History of Santa Claus and Christmas in America Common Core Reading

This entertaining Common Core-aligned reading activity features a 1 page article on the history of Santa Claus in America. It explains how the image of Saint Nicholas changed from Europe to America and how the famous poem "The Night Before Christmas" and Thomas Nast's cartoons came to transform Saint Nicholas into the image of Santa Claus that we enjoy today.

Following the article is a set of reading comprehension questions that students can answer to demonstrate their understanding. An answer key for this is provided. You can download this for your classes by clicking here!

Thanks for looking and happy holidays!

Teacher Resource Cyber Monday Sale!

Happy holidays, everyone! To celebrate the start of the gift-giving season, today and tomorrow will be a store-wide Cyber Sale with every teaching resource 28% off! Be sure to use the promo code "Cyber" at check out to get the full discount!

Everything including my two Complete World History Resource Bundle and Complete US History Resource bundle are on sale! This is the absolute cheapest these 2 resources will ever be as the price goes up as more teaching materials are added.

Happy shopping!

New Magic Motion PowerPoint on the Good and Bad Emperors of Rome

This amazing download brings the good, bad, and downright crazy Roman Emperors to life in your classroom! It features 8 moving, blinking, smiling Roman Emperors that will look around your room and absolutely enthrall your students.

Each slide includes information about the emperor as an embedded  video of their marble bust plays to hold your students rapt attention. The slides cover the 5 Good Emperors (Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pious, Marcus Aurelius) and 3 of the worst (Caligula, Nero, and Commodus). After analyzing the notes, student determine on which side of a graphic organizer the information should go.

This can definitely be one of your students' most memorable lessons. The preview pictures definitely do not do it justice. Everything you need is included along with an easy to follow directions page, the PowerPoint, 8 videos, and graphic organizer!

 

You can download this amazing lesson for your classes today just by clicking here. You can also see many additional Magic Portrait lessons by clicking here including free previews!

Thanks for looking!

Freshly Updated Lesson Plan Unit Bundles!

A few weeks ago, one teacher sent me a comment that she loved all of the resources in a bundle but wanted some guidance on how they all fit together. I couldn't believe I never thought to include that! Since then, I've been hard at work redoing every unit bundle in my store. I'm finally super close to being finished!

Each one now has a unit guide with teacher directions and then all files numbered by the day they are used within that unit. And I made sure to include multiple resources for each day just like you would use in your classes - PowerPoints, Common Core activities, readings, projects, and more!

Here's just a few - if you click on each one you can download a preview of the unit plan and directions from the TpT page!

The Civil War & Reconstruction

The 13 Colonies

The Roaring 20's and Great Depression

The Age of Exploration and Discovery

The Renaissance & Reformation 

The American Revolution

The Cold War

Plus even more that you can download from here on Imperialism, the French Revolution, World War I, Industrial Revolution, and more! If you ever purchased one of these in the past, be sure to go back and re-download it for free and you will get all the new resources that have been added!

Thanks for looking!

Entire World War II Lesson Plan Unit Bundle

This is the absolute ultimate bundle of lesson plan materials for World War II! In one super-organized folder you will receive 8 PowerPoints, 7 student projects and cooperative learning activities, 8 Common Core readings and worksheets, and a unit test with answer key!

Imagine having 2 weeks to a month completely planned out, FULL of visually-engaging, interactive activities every day!

All of the following TpT resources are INCLUDED with this purchase:

1. Rise of Dictators Pop Up Figures Lesson Plan
2. Battles and Events of World War II PowerPoint Lesson
3. Battles of World War II Radio Show Project
4. WWII Nazi Nuremberg Trial Simulation Lesson Plan
5. Countries of World War II Idea Web
6. Analyzing Adolf Hitler's Speeches Worksheet
7. The American Homefront During World War II
8. Hiroshima and Nagasaki 2x Atomic Bomb Survivor Worksheet
9. Turning Point Battles in World War II Worksheet
10. Charles Lindbergh US Isolationism and World War II Speech Worksheet
11. Japanese Internment Camps Primary Source Reading & Worksheet
12. The Holocaust: Background Through Liberation PowerPoint
13. The Double V - African-Americans' Experiences During World War II Lesson
14. World War II Mexican-American Story - The Pied Piper of Saipan
15. War Crimes Trials PowerPoint Presentation

Plus all of the resources in the World War II Teaching Resource Bundle are included as well!

     

PLUS even more great resources that are not on TpT, including a mapping the war PowerPoint and test! Also included is a simple directions page explaining pacing and the best way to use all of the resources over about 12 class periods.

You can download this awesome unit in one great zipped folder by clicking here!

Thanks for looking!

Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire PowerPoint Lesson Plan

This amazing, visually-rich PowerPoint presentation covers the great Genghis Khan and the rise and decline of the Mongol Empire. It makes for an excellent lesson plan on the Mongols for any middle or high school class!

    

Each slide features amazing images of the Mongolian steppe, traditional yurts (gers), and more, plus easy-to-follow notes based off state and national standards. Topics covered include: Temujin's birth and rise, war strategies, conquests, the Yuan Dynasty, Kublai Khan, the Pax Mongolica, reforms, khanates, legacies, and more!

   

This is a wonderful PowerPoint that will have your students engaged, focused, and excited to learn. It concludes with an embedded Youtube video about Genghis Khan and a Common Core-aligned exit ticket.

You can download it for use in your classes by cling here!

New Holocaust and Genocide Lesson Plan Resources

I used to always hate teaching about the Holocaust and other genocides in history. It's just so sad and tragic when I like to keep my classes fun and engaging. It's so important though and can also teach valuable lessons about bravery, standing up for what is right, and the consequence of inaction in the face of evil.

Over the past couple years I developed a set of holocaust lesson plans that get students thinking about these important topics. They are all included in this downloadable Holocaust and Genocide Unit Bundle.

This download includes a wonderful set of Common Core resources to teach not just about the Holocaust, but other genocides throughout history, including: Stalin's Great Purge, the genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, and Darfur and the Armenian genocide.

Included in this bundle is a PowerPoint on the Holocaust that covers from the rise of the Nazis in Germany through the Nuremberg Trials. Each slide includes gripping photos and the tragic history of the Nuremberg Laws, Kristallnacht, the Final Solution and the camps themselves. The notes are also easy-to-follow and focused in on essential understandings.

Also included is a fantastic lesson plan on genocides in history that incorporates Common Core strategies, cooperative learning, and higher-level thinking. It includes 6 one page readings on genocides in history (the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, Stalin's Great Purge, Cambodia, Rwanda, and Darfur) along with a chart students complete on each genocide's info. This can be completed as a station activity, in groups, or individually.

Additional projects, readings, worksheets and more are all included in this download! Now, I look forward to the amazing lessons I can impart to my students and our deep, meaningful class discussions. I hope that these can do the same for you and your classes!

Thanks for looking!