Doing Social Studies: One more blog about what we love

Do we need another blog about social studies? I mean, there’s got to be hundreds, maybe thousands of blogs that talk about social studies. And almost all of them are very good.

I’m a little biased, of course. I like this one. It’s been around since January 2008 and so I’m kind of invested. But I do think there is room for another social studies blog – the more conversations we have about what we do and how we do it the better.

So.

A new blog.

Titled Doing Social Studies and maintained by the Kansas Council for the Social Studies, the site is a place

Tip of the Week: Closer Readings blog, social studies, and the Common Core

Ever since I ran across the EDSITEment web site, I’ve been in love. What’s not to love?

They’ve got awesome lesson plans. Sweet web sites searchable by content area. Great resources for students. Plus I’m digging the very cool web site design and color scheme.

So when I found out recently that they’ve added a blog on the ThinkFinity Community site, well . . . they had me at hello.

Called Closer Readings, the blog highlights features, teaching suggestions, and instructional resources on timely topics. The idea is to focus on the Common Core requirement of “close readings” of content. And because EDSITEment focuses on humanities resources and tools that we should already be incorporating into our instruction, this is a perfect place for social studies teachers to spend some time.

Tip of the Week – So Moved

I like this. A lot. I’m not sure if it’s the text or the images or a combination of both. But I like it.

It’s why you teach Social Studies and history. It’s why you have kids write, analyze primary documents and role play Korematsu v. United States. Why you have kids break down the Declaration of Independence and argue about the Bill of Rights. It’s why you read about Selma and the Dust Bowl and Sacajawea and Reconstruction and a thousand other people and events. It’s why you do what you do.

But sometimes you need a reason. A reason in the current political climate of divide and conquer to feel good about what you do every day. A greater purpose for getting in front of 28 middle school kids every day.

If you need a shot of Founding Father juice, this is it.

Maira Kalman has other stuff too. It’s an old blog but with tons of awesomeness. And she’s got a book that every Social Studies teacher should have.

So moved.

Tip of the Week – Latest Blog at Library of Congress

If you spend any time here at all, you know that I love all things history and techy. But there are a few things that I love above all others.

Google stuff, especially Google Earth.

The National Archives, especially DocsTeach.

Video games and mobile apps, especially iPad tools.

But I’m also a huge fan of the Library of Congress, especially their Web 2.0 tools. And they just started a brand new blog.

TED Talks for Social Studies Teachers

I love TED talks. They’re like the perfect educational appetizer. All of them are quick and easy to digest, they look great and they make you hungry to learn more.

I’ve posted about TED talks before. I’ve embedded actual TED talks into posts. But I’ve never made time to really put together a nice collection of TED videos that focus on social studies.

But Angela has.

Angela has a sweet blog over at changED that you need to spend some browsing through. And a couple, three weeks ago she posted an equally sweet GoogleDoc that highlights almost 30 TED talks that social studies teachers should view and use with students. You can also find a handy Pinterest board from the HistoryLab people with even more links.

Use the list to grow professionally. Show the videos to your kids. Or do what they did over at the TEDxClassroomProject.

What happens when 80 10th grade students watch, analyze and reflect upon 640+ TED Talks in pursuit of the answer to the question, “What Matters (To Us)”?

The TEDxClassroomProject happens. A very cool way to hook kids into viewing and thinking about a wide range of topics while encouraging them to create some of their own.

I’m thinking semester-end student-created TED talks instead of a final. Group TED talks that take opposing views of similar topics. Seems to me that you could do all sorts of things with the TED talk theme.