Skip to content
Search
Facebook-f Twitter Instagram Pinterest Linkedin-in Shopping-cart
  • About Our Team
  • Services
    • Professional Development
    • Resources for Instruction
  • Memberships
    • 5th Grade Social Studies
    • 6th Grade World Cultures
    • 7th Grade Texas History
    • 8th Grade History
    • socialstudies+
      • 8th
      • USH
    • Generate a Quote
    • Sample Resources
  • Shop
    • Shop Now
    • My Account
    • Downloads
    • Cart
    • Checkout
  • Blog
  • Log In
    • Your Resources
    • Resource Shop Purchases
  • About Our Team
  • Services
    • Professional Development
    • Resources for Instruction
  • Memberships
    • 5th Grade Social Studies
    • 6th Grade World Cultures
    • 7th Grade Texas History
    • 8th Grade History
    • socialstudies+
      • 8th
      • USH
    • Generate a Quote
    • Sample Resources
  • Shop
    • Shop Now
    • My Account
    • Downloads
    • Cart
    • Checkout
  • Blog
  • Log In
    • Your Resources
    • Resource Shop Purchases

Creating Successful Social Studies Stations

February 2, 2022 No Comments

Have you wanted to try stations, but are unsure where to start? Have you used stations with your students, but were unsuccessful? I remember my

read more »

New Ideas for the New Republic

January 6, 2022 No Comments

Are you struggling to organize your unit on the New Republic? This era can be challenging with the amount of content and standards that are

read more »

Hexagonal Thinking in Social Studies

September 30, 2021 No Comments

If you are like me, you are always looking for new and exciting ways to engage your students in Social Studies.  I try at least

read more »

Synchronous Learning Discussion Tips

August 12, 2020 No Comments

Are you concerned you are going to lose student engagement during remote instruction? How are you going to keep your kids involved and learning during

read more »

Boom Cards™ for Distance Learning in Social Studies

July 21, 2020 No Comments

How are you approaching distance learning? What new technology tools have you learned that you will take back into the classroom with you? The answer

read more »

Creating Powerful Discussions in Social Studies

June 8, 2020 No Comments

How do you plan on tackling controversial topics in Social Studies? We all want our students to engage in a classroom discussion – especially when

read more »

Anchor Charts in Secondary Social Studies Professional Development

June 8, 2020 1 Comment

Have you heard about anchor charts but you are unsure how to implement them in secondary Social Studies? Are anchor charts a tool you find

read more »

Playing Games with Task Cards

October 18, 2019 No Comments

Do you use task cards in your classroom? Have you experimented with the many different ways they can help students review content? Task cards are

read more »

Top 5 Tips for Using the Musical Hamilton in your Classroom – Don’t Wait for It

October 14, 2019 No Comments

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical “Hamilton” has been a gift to US History teachers.  The lyrics bring the voices of the founding fathers to our generation in

read more »

Don’t decorate your room this year – Design it for learning!

July 29, 2019 2 Comments

Don’t Decorate – Design! It is back to school time, and teachers all across the US are frantically putting up posters and bulletin boards to

read more »
Page1 Page2 Page3 Page4 … Page11

Free Bill of Rights Foldable

Create a mini-book with your students over the Bill of Rights and the Principles of Government. Your students can make this book in under 10 minutes, and then you can use it for review with a variety of games.

Connect on Instagram

Creating models to represent learning engages stud Creating models to represent learning engages students and builds retention. Keep your models small to save on supplies, and add a writing component to increase rigor. Don’t want a mess? Pipe cleaners work just as well!
Explore the mandatory and voluntary duties of citi Explore the mandatory and voluntary duties of citizenship. Students are given clue cards to discover the different duties of citizenship. Afterwards they make connections with hexagonal thinking and a consensus circle.
This is one of my favorite lessons. In it students This is one of my favorite lessons. In it students examine images from the Parthenon in Greece and the Elgin Marbles at the British Museum. Students will then read about the opposing sides of who owns histories treasures, while also completing a graphic organizer, called an opinion/proof. Once they have prepared, you can conduct a class discussion centered around the topic of reparations of the world‘s treasures. It is a great way to engage students in examining contemporary social studies issues. Message me and I will send you the link to this lesson for free.
Make vocabulary instruction engaging with games. S Make vocabulary instruction engaging with games. Students matched a definition card with a picture card. When we reviewed the definitions, I placed them up with the word wall terms.
socialstudies+ is hitting the road with Jodi Dento socialstudies+ is hitting the road with Jodi Denton! Our first lesson - a reading challenge on the Growth and Expansion of the West was a huge hit!
Analyzing images, categorizing and then recategori Analyzing images, categorizing and then recategorizing, are all excellent techniques for building background knowledge with images and excerpts prior to reading.
Manipulatives can demonstrate complex concepts lik Manipulatives can demonstrate complex concepts like the 3 branches of government and checks and balances.
And this is why I love ❤️ manipulatives (scrol And this is why I love ❤️ manipulatives (scroll through all of the images).
1. Practice skills like sequencing.  2. Show cause and effect with categories.
3. Evaluate the impact of different events with a spectrum. 
4. Engagement and HOTS! 

Do you have any manipulatives you use?
Build engagement with question dice. Students read Build engagement with question dice. Students read a passage shake shake, shake the box and the dice helped the students create a question about their reading. You can find the template for free in my store under dice games.
socialstudies+ requires rigorous thinking, not jus socialstudies+ requires rigorous thinking, not just rote memorization. Students actively participate in content conversations, then apply their learning. With this resource, students are analyzing artifacts to determine which Civil War battle is represented in a history lab.
Reasons I love lap books. 1. they are student foc Reasons I love lap books.  1. they are student focused and increase student engagement.  2. they help organize information in a unit.  3. students can refer back to their lap books for reference during review. 4. They’re just fun!
Building Engagement includes novelty. How can you Building Engagement includes novelty. How can you take an ordinary lesson and add a twist?  I love adding manipulatives! In this lesson, students create a model of one of the primary source excerpts from the Preamble. Once their model is made, they write about it! Would you use pipe cleaners to create models in your classroom?
Engage your students with a reading challenge on t Engage your students with a reading challenge on the missions of Texas. students read about different aspects of Spanish missions and then solve a series of challenges to reveal clues. Each clue is then glued on the missions picture and students write a summary to share what they’ve learned. Brand new for 2025-2026.
Vocabulary instruction prior to content instructio Vocabulary instruction prior to content instruction is vital!!!! Do you need to learn more? I have an online PD session on my website.
  • Home
  • Home
  • © Social Studies Success, LLC 2025, all rights reserved.
  • Site Design by Laine Sutherland Designs