Social Studies Rocks! Engage Your Middle School Students With These Free Resources

Resource Materials:

In this section of the Resources Page you will find reference materials, tutorials and how-to information that will help you review or extend your knowledge from the presentation.

Social Studies in the Middle School

Tutorial Videos

 

In-the-Classroom:

Our In-the-Classroom section is where you will find ideas and examples on how to integrate the tools shared into classroom instruction.

Free Middle School Social Studies Resources from TeachersFirst

Gettysburg By The Numbers

Gettysburg by the Numbers (designed for grades 5-10) is an engaging experience of the Battle of Gettysburg through numbers and infographics that raise questions and invite connections. Exploring Gettysburg “by the numbers” invites students to move beyond dates and facts to questions that make the battle more meaningful and real. Learn about the weather, the clothing, the communications, the people, the weapons,  and the cleanup from three devastating, pivotal July days in 1863. Delve into the infographics and accompanying questions to connect what was then with what is now. Don’t miss the link “For Teachers” to find lesson ideas, standards, and additional activity ideas. 

Read a blog post related to Gettysburg By The Numbers.

 

Dates that Matter

Dates That Matter (created for grades 5-12) connects students to history by sharing a new “this day in history” event every day.  Dates that matter offers a broader context and explains each day’s events’ long-term impact. History is a fabric woven of many events, and Dates That Matter helps students see the full tapestry.  A single sentence reveals something about the date. You can click the question mark to read another guiding clue or you can click the exclamation mark to be taken directly to the answer. When the historical event finally shows on the screen, a further explanation, Why does it matter?, fills in the remaining context and offers reviewed links to learn more. 

 

#XW1W (Across the World Once a Week)

XW1W is a simple, social way for students to learn about real-life in other cultures from real kids all across the world using Twitter. XW1W has two levels of questions, one for elementary and one for middle school students. The two different hashtags will differentiate the responses; #XW1W-E will indicate that the response is from an elementary school classroom and #XW1W-M will indicate that the response is from either a middle school classroom or a student aged 13+ years. Two different questions will be posted each week, one for each level. Check out the Teacher Guides for standards information, scheduling, and assessment ideas. 

 

Reading Treks

Take your students on a literature journey around the world with Reading Treks. Reading Treks include books for all grade levels, both fiction and informational books, and several books that are related to social studies (see the list below).  Each Reading Trek includes a downloadable PDF with Common Core State Standards, ISTE Standards, Grade Level, Ideas and Activities for using the Reading Trek in class, and a list of Helpful Resources. There is also a Google Map file to “see” the places from the book and read about the author’s and/or illustrator’s hometown. Under the About TeachersFirst Reading Treks on the home page find step-by-step instructions for when you’re ready to use a Reading Trek. 

Read a blog post related to Reading Treks.

Social Studies Reading Treks for Middle School

 

Globetracker

Join Geo and Meri on a virtual geography choose-your-own-adventure story. Globetracker’s Mission is an episodic story in a blog-style format created for students in grades 2-6. Through this journey, students learn standards-based geography, landforms, and map skills in an engaging, interactive context. Each weekly “post” from Geo and Meri, fictitious brother and sister, traces steps on a secret mission for their Uncle Globetracker and his important but unnamed government agency. Episodes include annotated vocabulary terms, interactive maps to practice map skills, and think-aloud questions the teens pose as they use today’s tools: text messaging, video calls, and blog posting. Readers vote at the conclusion of each post, telling Geo and Meri what to do next. All episodes have accompanying Google Maps, so your class can “see” where Geo and Meri are researching. There are two missions: for 2020-2021, the mission is worldwide. For 2021-2022, the mission is US-based. The missions rotate every other year. 

 

CurriConnects

Use CurriConnects to find books related to curriculum topics or subject areas. Each list includes books for all ages, find the middle school books in the appropriate age category. Build student literacy skills, reinforce the place of curriculum concepts in other contexts and help students build the important reading strategy of connecting what they read to prior knowledge. Below, we have listed several CurriConnects that relate to social studies.

 

Special Topics Collections

Special Topics collections are curated lists to help you find just what you and your students need, just in time for an upcoming unit, a holiday, focused research, student-directed exploration, or projects on a curriculum topic or current event. Find classroom and project suggestions within each review, use the collection to find just what you need for your lessons. Some teachers assign these lists as the core resources for a broader student assignment. TeachersFirst also offers collections on professional special topics to help you meet particular teaching challenges. Below, we have listed several special topics collections related to social studies.

 

50 States

The 50 States offers an engaging (and clickable) map to use to learn more about each state. This unit for students combines the usual “almanac” facts with narratives on native people, early history, economy, and geography. Use this resource to share the facts with your students. 

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