Social Studies Documentaries

Happy March The countdown until spring and summer is on! March Madness clearly means different things to different people. For some, it’s a very exciting time of year full of buzzer-beaters and celebrations. For teachers? Well, let’s just say there’s plenty happening that’s driving us mad Here are some key social studies documentaries in the classroom to help us pass the March madness and distance learning.

How I use social studies documentaries?

I use these documentary videos to catch up on grading, lesson planning, or an asynchronous lesson. They also make really easy sub plans!

What assignments do I give my kids while they watch a documentary?

My students either respond to a question prompt in google classroom or they chat live while watching using Yoteach.

Social Studies Documentaries

First, I recently discovered, I Rise, which is from the PBS American Portrait. It goes into the lives of people working to create an antiracist American future. They film themselves doing the hard work, confronting the obstacles, and achieving the small victories that could add up to the real change in the movement for racial justice. I plan on showing this to my sociology and government classes! Check out I Rise today!

Second, I am showing Supreme Revenge Battle for the Court in my AP Government and Politics class. With Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court days before the 2020 presidential election, Sen. Mitch McConnell solidified the conservative majority he had been seeking for decades. FRONTLINE tells the inside story of McConnell’s hard-fought effort to transform the nation’s highest court. Check out the video today!

More Social Studies Documentaries

I use social studies documentaries classroom for all different classes. I show Growing Up Poor in my economics class. It profiles families that were already struggling to make ends meet. Then came the coronavirus. Director Jezza Neumann, who made 2012’s Poor Kids, once again delves into how poverty impacts children. Growing Up Poor in America follows three children and their families in the battleground state of Ohio as the COVID-19 pandemic amplifies their struggle to stay afloat. As the country also reckons with issues of race and racism, the children share their worries and hopes about their futures. Check out the video today!

 Lastly, Babies is a great documentary for sociology or psychology. Unexpected insights into parenting, and the universal in babies and human nature. Gorgeous scenery from each of the four regions filmed: Namibia, Mongola, Japan, and the USA. One of the best documentaries I haver ever seen. These are happy babies with happy families. Check out the video today!