3151 social-studies results | sort by:
RecessReset - RecessReset, LLC
Grades
K to 5tag(s): behavior (48), classroom management (146), social and emotional learning (203)
In the Classroom
Begin the day with a short Recess Reset video to introduce an emotion or regulation strategy. Students can turn and talk about when they might use that strategy during the school day, helping set a calm and focused tone. Present common classroom or playground situations (losing a game, feeling left out, frustration during work time). Have students role-play applying a Recess Reset strategy to build empathy and problem-solving skills. After viewing a video, have students write or draw about a time they felt the same emotion and which Reset strategy could help them. Older students can include sentence stems or reflection prompts to deepen ELA connections. Students can create a Reset journal using Book Creator, reviewed here or create a class Padlet, reviewed here.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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The Ancient Astronomy of Stonehenge Decoded - Open Culture, LLC
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): agriculture (54), england (49), seasons (59), sun (87)
In the Classroom
Begin with a short discussion about seasons and daylight. After viewing the video, have students identify how Stonehenge aligns with the sun during the solstices and explain why this would have mattered to ancient people. Show images or short clips of Stonehenge during the summer and winter solstice. Have students list visual clues that support the idea of astronomical alignment, then share their observations in small groups. Using simple materials such as paper circles, sticks, or a flashlight, have students create a small model demonstrating how the sun aligns with Stonehenge during a solstice.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mixboard - Google Labs
Grades
K to 12tag(s): artificial intelligence (346), brainstorming (17), collaboration (139), curation (27), iwb (29), mind map (31), Whiteboard (9)
In the Classroom
Use Mixboard as a collaborative activity by adding students' ideas along with images and text to brainstorm any topic. Turn your brainstorming ideas into a presentation to add to your class site. Build webs that visually link keywords, photos, and AI-generated visuals to map out themes or concepts. Plan narratives or scripts by creating a sequence of visuals and text that depict scenes, characters, or plot points. In Social Studies lessons, make boards to explore cultural artifacts, historical maps, or comparative societies. Provide language support by creating visual vocabulary boards with AI-generated situational images plus labels.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A SIFT Lesson Plan: Dealing With Media Overwhelm - TCEA
Grades
4 to 8This site includes advertising.
tag(s): evaluating sources (54), media literacy (130)
In the Classroom
Provide students with a mix of printed or projected images (some genuine, some altered or exaggerated). Ask them to stop and think before deciding whether each seems trustworthy. Students justify their choices with simple evidence (details in the picture, clues about the source, etc.). Set up stations with short samples of kid-friendly online content (article headlines, social media posts, or brief paragraphs). At each station, have students investigate the source: Who created it? Why? Is it a trustworthy type of site? They record their findings in a simple "Source Detective" notebook in Google Slides, reviewed here. Have students design a classroom poster illustrating the SIFT steps with kid-friendly language and examples. These posters can be displayed to reinforce ongoing digital-literacy habits.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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DeepL Translator - DeepL
Grades
K to 12tag(s): artificial intelligence (346), chinese (38), french (72), german (49), multilingual (82), russian (25), spanish (112)
In the Classroom
Use this translator to greet "other language" speaking students and make them feel welcome in your classroom, and encourage conversations between them and your class. Take advantage of this tool to broaden your classroom's global perspective by engaging in conversations with others around the world. Use this site in world language classrooms to have students copy their text to convert into the language being studied (or the reverse). Enhance student learning by having students create presentations on other countries in the nation's native language using a presentation tool like Canva for Education, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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HeyGen - HeyGen
Grades
K to 12tag(s): artificial intelligence (346), digital storytelling (180), presentations (47), tutorials (52)
In the Classroom
Use HeyGen to create explainer videos, lesson overviews, short tutorials, flipped-classroom clips, or informational videos, essentially anything that benefits from a "talking-through" format but where you might not want to appear on camera or record audio yourself. For example, create a tutorial on how to use a new software program or share some at-home learning strategies with parents on your class site. Use the embed code or link to add videos into flipped lessons using Sway reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Hank the Health Hero YouTube Channel - Hank the Health Hero
Grades
K to 3This site includes advertising.
tag(s): emotions (72), empathy (71), social and emotional learning (203)
In the Classroom
After watching a video, students act out different feelings Hank experiences. Have classmates guess the emotion, then discuss which clues helped them identify it. Create cards with actions like deep breathing, eating snacks, yelling, sharing, or leaving a mess. Ask students to sort them into "healthy choices" and "unhealthy choices" and explain why. In groups, students design a short comic strip using Cartoon Comic Maker, reviewed here that teaches a healthy habit or SEL strategy, just like Hank.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Stop and Think Folder - Lucky Little Learners
Grades
K to 5This site includes advertising.
tag(s): classroom management (146), emotions (72), empathy (71), problem solving (282), social and emotional learning (203), thinking skills (137)
In the Classroom
Have students choose a card that represents how they feel at the start of the day (happy, worried, tired, excited). As a class, briefly discuss which strategies help when different emotions arise. Create a small, calm corner with reflection sheets, pencils, and visual supports. Have students visit the station when needed to complete a short reflection about their behavior or emotions, similar to the Stop and Think process. Have students choose one behavior goal for the week, such as raising their hand, staying calm, or using kind words. They track their progress with simple checkboxes or smiley faces and reflect on what strategies helped them meet their goal.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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16 Habits of the Mind: Managing Impulsivity - WonderGrove Kids
Grades
K to 5This site includes advertising.
tag(s): empathy (71), listening (119), social and emotional learning (203), thinking skills (137)
In the Classroom
Have students work in small groups to create a frozen pose that shows a specific emotion (sad, proud, frustrated, or excited). Other students can guess the emotion and practice using empathetic statements, such as "It looks like you might feel..." to begin building awareness. Pair students and give them a simple prompt (a favorite game, a time they felt proud, a challenge they faced). Have Partner A share for 30 seconds, and then Partner B must restate what they heard using "So you're feeling..." or "You shared that...". Have students help create an anchor chart titled "What Listening with Empathy Looks Like and Sounds Like." Add quotes or examples from the video and student-created ideas, then refer to it during discussions throughout the week.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Using Book Creator to develop Thinking Routines - Paul Hamilton
Grades
K to 12tag(s): critical thinking (188), DAT device agnostic tool (133), digital storytelling (180), ebooks (49), multimedia (69), thinking routines (61), thinking skills (137), visual thinking (16)
In the Classroom
Use this book as inspiration to extend your use of Thinking Routines and to help students develop visual thinking skills. This tool is invaluable for encouraging students who are hesitant to participate in class discussion, as it provides a range of options for sharing their ideas. Learn the basics of Book Creator by watching the archive of OK2Ask: Tech Made EZ with Book Creator, reviewed here. Find out more about Thinking Routines by reading the two-part blog starting with Empower Your Classroom with Thinking Routines, Part 1: A Quick Guide.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Active Listening - Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility
Grades
3 to 6tag(s): empathy (71), listening (119), social and emotional learning (203)
In the Classroom
Students can create the Active Listening checklist with visuals by using Canva for Education, reviewed here. Students can record themselves showing active listening by using ScreenPal, reviewed here. Students can create a digital escape activity using Save the Planet Breakout, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Kindness in the Classroom: Kindergarten - 5th Grade - Random Acts of Kindness Foundation
Grades
K to 5tag(s): empathy (71), listening (119), social and emotional learning (203)
In the Classroom
Have students keep a journal using Seesaw, reviewed here throughout the course of the year sharing what they have learned. Students can create comics to teach each of the six core concepts using Witty Comics, reviewed here. Students can post ways to be each of the core concepts on a virtual bulletin board such as Lino, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Headspace for Educators - Headspace Inc.
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): professional development (297), social and emotional learning (203), Teacher Utilities (222)
In the Classroom
Begin class with a one-minute guided breathing exercise from Headspace. Students should close their eyes or soften their gaze, focus on their breath, and prepare their minds for learning. Have students design personal calm-down strategies based on techniques learned in Headspace, such as counting breaths, visualizing a quiet place, or practicing gratitude. They store their ideas in a journal or a small set of cards. At the end of the week, have students write a short reflection about which mindfulness strategy helped them most during class and how it affected their focus or mood.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence - Yale School of Medicine
Grades
K to 12tag(s): emotions (72), professional development (297), social and emotional learning (203)
In the Classroom
Have students place a small sticky note on a class chart showing how they feel at the start of class. After a few days, invite them to notice patterns and reflect on how emotions may affect learning. Read a short passage, poem, or scenario and ask students to identify the emotions involved. Students should discuss the clues they used to build emotional vocabulary and comprehension. Have students write a brief weekly reflection using Book Creator, reviewed here about one emotion they experienced during the school week, what caused it, and what strategy helped them manage it.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Flexible Thinking vs. Stuck Thinking - Whole Child Counseling
Grades
K to 5This site includes advertising.
tag(s): flexibility (9), perspective (33), thinking skills (137)
In the Classroom
Have students rewrite short "stuck thinking" statements to show a flexible response. Have students become "thinking detectives" and look for clues that show how someone in a story, video, or real-life classroom situation can use flexible thinking. They can write a short "detective report" describing the problem, the stuck reaction, and a flexible alternative. In small groups, students can create a kid-friendly way to teach flexible thinking to younger students. Options include a skit, comic strip using Free Comic Strip Maker by Adobe, reviewed here, poster, slide deck using Google Slides, reviewed here, or mini-story.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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TED Talk- Are you really as good at something as you think? - Robin Kramer
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): brain (59), emotions (72), social and emotional learning (203), thinking routines (61), thinking skills (137)
In the Classroom
Have students choose a simple classroom task (reading aloud, drawing a shape, solving a math problem). They rate how well they think they'll do, try it, and then rate how they actually did. Compare the two and discuss why the ratings might differ. Give students colorful cards with prompts such as "One skill I want to improve is...," "One thing I'm confident about is...," and "Feedback helps me when...." Students can complete the cards and share with a partner to practice metacognitive thinking. Assign students to pick one skill they want to get better at over a week (typing speed, multiplication facts, drawing, fitness). They make a simple improvement plan, collect daily evidence, and reflect at the end on whether their predictions matched actual progress.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Metacognition - SlideShare
Grades
3 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): presentations (47), professional development (297), questioning (37), social and emotional learning (203), thinking routines (61), thinking skills (137)
In the Classroom
During work time, have students pause for a quick "Check My Strategy" moment to note whether their plan is working and what they might adjust. After completing an activity, ask students to create a Metacognition Mini-Poster using Canva for Education, reviewed here that shows one strategy they used, how it helped them, and an example of when they might use it again. Begin a lesson with a "Think About Your Thinking" warm-up and have students briefly write how they plan to approach a task, such as a reading assignment or math problem set.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Travel Blog: Luxury Travel 2026/2027 - Travelbag
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Assign students a Travelbag blog post about a destination. Have students identify key details such as location, climate, culture, landmarks, and activities, then share a one-minute destination pitch with the class. Use a blog post as a mentor text. Have students analyze how the author uses descriptive language and sensory details, then write their own short travel blog post or travel brochure using Canva for Education, reviewed here on about a real or imaginary destination. Have students design a mock travel itinerary inspired by the blog. They can include destinations, activities, transportation, a simple budget, and a persuasive explanation of why someone should visit that place.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Habits of Minds Kids - Habits of Minds Kids
Grades
4 to 6tag(s): empathy (71), senses (23), thinking routines (61), thinking skills (137)
In the Classroom
Students can complete the lessons from the website. Students can create a comic showing responsibility, understanding, or empathy using Free Comic Strip Maker by Adobe, reviewed here. Students can use ScreenPal, reviewed here to create short videos modeling the different Habits of Mind.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Activities for Metacognition - DePaul University
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): critical thinking (188), social and emotional learning (203), thinking skills (137), visual thinking (16)
In the Classroom
During reading or writing, call a "strategy pause." Have students stop for one minute and write down which strategy they are using, why they chose it, and whether it is helping them build monitoring and mid-lesson adjustment skills. Provide a new reading or writing task and ask students to select one strategy from a previous lesson to apply. Afterward, have them write a short explanation of how the strategy worked in a new situation to encourage long-term skill transfer. Students can create a simple flowchart showing how they approached a challenge: what they knew before starting, what strategies they tried, how they monitored progress, what they changed, and what they learned. Display students' charts to demonstrate visual thinking skills and strategies, or use Padlet, reviewed here to create a digital gallery walk of students' explanations.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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