content has been saved!
Go to My Saved Content.7 Strategies to Captivate Students in History Class
These subtle tweaks to lessons can tap into the drama of historical moments and ignite student curiosity.
