Social Studies Skills

Social Studies Skills

Geography & Map Skills

Analyzing Evidence

Argumentation

Chronological Reasoning

Making Connections

Causation: Identify, analyze, and evaluate connections between historical causes and effects, distinguishing between long-term and immediate factors. Patterns of Continuity and Change Over Time: Recognize, analyze, and assess how things stay the same or evolve over various time periods. Connect these patterns to broader historical processes or themes. Periodization: Describe, analyze, and evaluate how history is divided into periods.

What does this look like in my classroom?

Elementary

• Cause & Effect Organizers
• Sequencing manipulatives
• Simple or narrative timelines

Secondary

• Timelines
• Cause & Effect Essay
• Periodization Activities

Teaching Resources

Long and Short-TermCauses & Effects

Cause & EffectElementary

Digital Interactive Timeline Maker

Timeline Template

What does this look like in my classroom?

Elementary

• Venn Diagrams; T-charts
• Mindmaps
• Four Corners

Secondary

• Compare/Contrast Essay
• Venn Diagrams; T-Charts
• Mindmaps
• Tables

Teaching Resources

Comparing Historical Periods Elementary

Venn Diagrams

Comparing Historical Periods Secondary

Historical Context

What does this look like in my classroom?

Elementary

• Debates
• Fact v. Opinion

Secondary

• Debates
• Socratic Circles
• Argumentative Essays

Teaching Resources

Teaching Argument and Claims

ArgumentationElementary

Debate Graphic Organizer

Argument Qualifiers

What does this look like in my classroom?

Elementary

• Creating maps of familiar places
• Global penpals
• Treasure Hunts

Secondary

• Examining patterns of migration
• Comparing demographic data
• Analyzing historical maps

Teaching Resources

Google Earth

Geoguessr

Battle of the States

Geography Cups Activity

Argumentation: Craft an argument about a historical question, and support it with evidence.

Content and Sourcing: describe, select, and evaluate evidence from various sources like documents, art, artifacts, or oral traditions. Consider how the content relates to the authorship, perspective, purpose, audience, and format. Draw conclusions about relevance to historical issues and assess the usefulness, reliability, and limitations of the sources as evidence. Interpretation: describe, analyze, and evaluate how people interpret the past. Consider how historians' circumstances influence their interpretation of historical events and evidence.

Comparisson: Identify, compare, and evaluate various viewpoints on a historical event to draw conclusions. Describe, compare, and assess different historical developments within a society, between societies, and in various settings. Make comparisons across time periods, locations, and contrasting events within the same period. Contextualization: Connect historical events to a specific time and place, considering broader regional, national, or global factors. Understand the context in which events happened and draw conclusions about their significance. Synthesis: Make meaningful connections between historical issues and other periods, themes, or disciplines. Link a historical issue to similar developments in different contexts, areas, or eras, including the present.

What does this look like in my classroom?

Elementary

- Highlighting evidence in text - Looking at non-textual primary sources - Playing "history detectives" - Primary Source Puzzles

Secondary

Teaching Resources

- History Labs - History CSI - Primary Source Analysis

Library of Congress

Elementary Primary Source Sets

National Archives Analysis Worksheets

Evidence on the U

Map Skills: read, analyze, and construct maps for a variety of purposes and audiences. Geography Skills: use a variety of techniques and perspectives to address issues such as population shifts, economic inequality, environmental justice, and urbanization.