Written by Emily Upton - Posted January 17, 2024
Social studies is arguably one of the least-loved content areas by students. I said it! The stuffy textbooks, events that happened a loooooong time ago that don't seem relevant to students today, and lack of hands-on learning that comes so easily in math and science can lead to your students groaning when they hear it's time for social studies class.
But it doesn't have to be that way! You can leverage one of your students' favorite things to collect data, reduce your grading, and skyrocket engagement in social studies. The secret? Technology!
I'm alllll about using technology in an actually meaningful way in the classroom. We both know that students spend too much time staring at a screen, so when I break out the Chromebooks, I want to make sure that what my students are working on matters. Check out my favorite ways to provide meaningful learning experiences with technology in social studies class!
Digital Games
I love using digital games to review or assess student understanding of a topic.
Let's explore some of my favorite websites!
Competition Games
What's more engaging than a competition? For whole-group games, my favorite sites are listed below. They each have THOUSANDS of pre-made games! I loved searching for "French and Indian War" for example and picking a game for my students to play. Plus, these games are self-grading! Quizizz especially are great to use as independent work and using student scores as a grade.
Podcasts
Podcasts are another great digital tool to use in the classroom. Your students can listen to a short synopsis of the history topic they're learning about! Here are some ideas for using podcasts in your social studies classroom:
- Create your own podcast! You can upload a recording of yourself to YouTube and share the videos with your students. I did this to teach about the causes of the American Revolution, and my students LOVED it! (You can check out those podcasts here.)
- Real Cool History for Kids or Homeschool History - These brief podcasts relate to specific people or events in history. They are great to assign for students to listen to independently, or you can listen to together to introduce a topic. I always recommend listening BEFORE you share with students, just to make sure all content is appropriate. 😉
Digital Assignments
Assigning digital work can be a great way to get your students engaged in independent work. I love using digital assignments to either give students a preview of the entire unit or as a summative assignment at the end to wrap things up! You can check out a few of my favorite digital history assignments below.
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"This resource is fantastic. I really enjoyed using it because it allowed my students to practice skills with fun and engaging content. I enjoy the ease and appreciate how much thought was put into creating it."
Digital explorations are one of my fave assignment types! This resource has a ton of information, but its broken down into bite-sized, manageable activities and chunks that leave students feeling successful.
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"Covering the French and Indian War is a challenge due to all the different players and motives involved. This was a great resource to make it as clear as possible to my students."
Introducing a broad topic like the French and Indian War can be tricky with students. I like to frontload all of the info with an introductory activity like this one. Then, students have background knowledge they can refer to throughout the unit.
So, next time you're struggling to plan a social studies activity that won't leave your class yawning, try one of these technology tools! You'll be amazed at how engaged your students are, and they might even learn something along the way. 😉
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