Aimee Chanhatasilpa

SLM 521 – Spring 05

 

 

Elective 6 – Worksheets for Instruction

8th Grade U.S. History, “Colonies to Civil War”

 

 

  1. The Lesson Plans Page – Offers a good mixture of lesson formats on a fairly wide range of topics.  Some offer in depth research projects and very good “how to” directions for the teacher.  Other lessons are text-heavy reading lessons with questions that follow.  A good source to for getting new ideas to adapt to your classroom.  http://www.lessonplanspage.com/SSJH.htm  Date last visited: 3/25/05

 

  1. Discovery Zone - School – An excellent source of very creative lessons.  Many lessons involve cooperative and interdependent learning and use technology.  The site is very well organized making it easy to use and find just the lesson you need.  Internet lessons list the sites to go to, outline in lesson format, the sequence and pace of the lesson.  Objectives and lesson extensions are also offered.  An excellent resources for great a-typical lessons! www.school.discovery.com/lessonplans/browse/g3s14.html Date last visited: 3/25/05

 

  1. Lesson Plan Search – This site is not recommended for middle school teachers.  It boosts just eight middle school lessons which are not categorized by subject.  Several of the lessons are of high quality, will challenge students, and use the internet, but are on very narrow topics which may be difficult to adapt to all curriculums.  www.lessonplanssearch.com/Social_Studies/Middle_School_6-8/index.html Date last visited: 3/25/05

 

  1. Teachers.net Lesson Exchange – An excellent site of teacher created lesson plans from the US and other English speaking educators from around the world.  Many lessons are very innovative, challenging and engaging lessons.  All needed information is included with lessons: materials, background, student preparation suggestions and more. http://teachers.net/cgi-bin/lessons/sort.cgi  Date last visited: 3/25/05

 

  1. Lesson Planz – Several quality lessons that encourage kids to investigate history by presenting them with a question or problem to solve and then providing the web or other resources to complete their task. Lessons are on very specific topics, but if they can fit into your curriculum, they are worth checking out. http://lessonplanz.com/Lesson_Plans/Social_Studies/_Grades_6-8/History/index.shtml  Date last visited: 3/25/05

 

  1. Educator's Reference Desk– A collection of basic lesson plans.  You’re safe to teach these, though some will need modification and updating.  Several are more than a decade old and do not include technology or newer teaching methods.  Many plans are submitted by universities. Considering that and their quality they may be products of college teaching methods classes.  The site is a little tricky to navigate and lessons are not categorized, but alphabetized by title, make it difficult to find a specific topic.  http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/lessons.cgi/Social_Studies/US_History  Date last visited: 3/25/05

 

  1. CEC Lesson Plans – Another collection of basic lesson plans.  Some of these even include lecture format lessons.  The date of these lessons could not be established, but they do not appear to carry newer teaching methods or technology.  Most involve assigning a research topic and marching off to the library to research and write a paper.  Not much innovation.  Still many can be used on an occasional basis to reteach skills, but should not be a primary source of lesson plan ideas. http://www.col-ed.org/cur/social.html#sst2  Date last visited: 3/25/05

 

  1. TeachNet Social Studies: History Lesson Plans – A total of three social studies lessons which are not categorized but simply listed.  One on Columbus takes Native Americans’ side and suggests that Columbus should be tried for genocide against Native Americans. Another asks students to research and explore the 20th century then write a summary on the century as we pass into the 21st century.  Interesting, but too little content to warrant repeat visits. http://www.teachnet.com/lesson/socstudies/history/index.html  Date last visited: 3/25/05

 

  1.  The Gateway to Educational Materials – A very difficult site to navigate.  Though good, innovative resources may be found here, the struggle to find them defeats the purpose of looking in the first place: to save time.  If you’re up for a challenge and do not mind fruitless endeavors, take some time to figure out this site. www.thegateway.org/  Date last visited: 3/25/05

 

  1. PBS.org – Great lesson ideas involving some cooperative and investigative learning strategies.  The only catch is that nearly all lessons center on pbs materials which need to be purchased for the lessons.  PBS materials are excellent tools for learning, so if it fits in your curriculum and budget, take a look at PBS plans which may have insights you have not considered. http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/soc_stud.htm  Date last visited: 3/25/05