Social Studies Materials for Teachers
Social Studies
Use the primary sources, literary and historical texts, simulations, and reader's theater scripts to deepen students' content knowledge and build critical-thinking skills.
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1-Minute HistoryLessons
PRODUCTS
iCivics
Inspire students to make change!
Created in collaboration with civics expert iCivics, this high-quality literacy and civic resource engages students in critical thinking, thoughtful discussions, and activities about their civic responsibilities.
PRODUCTS
Untold Stories
Explore diverse perspectives!
Empower students by helping them connect with unique stories that promote representation and diversity. Untold Stories is a meaningful nonfiction series with texts that focus on diverse people and their captivating experiences.
PRODUCTS
Primary Sources
Ignite a passion for social studies with authentic primary sources that provide a comprehensive understanding of historical events.
Bring social studies to life through primary sources such as maps, letters, photographs, political cartoons, and more.
PRODUCTS
Primary Source Readers
Seamlessly integrate social studies into language arts instruction.
Build literacy and social studies content knowledge with these high-interest, content-rich readers.
PRODUCTS
Teaching Civics Today: The iCivics Approach to Classroom Innovation and Student Engagement
Learn how to teach civics in today's classrooms!
This professional book written by John Larmer explores key civics topics and offers strategies for incorporating civics into social studies instruction.
PRODUCTS
Analyzing and Writing with Primary Sources
Create a rich learning environment and support deep thinking using primary sources.
Winner of the 2017 Golden Lamp Award for Classroom Professional Resources, this practical, standards-based book dives deeply into the use of primary sources to support the development of students' close reading and writing skills.
PRODUCTS
Rhymes for the Times: Literacy Strategies through Social Studies
Using poetry with students has many benefits!
Authored by Timothy Rasinski and David L. Harrison, this resource was developed in response to the need from teachers for good texts for teaching reading fluency within the content areas.
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY BOOKS
180 Days of Practice
Practice Makes Perfect!
This best-selling series provides 180 days of daily practice with lessons designed to immerse students in each subject, learn key skills, and form good habits.
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY BOOKS
Leveled Texts
Give all students access to the curriculum with seamlessly differentiated texts.
This standards-based series supports differentiated instruction and increases reading comprehension in mathematics, science, social studies, and language arts.
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY BOOKS
Understanding Elections
Understanding Elections is perfect to spark a core understanding of America's political system in order to produce young, well-educated learners and future voters.
To immerse your students in this content-specific learning, they will experience the election process themselves through thought-provoking discussions, simulations, and extensions.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Exploring Social Studies Professional Development
Help students develop a unique understanding of history with an inquiry-based approach to active learning.
In this workshop, educators will: Learn how to integrate social studies into literacy instruction to deepen understanding, and much more.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Product Training
Welcome to TCM Virtual Product Launches!
Virtual Product Launches are specially designed to quickly train teachers on how to use a particular product so they can be more effective in their teaching.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Why Civics? Why Now?
Engage students in critical thinking, thoughtful discussions, and engaging activities.
Engage students in critical thinking, thoughtful discussions, and engaging activities that will guide them to becoming active, civic-minded members of society while also building key literacy skills.
STATE-BASED SOCIAL STUDIES
Exploring Social Studies Products
Discover our comprehensive approach to social studies that inspires authentic learning.
Discover our comprehensive approach to social studies that inspires authentic learning. Students will develop social studies content knowledge and build literacy skills through resources with multiple perspectives that cultivate curiosity about civics, geography, history, and economics, helping them understand the world around them and their connection to it.
FREE ON-DEMAND WEBINARS
Inquiry-Based Active Learning Strategies for Social Studies
Give students agency over their learning and develops student-generated questioning skills.
In this On-Demand webinar educators will learn how to apply active-learning techniques in social studies, students aren’t just students, they’re historians and researchers.
FREE ON-DEMAND WEBINARS
Bringing History to Life: Using Primary Sources in the Classroom
Strategies to discover ways to use primary sources to bring history to life for all students.
In this On-Demand webinar learn how to identify ways to engage, explore, and extend learning using primary sources. Discover several strategies to bring history to life using primary sources.
FREE ON-DEMAND WEBINARS
How to Promote an Inquiry-Based Learning Environment
Transform students into inquiry-based learners in any environment.
In this On-Demand webinar learn the best instructional formats to promote ideal learning opportunities for students, strategies for teaching students to deeply analyze instructional sources in any content area and much more.
1-MINUTE HISTORY LESSONS
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Relevant information
Teaching Resources and Classroom Strategies for Social Studies Teachers
Teacher Created Materials offers easy-to-use teaching resources and fun, student-friendly printed and digital materials which encourage inquiry-based learning strategies to keep students actively engaged in past and present history exploration. Our education resources help students learn social studies concepts with ease and teachers like you to create meaningful, engaging lesson plans for your social studies classes or an entire school district curriculum.
Educators, teachers, and district leadership can rest assured our teaching resources are aligned to the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for State Social Studies Standards and National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) curriculum standards.
What is the C3 Framework for State Social Studies Standards?
Published by the NCSS, the C3 Framework is an inquiry-based framework for social studies education. It’s intended to help states, districts, and educators prepare students for “successful participation in college, careers, and civic life” and “guides—not prescribes—the choice of curricular content necessary for a rigorous social studies program.”
The core structure of the C3 Framework is known as an Inquiry Arc. The Arc “focuses on the nature of inquiry [...] and the pursuit of knowledge through questions.” It’s comprised of four Dimensions:
- Developing questions and planning inquiries
- Applying disciplinary concepts and tools
- Evaluating sources and using evidence
- Communicating conclusions and taking informed action
(pgs. 6, 12, and 17; The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History).
In simpler terms, students create or are provided intriguing questions to explore, investigate said questions, find and evaluate supporting evidence, and construct an argument (e.g. a detailed outline, essay, drawing) based on their research.
What are social studies?
Social studies integrate multiple disciplines "to help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world" (NCSS).
What are the 5 components of social studies?
The five essential branches or areas of social studies are geography, history, culture and society, civics and government, and economics.
More Resources to Support K-8 Teachers
Please feel free to browse the product boxes above to find more free resources and classroom materials to support student success.