social studies

Which One is Not Like The Others?

When we ask kids “which one is not like the others”, our cleverest students love to find ways to pick the non-obvious answer. So why not use this as a framework for pushing students deeper into our content.

Taxes, Language Arts, and Social Studies

It’s tax season here in the US! The obvious classroom application is a math lesson about percents, but taxes can lead to an even more interesting discussion within language arts and social studies.

Create Your Own Civilization Project

Each year, my students created their own civilization to mirror what we were learning about Rome, China, India, and beyond.

Discuss Online Reputation Using Historical Figures

It’s becoming increasingly obvious that students need instruction in how to interact online. Unfortunately, we’re stuck using textbooks that teach “computer” lessons about card catalogs. In this unit, we’ll combine famous historical figures, frightening Facebook facts, and the concept of reputation.