All posts by: Erin

Eye-Opening Garbage & Recycling Lesson Ideas to Inspire Your Students

It’s impossible to ignore that our love of stuff is having a negative impact on our world; one that urgently needs to be addressed. This makes it a perfect topic... Read More

How to Organize a Student Council Election Without the Stress

Planning a student council election for the first time can be intimidating. Especially since it’s something you really don’t want to mess up! The great news is that school elections... Read More

5 Eye-Opening Water Conservation Activities Your Students Will Love

Freshwater supply, renewable energy, and overconsumption are all issues that perfectly illustrate how the stuff that really matters doesn’t necessarily fit neatly into one discipline. They certainly belong in an... Read More

Deconstructing Essay Questions in 4 Simple Steps

All students need support in learning how to deconstruct an essay prompt. Whether it’s for an AP or on-level class, no matter now straightforward or complex the question, it needs... Read More

How to Scaffold Social Studies Essay Writing Like a Pro

Essay writing is the one thing I felt the least prepared to teach when I become a social studies teacher. And by least, I mean not at all.  Early in... Read More

How to Create Inquiry-Based Learning in Social Studies

For the vast majority of us, our high school history and social studies classes involved either a lot of memorization, a lot of movies, or both. Either way, they didn’t... Read More

Your Guide to Running a Successful Student Council Meeting

One of the main responsibilities of being a student council advisor is often the most intimidating: running the official student council meeting.These meetings are different from the informal ones you... Read More

25 Great YA Books that Teach Activism and Leadership

Classroom libraries have been all the rage on Instagram in ELA and Social Studies classrooms the last few years. But, really, if you teach an elective like Leadership or advise... Read More

5 Off-Year Election Activities To Engage Your Civics Students

Teaching civics during a presidential election year is always exciting. Kids are more engaged, there are endless resources available, and, of course, there’s the much-anticipated finale of Election Day results. ... Read More

Teaching Acts of Kindness with 5 Thank You Letter Project Ideas

It’s never a bad time to teach how to write a heartfelt thank you note.  Whether it is for November’s season of gratitude, February’s Random Acts of Kindness Day, or end-of-the-school-year... Read More