Teaching Resources for Social Studies in the 21st Century
20th Century Classroom
This graphic picturing the 21st Century classroom got me thinking about all of the resources we teachers have available to engage our 21st century kids…So I made a list of my favorites. You can find the whole list on the Teacher Resources page, but I will highlight a few here. Some are very techie and some are not. It’s not the tool that matters most, though–it’s the way that it’s used that determines how successful it will be with our students.
ONLINE TOOLS: Web 2.0
While many teachers eagerly test out the latest gizmos and gadgets, wickis and vokis with their students, others are so overwhelmed with all of the technology out there that they fear immigrating to the digital age in their classroom. Reminds me a little of the quote about westward migration, “cowards never started and the weak died along the way.” Luckily we digital immigrants aren’t left in the technological wilderness without guides. There are many free tools online and places that offer advice. My favorite places for help are EdTechTeacher and Edudemic. Both explain the tools and give examples of how to use them in your classroom. We know that technology in and of itself tends to engage our digital natives, but it is sooo important to use these tools in ways that stimulate their higher order thinking.
APPS
IPads are becoming so popular that we educators can’t overlook their value as a teaching tool. Angela Cunningham has developed a LiveBinder of terrific iPad apps for social studies. Many can be downloaded free. One of the newest that excites me is The Flow of History. It contains hundreds of historical flowcharts with links and explanations. It is great for teaching cause and effect and making historical connections. We can even encourage student learning during play time with educational games. A good free one about the Exploration in the 15th century is European Exploration: The Age of Discovery.
Social Studies Weekly
One of my favorite social studies resources for grades K-6 is more traditional, though you do get an online version with your subscription. It is a full-colored newspaper from Studies Weekly that is customized to your grade and state standards. Each student gets 28 newspapers a year, each full of articles, primary sources, graphic organizers and activities that match your scope and sequence. It costs about $5 per student ( with a purchase of 10 subscriptions- more if you need fewer) but I think it is a real bargain (I don’t get paid for recommending this, by the way). It is a great way to teach social studies with English/Language Arts in an interdisciplinary fashion. There are so many activities that can be done with the readings. The teacher’s guide has lots of ideas. You can get information and free samples of the first quarter’s papers from their website.
Adventure Tales of America
This is the story of American history told in cartoon illustrations written by Professor Jody Potts based on the right/left brain theory. It is probably my all time favorite resource. When I taught sheltered ESL 8th grade history umph…years ago, I used it daily. The concepts were so well put together, that I even later used it in my AP classes for occasional graphic organizers. As district coordinator, I bought sets for our 5th grade teachers and they loved it. There’s also one about the Constitution.
The bad news is that it’s no longer available for purchase in textbook form. But the good news is that it is now online…and the great news is that it’s free! You are allowed to print out copies, or more realistically, pages for individual or group activities, or project it for whole class activities. Here’s a sample page.
The First Americans: Prehistoridc Adventurers
Just think of the possibilities for using this resource with your students! Here are a few ideas that came immediately to my mind:
A small group could use it as the basis of a skit.
They could make a chain of events, or match causes with effects.
They could brainstorm the geography that would host each of the dwellings and what people might eat and wear there.
They could form a theory about what happened to the Anasazi and then research to see if they were correct
They could make a timeline, or a map, or a………
How might you use this sample with your students?
What are some of your favorite teaching resources to share?
