New Interactive Timeline Activity for Back to School

This is an awesome back to school or first day of school activity for a US History class! It features 33 events from American History on cards to cut out and give to students. They then line up in chronological order OR use one of 5 other lesson activities!

Students work together to decide the correct order of their events. I love this resource as an activity that allows my students to talk and get to know each other while also helping me to understand their background knowledge of US History.

They can also line up in order of the impact the events had on history, from positive to negative, geographically, or a number of other ways to encourage critical thinking and promote discussion among students.

 

A directions page and answer key for the timeline are provided for your convenience along with a worksheet students can complete if you want them to document the correct order.

This also works great as an end-of-year review activity as well!

You can also snag this great activity along with over 600 others with a subscription to Students of History!  Every lesson for every day of the year is totally planed out for you with PowerPoints, projects, interactive notebooks, Google Drive resources and so much more! You can learn more about us here and register to download free resources!

The Best Lesson Plans for Your Observation & Evaluation

I was working last with a new teacher who subscribed to my US History curriculum at StudentsofHistory.org. She was getting observed and wanted to know which lessons would best to show off when her principal was in the room to observe her for her evaluation.

While I think every one of my lessons here is top notch, I know that you want to really show off something exciting for your evaluation. So, she and I went through each unit and I directed her to some lesson plans that would really stand out. These included some cooperative learning projects, 3D PowerPoints, my Pop Up Founding Fathers Lesson, and few others.

Afterwards I realized that's a common thing many teachers would want. A lot of administrators will tell you to let them know when a good time for them to observe you is. Even if they don't, it's always a good idea to say, "Hey Mr. Johnson, I'm doing a really cool lesson on soldiers in the Civil War on Thursday if you want to stop in and observe." That way, you show them that you're planning ahead and looking for their feedback.

So now, all of my units for my World and US History subscriptions have "Gold Star" lessons. These are the lesson plans that I think give you the chance to show off. They're engaging, creative, and present history in an exciting way for your students. You won't have to warm students to be on their best behavior because they'll be so engaged with the lesson!

Beyond the Gold Star lessons, there are over 600 amazing lesson plan activities that you get with a simple subscription to Students of History! You can even get a free download by checking out the US History or World History packages and signing up.

Thanks for stopping by and best of luck!

Back to School Snapchat Project Using Google Docs!

Looking for a great first week activity? How about this Back to school Snapchat project using Google Docs! This fun activity combines the app almost all of our students are obsessed with - Snapchat - with a great Back to School or first day activity to help you get to know your students and them to get to know each other!

Students create Snapchat Stories on Google Drive with their own pictures to show what they did during the summer. It also allows them to add fun captions to describe their pictures and help you get to know your new students. They can then share these back with you to create a presentation of all your students' summer stories!

With your download you get a teacher directions page, student directions page, rubric for grading, and 2 pages of printable iPhone templates - everything you need for this fun, engaging back-to-school project! I guarantee your students will love this assignment as it's a fun twist on back to school with the hottest app out there.

This is a high tech update of this best-selling paper/pencil Back to School Snapchat Summer Story Project.

You can also get BOTH of those plus over 600 other amazing teaching resources with a subscription to Students of History! A monthly subscription gets you immediate access to every resource you'd ever need for every day of the school year in World or US History. You'll never have to plan a lesson again!

120 Amazing Warm Up Activities for US History

Whether you're a new or veteran teacher, you likely know that one of the best classroom management strategies is to get your students on task the second they walk in the room. They're coming from the loud chaos of the hallways and need to refocus on learning. Having an activity and visual for them to engage with is one of the best ways to start off a successful lesson plan.

I developed a set of 120 warm up activities for US History that covers from Jamestown and the first colonies through to modern America. Each PowerPoint slide includes a great visual and questions that focus on content, vocabulary, and essential information to build on past learning and connect to your lesson that day.

I have used these for years with amazing success and I promise you will have engaged students ready to learn as soon as the bell rings. It also gives you time to take attendance and prepare for your lesson while they're getting started. It makes for a great classroom routine.

These are also included in my Complete American History subscription plan. You not only get to bellringers to start each class period, you get all the lesson plan materials you'll need for the entire school year! That's over 600 amazing teaching resources - project based learning, PowerPoints, primary source activities, interactive notebooks - they're all there waiting to be download and used. You'll never have to worry about planning a lesson again!

Interactive Notebook Pages for World and US History

One of the best ways to get students to engage with history content and think critically about a topic is to use Interactive Notebook pages. These allow students to demonstrate creativity and their own understanding of whatever topic you're covering in your World or US History lesson.

I have been using them for years and now have hundreds of pages available for both World and US History! These pages are tailored perfectly for the content with cutting, pasting, and foldable pages that allow students to interact with each page.

The best way to these interactive notebooks them into your class is through a membership at StudentsofHistory.org! This way you get immediate access to all of them PLUS you'll get all my upcoming new interactive notebook sets immediately!

There are also over 500 other amazing lesson plan activities on World and American History just waiting for you with a simple subscription to Students of History! Each lesson is hands-on and engaging for today's students. This includes PowerPoints, project-based learning, Google Drive digital notebooks, review games, quizzes, tests, and more! I promise you will not be disappointed!

Civil War Battles PowerPoint for US History

The Civil War is one of my favorite topics in US History. As a result, I try to make my lessons for this unit super engaging for my students and ensure that my enthusiasm for the topic comes across for my students.

For the battles of the Civil War, I use this fantastic PowerPoint presentation that covers the resources of both the North and South, essential knowledge about each Civil War battle, and the results. It's visually-engaging, breaks down key concepts, and includes both a warm up and exit ticket for students.

After starting with a warm up, each slide uses fantastic images, and easy-to-follow notes to cover everything students need to know about the Civil War based on state and Common Core Standards.

All of the following are covered in the presentation:

• Resources of the Union & Confederacy
• Fort Sumter
• Bull Run
• Shiloh
• Antietam
• The Emancipation Proclamation
• Gettysburg
• The Gettysburg Address
• Appomattox Court House
• Effects of the War
• And more!

You can take a look at what other teachers have had to say about this resource here in the Feedback/Comments section!

You can now download this amazing PowerPoint along with 100+ similar ones for other units in American History by signing up for a membership at StudentsofHistory.org!

This website features over 500 other amazing lesson plan activities on World and American History just waiting for you with a simple subscription! Each lesson is hands-on and engaging for today's students. Your subscription gives you immediate access to all of them! Never worry about a lesson plan again!

Interactive Notebook for World War 2 and the Cold War

There's now an awesome new World War 2 and the Cold War Interactive Notebook
available for both my World History and US History Curriculum packages!

This set features 21 engaging Interactive Notebook pages on World War 2 and the Cold War. Each page includes creative graphic organizers, creative foldables, timelines, and more.

Here's just some of the completed pages:

Topics covered include:

• FDR's Fireside Chats
•  Rise of Fascism and Dictatorships
• Appeasement
• Battles and Events of World War 2
• Island Hopping
• Japanese-American Internment
• The Geneva Convention
• The Iron Curtain
• The Berlin Airlift
• The Marshall Plan
• Post World War 2 Organization
• Containment and the Truman Policy
• The Cuban Missile Crisis
• The Korean and Vietnam Wars
• Vocabulary resources and more!

These resources are sure to help your students enjoy learning all about World War 2 and the Cold War while also gaining a better understanding of important concepts, events, and people! Lots of completed sample pages are included so you can see examples of how the pages should turn out.

You can download this amazing notebook set along with similar ones for other units in World and American History by signing up for a membership at StudentsofHistory.org!

There are over 500 other amazing lesson plan activities on World and American History just waiting for you with a simple subscription to Students of History! Each lesson is hands-on and engaging for today's students.

Thanks so much for stopping by to check this out!

Constitutional Convention Pop Ups and PowerPoint!

Looking for an engaging lesson plan to teach about the Founding Fathers at the Constitutional Convention? This awesome new resource is part of my American History curriculum!

It features an awesome, visually-engaging PowerPoint presentation along with printable pop-up figures for 6 Founding Fathers and graphic organizer note page. This allows your students to study each Founding Father in depth and gives them a memorable connection that they will remember. The notes are easy to follow and highlight each figure's (James Madison, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Roger Sherman, and George Mason) key contributions to the Constitutional Convention.

This is just one of over 500 amazing lesson plan activities on American History that you get with a simple subscription to Students of History! Each lesson is hands-on and engaging for today's students.  When you subscribe you get immediate access to every lesson for every day of the year - PowerPoints, project-based-learning, interactive notebooks - all there for you at StudentsofHistory.org! 

New Site for all Your World and American History Resources!

Hi all - Back to School season is in full swing and if you teach World or American History I have an awesome new website for you! My new StudentsofHistory.org site features subscriptions so you no longer have to search for individual resources for each lesson and unit.

The new site features memberships for World or American History - both with EVERY resource you need all year long! Yep, every resource for every lesson for every day. This includes:

• Interactive notebook pages for the whole year
• Magic-motion PowerPoints with moving portraits
• A full year of Warm Ups
• Google Drive digital notebook activities
• Hundreds of high quality World History worksheets
• Richly curated Youtube video links for each unit
• Tests, quizzes, and review materials
• An editable syllabus and tons of bonus resources
• Plus so much more!

You will no longer have to worry about how you're going to cover so much history in a year or how to set your pacing for your history class. It's all done for you! Every day even features multiple activities to keep your students engaged and enjoying your class.

You can read more about the units in American History here and learn about our World History units here. I promise you will not be disappointed. Join for however long you like and download as much as you want! It's all so simple to use and will save you so much time.

If you have any questions, you can take a look here.

thanks so much for stopping by and have a great school year!