Engaging students in the world of social studies goes beyond learning dates and facts—it’s about immersing them in history, cultures, and communities to ignite their curiosity and critical thinking. In this blog post, we’ll explore 5 creative ways to breathe life into your social studies lessons, making the subject come alive and capturing your students’ attention. From interactive projects to technology integration, discover strategies that will transform your classroom into an exciting hub of historical exploration. 1. Arrange Virtual Field Trips and Use Digital Resources Firstly, a great ..read more

It’s almost Election Day! There’s no better way to teach our students about voting, than by hosting a mock election. Today, I am going to talk about 5 tips for hosting a mock election, plus, everything you need to teach about Election Day and voting! 1- Introduction to Voting If you’re going to be teaching about Election Day, you will want to start with an introduction to voting! This BrainPop video has excellent, clear explanations of voting and elections. It is engaging and will get your kiddos excited about voting, the perfect starting point for a mock election! BrainPop- Voting 2- Read A ..read more

Teaching economics to elementary students can be tricky. So, today, I want to explore how learning about goods and services will help your students’ understanding of the economy! These activities and resources can be included in your elementary economics unit. Stock Your Class Library With Economics Books to Explore First, you will need a few books to keep on hand. These three books are great informational texts on goods and services. They can be used as references, read alouds, partner texts, or in small group and center activities. I would recommend having opportunities for your students t ..read more

Are you teaching a civics and government unit in your elementary classroom? This isn’t always the easiest subject for little ones, but today, I am going to talk about civics and government activities that can help your students understand how our country works! Stock Your Class Library With Government Books to Explore First, you will need a few books to keep on hand. These three books cover the topics of citizenship, the three branches of government, and the tasks of local, state, and national administrations! These books can be used as references, read alouds, partner texts, or in small gro ..read more

Presidents Day is around the corner! So, it’s time to start gathering some great Presidents Day books. Today, I have 5 excellent books to read aloud in your elementary classroom. |Presidents Day Book #1: If I Ran for President First, If I Ran for President, by Catherine Steir. This book is a fun and informative story of what it takes to run for president. Not only do you get to do the exciting stuff, like star in commercials and travel around the country campaigning. But, you also have to do a lot of hard work. You will need to study the nation’s issues, debate your opponents and come up wit ..read more

If you are teaching a Holidays Around the World, or Christmas Around the World unit this winter, these books are perfect additions to your plans! Consider kicking off your unit with a book that covers various holidays around the world. Then, move into your focused instruction by using books for specific holidays! See my list of go-to books below! Books That Introduce Many Different Holidays When you are first introducing your Holidays Around the World unit, you will want to start with books that cover the concept of the holidays overall. These books can introduce the concept of similar h ..read more

Teaching students about the past is always such a fun experience! This social studies topic can be done in several ways, but I like to teach it as a “Then and Now” or “Past and Present” unit. So, today we will look at some of my favorite “Then and Now” lessons and activities! Start with a Unique Objects Activity (Freebie!) First, it is fun to start by discussing objects or inventions from the past. It can be beneficial for students to see some of the things that we use today in a previous or original form. You can do this with the Unique Objects Activity seen above. Students will be able to ..read more

Since your students have likely learned or are in the process of learning about their communities, it is time to think about the next skill. I don’t know about you, but I have always found teaching map skills so much fun! It is a great way to get interactive while students learn an important skill that will be applicable in their real life. This unit will easily tie to your previous communities instruction. So, today, I am going to talk about 5 activities that will help you teach map skills to your primary kiddos! Gather Books for Students to Explore First, we have to gather some resources ..read more

Many of us kick off our Social Studies curriculum with a unit on communities! This is an important building block to a student’s understanding of their place in the world and how it works! I previously talked about about how to teach about communities, but today, I want to recommend a few excellent books for your community unit! This is How We Do It First, let’s take a look at This is How We Do It by Matt Lamothe. This book shows a day in the life of seven different kids from seven different places around the world. This book is great for your community unit because it doesn’t focus on just ..read more

A large part of your primary social studies content will be about communities! It is important for students to learn about the world that is around them. Today, I am going to talk briefly about some activities that can help kids learn about communities! Collect Prior Knowledge on Communities First, you will want to find out what kids already know. What do they think of when you use the word, “community”? After a brief definition and clarification discussion, create a prior knowledge/schema chart. This can be done with a piece of chart paper and a marker. At the top of the page, write the wor ..read more