In June of 2017, I packed up boxes of instructional materials for my high school history, government and economics courses. As I used a hand cart to roll out thirty-three years of curriculum, I thought of the rookie teacher who would take my classroom. I wondered, would they have to recreate the wheel as so many new teachers do? At home in retirement I foraged through my boxes, posting lessons I designed that were effective with my students. The result is A Veteran Teacher’s Lessons.
In this website you won’t find grand theories or long lesson plans linked to standards. You will find practical handouts for reading and writing social studies activities, and ones for sparking student discussion, too. In addition, I’ve included my approach to designing assessments and yearlong planning and units and shared my favorite social sciences projects with creative ways to use photos and film, murals and student art, virtual reality(VR) and web resources with your students.
The website menu will take you to any of the instructional methods highlighted above. The lesson handouts I've made for my students reside at the bottom of these pages, with links to citations and resources. In addition, you can find these same lessons and resources indexed by social science course, including: World Studies, US History, Economics and Government. This way you have two places to find and access each activity.
The lessons are free, a gift from a grizzled veteran to those of you who are in the trenches. Use or adapt the lessons for your students and then pass them on. Teaching should be a team sport. Whether you’re an experienced teacher or new to the profession, I hope these lessons spark an idea for your classroom.
Happy New Year!
http://daveforrest.net/veteranlessons