A Free Resource Kit for New Social Studies Teachers

If you are new to teaching social studies, or are maybe looking for some fresh ideas, this free resource kit is for you!

I've designed this kit with helpful resources you can use with any topic. So whether you're teaching World History, U.S. History, or another social studies class, this kit is for you.

As a social studies specialist, I've taught in classrooms with no curriculum or resources. I understand how challenging it can be to find high-quality materials. And if you're just getting started, it can feel overwhelming to know where to even start. The resources in this kit are designed with best practices in mind so that you can beat overwhelm and feel confident in what you're teaching.

This kit includes:

• Where to Begin Helpful Guide

• Find Your State Social Studies Standards Tool

• Back to School Cleaning Checklist

• How to Ask Your Principal For Resources

• Best Practices with Social Studies & Reading Gains

• Historical Thinking Questions

• The 3 Y's Thinking Routine

• Three Step Reading Guide for Any Text

• Small Group Discussion Norms

• Small Group Discussion Phrases

• 5 Methods to Add Movement to Your Lessons

• What are Primary Sources?

• Where to Find Primary Sources (links)

• How to Use Photo Analysis

• Step by Step Photo Analysis Complete Lesson

• Geographic Coordinates Lesson Demo with Oranges

• 6 Free Social Studies Learning Game Websites (links)

• How to Prepare to Teach Tough Topics

• One-Pager Project Complete Lesson Plan with Templates

• And More!

This kit includes helpful thinking strategies to kick off your new units, as well as critical thinking questions that can be used with any topic. You'll also find a three-step reading guide that can be used with any informational text or even a graphic biography.

You will also find best practices for preparing to teach tough topics, and classroom norms and expectation guidelines specifically for facilitating classroom discussions or small groups.

This kit includes three complete lesson plans. The photo analysis lesson plan provides the step-by-step process for analyzing any primary source image. It can be used with more than just photos. Your students can analyze political cartoons or artistic works. The lesson can be used with any topic.

You'll also find a complete lesson for teaching the geographic coordinate system. This lesson is a demo that uses an orange as a model. You'll find step-by-step photo instructions and all of the student materials within the kit. This is a super fun hands-on lesson that could serve as a great review!

This kit includes the templates, guidelines, and rubrics to have your students complete a one-pager project. This is a great assessment because it allows students to show what they know in a creative way, while being brief and concise. This is a great way for students to make connections to what they learned because each person thinks about what they see, read, or learn differently. Again, this project can be used with any topic.

This resource contains lots of helpful resources and links to make teaching easier. Find links to free social studies-focused website games, links to search for primary source websites, and five different lesson plan ideas to add movement to learning.

Everything to help you get started with confidence can be found in this kit!

Grab your FREE kit here: https://michellemcdonald.myflodesk.com/uuvb6b8tp4

If you have any questions or problems accessing this resource, feel free to email me at info@strategiceducationalservices.com