​I have always enjoyed tricking students into talking about history, and this American History Time Line activity does just that!  Jenny, @MsKressHistory, is a teacher from Iowa who shows her students using this resource every year on her IG page.  Plus, her classroom is one of the most unique classrooms I've ever seen! With this resource, just print, cut, and organize your groups - your students will take care of the rest!  If you're more of a digital person, this resource also comes as a Google Drive option.  Click HERE to grab it! One of my favorite part ..read more

When students walked toward my classroom on the first day of school, I would say to a student I didn't even know yet, "Good morning! (and motion to the bulletin board to my right with a smile) Who are you closest in height to?" It was so fun to see that first student look at the board, see the ruler, measure themselves, and then search the board :)  As the other students approached my classroom I would always hear one of them say, "Whoa!  What's this?" as they watched the first student measuring themselves.  Why did I do this?   It gave me a chance to bond ..read more

Is your to-do list for the upcoming year starting to stress you out? Or, are you nauseous over how much you spend to create a warm, welcoming classroom with updated materials? Don’t worry, you are not alone! Teachers are trying to accomplish so much with limited budgets. Additionally, they are working hard to find FUN, engaging, worthwhile social studies lessons for students. Thankfully, the upcoming Social Studies Bundle Sale has incredible resources at a HUGE discount. However, these bundles are so amazing that they won’t be available forever. The Social Studies Super Bundles are only avail ..read more

With Memorial Day right around the corner (and also the time of year when kids are getting a little squirrely) you might find yourself looking for an activity your students can be engaged in that allows them to also honor the members of the military for Memorial Day in your social studies class.   ​Give this a try HERE! All you need to do is print a classroom set of packets, get paper for students to trace on, and watch them have fun! Check out the video below to see how these come together... All the best, Matt @ Surviving Social Studies Follow Me @: Teachers Pay Teachers Insta ..read more

Hello! Let me guess, now that we're in August you're having some of those "teacher dreams" that only a teacher knows about.  Or you're looking at the calendar and counting down how many days until you go back and are realizing how much you don't have planned.   The anxiety. The stress. The endless list in your mind.   I get it.  I'm a full-time middle school classroom teacher who will be entering my 23rd first day of school very soon.  I am fully aware that I will have the night before school butterflies like I do every year.  Then, 10 seconds after ..read more

When March Madness rolls around it means that spring break is near.  When spring break is near it means that the end of the year is beginning to appear on the horizon and the feelings of summer become a reality.  One of my favorite ways to use that energy and excitement to our advantage in class is by creating a “Tournament of Champions.”  I teach 8th grade U.S. History, so my focus has been for students to try and determine which person/group/event/invention had the greatest impact on the history of the United States.    I also have tournaments set ..read more

Click the image above to get to the resource There is no better place than a social studies classroom to get students talking about the world they live in. This year, the November 3rd election will be one off the liveliest elections in recent history... so get your students involved!! When it's presidential election season, I start by having a countdown every day to let students know how many more days we have until election day. I teach 8th graders, and they are either 4-5 years away from being able to vote, but they are at the age where they are starting to see the bigger picture i ..read more

This year, my district has switched from teaching 49-minute classes to teaching 90-minute classes.  That being said, this doesn't mean that we can get through almost twice as much curriculum each day because our students are with us for longer.  I teach middle school, and our students are sitting through five 90-minute classes during the two days they are in school for in person learning. This is way more enjoyable for them than sitting and listening to the same thing class-after-class: Rules.  Rules.   Rules. This activity is one activity of man ..read more

I just wanted to let everyone know that my entire store will be 20% off today (9/7/2020) in celebration of Labor Day.  Lots of digital resources to choose from as seen below. Enjoy the day (and the sale)! Best, Matt @ Surviving Social Studies ..read more

So, how does Murder, She Wrote fit into a history class? The answer is – perfectly! We start with the basics in my history class… fact, opinion, inference, and corroboration. We could go through a boring PowerPoint in that first week defining all of those terms, do a formative assessment where I can see if they understand the difference, blah, blah, blah… that’s not my style. I want these kids to get into the mindset of history, have fun while they’re at school, and do activities that will trick them into learning. Angela Lansbury comes through with Murder, She Wrote and never lets me down ..read more