Classroom Podcast Project: A High-Impact, Low-Prep Activity for Middle School

As educators, we all want to empower students to take control of their learning. If you're like me, you love seeing your students actively engaged in research while building creative and critical thinking skills through hands-on learning. Watching students work on collaborative projects brings you immense joy and hearing them exclaim, "Today was fun!" is music to your ears. 

To bring this vision to life, I created the Create Your Own Podcast Project - a ready to use resource that makes launching a student-led podcast simple, engaging and deeply rewarding.

What's Included?

⭐12 Resources for Teachers and Students - use all the activities or just choose the ones you wish to use as students create their own podcasts!

• An Overview of the Project - it will guide you through the activities included in the resource.

• The Teacher Checklist - use the checklist to prepare for the project in your classroom and set students up for success.

• The Rubric - graded categories included content, design, neatness, speaking style and group work. The point values are left blank so you can customize it for your classroom.

• Teacher Notes - print out a page for each group and take notes for yourself as you monitor student progress on the project. It will make grading easier in the end!

• Create Your Own Podcast Directions - basic directions for students that explains the purpose of podcasts and an outline of the steps they'll take to create their own podcast.

• The Podcast Checklist - a step-by-step checklist for students to use as they plan, create edit and revise their podcast.

• The Audience Activity - students will pair up with another student in the classroom to complete this interview-style activity. Along the way they'll learn important information about their audience which they'll use as they create their own podcasts!

• The Script - students can use these pages to write an outline for the script, take notes or even write the script itself.

• Role Cards - use these role cards to give specific jobs to students. There are 6 role cards included, and students can take on more than one role.

• Podcast Advertisement Activity and Point Sheet - task students with creating an advertisement for their podcast and hang it up in your classroom to create buzz and excitement before students present their podcasts to the class!

• Student Reflection Activity - after presenting their podcast, students can use the reflection activity to share their experiences and thoughts about the project.

⭐Create Your Own Podcast Slideshow - a 10-page slideshow (PowerPoint and Google Slides versions included) to teach students about the purpose and types of podcasts and a step-by-step guide to creating their own podcast! (Slideshows are not editable)

The Create Your Own Podcast Project is a game-changer for student engagement, collaboration and critical thinking. Whether you're fostering discussion, storytelling or research skills, this project empowers students to take ownership of their learning in an exciting, real-world format - without extra prep for teachers!

Ready to give it a try? Download the Create Your Own Podcast Project today and watch the excitement unfold in your classroom!

A Classroom Favorite: Historical Thinking Skills Web Quest

I love creating engaging activities for students which bring history to life in my classroom. Before my middle school social studies classes dive into the study of history in depth, we always start off the year with a unit about historical thinking. Students learn about the differences between primary and secondary sources and how to analyze historical documents. These basic skills will be a significant part of our units of study throughout the year, so it's an important topic to teach at the start of the school year!

One of the activities I love to use with my students is a Historical Thinking Web Quest (click the link!) which you can download for FREE! 

What is a web quest? A web quest is a digital scavenger hunt. Students use multiple types of sources on the internet to discover answers to questions. It's a great way to introduce new concepts or review previously learned material.

In the Historical Thinking Skills Web Quest, students will visit two websites and watch a YouTube video to learn about the differences between primary and secondary sources, understand how to analyze historical documents and even practice their skills by analyzing a famous painting from American history! There's also a Check Your Knowledge section at the end that prompts students to review their new knowledge of historical thinking skills.

Oh...AND the free download includes a printable PDF and a link to a Google Slides version as well for all my techy teachers. :)

I absolutely love working alongside amazing Social Studies teachers like you and I can't wait for you to try this web quest in your own classroom! 

Happy Teaching!

YouTube Videos for Teaching Geography and Map Skills

I love finding ways to utilize helpful videos during lessons in my middle school classroom. One of my earliest units in the year is Geography and Map Skills. Here are some of my favorite videos on YouTube that keep my students engaged and enrich the concepts they are learning and practicing in school!  

Pursuit of History: Types of Maps

Crash Course: What is a Map?

Pursuit of History: Map Skills

The Singing History Teachers: The Map Features Song

BrainStuff - How Stuff Works: How Do GPS Coordinates Work?

Pursuit of History: Themes of Geography

James White: Five Themes of Geography Song

Which one(s) do you plan to use in your classroom this year?

Happy Teaching!

How to Introduce Social Studies to Middle School Students

How do you introduce students to the best subject in school?? (I love teaching Social Studies so I'm totally biased! Ha!) It's an important question to consider, especially when you want to create a unit that engages students and makes them excited for the year ahead. Student comments like, "Social Studies is my favorite class!" and "I love Social Studies!" are music to my ears.  

I love sharing my passion for teaching Social Studies and connecting with teachers like you who have that same love of bringing history to life in their classrooms! I decided to create an Introduction to Social Studies Mini Unit filled with everything you need to start your year - from daily lesson plans to every single activity you'll need at zero cost to you. Think: All the activities you need PLUS detailed lesson plans to cover 5 days of school. I've got you covered, friend!

Let's get the year off to an exciting start! Click the link below to snag the Introduction to Social Studies Mini Unit right now or keep reading to see what activities are included and available for free in my TPT store right now. :)

Introduction to Social Studies Word Wall

I love word walls! A word wall is a place to collect the important vocabulary terms you are teaching in your unit. The more students interact with vocabulary terms, the more connections they can make between ideas and build upon those concepts to better understand and make deeper connections to curriculum content. I love to hang up all the words at the start of the unit so students can see them every day when they enter the classroom. You can even keep them up all year long!

Bell Ringers

Bell ringers were a game changer when I began using them years ago. Now students know exactly what to do when they enter the classroom. They help students review material we've recently learned, preview new material and can promote critical and creative thinking skills depending on the question type. I just love them! 

Introduction to Social Studies Vocabulary

What's better than one vocabulary activity? THREE activities!

The Introduction to Social Studies Vocabulary resource includes three different activities - a vocabulary matching activity, a crossword puzzle and a graphic organizer. Each of the activities gives students an opportunity to practice using the 12 vocabulary terms in the unit, like chronology, point of view, bias, primary source, secondary source and more!

Interactive PowerPoint Informational Text

While you may have access to informational text, like a textbook, these PowerPoint slides are a fantastic way to introduce the content to students!  The Introduction to Social Studies Interactive PowerPoint is filled with informational text students can use to complete the interactive notebook activities. 

Oh! And not only is it available in PowerPoint in an interactive format, there's also TpT Easel and Google Drive versions included, too. I've got you covered!

Interactive Notebooks

How do students organize their notes for this unit? In an interactive notebook! I love these graphic organizers because they consolidate student notes in one place. The graphic organizers directly correlate to all the activities I've mentioned above so far and give students the opportunity to summarize the main ideas and details they learn as they are introduced to the study of history. The mini unit includes a paper and digital version of the interactive notebooks so you have flexibility in your classroom!

Task Cards

Task cards can be used as bell ringers, entrance tickets, exit tickets, station work and more! I alternate their use based on my class needs of the day, but they include brief writing prompts to encourage students to think critically about the content they are learning in class.

Assessment

While there are many ways to assess student knowledge, sometimes you want to use a traditional test! The Introduction to Social Studies Assessment includes vocabulary matching, multiple choice, fill in the blank and written response questions. 

Let's do this!

I can't wait for you to check out the FREE Introduction to Social Studies Mini Unit! I'm confident it will save you valuable time in your teaching and personal life while creating an enriching experience for your students this year. You may even find a few surprises inside...like a Historical Thinking Skills Web Quest and a Types of Maps activity! I love throwing in extra resources to the curriculum bundles. :)

Happy Teaching! 

3 Activities for Middle School Students After Spring Break

 

Ah, glorious Spring Break. It's a much needed break from the rigors of school, both for teachers and students, and gives us a taste of the freedom of summer vacation on the horizon. There's just one catch - reengaging students  in the learning process when they return from the break can be a daunting task! You could always jump right back into regular content, but you may find that students have a hard time focusing after a week away. Here are 3 easy ideas to use in the your classroom when you return from Spring Break that helps students refocus on the school year ahead:

Idea #1: Play a Review Game. This is a personal favorite because it's easy and helps students refocus themselves on the content they recently learned in class. You can easily make review games using websites like Blooket and Kahoot or host a trivia game in your classroom filled with information they learned before Spring Break. My students love trivia games and there's a free trivia game template in my TPT store which you can customize for your own students!

Idea #2: Set SMART Goals. The last quarter of the year always seems to fly by! Set aside time to help students evaluate and reflect on their progress so far this year and establish new goals for the last few weeks of the school year. Students can keep their SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound) goals in their binder or folder for easy access so they can see them frequently throughout the last quarter of the school year!

Idea #3: Host a Debate. If you teach middle school students, you'll know that they LOVE to debate anyone...anytime. Harness that passion for debate and discussion into a meaningful activity that will awaken students' minds and excite them for the last quarter of the school year. Your debate topic can be centered around recent content you've taught in class or be more general. Here are some debate topics to consider:

1. Is homework beneficial to students?

2. Should students be required to wear uniforms?

3. Should students be allowed to use cell phones in school?

4. Should the voting age be lowered to 16?

5. Is year-round school beneficial for students?

Which idea do you like the best? Whatever you choose to do, I know you've got this, my friend! 

Free Introduction to Social Studies Mini Unit

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5 Reasons to Love Social Studies Web Quests

There's nothing quite like the feeling of looking around your classroom and seeing students engaged in an activity that introduces them to a new concept or deepens their learning. I'm always on the hunt for activities that will keep students' interest and web quests are one of my go-to resources for that very reason.

P.S. Stick around until the end of this post to snag a web quest to use with your students - a little gift to you! 

What's a web quest? A web quest is a digital scavenger hunt. During the activity, students visit websites or watch short videos on platforms like YouTube while answering questions or completing various tasks. 

5 Reasons to Love Web Quests

Reason #1: Web Quests Engage Students

I know I said this before, but it's that important to me! I love using diverse activities in Social Studies units. Today it's a web quest, tomorrow they'll focus on guided notes, next week they'll design a creative project - you get the idea! There are certainly common activities that keep each unit "grounded" (interactive notebook notes, for example), but I also love to keep things fresh. Web quests are an easy choice for that reason! Since students are visiting multiple websites, it keeps their interest in the activity. They also have to read and "hunt" for answers in different places

Reason #2: Web Quests Use a Variety of Sources

As history teachers, we love using a variety of primary and secondary sources throughout our units, right?! Web quests take students on a journey through web sites and videos that prompt them to analyze different sources and use historical thinking skills to answer questions. In the span of one class period, students might interact with informational text from a secondary source, analyze a historical document and watch a video that features both secondary and primary sources. In the process of completing a web quest, they're activating their critical thinking skills to analyze these sources and reach conclusions.

Reason #3: Web Quests Promote Critical Thinking

When I create web quests, I love incorporating a wide variety of question types to promote critical thinking skills. A mixture of questions that prompt students to recall facts, explain concepts, and interpret documents are used in conjunction with questions that ask students to compare and contrast various sources or ideas, defend their opinion and more. I love asking students to stretch their minds and think critically and creatively about the topics they're learning in class. It's easy and fun to do through a web quest! (Click here to see some of my favorites!)

Reason #4: Web Quests Help Students Learn Research Skills

My administrator loves seeing students use technology safely and productively in class. Web quests, by nature, promote that very practice! Students are guided to various sources online to answer questions and complete tasks. They get to practice using online sources that are reputable and safe. Oftentimes, they'll return to those websites on their own when completing research projects, which is so awesome to see! I always preview every website I send my students to before assigning a web quest. Making sure the links work properly and it's a website I feel confident using with my students is super important. 

Reason #5: Web Quests Are Easy

As teachers, we're always keeping our eyes open to spot ideas and activities that will be easy to implement in the classroom. I love a good challenge, but there are some days when I want something that's effective, meets the state standards, engages my students...and is easy to implement in my classroom. Do you ever feel the same way? Web quests meet all of those goals. If I'm using a printable web quest, I'll often make the links available on my class website so students can click on each one when needed. When I use the digital version, I just assign it to my students and PRESTO! They can click on the links in the web quest themselves and off they go. 

If you want to try a web quest in your classroom, I'd love to send you one as a gift! Fill out the form below and a download will be sent to your inbox. I'll also keep you updated on exciting lesson ideas, inspiration for your classroom and welcome you to a community of teachers who share your passion in bringing history to life in our classrooms!

Download the Historical Thinking Skills Web Quest!

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