History Lesson Plans Based on Primary Sources

This website for history teachers consists of sets of lesson plans for U.S. and world history that are centered around primary source documents. Generally, each lesson begins with an introduction to build student background knowledge about a particular era and topic. Continue reading History Lesson Plans Based on Primary Sources

How Lightning Works

Derek Owens is a high school (and homeschool) math and science teacher who uses videos to explain basic concepts from his science classes. These videos are great for teachers’ background knowledge. Continue reading How Lightning Works

Accessible News for Adults

The Times in Plain English is a site that offers both adult students and their teachers versions of New York Times articles that have been simplified and shortened to meet the needs of students reading at lower levels. Continue reading Accessible News for Adults

A Classroom News Magazine for Current Events

Once I began preparing students for the HSE test, New York Times Upfront became one of my main go-to sites for social studies and writing materials.  This classroom news magazine from Scholastic includes 1-3 page articles related to government and U.S. history which are a great way to build student background knowledge in an engaging manner.   Continue reading A Classroom News Magazine for Current Events