In social studies, teachers and students will need to know a lot of information and be able to make real-world connections. History and civics can sometimes be tedious and may seem like students must memorize many facts, but our daily classroom should be engaging and full of discussions. To start class and stir up some discussion some day we might listen to a podcast: Stuff You Missed In History Class or My History Can Beat Up Your Politics. Some days we might ask the classroom Alexa This Day in History just to have some fun.
To prepare for class students are supposed to watch a video/lecture on EdPuzzle and answer questions to grasp the lesson. We will use Quizlet to recall the information in class. We may also play games to help students know where they stand with the information using, gimkit or Kahoot. Students may also be asked to mind map or create infographics with the material using, Popplet. Students will complete most of their other work in Google Docs and turn it in on Google Classroom. It is important that my student’s work also feels valued and they are able to make corrections. I will use Mote to give them feedback using my voice.
It is important that students know how to find primary sources. They will be able to use docsteach, dp.la, and NewseumED to find reliable resources. Beyond those students will also need to know how to conduct reliable research, they can use Zoom In to refer back to some of the tools. Some students may find that the material is challenging and the lessons need to be more differentiated. Newsela is a great resource for me and students to find other great resources. I will also allow all students to have their computer read the materials to them or provide an audiobook as an alternative. Students may also want to use WriQ while they are writing to keep them on task, check their grammar and spelling as well as be able to reference the rubric.
While reading and watching videos it may be important for students to take notes. They are free to take handwritten notes or I will offer them Evernote or Google Keep. I am also a fan of hypothes.is, which will be used when I want students to annotate documents either on their own or so they can see and respond to other students.
Our classroom should have a variety of activities that will differ from day to day. I may ask students at times to create comic strips, podcasts, or short skits using, storyboard that, Adobe Creative Cloud Express, Audacity, or Canva.
