Welcome Back! I’m so you came by to check out part two of my blog series on improving your students’ Social Studies skills! As we talked about last time, much of our students’ academic day is focused on growing their reading and math skills, but it’s so important to remember that Social Studies skills are vital too!
When teachers are looking for the most effective Social Studies lessons, they hope to find:
- lessons that can be differentiated (whether it’s for reading level, ELL, or Special Ed. students)
- lessons that are academically rigorous
- lessons that appeal to various learning styles
- engaging student-friendly lessons
- easy-to-prep teacher-friendly lessons
- lessons that can be used as formal or informal assessments
- lessons that, while being conducted, also teach & reinforce Social Studies skills
 |
When you find or create a lesson that does all of the above then you know you’ve found a winner! This set of American Revolution Task Cards does all of that and more! First, if they are used as task cards, they’re appealing to kids because they allow students to collaborate and analyze in pairs, but they must still record their findings individually, holding them accountable for their answers. They must then bring their answers to the teacher to be checked & discussed, before they can go on to the next set. These task cards can also be used in Social Studies centers as formative assessments. They can even be shown on a document camera as a whole-group review before a test!
One of the elements that make this set academically rigorous for Social Studies students is that they must examine, think critically, and analyze primary sources and images. By discussing and justifying their answers, they are using linguistic, visual, interpersonal, writing, and logical skills in addition to these Social Studies-specific skills:
- · formulate deep historical insights
- · utilize prior (or acquire new) geographic background knowledge
- · develop map-reading skills
- · analyze & interpret the language of primary sources
- · draw conclusions & write critically to explain relevant details that justify answers
 |
When you need an American Revolution teaching resource, one that’s engaging, rigorous, and incorporates the teaching of integral Social Studies skills as well, this set fits the bill! And…if you need another reason to check out this resource, it can even be used to play the game that kids love called SCOOT!
What are some of the challenges that you face in your classroom when teaching about the American Revolution? I’d appreciate it if you shared your thoughts and concerns in the comments below, thanks so much for your time!
