Social Studies

Resource
1

Description

Incorporation for Teaching and Learning

Purpose for Inclusion

Discovery Education
http://www.discoveryed
ucation.com//search/pa
ge/k-5/socialstudies/-/-/index.cfm?
campaign=flyout_teach
ers_k5_ss
findingDulcinea
http://www.findingdulc
inea.com/guides/Educat
ion/Elementary-SchoolSocial-Studies.html

A variety of Social Studies

resources including lesson
plans for grades K-5,
worksheets, activities,
puzzles and project ideas.

This site can help set a foundation for lesson plans, especially those
focusing on history, geography or economics. This source also has
additional resources that can be integrated to enhance those lessons. I
would teach some of these lesson plans in my classroom. In addition I
could use portions of them and incorporate them into my practices.

It is helpful to look at previously taught

lesson plans to help improve the ones
you have taught or are currently
teaching. Viewing other perspectives will
help engage a wider range of students.

Elementary Social Studies

resources for students,
teachers and parents.

The resources offered can be integrated to enhance the lessons being

taught. It also has help hints for students as well as teaching tips for
Elementary Social Studies education. I plan on utilizing the variety of
museum sites and online periodicals it has to offer.

Social Studies for Kids

http://www.socialstudie
sforkids.com/subjects/t
eachingresources.htm

The resources offered can be integrated to enhance the lessons being

taught. It also has some links for teaching ideas specific to Social
Studies. I would utilize the resources offered for subjects such as
religion, and integrating a variety of cultures. There are also activities
involving maps and timelines.

Share My Lesson
http://www.sharemyles
son.com/earlyelementary-socialstudies-teachingresources/

Resources including
worksheets and games
across a variety of Social
Studies content including
current events, economics,
government, geography,
history and archaeology.
Resources including
activities, worksheets,
games, lesson plans,
flashcards, puzzles, posters,
assessments and other ideas
for students grades K-2.

It has several resources that are

organized in a way that is easy to
navigate and based on their popularity. It
offers resources covering a wide-range
of topics all involving Social Studies
content.
This resources are student-centered, lots
of kid friendly items that are great to
share with your class. Also has a full
library of student sheets for teachers to
bring into their lessons.

The Cornerstone
http://thecornerstonefor
teachers.com/freeresources/contentareas/social-studies

This site can help set a foundation for lesson plans, especially those
focusing on civics, economics, geography or history. This source also
has additional resources that can be integrated to enhance those
lessons. I would navigate through the highly rated resources and most
recently added resources to bring them into my teaching. There are
also several interactives and presentations that would add onto my
current practices.
This resource offers a variety of free resources including books,
videos, printable, podcasts and blogs with ways to bring fun into your
Social Studies content block. This site has readily accessible
techniques for the classroom such as what would you do activities,
word wall ideas, visual discovery lessons, art projects and experiential
exercises.

It is helpful to look at previously taught

lesson plans to help improve the ones
you have taught or are currently
teaching. Viewing other perspectives will
help engage a wider range of students.
The site is well organized based on grade
level and topic.
This resource is a great way to integrate
both art and Social Studies in a
meaningful way. The teaching ideas are
fun and easy to bring into the classroom
and are great for engaging resistant
students.

Social Studies and

History Teachers Blog
https://multimedialearni
ngllc.wordpress.com

Each blog post focuses on a specific point in time that includes

PowerPoints, games, maps, photographs and videos to support that
particular lesson. For example there are blog posts centering the Cold
War, World War II, analyzing multiple historical figures and even an
ancestry map from past censuses. There is also always some ready to
use resource for your classroom whether being question and answers
for round table discussions or assessment tools.

I appreciated the consistency of the blogs

as they have the same components
within each post only varying by subject
area. It was easy to navigate through the
time periods being taught and offered
interesting resources such as a look at a
school history exam from 1912 and a
war time Dr. Seuss cartoon

Techniques to get students

passionate about social
studies even when there is
limited time and resources.
Practical ideas that make
teaching more effective,
efficient, and enjoyable.
A Social Studies and
History focused blog for
teachers containing
resources for teaching a
variety of lessons through
the eras.

iCivics
https://www.icivics.org

This resource has free printand-go lesson plans, awardwinning games, and digital
interactives to help students
learn civics. iCivics
curriculum is grouped into
topical units that align to
state and Common Core
standards.

iCivics games place students in different civic roles and give them
agency to address real-world problems and issues. They are rooted in
clear learning objectives and integrated with lesson plans and support
materials. The tools offered are aimed to help achieve to expand
students learning experience through interactive educational games.
Games offered include Crisis of a Nation, Do I have a Right, Bill of
Rights Edition, Branches of Power, Cast Your Vote and County Quest.

Mr. Donn's Site For

Kids and Teachers
http://www.mrdonn.org

Free lesson plans, activities,

clip art, videos, games,
PowerPoints and handouts
for kids and teachers.

This site can help set a foundation for lesson plans, especially those
focusing on ancient history, word history and American history. This
source also has additional resources that can be integrated to enhance
those lessons. I would teach some of these lesson plans in my
classroom. In addition, I could use portions of them and incorporate
them into my practices.

Teaching Resources
http://www.lauracandle
r.com/filecabinet/social
studies.php

A collection of printables,
games, and activities for
upper elementary school
students grades 3-6.

This site is rich with ideas that can help add on to your lessons with
direct links to access the materials needed. There are several blank
printables, project suggestions, books to preview, maps, timeline
activities and geography resources. I personally am interested to
explore the constitution day section and play the stock market game;
both with addition resources to provide extension. Another benefit of
this source is its connection to literacy. For each activity, there are
suggestions of books to support what is being taught.

10

Social Studies Ideas for

Elementary Teachers
http://excellenceinteach
ingsocialstudies.blogsp
ot.com

A blog with strategies and

resources for engagement
when teaching elementary
social studies. Resources
include active engagement
tools, lesson plans, lap
books and critical thinking
expansions.

This site is full of resources including those for interactive notebooks,

foldables and graphic organizers. This provides several ways for
students to be hands-on in their Social Studies learning. There are also
several pictures alongside each post to demonstrate how to create the
different products. Specific posts I would further explore include
graphing in interactive notebooks, creating social studies triaramas,
and current event foldable. The most useful post in my opinion is the
suggestions for grading interactive notebooks with example rubrics.

With sections dedicated to both students

and teachers, this resource offers
multiple games for students to play as
well as supplementary materials for
teachers. Its an exciting way to engage
and enlighten students with the tools
they need for active participation and
democratic action. I personally have
used this source during an undergrad
college course.
This resource covers a multitude of
subjects that are both specific and broad.
This is especially useful when delving
deep into particular events and also,
when discovering connections across a
range of time. This source is a great tool
to assist students in gaining multiple
perspectives.
It is helpful to look at previously taught
lesson plans to help improve the ones
you have taught or are currently
teaching. Viewing other perspectives will
help engage a wider range of students. A
teacher who has taught each of these
subjects puts out the site and she
provides strategies she found useful in
her practices.
This blog is user friendly with step-bystep instructions for each activity. It also
has a list of popular activities used for
easy navigation. There are also helpful
hints and notes along with each post
specific for teachers to know before
trying them out in the classroom. This
helps with anticipating student
responses.

Technology
11

Resource

Description

Free Technology for

Teachers
http://www.freetech4te
achers.com

A blog detailing free

technology for teachers.
Tools included are ipad apps
and android for schools,
practical ed tech, Google
tutorials, free guides,

Incorporation for Teaching and Learning

Frequently updated blog posts provide insight to regularly used
technology in educational settings. Examples of resources offered
include apps for parents, how to make blogs mobile-friendly, and
incorporating digital portfolios. A benefit of this site is the month in
review blog, which contains the most popular posts of each month for
easy access.

Purpose for Inclusion

This resource is to teach educators how
to navigate and use a variety of
technological tools. It also provides
implementation strategies to bring into
your classroom.

12

The Ed Tech Roundup

http://www.edtechroun
dup.org

13

Purely Paperless
http://www.purelypaper
less.com

14

Teach Thought
http://www.teachthoug
ht.com/category/techno
logy/

15

alternatives to YouTube,
creating blogs and websites
and video creation lessons.
A source for regular updates
on the latest educational
technology news & reviews.
Also has a growing library
of lesson plans and
resources to help classroom
teachers integrate
technology across the
curriculum.
A blog with tech tools for
the classroom. This site
explores frequently used
technology tools in schools
and breaks them down for
users.

This resource offers a multitude of unique technologies to bring into

your teaching practices. Examples include interactive eBooks for
students, online resources for project and performance based tasks and
assessments, new ways to teach vocabulary through technology, as
well as apps with communication tools between teachers, students and
parents. There are also articles posted with technology related
discussions such as increasing and improving technology infrastructure
in classrooms.

It has several resources that are

organized in a way that is easy to
navigate through the archives menu. It
offers resources covering a wide-range
of technological topics and provides
access to weekly podcasts, ed tech links,
and lesson plans.

Purely Paperless posts include links to apps that you can bring into the
classroom. Some fun features are the tech Tuesday posts and things
you may also like section that connects various tools. Each blog
contains pictures and videos for easy understanding. There are also
links to trainings for blogging in the classroom, digital assessment
tools, and incorporating technology in informational writing. And a
large portion of the blog is dedicated to learning and exploring
Evernote.

Purely Paperless has blogs useful for

teachers (like myself) who are in the
process of learning how to implement
frequently used technology tools in
education. Examples are ways to
revamp your classroom website and
using Google forms with students.

Teach Thought is a resource aimed to teach different technology tools

to teachers. Some posts include graphic design tools for visual content,
twitter chat for teachers, Google education, video pen pal technology,
how technology impacts teachers, and diverse tools to publish student
work.

Users can sort through the content to

navigate to specific technologies or to
see the trending posts. This source has a
lot of interesting posts that are geared
towards educating teachers in a way that
presents the material for successful
classroom implementation.

iLearn Technology
http://ilearntechnology.
com

This site offers a variety of

technology archives. The
resource is categorized by
learning, teaching,
technology, social media,
trending, definitions for
teaching in the 21st century
and apps.
A blog geared towards
integrating technology into
the classroom.

This resource is taking preexisting technology sites and exploring how

they can be brought into your teaching practices. Specific posts I
suggest using include using technology to differentiate instruction and
exploring Prodigy, the virtual world of math.

16

Teachers as Technology
Trailblazers
http://www.kristenswan
son.org

This blog is a resource to

best practices, instruction,
and assessment in a digital
world.

17

Ask a Tech Teacher

http://askatechteacher.c
om

This award-winning
resource blog is put out by a
group of technology
teachers who provide free
materials, advice, lesson

Teachers as Technology Trailblazers shares technology tools and

techniques used by teachers so that they can be incorporated into your
teachings. Topics are broken down easily offering essential elements
and strategies to explore. Another enjoyable feature are the technology
reads such as the debate over whether or not mobile devices are
productive or a distraction in the classroom.
Ask a Tech Teacher has everything about tech in the classroom from
lesson plans, projects, tech tips, tech how-tos, pedagogy, trends,
webinars and trainings. This is especially useful as it explains a variety
of ways to bring technology into each subject in each grade level.

The benefit of this site is that it not only

breaks down what the technology is
but how the technology can be used in
your teachings. The featured post at the
top of each page is also a quick and easy
navigational tool.
The author of this blog is well known in
the world of educational technology
having written many books, taught
several seminars and having spoken at
TED Talk conferences.
The site is organized in a way that allows
users to decide how to view posts. Blogs
can be chosen by their subject,
popularity or how recently it was
published.

plans, pedagogical
conversation and website
reviews to others.

Social Studies/Technology
Resource

Description

Incorporation for Teaching and Learning

Purpose for Inclusion

18

Classroom Aid
http://classroomaid.com/educationalresources/social-study/

Resources for teaching and

learning Social Studies and
Technology.

The resources offered can be integrated to enhance the lessons being

taught. It also has connected technological sites to connect to the
Social Studies content shown. I would demonstrate the various
historic explorer sites with my students. In addition, it has several links
to gain access to primary sources such as digital archives, historical
documents and photos.

This site is a great tool to use when

integrating both Social Studies and
technology into the classroom.

19

History Tech
https://historytech.word
press.com

Ideas, tools and best

practices for teaching Social
Studies. Resources available
include lesson plans,
additional web-sites, links to
standards, assessment
advice and technology
integration.

The resources offered can be integrated to enhance the lessons being

taught. It also focuses on professional development for teachers. I
could learn a lot of tools and techniques to bring into my teaching
practices such as engaging students in actively reading and inquiry
based learning.

There are a lot of interesting videos and

podcasts with teaching techniques to
explore.

Art
Resource

Description

Incorporation for Teaching and Learning

Purpose for Inclusion

20

Art for Small Hands

http://www.artforsmall
hands.com

Several of these art projects can be used to provide students with an

active and creative add-on to a lesson. Each lesson plan contains key
ideas that describe the purpose of the project, background knowledge
to share, as well as the language connected to the artwork. These are
great tools to help integrate these projects into your language arts
block. Additionally, there are resources readily available to explore to
provide students with additional visual representations to enrich their
experience. I would definitely use the illustrating poems lesson plan as
it fits nicely with 1st grades poetry unit.

21

Teacher Tap
http://eduscapes.com/ta
p/tapart.html

A blog with lesson plans for

art projects for children ages
3 to 13. Each lesson plan
has all the information
needed to complete the
project including the target
age, key concepts to be
learned, materials needed;
helpful notes to avoid
pitfalls; and some
anticipated conversations.
Professional development
fine arts resources that
connect across traditional
content areas.

This blog provides teachers with stepby-step guidance in how to instruct and
develop, without overwhelming or
dampening, the artist inside every child.
It is very easy to follow the lesson and
can be organized by age group or
materials needed for the art project. Each
blog also has pictures of students work
to see the desired creation, and gives you
an idea of how long it would take to
complete.
It has several sites that are organized for
educators and students in a way that is
easy to operate. It also offers additional
resources covering a wide-range of
specified fine arts topics.

22

National Art Education

A special collection of

This site provides direct access to internet sources for fine arts that can
be integrated to enhance content lessons. There are links to
professional organizations, standards and materials, starting points, as
well as resources for teachers, young adults, and children. I would
further explore the links offered including the patterns starting point
and KinderArt, which has lots of art activities and lessons for kids.
A wide array of web-based resources for K-12 teachers. These include

This is an accredited site that provides

Association
http://www.arteducator
s.org/learning/lessonplanning

lesson/unit plans curated by

National Art Education
Association professionals.
Includes thematic lesson
plans, activities, materials,
themes and artists.

23

Teacher Vision
https://www.teachervisi
on.com/art/teacherresources/6681.html

24

Annenberg Learner
http://www.learner.org/
resources/series165.ht
ml

Art lesson plans, printables,

activities, quizzes, and
references, for art teachers
at the elementary, middle, or
high school level.
A video library for K-5
classroom teachers and arts
specialists. There are also
teacher resources and
professional development
across the curriculum.

25

The Teaching Palette

http://theteachingpalett
e.com/category/blog/

26

Art Lessons for Kids

http://artlessonsforkids.
me

27

Mrs. Art Teacher

http://applesloveorange
spdx.blogspot.com

Music

A blog for teachers to

enhance their work with art
education. This site
provides a collaborative
forum where art specialists
of all levels can explore
professional topics that
impact the subject area.
An inspirational blog for
parents, teachers and anyone
who loves teaching art.

K-8 lessons plans, projects,

photos, art history,
classroom management and
teaching reflections.

lesson plans, timelines, searchable databases, image banks, video clips

of artists and scholars speaking about works of art, access to behind the
scenes images of exhibition installations, podcasts of lectures,
interactive games, special teacher blogs, and free subscriptions to eresources. Links I would further explore are 25 Places for Kids to
Learn and Experiment with Art, Artsonia, and 50 Ways to Integrate Art
Into Any Lesson.
The resources available allow students to explore their creative sides in
their science, math, social studies, and reading classes, as well as their
art class. There are lesson plans for Grades K-5 across all content areas
and also include holiday and seasonal activities.

links to additional resources that are

popular amongst art educators. All of the
links are alphabetical and have
descriptive previews as to what to find.
The tools and guides for teachers are
especially helpful.

The programs in this video library show classroom teachers and arts
specialists using the arts in a variety of successful ways. The 14 video
programs filmed in elementary schools around the country along
with a print guide and companion website, serve as a professional
development resource for K-5 teachers seeking new ideas for
integrating the arts into the classroom. In addition to the video series
tabs, there are also lesson plans and interactives to explore.

The resource allows users to browse

grade specific lesson plans and select the
discipline you would like to teach.
Features utilize specialists in dance,
music, theatre, and visual arts.
Programs include art specialists at work,
ideas for arts in the general classroom,
and the challenges of organizing for the
arts.
The resources page on The Teaching
Palettes site is my favorite location as it
has a large list of sites for art education.
Many of these resources are ones weve
looked at closely during our graduate
classes and they are conveniently
compiled together here.

The big three content specialties include classroom management,

music and art integration, and teacher-authored product reviews. The
cool and creative tab offers tech stuff, techniques and videos. Under
reviews, there are favorite blogs in art education. I enjoyed reading the
review on Padlet a way to engage and get students thinking in a
collaborative way and information on a sketchbook app for kids.
This site has pages with lesson plans and art supplies information. The
art supplies section has tips for choosing art supplies, how to care for
them and there are also art supply resources. Examples of ideas Id
look at further are name art in grade five, and mixing colors in grade
one. I like how the name of the project is shown and then following is
the targeted grade level it is planned for.
This blog is great for teachers who would like to see visual
representations of projects to integrate into the classroom. I feel that
the radial names, pattern initials, and hidden names art projects would
be great resources for getting to know your students as they make for
great classroom community building activities. I also like how Mrs. Art
Teacher explains what physical skills students are improving on
through completing this projects. There are multi-session and one class
projects for teachers to try.

TeacherVisions resources help teachers

make their lesson more integrative.
There are also good connections to
music and technology.

Although to get an in depth look at

lesson plans it costs $5, there are still
some blog discussions to look at that
give a peek into what the lessons
highlight.
It has several resources that are
organized by the time archive, their
labels and based on popularity. It offers
resources covering a wide-range of art
topics. She also links to the blogs she
follows as well.

Resource

Description

Incorporation for Teaching and Learning

Purpose for Inclusion

28

Mrs. Miracles
Musicroom
http://www.mrsmiracle
smusicroom.com

There are a lot of great ideas put out on this blog including a lot of fun
and interactive activities and games. Mrs. Miracle also shares blogs she
loves as well as a link to her teachers pay teachers account for physical
resources. With every post there are new ideas shes tried in her
classroom with her successes and difficulties along with links to help.

29

Music with Mrs.

Dennis
http://musicwithmrsden
nis.blogspot.com

A blog put out by a music

teacher with ideas for
incorporating music into the
classroom. She also posts
additional music resources
to explore.
This blog is for music
educators with ideas for
lesson plans, classroom
organizations,
performances, props, and
homemade instruments.
There are also links shared
to other resourceful music
blogs.

This resource is great for getting a music

teachers perspective on how to teach
music in elementary classrooms. I like
how there are pictures with visual aids to
help get a better understanding of how
things would look when teaching.
This blog can add to the amount of
resources available for the elementary
music classroom. It is helpful to look at
previously taught lesson plans to help
improve the ones you have taught or are
currently teaching. Viewing other
perspectives will help engage a wider
range of students.

30

Elementary Music
Resources
http://elementarymusicr
esources.blogspot.ca

This site contains

downloadable resources for
teachers to engage in any
K-5 music program.

31

Melody Soup
http://melodysoup.blog
spot.com

A blog with strategies and

resources for teachers when
teaching music at the
elementary level.

Something unique about Music with Mrs. Dennis is that she includes
dance and movement into her music lessons along with visual arts.
Doing this would help teachers delve deeper into their musical art
lessons. Within this blog are a lot of great Pinterest boards, which I
have found to be a great teacher tool. Posts I found interesting were the
different rhythmic games, online technologies integrating music, and a
visual aids lesson with photographs and videos. These lessons involve
all types of learners, and are especially mindful of ESOL students.
Another fun game Id try is Guess Who with musical instruments and
the Frozen musical snowman activity. These would be great for student
engagement and to motivate your learners in a new way.
Elementary Music Resources has readily available and easy to prepare
music activities. There are links to SMARTboard files, music
worksheets, music games online, favorite finds and music centers. At
the top there is also a button to a Teachers Pay Teachers site. Special to
this blog are the World Music lessons where student explore music
around the world, which brings in great multi-cultural perspectives.
There are also a variety of holiday lessons that are both traditional and
non-traditional. A game I found that could easily be integrated is the
Rhythm Tic-Tac-Toe played with Legos.
There are several book lists for music teachers along with posts called
the music teachers bookshelf. With interactive read alouds being such
an important element in our practices, this is an easy way to integrate
music into the general education classroom. There are also videos with
useful demonstrations such as Education Through Music. Another
portion of the blog I found help was the classroom organization posts
containing techniques for management tools, roadmaps, checklists,
lesson plans and calendars.

This site is a great tool to use when

integrating Music into the classroom.
The site is well organized based on the
label headings along the right side such
as musical concepts, and there are also
archive posts to blogs they follow.

Melody Soup is a great way to integrate

Music in a meaningful way. The teaching
ideas are great for helping integrate
literacy, technology and music together
in harmony.