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My 6th grade team worked together to create an Immigration Day simulation for students to experience how it was on Ellis Island during the late 1800's and early 1900's.

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Our PLC meets weekly to share resources and data to help each other succeed

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We meet weekly to bi-weekly in order to plan so our classes stay on the same pace. This really helps when all of the students and their peers are on the same content and schedule regardless of who their teacher is for that subject. It allows the students to collaborate with and learn from each other.

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Our PLCs were very helpful to me as this was my first year in the system. Being able to collectively plan and share resources has been amazing.

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I have had my students partner up and create a google slide discussing the continent of their choice. This way the whole class could learn cultural aspects of each continent in a fun and interactive way.

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AP US History--Contextualization & Star Wars

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AP US History--Contextualization & Star Wars

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To promote contextual writing for essays, I give my students sample essay prompts (LEQ or DBQ) and they have to create a Star Wars opening crawl that, as in the movies, provides context information which appropriately addresses the prompt they've been given. Star Wars fans or not, the students love this activity! While they work, I even put Star Wars movie clips from YouTube on the screen while they work as soundless "background noise".

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In all my classrooms we utilize Google Meet and virtual technologies to collaborate and visit places and people that may not be readily available by other means.  For example, in my history class we will be doing some virtual field trips.  Here  are some links to some ideas
(https://www.bookshark.com/blog/american-history-virtual-field-trips/)
In my Computer Science class, we regularly meet with virtual teaching assistants through the Microsoft TEALS program.
Additionally, I collaborate regularly with all teachers in the school.  This is not just within my subject areas but also interdisciplinarily.  For example, I am currently working on a concept to introduce farm-to-table and native growing with the "three sisters" planting with our agriculture and food science programs.

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When we venture out on field trips, our kids get first hand experiences that a book can never mimic. At the same time, homeschool field trips can be stressful, time consuming, and sometimes expensive. Weather is an added factor to consider with outdoor events such as a Civil War re-enactment.

One alternative to packing snacks, loading the van, and buying tickets is the virtual field trip. These online explorations can awaken your child's love of American history. Besides supplementing your American history curriculum, virtual field trips also provide a way for your child to explore places that may be inaccessible.

If you want to spice up your study of American history, look at these 32 virtual trips and a list of easy ways to enhance them.

Life in Early America and Cowboys

Native Americans

American Revolutionary War

Lewis and Clark and the Oregon Trail

American Civil War

Immigration, World War II, and Modern American History

American Transportation

Ways to Enhance a Virtual Field Trip

Virtual field trips can be just as enriching and interactive as a physical one as long as you plan ahead. For example, print out a notebooking page or prepare a scavenger hunt for kids to fill out. Many websites provide these kinds of helps in the educational resources section of the domain. Do a little hunting prior to your virtual visit to make the most of any freebies the site offers. Some children may like to work as they explore while others will want to totally immerse themselves in the experience and make notes only after the field trip is over.

To make sure your virtual field trip doesn't become a passive affair, incorporate a hands-on activity before or after. BookShark has Lap Book Kits for both American History Year 1 and Year 2 that could work as field trip follow up in many cases!

Your field trip will likely offer you plenty of ideas for further exploration. What do your kids seem enamored by? What do they keep asking about? Those are areas for interest-led research.

Your project may lead to questions which are answered by the virtual field trip. Or your virtual field trip may lead to fascination that is satisfied by making hands-on models or reading additional books.

Before you tour the 1860s farm, make butter in a jar or beeswax candles.

Print out a copy of a ship or submarine and have your children label the parts. Learn about early navigation and how sailors navigated without modern tracking equipment. Make an easy homemade compass.

If you're viewing the Supreme Court field trip, your children can memorize and recite the Miranda Warning or review the steps of how a bill is passed.

After viewing Plimoth plantation, have your children make a craft of the Mayflower and create a diary that looks vintage.

After viewing Mount Rushmore, your children can carve the faces in soap or playdough.

Make a cookie dough map of the Oregon Trail or Lewis and Clark Trail.

Make a timeline of the events of the American Revolutionary War. It's been said that George Washington was an excellent dancer. Learn his favorite dance, the Minuet.

Learn about early American cattle drives.

Listen to American Civil War music or read letters written during that time period.

Preserve plants in a nature notebook while learning about Lewis and Clark.

Research the physics behind dropping a bomb before viewing Pearl Harbor. Make vegetable soup and learn about rationing after viewing the World War II museum.

Experiencing virtual field trips has become an essential part of our home education journey; the internet opens up dozens of ways to approach American history. Take the extra time to organize activities along with virtual field trip, and you'll reap the benefits for years to come.

About the Author

Tina Robertson celebrated the graduation of Mr. Senior in 2013 and Mr. Awesome in 2015. Because of her love for new homeschoolers, she mentors moms through her unique program called New Bee Homeschoolers. She loves all homeschoolers, though, as she shares her free 7 Step Curriculum Planner, unit studies, lapbooks and homeschooling how tos. She can't sing, dance, or craft, but she counts organizing as a hobby. She is still in the homeschool trenches blogging at Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus.

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32 Virtual Field Trips for American History

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Virtual field trips supplement your American history curriculum, awaken a love for history, and provide a way to explore places that may be inaccessible. Try an online excursion to one of these 32 historical websites today.

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My team teacher and I discuss and try and coordinate what is being read in ELA to coincide with what I am teaching in history. 

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My team teacher and I discuss and try and coordinate what is being read in ELA to coincide with what I am teaching in history. 

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All my history courses work in collaboration with our advanced English department and students complete research, write a papers, create visuals, design or purchase costumes, and host a museum at the end of the year.

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We align our Holocaust study with the ELA department in what they read.

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At OMMS, we do lots of collaborating. One activity we do each year is Fifties Friday. Our English department creates an OMMS Diner and their lessons are centered around the Fifties. The music department is also included as they play Fifties music for the kids. The social studies teachers show life and amenities from the time period, and we even teach them the dances (jitterbug, hand jive, etc.). ALL teachers dress up in appropriate costumes.

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Crafting, presenting, and debating bills with other Government classes.

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We work together to create exams, quizzes, and assignments for all APUSH students so we are on the same page.

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In middle school history, art and history classes can collaborate to make early history come alive for students.

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Scavenger Hunt for Causes of the America Revolution 

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Scavenger Hunt for Causes of the America Revolution 

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Have the students pair up in groups, create clues that are applicable to your school and have them compete to not only finish first but complete the information accurately on the graphic organizer

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We collaborate on projects in history class.

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9th grade World History: Our grade level PLC collaborated on multiple projects and assessments throughout the school year.  In a collaborative team; design and creation of projects improves the overall product as you get to benefit from the strengths of multiple teachers rather than just depending on yourself.  It also helps to clear up misunderstanding or misinformation by having others proof read directions, content, and rubrics. 

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9th grade World History: Our grade level PLC collaborated on multiple projects and assessments throughout the school year.  In a collaborative team; design and creation of projects improves the overall product as you get to benefit from the strengths of multiple teachers rather than just depending on yourself.  It also helps to clear up misunderstanding or misinformation by having others proof read directions, content, and rubrics. 

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Use all 11th grade classes as a basis for a March Madness pitting the accomplishments of the 20th century presidents against one another, holding bouts where classes must present and defend their fighter.

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With our 1:1 launch this year our 10th grade history is looking to move almost all handouts, written work, collaborative work, etc... online. This way we can even share across classrooms and have whole 10th grade polls or displays. Not necessarily a specific lesson, but this will make collaboration between us as teachers much easier as we can share across classes.

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Our PLC collaborated last year where students selected a person or event from the progressive era and created a cereal box. After they completed it they then did interviews with their classmates and filled out a graphic organizer.

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For a few years one of my colleagues and I collaborated on a Presidential Bracket to determine the 'best' US President. The assignment had multiple parts. My AP US History classes would determine the seeding for the 44 person tournament bracket. As part of our rules in determining seed, two-term presidents could not be ranked lower than a single-term president and you could not fault a president for dying in office. Once the bracket was set it was passed over to my colleague. Since he had four history classes, each class was given only one region [of the bracket]. Also, the AP classes would determine the qualifications for each round of competition. Individual AP History students to submit a completed bracket based on their predictions of how the other classes would decide. The result allotted for very creative thinking and in-depth analysis amongst all participants. It also served as a good source of review prior to the AP Exam or a fun activity in those weeks following the Exam.

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I want our US history classes to have an epic battle of the Presidents. Class against class grade against grade. This activity allows students to form arguments with supporting historical evidence. To complete the battle students to research their president and anticipate how the opposing team will try and roast them.

The winning teacher gets the winning presidential bust.

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My partner teacher and I are working on creating a Gallery Walk together to allow students to move throughout the building and to have another teacher's prescriptive on historical topics.

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My 6th grade team works to provide an Ellis Island experience for our students. Each student is given an identification from country where people immigrated from during the late 1800's early 1900's ("old immigrants" and "new immigrants"). Students work together to develop background information about their character, determine circumstances for why they are moving to America and develop plans for their possible opportunities when they arrive. Each immigrant is provided with their skills, family history and any conditions that might impact their experience being processed through Ellis Island. We collaborate as a team and with both local community members and selected older students to process immigrants from getting off the boat to either successfully being accepted into America or being deported back to their home country.

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A fellow AP History teacher and I (she is from New Jersey) had our students collaborate on a Google Doc. writing for the DBQ, LEQ, and SAQ. Students were able to peer edit and critique responses and also get feedback from multiple AP teachers/Readers.

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Your librarian can help you!!! We helped 8th-grade Ancient History assess their Islam unit with student-created maps of the Spread of Islam, Muhammad's physical journey, or Muhammad's existential journey. They then coded robots (Ozobot or Sphero) to travel their chosen route and perform actions that coincide with factual information along the route.