The Surviving Social Studies Blog

Teaching During the Presidential Election

9/20/2020

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There is no better place than a social studies classroom to get students talking about the world they live in. This year, the November 3rd election will be one off the liveliest elections in recent history... so get your students involved!!

When it's presidential election season, I start by having a countdown every day to let students know how many more days we have until election day.

I teach 8th graders, and they are either 4-5 years away from being able to vote, but they are at the age where they are starting to see the bigger picture in life, and understand that who is president can have an enormous influence on the world in which they live .

This 2020 Presidential Debates resource will help your students become active listeners to both sides of the political spectrum. There are four debates scheduled between now and election day, so find a way to make this a part of the lives of your students. Offer extra credit... have a raffle for a candy bar... a free late assignment... whatever it takes - just get them involved!

Once you've got the hooked, then let then see who they would vote for based on skimming the surface of 10 Mystery Candidates backgrounds. Once we do this in class, the next step is to understand how a president is actually elected.

Now, there's this. I've been teaching for over 20 years, and I've never had a student NOT play the electoral college game that I made. To be honest, years ago, I came up with this idea out of desperation as to how I was going to make learning about the electoral college fun for kids. Then, and now... it's neve let me down!

You'll hear cries of, "Yessss! I just won California!" Or, "Arghhh... how could I lose Texas?"

It is, literally, one of my favorite days of the year!

If you are new to social studies this year due to COVID-19 and had a role change or if you are just looking for new ways to get your students involved in the political process. I hope these resources help. Enjoy them, and have a great election season!

Check out these other presidential resources if you're interested.

All the best,
Matt @ Surviving Social Studies

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Fun Geography Activity for First Week of School Using Google Slides

9/9/2020

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This year, my district has switched from teaching 49-minute classes to teaching 90-minute classes. That being said, this doesn't mean that we can get through almost twice as much curriculum each day because our students are with us for longer. I teach middle school, and our students are sitting through five 90-minute classes during the two days they are in school for in person learning.

This is way more enjoyable for them than sitting and listening to the same thing class-after-class:

Rules. Rules. Rules.

This activity is one activity of many that I'm doing with students this year to help break up their day and also see how well they use technology.

The nice thing about this activity is it allows students to help each other out while still social distancing in class. In fact, this is encouraged!

I tell students, "Everyone gets stuck once in a while... so ask for help if you need help, and help someone if you know how to do what they're struggling with."

What's great about this activity is that it gives students a chance to talk with each other and solve problems together, which is something I want them doing all year long anyway! This gets that ball rolling.

I teach 8th grade, and this activity takes students about 20 minutes to do (depending on their level of expertise using Google Slides).

What's fun is that when students are done and you make the answer key available, you'll hear some laughing in class and comments like, "Oh, wow! I was WAY off on the Mississippi River!" Or, "Meh... I was pretty close on New York City."

Some students will turn their screens toward each other to show them either how close or how far away they were.

They get a chance to do something, talk to each other, and begin a bond that will hopefully grow as the year goes on.

I suggest trying the activity first so you know how to assist students. Here's the answer key slides that you can share with students when they're done.

You can find this activity for free in my TpT store by clicking HERE

Enjoy!
Matt @ Surviving Social Studies

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Labor Day Sale!

9/7/2020

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I just wanted to let everyone know that my entire store will be 20% off today (9/7/2020) in celebration of Labor Day. Lots of digital resources to choose from as seen below.

Enjoy the day (and the sale)!

Best,
Matt @ Surviving Social Studies

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Teaching During the Presidential Election

Fun Geography Activity for First Week of School Using Google Slides

Labor Day Sale!

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