You’re teaching social studies, yay! If you need ideas on how to start the year in 5th grade social studies, you’ve come to the right place!
The first week of social studies class sets the tone for the entire year.
Upper elementary students are perceptive and they’ll quickly decide whether or not your social studies class will be a place they’ll love to visit everyday.
Let’s dive in and talk about how to make the first week of social studies class a smashing success!
Talk about the importance of history!
I want my students to love coming to social studies class.
When they look forward to my class, their behavior is better, we get more done, and it’s just so much more fun!
I have a story that I use to introduce students to the study of history and to help them understand why studying the past is a critical part of their education.
The story helps students think in an out-of-the-box way. I think you’ll enjoy it, so be sure to check it out 🙂
Find the free read-aloud text here: Why Study History: A Story for Upper Elementary Students
Practice your classroom procedures, especially if you are departmentalized!
A classroom without procedures can quickly become chaotic.
No one wants to learn in a classroom free-for-all.
It’s absolutely crucial that you establish, teach, and maintain your classroom procedures, especially if you are departmentalized.
Being a departmentalized teacher is challenging because you have students in and out of your room during the school day.
This can lead to wasted time IF your classroom procedures aren’t firmly in place.
Wasted time = Less social studies instruction!
Struggling with procedures and classroom management? I have a self-paced course for that! Check it out here: Classroom Management in Upper Elementary
Make a social studies layer book with your students!
I enjoy using welcome activities with my 5th graders in homeroom.
I decided, however, that I wanted something a little more special for the first hands-on experience they have in my social studies class.
This layer book fits into my first week of social studies class perfectly!
Find the Welcome to 5th Grade Social Studies Layer Book here!
Your students will enjoy completing this unique layer book AND you will have a hands-on way to gauge their prior knowledge, interests, and understanding!
Engage your students with the Social Studies in Color activity!
Social Studies in Color combines two of my favorite things – social studies and chocolate!
I have plenty of Welcome to 5th Grade activities but I wanted something “zoomed in” on social studies. It is my favorite subject, after all!
Social Studies in Color is a no-prep, quick activity that will have your students thinking, tasting, and writing in no time.
For this activity, you’ll need one printable per student AND one fun size bag of M&Ms per student. That’s it!
You have two options for downloading this freebie – color or black/white. Either works just fine!
Build your knowledge and confidence as a social studies teacher!
I often have teachers reach out and say that they are brand new to teaching social studies and they feel very uncomfortable trying to plan lessons.
We’ve all been there – trust me!
It’s completely normal to feel overwhelmed, but I’m here to help!
Suggestion 1: Build your knowledge base with information from trusted organizations, like National Geographic, Colonial Williamsburg, and Mount Vernon. Definitely sign up for their educator mailing lists!
Suggestion 2: Sign up for my free Teaching Social Studies Crash Course. This week-long email course will help you to plan your social studies lessons, learn how to incorporate primary sources, and more.
Suggestion 3: Invest in yourself, build a wealth of knowledge, and boost your social studies teaching confidence. Check out my self-paced course: Teaching Social Studies in Upper Elementary
