CCSS for Social Studies Archives - A Lesson Plan for Teachers

43+ Strategies for Addressing the Standards in Social Studies

Posted on July 12, 2017September 9, 2023 by Michele Luck

Need Strategies for addressing the standards? Need strategies to make your classroom more interactive this school year? Take a look at these 43+ Strategies for Meeting ANY Educational Standards in the Social Studies classroom. More importantly, implement these strategies to...Read More

Monday Mapping: Cause and Effect in the History Classroom

Posted on February 16, 2015July 25, 2020 by Michele Luck

Students often see historic occurrences as isolated events in time, not understanding that one causes the other and that one causes the next. In both my World and U.S. History courses in mid February, I would be in the early...Read More

Quick Thought Thursday: Passing the Teaching Test

Posted on January 29, 2015July 25, 2020 by Michele Luck

In the secondary setting, we are often left to our own vices in our classrooms until the end of January. It is then we start hearing more and more about year end assessments and state mandates for student success. Our...Read More

Checking All the Boxes

Posted on December 8, 2014July 25, 2020 by Michele Luck

As you near the end of the semester, it's time to check off all the boxes on your list of to-dos for each of your classes. If you are a CCSS or standards-based school, that means making sure you have...Read More

Living the Geography Lesson: Applying the Content

Posted on November 3, 2014July 25, 2020 by Michele Luck

As a Social Studies teacher in the middle and high school grades, you are often asked why your course is important. In Geography courses, it used to be very easy to explain with skills like map reading and cultural investigations...Read More

Recognizing Holidays in the Upper Grades Classroom

Posted on October 30, 2014July 25, 2020 by Michele Luck

As the Holiday Season approaches, and with Veteran's Day on the doorstep, we are often pressured to take time out in our upper grades classrooms to teach to the event. While this works well with some historic events, as we...Read More

Seeing the Big Picture: Helping Students Visualize Multiple Perspectives

Posted on October 20, 2014July 25, 2020 by Michele Luck

Teaching from a textbook or singular source can often leave the impression on our students that history is one-sided. After years of this indoctrination to history, our students are blind to the truth about history. It becomes a battle at...Read More

Analyzing Legislation: A Political or Social Approach?

Posted on October 9, 2014July 25, 2020 by Michele Luck

In my first few years of teaching, I taught with a U.S. History teacher who believed every law was passed simply because Congress saw it as what should be. He gave no credit to the social movements that encouraged the...Read More

Performing in the Classroom: Effective Role-Play for Learning

Posted on September 25, 2014July 25, 2020 by Michele Luck

"Nobody puts Baby in a corner!" "If you build it, they will come." "Show me the money!" "Life is like a box of chocolates..." "You can't handle the truth!" "I see dead people!" "Just keep swimming!" As we all grew...Read More

I’m Off To Make the Donuts: Your Boring Curriculum Problems Solved

Posted on September 12, 2014July 25, 2020 by Michele Luck

Every Social Studies certified teacher could be assigned a number of different courses in the Social Studies Department. My first year of teaching was just that nightmare, with 6 different preps within 3 different courses. I taught both honors and...Read More