When I was first approached to contribute to this blog series, I was a bit intimidated. I love teaching American history and encouraging critical thinking skills in my students. I like to think I’ve been doing the work to my lessons more anti-racist – still, I know that I’m not an expert. Also, I’m white […]
10 Hacks for Creating with Google Slides – Part 2
I’m so excited to bring your 10 more hacks for creating with Google Slides. When I wrote my first post about Google Slides, I focused more on experience for beginners, and my tips were pretty basic. If you’re new to Google Slides, and you haven’t read that post, I suggest you check that out first. […]
Utilizing MEAL for Paragraph Writing in Social Studies
In recent years, I’ve noticed that Social Studies teachers are incorporating more writing into their classrooms. This makes my teacher heart happy, as I know that writing is absolutely crucial for students to understand and think critically about history. Obviously, when teaching students to write, teachers develop strategies to make sure that student writing is sophisticated. […]
8 (More) Podcasts for History Teachers
Since I wrote my first post regarding great podcasts for History teachers, the genre has just proliferated. There are now so many more podcasts for teachers, and for those who love history. Therefore, I had to write a second edition of 8 podcasts for History teachers. I absolutely love listening to podcasts in my […]
Hey Middle School Teachers – It’s Okay to Skip Some Standards
One of the most daunting tasks presented to teachers is for them to cover all the standards. This is particularly problematic for Social Studies teachers, as we often have both content and skills standards built into our frameworks. In recent years, the number of “skill standards” have grown, as teachers are now expected to teach students […]
Teacher Interviews – Flipped Teaching with Andrew Swan
One of my goals as a teacher blogger is to promote the voices of regular teachers. So many teachers are engaged in developing innovative and amazing new strategies for teaching Social Studies. They are advocates, they are inventive, and they are working with students on the front lines. Yet, their voices are often lost in […]
Why Interactive Notebooks Don’t Work for Me
As I’ve become more involved in the teaching community, I’ve noticed a growing tendency towards turning history into a series of craft projects. This issue has been very well documented by Jennifer Gonzalez (Cult of Pedagogy) in an article titled “Is Your Lesson a Grecian Urn?” Basically, her argument points out that there are many […]
When a Student Dies
Unfortunately, dealing with a student’s death is an issue that most of us will deal with at some point in our teaching careers. I’m half way through my career. I’ve had former students die in the past, some of natural causes, some in car accidents and some by suicide. Most of them were either out […]
My Middle School Students Don’t Take Notes Anymore
As a Social Studies teacher, I’m obsessed with having my students think critically about the topic of History. Still, it’s difficult to have students think critically without some background knowledge. Therefore, I’ve taken on the task of making sure that my students gain background knowledge with a variety of activities and tasks. It has been […]