Curated OER
Teaching Social Studies in English
Case studies, an examination of images, and readings of passages from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child are used to spark conversations in ESL/ELD social studies classes about this highly-charged topic. Using a variety of...
University of North Carolina
Integrating Blood Done Sign My Name into Social Studies
Tim Tyson's Blood Done Sign My Name is the anchor text in a unit study of the history of race relations and the civil rights struggle in the South. The 11 lessons are richly detailed, and the unit deserves a space in your curriculum...
Curated OER
How To Write a Social Studies Outline
One of the keys to success in school is organization. This resource leads learners through the process of creating an outline for a chapter from a social studies text. In addition, they review facts they have learned in their class...
Georgia Standards
Sociology Unit Six: Socialization Within the Group
How do we learn the rules of society? How do beliefs and ideas affect these rules? Introduce your young sociologists to the factors that socialize individuals with a unit that uses observation and experimentation to analyze how factors...
Curated OER
American Studies
Entitled American Studies, this small unit covers various topics related to the study of the United States. Learners warm up by creating a dictionary of democracy, then dive into three different lessons focused on government, famous...
Curated OER
Assessment of Social Studies Learning
Identify various methods of assessment utilized in social studies classrooms. You will design non-traditional assessments for use in elementary-level social studies classrooms and discuss what assessment methods may be most appropriate...
Curated OER
Technology Resources for the Social Studies Classroom
Looking for ways to increase engagement by bringing technology into your elementary social studies class? Teachers are introduced to the technology resources available for social studies and then they show their students specific...
Curated OER
Putting It All Together: The Personal Plan of Study (Part 3)
Eighth graders discuss the culminating activity to a unit in which they determine how they will present their "Design for My Future" and "My Personal Plan of Study." They pull together all of their work from the unit before writing a...
Facing History and Ourselves
BPS Civil Rights
Include moments of heroism in a social studies module that includes three units. Focusing on the murder of Emmett Till, the movement of nonviolent resistance, and segregating schools in Boston, the units explore key events of the civil...
Visa
Smooth Sailing: Exploring Insurance and Estate Planning
While purchasing insurance and estate planning may seem like a rather irrelevant topic for high school students, introducing this concept now can help your learners develop a solid foundation of financial literacy that will support...
Curated OER
Social Studies - Guessing Game
Focus on a particular geographic location with this resource. Learners use their social studies textbook to look up information about a specific place. They write down a list of facts and read them to the class. Classmates guess which...
NPR
Suffrage Lesson Plan
Has life changed for American women in the last century, or are there common themes between the lives of 21st century women and the struggle of suffragettes from the 1910s? Explore the ways media reflects the position of women in the...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Arizona v. United States — States and Immigration Law
As part of a study of immigration law, class members read a summary of the Supreme Court case, Arizona v. United States. They then examine a series of examples and acting as federal court judges, must determine if the scenarios meet the...
US Department of State
The Marshall Plan: The Vision of a Family of Nations
The European Recovery Act (aka the Marshall Plan) was designed to bring together and develop a spirit of cooperation among European nations after World War II. Class members examine the materials from the Marshall Plan exhibit and assess...
Advocates for Human Rights
The Rights of Immigrants in the United States
Based on their understanding of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Rights of Migrants in the United States, groups adopt a human rights perspective and analyze media reports to evaluate how the US is addressing the rights...
Advocates for Human Rights
The Right to Workers in United States
To raise awareness and understanding of modern-day slavery, class groups research the various forms of slavery, including human trafficking, read and reflect on case studies, and design a plan of action for their community.
Curated OER
A Lesson To Accompany "The First Bank of the United States: A Chapter in the History of Central Banking"
Here is an interesting topic. Learners examine the economics that led to the founding of the First Bank of America. They participate in a reader's theater experience depicting the debate between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson...
Center for History and New Media
Slavery and Free Negroes, 1800 to 1860
What was life like for enslaved and free black people before the American Civil War? Explore the building tension between states and the freedom of individuals with a thorough social studies lesson. Learners of all ages explore primary...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Meta-Study: Political Brains
Are there differences in the brains of liberals and conservatives? That is the question young political scientists are challenged to answer. Class members examine studies, consider how the results are presented, and how the studies were...
Curated OER
Social Studies: Lesson 2
Young scholars explore the beginning of Communism. In this World History lesson, students exhibit their knowledge of Communism and the Marshall Plan through completion of a map activity.
Carolina K-12
African Americans in the United States Congress During Reconstruction
The Civil Rights Act of 1866, which granted citizenship to all males in the U.S., resulted in the first African Americans to be elected to Congress. Class members research 11 of these men, the challenges they faced, and craft...
Curated OER
Lincoln's Reconstruction Plan
Students explore Lincoln's Reconstruction plan. In this Reconstruction lesson plan, students examine Lincoln's speeches and writings on bringing the country back together following the war.
Facing History and Ourselves
Civil Rights Historical Investigations
The murder of Emmett Till, the Selma to Montgomery march, and the desegregation of Boston schools are the focus of three units that ask class members to investigate why these events were so key in the struggle for civil rights. Groups...
Curated OER
Social Studies Wonders: An Exploration
Help middle schoolers conduct Internet research and develop a working definition for the discipline of social studies. From a list of websites, they develop classification skills and differentiate between primary and secondary sources....