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Calling all History Buffs!

    A day I thought would never come has happened... I am teaching something other than math!  For 7 years I have taught math to grade levels 2nd on up to 8th and I have absolutely loved every second it.  I will admit it with no problem.. I LOVE MATH!  I have learned one thing about "Life" though, it changes, and it is constantly changing. 

    I found myself at the end of this school year packing up a home we have lived in as a family since right before my youngest child was born, and moving 2 hours away.  Not a huge difference, but it seems it has been the summer of change for many I know.  My brother moved from his Texas home to Colorado, my Grandmother is moving from the home she loves into a suite she had built onto my Aunt's house as she is turning 90 tomorrow.  My 3rd child graduated high school, child number 2 is about to embark on a travel tour of America in an RV, and child number 1 went and got married!  And of course, the change didn't stop there.  I'm moving content areas (gasp!!).

    I find myself a newly minted social studies teacher.  I will not lie, I am excited about this change.  I have never taught a non-tested subject before, and in the land of high stakes testing, it is one thing I won't have to worry about while I try to engage my students in meaningful ways.  I am choosing to say I am Blessed that during all of this stressful transition, God has given me one less thing to worry about!  Now for the scant few of you who come across this blog and read it regularly know, I don't do anything "normal".  I was just talking to a colleague yesterday, and when telling her my plans for my new classroom, I asked her; "Am I just being extra?".  She said, "No.  This is what I expect from you."   I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or not ha ha!  So, let me tell you what I've been brainstorming about:

1.  I don't want to be a 'normal' social studies class.  My theme for my classroom is going to be Time Travel.  Instead of having the standard interactive notebook, we are going to have Time Traveler Manuals.  As part of my new district requirements, I am also tasked with teaching writing (which also is not tested in this grade level WOO HOO!), but instead of teaching it as a separate class, it will be ingrained in social studies along the way.

2.  I actually was told I'm a 'STEAMY' teacher.  Well thank you ;)  No seriously ha ha, my new principal meant that I like to incorporate STEAM elements into my curriculum to engage my students.  She told me when something 'STEAMY' came up, she would move me into that position.  Well, I want to show her how 'STEAMY' social studies can be so she will leave me right here... happy as a pig in slop!

3.  I have been gathering lately.  I have been using my favorite tools.. Pinterest, Google Search, Facebook groups I belong too, and I have been pulling pieces and parts and adding them to my cache or resources.  Here is my list:

 Google Expeditions
Google Expeditions will allow for some immersive visual learning!  As a bonus, these visuals are backed up with facts and resources for the educator to impart while the students are checking out the visuals.


I know I want to incorporate the use of Google Classroom with many of my projects, but I also want to be able to use it for writing purposes.  I'm still doing research on how this resource will be beneficial in that capacity, maybe you could help?


The Smithsonian Institute has SO MANY resources for educators and students, and you don't have to travel all the way to Washington, D.C. to utilize them.  I will primarily focus on their American History museum, but their are so many other resources in the other museums as well.


From the day I spied my first Bloxels game (and bought it) to becoming a Bloxels Ambassador,  I always knew I would incorporate the use of this tool in my classroom.  I'm sure every educator who reads my blog knows how I feel about the use of coding and gaming in the classroom.  Bloxels has an amazing educators HUB and interface system that is in Beta testing phases for the classroom use.  Imagine student created resources for your content area, that not only show what your students know, but that can be used by future students.  If you click the link provided, you can learn more :)

The Library of Congress is a great resource, and has so many resources!  Can you imagine the Webquests that could be created using this website alone?  I'm sure when most people think of a library, they think of only books, but the videos, visuals, and artifacts for viewing are amazing also.  Don't pass up this amazing resource, no matter what your content area.



4.  I have so many more plans, but I am still compiling my resources and planning my timeline of how to prepare my plans.  I want to incorporate the technology and resources in a format that students can utilize in a way that is seamless and natural, while enabling the highest level of engagement.


I have so many questions for the educators out there that teach in social studies!  Please feel free to chime in with your tips and any resources you would like to share.  

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