World and US History Google Activities for Distance Learning

The past couple months have been some of the most challenging time for teachers that I can remember. Schools suddenly closed and teachers were forced to switch to a distance learning model that most had little experience with (if any at all).

Amazing, teachers across the country stepped up to the challenge and utilized resources that could help kids learn.

I created digital assignments and activities for US History and World History that can be great materials for this model as well.

For US History, the distance learning resources that have helped me the most were unit guide packets. They're concise and cover just the most important concepts that kids need to know for each unit. Each packet is 9 pages with a reading, map, people-to-know, primary source excerpts, a timeline, and image analysis activities.

These allow teachers to provide one simple assignment for kids per unit that is thorough and engaging.

For World History, I like using digital interactive notebooks for distance learning. These pages are like digital graphic organizers on the main concepts of each unit. They include links to online sources like readings, videos, and pages on each element of the unit.

These pages are great because they can be assigned one at a time to keep a nice pace or in bulk by unit so kids have everything they need.

I love these pages because they're visually engaging, provide a variety of activities like drag-and-drop timelines, graphic visuals, and worksheets designed to ensure kids know the main concepts.

Distance learning is tough for sure, but with the right resources it can be much more manageable for teachers and students alike!

Civil Rights Movement Timeline Project for Middle School

Timelines are an awesome tool to teach students about eras in history and how one event might impact subsequent events. In my US History classes, I use them often. Usually each unit, we will look at some for of timeline to get a look at everything students need to know.

When I teach about the Civil Rights Movement, I use this set of timeline activities. I love this one because it provides a few different options to use. It's also great to use at the start of the unit as an introduction to all the main events of the Civil Rights Movement or at the end of the unit as a review.

I have used it both ways and it has been great!

Either way we use, I post 10 readings up around the room as stations. These are 10 of he most significant moments of the Civil Rights Movement. It's not all of them (for example, I also always include Emmett Till, Loving v. Virginia, the assassination of MLK, Ruby Bridges, and a few other significant events in my lessons), but I also don't want to overwhelm students. So, I think 10 events on a timeline is a good amount to be thorough, but not too much.

Each event is covered with a 1-page reading and photographs at the stations. Students each receive a 2-page timeline that goes into their interactive notebooks. These are the "centerfold spread" style that are great for covering a lot of info in an organized way.

The timeline has students respond to prompts, draw pictures, analyze the events, and connect to today. Each station can be completed in a couple minutes so that the entire timeline can be finished in class.

When they're finished, they'll look like this:

Absent students can complete the entire activity also through an included Google Doc version! This editable set includes the same readings and a table students can type into. Or they can complete a "drag-and-drop" Google version in which students sort the events.

These versions are also great for differentiation if you have students that need more accommodations or even if you just need to make a few changes.

This is an AWESOME lesson plan resource for your middle school classroom!

You can download this resource for your classes here or as part of my larger Complete Civil Rights Movement Unit Bundle.

If you want more great lesson plans and resources for ALL of US History, you might want to sign up for a Students of History subscription! Joining gives you immediate access to HUNDREDS of amazing resources and lesson plans for every day of the school year! You'll never stress about a lesson plan again!!

Students of History's New Lesson Plans and Resources

The school year recently started and you may be starting to feel that stress of lesson planning for your social studies classes. When I first started teaching, this would be a serious stress every night as I couldn't sleep unless I have the next day's classes thoroughly prepped and ready. You may not have that level of anxiety but no matter what, it can be a time drain on your life.

I developed a site a couple years ago with a goal of easing that stress on teachers. At first, I just had resources organized by day and unit. This year, I'm upping the game with new lesson plans for EVERY DAY of the year!

Each day now has a short, easy-to-follow lesson plan with links to videos, Google Docs, suggestions for differentiation, and more. PLUS there are engaging resources and activities for every day - often with several to choose from that work best for your students.

These are available for:

• US History
• World History
• Civics and American Government

Each curricula is thorough enough so you don't have to plan for the entire year. There's station activities to get students moving and active, primary source analysis to get students in-depth with the content, interactive notebooks, digital Google Drive notebook sets, PowerPoints with guided notes and graphic organizers, review games, videos, assessments, and more!

The lesson plans detail how to best use all of the resources in your class. They're simple so you're not scanning through long documents and standards about how to use the resources. While they're simple, they're also engaging for students. They involve multiple activities to keep students active and ensure that they are learning for the full time in each class - whether that's 90 minute blocks or 45 minute periods that meet every day.

You can download a bunch of free resources here to see the kind of high-quality, engaging classroom activities you'll have for every day of the year. Then, you can join for a month or a whole year - there's no long term commitment. Download as much as you like and never stress about lesson planning for your social studies classes again!

Lesson Plans and Resources for Every Day of US History, World History, & Civics!

Really exciting news, everyone! After a year of organizing, updating, and writing lessons, my new site is now LIVE! 

What's so exciting about this site? Well, not only do you get the most engaging history resources available anywhere for every day of the year, but there are now LESSON PLANS for every day! You don't need to wonder about the best way to use a resource, plan the order of a lesson, or worry about how to implement a project. At StudentsofHistory.com all the lessons are done for you! 

We have complete curricula available for US History, World History, and American Government. Each curriculum is broken down into easy-to-manage units of about 4-10 class periods. Each period includes a short lesson plan with 3 or more resources plus links to relevant videos to show and strategies to use.

You'll never have to stress about a lesson plan again!!! 

Take back your life and focus on what really matters: you and your students. 

You can rest assured knowing that our resources are the most exciting and interactive materials available anywhere for social studies. Each unit is filled with: 

• Google Drive digital notebooks for World & US
• Mind-blowing PowerPoints in full 3D
• Interactive Notebook resources for History
• Magic-motion PowerPoints with moving video portraits that bring historical figures to life!
• Project Based Learning packets for World & US
• Primary source materials 
• Links to short videos for every topic
• Fun online review games
• Editable tests, quizzes, & more! 

I promise you will not be disappointed by these amazing curriculum packages. You can subscribe and cancel any time or join for a whole year and save big!

You can download free lessons on our page as well to check out the resources!

Thanks so much for stopping by to check us out!

Civics and Government Curriculum Now Available on TpT!

Exciting news! My Civics and Government Curriculum is now available on TpT!

The download includes over 300 resources (and growing) and each one is perfectly organized by unit so you know exactly how to teach each lesson from Day 1 of the school year to Day 180. In between, your year will be filled with activities that both you and your students will love.

There are countless projects, visually-engaging PowerPoints with editable guided notes, reading guides and worksheets, hands-on interactive notebook pages, Google Drive activities, and much, much more. 

In all, you get 11 units for a full curriculum for American Government:

• Unit 1: Introduction to Government
• Unit 2. Foundations of American Government
• Unit 3. The Constitution
• Units 4 & 5. Political Parties & Elections
• Unit 6. The Legislative Branch
• Unit 7. The Executive Branch
• Unit 8. The Judicial Branch 
• Unit 9. Civil Liberties
• Unit 10. Foreign Policy & Comparative Government
• Unit 11. State & Local Government *Bundle coming soon!*

Click on any of the links above for an in-depth preview of each unit.

Every resource in each unit is perfectly organized by day, with multiple activities to use during each class period. Every unit begins with lesson plan/directions file with suggestions for each day along with warm ups, links to online videos, tools, games, and more! 

You even get an editable syllabus with links to 2 free online textbooks, a pacing guide for the whole course with what to cover every day, midterm and final exams, review materials, and more! Everything you need for the whole year is at your fingertips.

You can download this fantastic curriculum here and start right away!

Students of Civics Complete American Government Curriculum

Exciting news for Civics teachers: my new American Government curriculum is almost complete!

This curriculum, available at StudentsofHistory.com includes full lesson plans for every day of the school year!!! Yep, not only do you get the most engaging social studies resources available anywhere, you also get easy-to-follow lessons to help you through all of the great activities and how to use them successfully in your classes.

You can take a closer look at all the units included in the curriculum here. Each is based on state and Common Core Standards, so you can be sure that your lessons will match up with what your students need to learn. There are units on:

• Intro to Government
• Foundations of America's Government
• The Constitution and Federalism
• Political Parties & Ideology
• Campaigns & Elections
• The Legislative Branch
• The Executive Branch
• The Judicial Branch
• Civil Liberties
• Foreign Policy & Comparative Government
• Local Government

Each unit is filled with awesome resources like interactive notebook pages, digital Google Drive activities, PowerPoints with guided notes, and more! You can take a closer look at the resources here.

Simple lesson plans accompany all of the activities for every day of the year as well, so there's no wondering how to use a resource in your class. These lesson plans include links to relevant videos and websites to enhance each lesson.

Plus to close out each unit, there are multiple review games like Kahoot, Quizizz, FlipQuiz, Quizlet Live, and more before it culminates with an editable assessment.

You can join Students of Civics today and get immediate access to ALL of these amazing resources right away.

If subscribing isn't for you, you can also download each unit individually here on TpT!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Protestant Reformation and What it Means to Resist & Collaborate Lesson Plan

This Protestant Reformation Lesson Plan has your students learning about key events from the Reformation and deciding if they would join the movement, collaborate with the Catholic Church, or act like nothing was going on.

I really want to get the students in my classes to think about what resistance means and how it can impact the brave people like Martin Luther who stand up to those in power. I also want them thinking critically about what it means to ignore injustices or collaborate with those committing them.

This complete lesson download includes short readings on 4 early events/people that influenced the Protestant Reformation:

• John Wycliffe Declared a Heretic
• Jan Huss Executed for Heresy 
• Martin Luther posting the 95 Theses
• The Affair of the Placards

After reading about each event, students decide if they'd join the Protestant movement, collaborate with the Roman Catholic Church, or choose to ignore it and act like nothing had happened. After going through all 4 events, students analyze what their role would have been in the Reformation as a whole.

Finally, students analyze what it looks like and what the repercussions can be for those who resist, collaborate, or ignore.  This download includes both printable and Google Docs versions of the activity along with directions pages for both the students and you as the teacher.