The Social Studies Teacher Podcast

By Kirsten Hammond, The Southern Teach LLC

Are you an upper elementary educator looking for simple strategies that will help make teaching social studies easy and fun? This podcast is perfect for 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grade teachers and paren... more

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FAQs about The Social Studies Teacher Podcast:

How many episodes does The Social Studies Teacher Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 112 episodes available.

The Social Studies Teacher Podcast episodes:

November 07, 20234 Low-Prep and Engaging Veterans Day Activities
Can you find 20-30 minutes of instructional time to celebrate our Veterans? Let's talk about some practical ways to teach about this important holiday.
Episode Highlights
Nearpod
Letter Writing
Webquests
Compare and contrast patriotic holidays

Resources and Links
Nearpod
A Million Thanks.org
Veterans Day Webquest
Blog Post - Episode 21
Let's Connect!
Listen/watch on Youtube
Shop TPT Resources
Instagram
Website
Join the Facebook Group
Mentioned in this episode:
Social Studies Guided Curriculum
Easy-to-follow lesson plans and activities for social studies - just print and teach! The complete bundles for Communities, Texas History, and U.S. History are available. Click the link to learn more!
Learn more about the Smart and Simple Social Studies Guided Curriculum!
Grab the Back to School Social Studies Pack!
Get your upper elementary students excited to start the school year using these low-prep back to school social studies getting to know you worksheets! With 20 pages of engaging activities targeting geography, history, and classroom community building, it makes a great back to school resource for the first week or first month of school!
Learn more about the Back to School Social Studies Resource
...more
11min
October 31, 20233 Engaging Activities to Teach About the Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is an important concept that needs to be taught in most U.S. history classes. But rather than it being a dull event, it can actually be engaging (and low prep) for your upper elementary learners!
Episode Highlights
what the Bill of Rights is
why is it important to teach about the Bill of Rights
a brief description of each of the 10 Amendments
some Bill of Rights fun facts
3 activities to implement for upper elementary (grade 3-6)

Resources and Links
Learn more about the Social Studies Membership
Constitution Webquest
Blog Post - Episode 20
Let's Connect!
Listen/watch on Youtube
Shop TPT Resources
Instagram
Website
Join the Facebook Group
Mentioned in this episode:
Social Studies Guided Curriculum
Easy-to-follow lesson plans and activities for social studies - just print and teach! The complete bundles for Communities, Texas History, and U.S. History are available. Click the link to learn more!
Learn more about the Smart and Simple Social Studies Guided Curriculum!
Grab the Back to School Social Studies Pack!
Get your upper elementary students excited to start the school year using these low-prep back to school social studies getting to know you worksheets! With 20 pages of engaging activities targeting geography, history, and classroom community building, it makes a great back to school resource for the first week or first month of school!
Learn more about the Back to School Social Studies Resource
...more
16min
October 24, 2023My Favorite Read Alouds for Upper Elementary ELA and Social Studies
Chapter book read-alouds are my favorite part of the day! Even during a year where I only taught math and science, I still found ways to weave in chapter books during my day.
Today I'm sharing with you my favorite read-alouds that are enjoyed by teachers and students alike!
Episode Highlights
My Top 10 Chapter Book Recommendations for Grades 3-5
A brief synopsis of each one (don't worry, there are no spoilers!)

Resources and Links
⁠Each Kindness Book Companion⁠
⁠Creature Features Book Companion⁠
⁠The Name Jar Book Companion
Blog Post - Episode 19
Let's Connect!
Listen/watch on Youtube
Shop TPT Resources
Instagram
Website
Join the Facebook Group
Mentioned in this episode:
Grab the Back to School Social Studies Pack!
Get your upper elementary students excited to start the school year using these low-prep back to school social studies getting to know you worksheets! With 20 pages of engaging activities targeting geography, history, and classroom community building, it makes a great back to school resource for the first week or first month of school!
Learn more about the Back to School Social Studies Resource
Social Studies Guided Curriculum
Easy-to-follow lesson plans and activities for social studies - just print and teach! The complete bundles for Communities, Texas History, and U.S. History are available. Click the link to learn more!
Learn more about the Smart and Simple Social Studies Guided Curriculum!
...more
22min
October 17, 20233 Easy Steps To Practicing Research Skills with Webquests
Kids these days have it pretty easy - all they have to do to look for the answers to a question is to go to Google, look it up on TikTok, or type it into ChatGPT! BUT do they know that what they're seeing as the "answers" may not always be accurate or reliable?
That's where research skills come in! In this digital age, it's important for students to be able use their research and inquiry skills to sift the valid and reliable information from the fake and inaccurate ones.
Webquests are a perfect way to help upper elementary students with their research and inquiry skills, and that's what we're talking about on the podcast this week!
Episode Highlights
What are webquests?
What are the 5 essential components of a webquest?
What are 3 steps to practice research with webquests?
What are the benefits of webquests?
What type of webquests are available in your store?

Resources and Links
Year-Round Webquest Bundle
Blog Post - Episode 18
Let's Connect!
Listen/watch on Youtube
Shop TPT Resources
Instagram
Website
Join the Facebook Group
Mentioned in this episode:
Social Studies Guided Curriculum
Easy-to-follow lesson plans and activities for social studies - just print and teach! The complete bundles for Communities, Texas History, and U.S. History are available. Click the link to learn more!
Learn more about the Smart and Simple Social Studies Guided Curriculum!
Grab the Back to School Social Studies Pack!
Get your upper elementary students excited to start the school year using these low-prep back to school social studies getting to know you worksheets! With 20 pages of engaging activities targeting geography, history, and classroom community building, it makes a great back to school resource for the first week or first month of school!
Learn more about the Back to School Social Studies Resource
...more
17min
October 10, 20235 Ways to Balance Your Work-Life Schedule
Are you a month or two into the school year and already feeling burnt out? The grading, the demands, the protocols - it's enough to make you wish you could fast-forward to winter break!
The pressure of the school year is an all too familiar feeling for many teachers. If it seems like you're working overtime and leaving little room for things you actually enjoy doing outside of work, this episode is a must to listen to.
Episode Highlights
Why it's okay to say no
How to prioritize your tasks at work and at home
An easy hack that you can help you manage time (right now!)
Ways to give yourself boundaries - and grace
Positive and negative effects of balancing your work-life schedule
How I used to balance my teaching and home life (hint: it was practically non-existent) and how I've used the strategies to help me today

Resources and Links
Blog Post - Episode 17
Let's Connect!
Listen/watch on Youtube
Shop TPT Resources
Instagram
Website
Join the Facebook Group
Mentioned in this episode:
Social Studies Guided Curriculum
Easy-to-follow lesson plans and activities for social studies - just print and teach! The complete bundles for Communities, Texas History, and U.S. History are available. Click the link to learn more!
Learn more about the Smart and Simple Social Studies Guided Curriculum!
Grab the Back to School Social Studies Pack!
Get your upper elementary students excited to start the school year using these low-prep back to school social studies getting to know you worksheets! With 20 pages of engaging activities targeting geography, history, and classroom community building, it makes a great back to school resource for the first week or first month of school!
Learn more about the Back to School Social Studies Resource
...more
17min
October 03, 20234 Life-Saving Grading Tips for Upper Elementary Teachers
Grading can be a b - sometimes... ya feel me?
It feels like a constant cycle that will pile up if you don't take some time to knock it out. Even worse? Trying to track down multiple classes full of students who are missing assignments or need retakes.
Are you feeling this way?
I’ve found just a few grading tips for upper elementary teachers that I plan on sharing with you in today's episode that have helped me out and making it less of a daunting task. I still don’t like it, but now it’s much more tolerable!
Episode Highlights
Why it's important not to grade everything that gets turned in
How you can pick what to grade in an assignment
The "grading a page at a time" trick
Developing autonomy in students by having them grade (and taking their word on it!)

Resources and Links
Blog Post - Episode 16
Hello Algebra Templates
Let's Connect!
Listen/watch on Youtube
Shop TPT Resources
Instagram
Website
Join the Facebook Group
Mentioned in this episode:
Grab the Back to School Social Studies Pack!
Get your upper elementary students excited to start the school year using these low-prep back to school social studies getting to know you worksheets! With 20 pages of engaging activities targeting geography, history, and classroom community building, it makes a great back to school resource for the first week or first month of school!
Learn more about the Back to School Social Studies Resource
Social Studies Guided Curriculum
Easy-to-follow lesson plans and activities for social studies - just print and teach! The complete bundles for Communities, Texas History, and U.S. History are available. Click the link to learn more!
Learn more about the Smart and Simple Social Studies Guided Curriculum!
...more
12min
September 26, 2023Breaking Down the 5 Main Social Studies Topics
Did you miss the live PD training last week? No worries! I wanted to give my listeners a peek into what we talked about. Social studies is usually a must to teach, but the WHY of what students are learning in social studies is not always discussed. That's exactly what we will be talking about in this week's episode!
In this episode, you will learn:
what each of the 5 social studies domains are
why they are important and integral to a social studies block
examples of topics for each social studies domain category

Resources and Links
Blog Post - Episode 15
Let's Connect!
Listen/watch on Youtube
Shop TPT Resources
Instagram
Website
Join the Facebook Group
Mentioned in this episode:
Social Studies Guided Curriculum
Easy-to-follow lesson plans and activities for social studies - just print and teach! The complete bundles for Communities, Texas History, and U.S. History are available. Click the link to learn more!
Learn more about the Smart and Simple Social Studies Guided Curriculum!
Grab the Back to School Social Studies Pack!
Get your upper elementary students excited to start the school year using these low-prep back to school social studies getting to know you worksheets! With 20 pages of engaging activities targeting geography, history, and classroom community building, it makes a great back to school resource for the first week or first month of school!
Learn more about the Back to School Social Studies Resource
...more
15min
September 19, 20235 Ways to Integrate Writing with Social Studies
We are expected to integrate social studies with other subjects to make it work - but HOW can we do it? Writing in itself is very important to teach. Combining with social studies is actually a really great way to teach what you need to for both subjects. It can be easy - if you let it!
In this episode, you will learn:
why writing is important
the benefits of integrating writing with social studies
5 ways you can incorporate writing with examples for each one
assessing writing skills in social studies
resources and tools to integrate writing in your classroom

Resources and Links
Blog Post - Episode 14
Let's Connect!
Listen/watch on Youtube
Shop TPT Resources
Instagram
Website
Join the Facebook Group
Mentioned in this episode:
Social Studies Guided Curriculum
Easy-to-follow lesson plans and activities for social studies - just print and teach! The complete bundles for Communities, Texas History, and U.S. History are available. Click the link to learn more!
Learn more about the Smart and Simple Social Studies Guided Curriculum!
Grab the Back to School Social Studies Pack!
Get your upper elementary students excited to start the school year using these low-prep back to school social studies getting to know you worksheets! With 20 pages of engaging activities targeting geography, history, and classroom community building, it makes a great back to school resource for the first week or first month of school!
Learn more about the Back to School Social Studies Resource
...more
23min
September 12, 20233 Must-Have Technology Tools for Upper Elementary
Incorporating technology is more important than ever. Looking for ways to make social studies fun and engaging? In this episode, I chat all about how to do that with 3 technology tools that are perfect to use with your classes throughout the year!
In this episode, you will learn:
3 technology tools that are fun to use with upper elementary students
what each tool is
ways you can use each tool for your social studies block
how I used these technology tools with my students

Resources and Links
Blog Post - Episode 13
Nearpod
5 Tricks and Tips for Using Seesaw
Using Kahoot! in the Classroom
Let's Connect!
Listen/watch on Youtube
Shop TPT Resources
Instagram
Website
Join the Facebook Group
Mentioned in this episode:
Grab the Back to School Social Studies Pack!
Get your upper elementary students excited to start the school year using these low-prep back to school social studies getting to know you worksheets! With 20 pages of engaging activities targeting geography, history, and classroom community building, it makes a great back to school resource for the first week or first month of school!
Learn more about the Back to School Social Studies Resource
Social Studies Guided Curriculum
Easy-to-follow lesson plans and activities for social studies - just print and teach! The complete bundles for Communities, Texas History, and U.S. History are available. Click the link to learn more!
Learn more about the Smart and Simple Social Studies Guided Curriculum!
...more
12min
September 05, 2023How to Approach Teaching 9/11 in Upper Elementary
Teaching 9/11 in upper elementary classrooms is a sensitive yet important topic to approach.
As educators, it is important to create a safe space for students to discuss and understand the events of September 11th, 2001. By age-appropriate materials and open dialogue, you can navigate this subject with sensitivity and effectiveness.
In this episode, you will learn:
why it's important to share about September 11th
5 Patriot Day and 9/11 activities to conduct with students

Resources and Links
Blog Post - Episode 12
Brainpop - 9/11
BOATLIFT: An Untold Tale of 9/11 Resilience (Youtube)
14 Cows for America
CNN10 9/11 - 2021
CNN 10 9/11 - 2023
Patriot Day Webquest
Mentioned in this episode:
Social Studies Guided Curriculum
Easy-to-follow lesson plans and activities for social studies - just print and teach! The complete bundles for Communities, Texas History, and U.S. History are available. Click the link to learn more!
Learn more about the Smart and Simple Social Studies Guided Curriculum!
Grab the Back to School Social Studies Pack!
Get your upper elementary students excited to start the school year using these low-prep back to school social studies getting to know you worksheets! With 20 pages of engaging activities targeting geography, history, and classroom community building, it makes a great back to school resource for the first week or first month of school!
Learn more about the Back to School Social Studies Resource
...more
11min

FAQs about The Social Studies Teacher Podcast:

How many episodes does The Social Studies Teacher Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 112 episodes available.