Middle school is a time of growth and change. As students become more knowledgeable and experienced, they are more likely to appreciate and enjoy social studies activities. This means that there are plenty of opportunities for fun social studies activities that your students will enjoy.
Here are a few ideas to get your students started:
- Social Studies Journal Prompts
This list of journal prompts can be used in Social Studies or an English classroom for a cross-curricular writing activity. Use them to practice writing skills or to review history-specific content. These engaging journals will get middle schoolers thinking and help them to make connections.
- Learn About Maps
These map skills worksheets include latitude and longitude practice, grid maps, physical maps, map keys, and more! These engaging activities will teach middle school students about map skills that can transfer to other content areas and provide an authentic learning experience they can use in real life!
- Today in History Bellringers
These history-themed bell ringers provide fun historical facts for each day of the year. These fun history lessons make a great beginning of the class activity or anticipatory set and help bring awareness to any time that can be integrated with any social studies unit. Highlighting historical events that happened on the day they are learning about it engages students and makes learning relevant.
- Article of the Week
Let students practice close reading skills while analyzing current events in this Article of the Week activity. Use it as a homework assignment to practice and solidify learning, or integrate it into your classroom activities and prompt discussion among your middle school students.
- Interactive Notebooks for Social Studies
Interactive notebooks can be integrated into any Social Studies unit. Use these templates to engage students with Social Studies content and help them process new information with a graphic organizer or visual representation. These can be used individually or more collaboratively in a guided note setting by putting students in groups to process new content.
