Not Another History Teacher

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My goal is to help her students fall in love with history and technology. Learning about history can be an amazing catalyst for changing our society and teaching empathy to our students. I believe that technology reaches students in a way that other mediums can not. It ignites a fire, a desire to learn, and gives them the ability to express themselves in meaningful ways.

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Meet The Author

My name is Melissa and I am a 12th grade Social Studies teacher in Cold Spring, New York. I currently teach 12th grade Government & Economics, Sociology, and AP Government and Politics. I have been teaching for 13 years in both New York and Pennsylvania. I grew up in Boonton, New Jersey and earned a Bachelors Degree in Social Studies Education at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York. While teaching full-time in both Geneva, NY and Trumansburg, NY I earned my Master's Degree in Inclusive … read more about About Me

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Teaching Social Justice Through Harry Potter

When teachers are developing a lesson, there is always a focus on ways to make the content engaging for students. When students enjoy the content and can relate to it, they are excited to be learning and naturally begin to remember the content. By doing this, students are not having to memorize information!  A great way to teach social justice is through a favorite of students among all-ages- Harry Potter! From the book series to the movies, students quickly became … [Read more...] about Teaching Social Justice Through Harry Potter

The Power of One: Teaching Social Justice in Upper Elementary School

A common goal of teachers is to develop lessons that students not only enjoy but remember in future years. A lesson that students remember throughout school, tell their family about, quote in a graduation speech, and impacts them beyond high school. These lessons begin as soon as students enter elementary school. A unit that teachers can create life-changing lessons in involves teaching students what social justice is. Whether you have directly seen a focus on social … [Read more...] about The Power of One: Teaching Social Justice in Upper Elementary School

How to make distance learning work?

I don’t know about you but I am nervous about heading back to school. All the uncertainly is nerve-wracking.  Will I be teaching online?  Will I be at home? Will I be in school? How can I keep a mask on all day and prevent getting sick? How can we socially distance in a class above 25 students? Do I have to change the way I teach with group work and project-based learning? Will my son be in school? How are we going to manage to … [Read more...] about How to make distance learning work?

What is a Q and A Debate in High School?

“F. Scott Fitzgerald” once said, “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”  Still serves as the best definition to describe the word “debate” in intellectual terms. “Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel. It is to bring another out of his bad sense into your good sense.”-Ralph Waldo Emerson- Debate is a valuable activity for students of all … [Read more...] about What is a Q and A Debate in High School?

Dollar Deals -All lessons $1!!!

Current Event Assignment: This is a two-page current event assignment. Students have to report on the same topic from a left-leaning news source and a right-leaning news source.Gender Project (four days): It includes a toy Websearch, a toy show and tell project with a rubric, and a gender music analysis project with a rubric. Personal Finance Quizzes: Assess your students with these five digital personal finance quizzes: money, budgeting, credit, banking, insurance, and … [Read more...] about Dollar Deals -All lessons $1!!!

Are you using Socrative? An engaging tool to quiz the student’s understanding.

What is Socrative program? Socrative is a determinative assessment tool that helps teachers and learners to evaluate understanding and progress in real-time in class through the use of games, queries, and reflection inquiries. How does it work? Socrative is accessed via website or app, with separate apps for teachers and students. The tool is very easy to use. The teacher’s home page is clean, showing the six available features, most notably Quiz, Quick Question … [Read more...] about Are you using Socrative? An engaging tool to quiz the student’s understanding.

Sphere Summit: Teaching Civic Culture Together

Join middle and high school teachers and administrators from across the country and top scholars, policy experts, and thought leaders for our online, full scholarship Sphere Summit: Teaching Civic Culture Together, July 13–15. To preserve our liberal democracy, the Summit will explore what we as individuals can do to restore a spirit of civil, constructive, and respectful discourse and engagement. To that end, the Summit will emphasize the common values and objectives we hold … [Read more...] about Sphere Summit: Teaching Civic Culture Together

$150 Giftcard Giveaway!!!

Father's Day Challenge---> THREE lucky winners will win a $50 gift card to anything in my store! HOW TO ENTER (no purchase necessary) 1. LIKE this post on Facebook post then COMMENT below that you entered 2. Feel free to TAG your friends or share the post (double entry) Note: You do not have to be a father to win Giveaway ends Sunday, 6/21/20 at 7 pm EST. The winner will be notified via Facebook! For more chances to win, if you teach sociology to … [Read more...] about $150 Giftcard Giveaway!!!

My favorite products for back to school :)

These are my favorite products for heading back to school! My favorite planner helps to keep me organized throughout the year!I love these teacher stamps when grading!This is my pencil bag.I use this to stay organized with my to-do lists!I use these for station work if I don't want to laminate.This is my paper grade book.I love this shirt for the first day of school.I love this voting shirt when I teach about our government.My favorite coffee for back to school!I go … [Read more...] about My favorite products for back to school :)

Black Lives Matter

I stand together against racism and remain committed to the bedrock social justice principles that our country was founded upon. I stand together in the fight against racism in our quest to create a more equitable world. George Floyd. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. And countless others, some known through the media while so many others are known only to their loved ones or their communities. Their names, their killings, the ongoing violence against the Black community … [Read more...] about Black Lives Matter

How to survive your first year?

Your first year teaching a new course or first time teaching ever is the hardest year of your life! You want to be the perfect teacher, perfect role model, and best teacher of your craft. Newsflash--- There is no perfect teacher!  Some advice I have is to start each day fresh,  and try to make each day a little bit better than the day before. Here are some tips for new teachers: Tip 1: Read a good book  I highly recommend reading the book Teach Like a … [Read more...] about How to survive your first year?

Teacher Organization for your Sanity

Teacher organization is an essential skill in education. I consider myself a highly organized person, possibly due to my mother, yet many students and teachers have never perfected this elusive talent. Incorporating technology into daily instruction is one way in which teachers can leverage more time, restructure learning activities so they become more meaningful and provide opportunities for more rigorous instruction. Digital tools can be seamlessly integrated into the … [Read more...] about Teacher Organization for your Sanity

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