Content Curation in Social Studies

 Content Curation: What Resources Can We Use?

    Finding sources we use in a social studies classroom  can be difficult. With the proliferation of the internet bringing access to an abundance of new resources, discerning which resources at the best fit for the classroom has never been more difficult. Gone are the days of just the single textbook. With this newfound freedom comes plentiful opportunities for new resources for students. Here are 5 that I like to use.

PBS ( https://opb.pbslearningmedia.org/subjects/social-studies/?rank_by=recency ). PBS is a fantastic resources to use in a social studies classroom. Not only is it reliable, but there are many different things you can do with this resources to adapt to your classroom. 

For example, in social studies, you have access to everything you would need no matter what subject area you teach! As social studies varies so much in content from grade level to grade level, PBS is a great resources to find articles, videos, and so much more for the content area of your focus. It's also accessible for students to use as well, and has an easy UI that makes the website an ease of navigation. 

CrashCourse (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-mkVSasZIM) CrashCourse is a fantastic resource for a social studies classroom. This youtube channel is a great way to break down larger historical events or entities into a consumable short video. The biggest selling point of this format is the length. A video of under 15 minutes that rapid fire covers a lot of material in an entertaining way can be a great way to introduce a topic to students, or alternatively, a great way to summarize and wrap things up as review. I've also found these are great things to show for sub days as well! Another use for these videos is for topics that maybe aren't covered in your textbook or base materials in very much depth. If I find myself asking "how can I get more on this" I often turn to CrashCourse first to see if there's a video explanation for the topic at hand to provide a little more depth then our base materials provide. The link above provides a quick look at the Persians and Greeks, which is a great introduction for those unfamiliar. 

Newsela (https://newsela.com/) Newsela is a great classroom resource for finding articles about a large variety of topics. As a social studies teacher who loves creativity, I often find myself wondering how I can access additional readings for topics again, not covered by the base materials or textbook. Newsela is a great place to look for grade level appropriate readings, as well as a great place to discover new material that may be interesting to cover in class! Another great benefit to Newsela is that you can change the lexile level of the reading! This is a great classroom accommodation which makes Newsela truly accessible for any teacher or student. 

CNN10 (https://www.cnn.com/cnn10) The CNN10 is a fantastic way to cover current events and issues, especially for middle school students! A common complaint about social studies I hear is that not enough is done discussing current events, and the CNN10 is a great remedy for that! Lasting only 10 minutes, this informative video usually contains 3-4 stories and features on the scene reporting, etc. It's a great way to get student attention and also have them receive some news in a non biased way! While some parents (typically of more conservative backgrounds) may think this is political news, it most certainly is not and does a fantastic job at presenting all kinds of current issues and gets kids thinking about the nation and world. Since I taught 90 minute class periods, this was a great warm up for us everyday paired with a journal entry and class discussion. This was a great way to get kids in the "social studies" mood and also have a bit of a content break from our current unit, without too much of a detour and still practicing academic skills/feeling timely. I've also seen this applied as a Friday "treat" for those that teach shorter classes and want to use it as a reward. 

INTERACT Simulations ( https://go.socialstudies.com/interact-simulations) The last resource I've linked are INTERACT simulations. There are many different simulations there, and it's up to the teacher in the classroom to decide which are appropriate for their classroom, as well as any academic enhancements made. Simulations are essentially game based learning. They divide students into teams, promoting and fostering social-emotional growth (skills lacking amongst the youth of today!), that have an objective or goal they need to hit to win the game. Take the Warlords of Japan simulation for instance. In this simulation, students are split into different groups and vie for control of Japan, all while encountering historical obstacles locals would've faced at the time. Students are rewarded with more "moves" and "rice" for doing well on classwork, readings, etc which gives incentive for the classwork. Particularly in middle school, this is a great way to build student engagement and shake up the classroom. It's one big extended bribe, because who doesn't love competing against other classmates? I cannot recommend enough doing at least one of these over the course of a school year. It's a fantastic way to teach content while creating joy in the classroom, and the unit is structured for you with the simulation! It's up to the discretion of the teacher to decide how many, how few, or any at all in a classroom. I found that putting my Japan simulation between two units that did not involve a simulation was a great way to get students excited and create a dynamic classroom where students truly did not know what or where we'd go next.

These are just some of the sources I used in the classroom. With so much information out there, there's more at our disposal than ever before and it's up to us educators to make the most of that to fit the ever changing and challenging needs of the classroom.