Multiple Intelligences: Bodily-kinesthetic and interpersonal.

Explanation/Example: Students will recite the three branches of government or the thirteen original colonies.

Standard: SS.CV.1.4. Distinguish the responsibilities and powers of government officials at the local, state, and national levels.

Multiple Intelligences: Bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, and verbal-linguistic.

Explanation/Example: Have two circles formed. Have half of the class stand in a circle but facing outward. Have the other half stand in an outside circle facing the other half that's facing outward. The circle on the inside will move clockwise, while the circle on the outside moves counterclockwise. Students will move over one, so they have a different partner to discuss information with. Have the inside circle read an article about the positives of oil drilling and have the outside circle read about the negative of oil drilling. Students can then discuss the articles they read with one another.

Standard: SS.G.2.5. Describe how humans have utilized natural resources in the United States.

Multiple Intelligences: Interpersonal and verbal-linguistic. 

Explanation/Example: Students will be learning about the law and constitution. At the end of the unit, students will have a fishbowl class discussion discussing what they've learned and clarification they may need. 

Standard: SS.CV.2.5. Examine the origins and purposes of rules, laws, and key U.S. constitutional provisions.

Multiple Intelligences: Interpersonal and verbal-linguistic.

Explanation/Example: Students will be learning about laws that were made to solve problems within the country. Students will be given prompts based on their determination on if the laws fulfilled their purpose. They will have time to think, discuss with a partner, and share their ideas.

Standard: SS.CV.6.6-8.LC. Determine whether specific rules and laws (both actual and proposed) resolve the problems they were meant to address.

Multiple Intelligences: Interpersonal and verbal-linguistic.

Explanation/Example: Prior to learning about how an environmentalist has faced challenges and opportunities (Greta Thunberg), students will learn important terms such as climate change, global warming, pollution, etc. 

Standard: SS.IS.8.6-8.LC. Analyze how a problem can manifest itself and the challenges and opportunities faced by those trying to address it. (6th grade)

Multiple Intelligences: Visual-spatial, and interpersonal or intrapersonal. 

Explanation/Example: Students will create a graphic organizer of their choice, but it must display the similarities and differences of decision making within the classroom, and in school. (Will cover the community portion in a future lesson). This can be done individually or with partners. 

Standard: SS.CV.3.3. Compare procedures for making decisions in the classroom, school, and community.

To create a collection of anchor charts, write subtopics or supporting questions on poster boards. Then, post the posters around the classroom. Divide the students as evenly as possible to create groups for each poster. Ask every group of students to read and write responses on each chart, recording what they know. Give students about three minutes to respond to each poster. Once the three minutes is up, have students rotate to the next poster. As they rotate, they can see what other groups recorded and possibly cross out incorrect information and add information they think has relevance. Once every group has been at every poster, have them go back to their original poster. There will then be one spokesperson at each group/poster, and they will share what was recorded on their poster. They can continue to rotate to see responses on other posters. This can be used to start discussions or notes can be taken about information to review in the future.

Application(s): Learning activity and/or formative. 

Multiple Intelligences: Interpersonal and visual-spatial.

Explanation/Example: Students will go around the room to posters. Students will be broken up into groups. There will be topics about sale prices and profit around the room and students will write down what they know about the topic. Students will then go back to their original poster and read all the responses. They will also rotate and take a look at the responses for the other posters.

 
Standard: SS.EC.2.5. Discover how positive incentives (e.g. sale prices and earning money) and negative incentives influence behavior in our nation’s economy and around the world.

Multiple Intelligences: Interpersonal.

Explanation/Example: Have students explore different regions or cultures. Students can be put in groups to research the many aspects of a culture. The KWL charts can be used to organize the information they use regarding the culture or region.

Standard: SS.H.2.3. Describe how significant people, events, and developments have shaped their own community and region.

Multiple Intelligences: Bodily-kinesthetic and intrapersonal.

Explanation/Example: Ask prompts about life now and today (unit in kindergarten). For example: "Microwaves have been around for 400 years", "White boards used to be chalk boards decades ago", etc. 

Standard: SS.H.1.K. Compare life in the past with life today.

Multiple Intelligences: Visual-spatial and interpersonal.

Explanation/Example: Administer a picture walk for students. Collect a variety of books at different reading levels that focus on a specific topic. Since some books can be long, there can be specific pages bookmarked for students to focus on for this strategy. For example, perspectives of the Native Americans and Europeans (colonization). Place books about the topic around the classroom and allow students to walk around to the different books. They can look for pictures of interest, write down notes about what they observe, and new vocabulary words they might be unfamiliar with. They may also create a drawing that includes new vocabulary words. Once they've been to every book, there can be a whole group discussion about what they had seen. You can create a chart about information they gathered, unfamiliar but key terms, etc. 

Standard: SS.H.1.4. Explain connections among historical contexts and why individuals and groups differed in their perspectives during the same historical period.

Multiple Intelligences: Interpersonal and visual-spatial.

Explanation/Example: Students will be learning about the Jim Crow Laws. In the center of the word web, there will be written "Jim Crow Laws" on the front board. There will be four attached circles to the center one and those should include what the Jim Crow Laws impacted, such as bathrooms, restaurants, schools, water fountains, etc. 

Standard: SS.H.2.2. Compare individuals and groups who have shaped a significant historical change.

Multiple Intelligences: Auditory-musical, bodily-kinesthetic, existential, intrapersonal, verbal-linguistic, and visual-spatial. 

Explanation/Example: Students will participate in an online simulation that represents what life was like during the market revolution (1800s). Once students are done with the simulation, they will compare what they witnessed in their simulation to what life is like today ( https://amhistory.si.edu/american-enterprise/market-revolution/ ). Scenarios and text can be read to students and they will be taught important vocabulary prior to simulation. 

Other simulations: https://www.socialstudiescentral.com/instructional-resources/interactive-simulations/

Standard: SS.H.1.K. Compare life in the past with life today

Multiple Intelligences: Auditory-musical, intrapersonal, naturalist, verbal-linguistic, and visual-spatial.

Explanation/Example: Students will be taking a virtual tour looking at ancient artifacts, here is a website that has many virtual tours: https://joyofmuseums.com/most-popular/most-popular-historical-objects/ . Students will fill out a worksheet where they will list the artifact and explain why or why not it's a primary source. They will also list a question they have about the artifact.

Standard: SS.H.3.3. Identify artifacts and documents as either primary or secondary sources of historical data from which historical accounts are constructed.

Multiple Intelligences: Interpersonal and logical-mathematical. 

Explanation/Example: Students will read an article about Easter Island, called "Mysterious Easter Island". Before they read, have students look at the headings and subheadings (if applicable). Ask students questions such as "What is Easter Island?", "Where is Easter Island?", etc. The questions can be put on a chart in the front of the classroom and students can put their predictions on the board answering the questions. Students will then read the article and then answer the same questions once again. This time, they will have more knowledge they gained from the text. The article will cover information about Easter Island as well as the culture and environment there. This will set the stage for a later lesson where students will compare Easter Island to their community. 

Standard: SS.G.2.2. Identify some cultural and environmental characteristics of your community and compare to other places.

Multiple Intelligences: Interpersonal and verbal-linguistic.

Explanation/Example: Students will be given a passage regarding how people save money and what that money may be put towards. Students will read the passage twice and will write down words that correspond with the topic in the passage. The students will then share the words they put down and will be put up on the board. Students will then make predictions about the topic they'll be learning about. 

Standard: SS.EC.FL. 4.4. Explain that income can be saved, spent on good and services, or used to pay taxes.

Multiple Intelligences: Intrapersonal and verbal-linguistic. 

Explanation/Example: Students will read an article about how profits (how people make money) can be rewarding to businesses as well as how those profits influence these businesses. How these profits impact businesses is the overall goal for students to learn about. As students read, they will put down a star, exclamation point, question mark, or plus sign at specific areas (the areas will differ student to student). 

Standard: SS.EC.1.4. Explain how profits reward and influence sellers.

Application(s): Learning activity and/or formative.

Multiple Intelligences: Intrapersonal.

Explanation/Example: Students will read an article about why people specialize and trade. Students will have to answer what the article says, the students' point of view or thoughts, as well as what they student learned and what that may mean. 

Standard: SS.EC.1.5. Analyze why and how individuals, businesses, and nations around the world specialize and trade.

Multiple Intelligences: Verbal-linguistic and intrapersonal. 

Explanation/Example: Students will be given a news article regarding how Chicago, Illinois has changed over time. The article will be read aloud, and students may read to themselves or in their head to reread. There can be a focus of how Chicago has grown since the Chicago Fire (1871) and the skyscrapers that have been developed. Students will need to summarize these changes by using the GIST technique. 

Standard: SS.H.1.2. Summarize changes that have occurred in the local community over time.

Multiple Intelligences: Verbal-linguistic and intrapersonal.

Explanation/Example: Students will read a text about money and how it makes exchange easier. Students will highlight important information and leave the less important information unhighlighted. Students will then review what they highlighted and create a summary using the most important information.

Standard: SS.EC.2.2. Explain the role of money in making exchange easier.

Multiple Intelligences: Existential and intrapersonal. 

Explanation/Example: Students can take a look at Rosa Parks. Somebody: Rosa Parks was an American activist, Wanted: Equal rights and opportunities, But: Schools, restaurants, water fountains, buses, and more were segregated, So: She refused to give up her seat and fought for equal rights. This can show the cause and effect of what Rosa's Parks actions did. 

Standard: SS.H.3.5. Explain probable causes and effects of events and developments in U.S. history.

Multiple Intelligences: Intrapersonal OR interpersonal and visual-spatial. 

Explanation/Example: Students will use the word map by regrouping the words as they look for cause and effect relationships. The words will correspond with the events and developments within Illinois. 

Standard: SS.H.3.4. Explain probable causes and effects of events and developments in Illinois history.

Application(s): Formative and/or learning activity. 
 

Multiple Intelligences: Visual-spatial, interpersonal, and naturalist.

Explanation/Example: Students will create a class concept circle regarding the goods and services that are in their community. For example, we can say that there are corn field, soybean fields, wheat fields, and wind field farms in Normal, IL. Each of those things can be listed in the concept circle and the concept would be the goods that are grown/produced in Normal, IL. This can go on into how the corn, wheat, and soybeans can be used to feed animals and humans, while the windmills provide energy to the town. Students can do some research on another community, such as Chicago. 

Standard: SS.EC.3.2. Compare the goods and services that people in the local community produce and those that are produced in other communities.

Multiple Intelligences: Existential and interpersonal.

Explanation/Example: Students will create a newspaper article focusing on the causes of 9/11 and what 9/11 effected. Students don't have to get too deep into detail about the cause (why the attacks happened). Instead, they could perhaps talk about what the attacks caused to happen (people passing away, buildings collapsing, etc.). The effects are TSA, ID needed to fly, etc. 

Standard: SS.H.4.6-8.LC. Explain multiple causes and effects of historical events.

Multiple Intelligences: Interpersonal OR intrapersonal, verbal-linguistic, and existential. 

Explanation/Example: Students can take on the role of an environmentalist or a meteorologist. They can work independently or with a partner. Students must all have a role. Students will then discuss in their podcast a catastrophic event that has occurred or that could occur in a certain area, such as wildfires. Students can look at the wildfires that happen in our nation (California, Texas, etc.) as well as other countries (Australia, South Africa, etc.). Students can then compare these wildfires that occur around the world and their impacts. Students can also go into technological developments which for wildfires, there are satellites that catch images of the course of ash and smoke. Students can dive deeper into the satellites and other developments. 

Standard: SS.G.3.5. Analyze the effects of specific catastrophic and environmental events as well as technological developments that have impacted our nation and compare to other places.

Multiple Intelligences: Intrapersonal and naturalist.

Explanation/Example: Students will write their own book about how humans have impacted their environment, and how the environment impacts humans. Students can discuss climate change caused by humans or how the environment of an animal or human is important for survival. Can use both topics in a similar time frame so the content isn't mixed up.

Standard: SS.G.2.6-8.LC. Explain how humans and their environment affect one another. (6th grade)

Multiple Intelligences: Existential, visual-spatial, and interpersonal.

Explanation/Example: Students will focus on the 1800s, 1900s, and 2000s to locate how people from those time periods acquired their needs (water, food, transportation to work, etc.). Students can be put into groups or drawn from a hat to group up with people assigned to the same time period. Students will research the time period and how the people within this time period acquired their necessities. After the research is complete, students can make a PowerPoint or poster to present their findings. 

Standard: SS.G.3.2. Explain how people in your community use local and distant environments to meet their daily needs.

Multiple Intelligences: Interpersonal, visual-spatial, and logical-mathematical.

Explanation/Example: Students will research the order in which each U.S. state has been established. The timeline will expand from the first established state, to the last. Students can each do two states, or small groups can focus on a specific region and conduct this strategy when every region is taught. (If focusing on the Midwest, create groups who each focus on the states within the Midwest, then put them in order on a timeline. As the year goes on and more states get covered, you can place every state on the timeline to see an overall timeline instead of a region timeline)

Standard: SS.H.1.1. SS.H.1.3. Create and use a chronological sequence of events.

Multiple Intelligences: Existential, verbal-linguistic, and interpersonal.

Explanation/Example: Students will each have a different person to highlight in their interview. Students can research different presidents and conduct their interview based on their specific person. Other students will be able to view the interview. Students will then have a discussion based on the similarities and differences of the presidents. 

Standard: SS.H.2.2. Compare individuals and groups who have shaped a significant historical change.

Multiple Intelligences: Existential and intrapersonal.

Explanation/Example: In the economic downturn of the Great Depression, a lot of people lost their fortunes, while many other kept or grew their fortunes. Count how many students you have and put that number of slips into a hat. Before placing the slips in the hat, write down either 1.) lost fortune, 2.) kept fortune, and 3.) grew fortune. Students will pick from the hat and will write a journal entry based on the perspective they picked from in the hat. 

Standard: SS.H.1.4. Explain connections among historical contexts and why individuals and groups differed in their perspectives during the same historical period.

Multiple Intelligences: Existential and intrapersonal.

Explanation/Example: Students can write a post card in the perspective of Harriet Tubman. Tubman rescued many from slavery to improve the life of others. Students will write to a possible made up friend of Harriet or family member discussing the Underground Railroad. Students can go in depth about what the Underground Railroad was like, how Harriet saved others, etc...

Standard: Describe how people have tried to improve their communities over time.

Multiple Intelligences: Bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, and verbal-linguistic.

Explanation/Example: Students will create scripts regarding historical events going to space in the order in which the events took place. Some examples can include the first creatures to go to space, first man in space, first woman in space, first spacewalk (astronaut outside of the spacecraft), first man on the moon, etc. Students will create scripts in groups revolving around these events and they will be read in the order they took place in. 

Standard: SS.H.1.6-8.LC. Classify series of historical events and developments as examples of change and/or continuity.

Multiple Intelligences: Intrapersonal 

Explanation/Example: Students will take a look at national holidays that are dedicated to historical people. For example, students can explain the significance of having Martin Luther King Jr. Day (used to celebrate his birthday and his achievements). Students can also take a look at other significant people like Martin Luther King Jr., such as Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges, Harriet Tubman, etc. (others who made change for a better life for people of color, like MLK did).

Standard: SS.H.2.K. Explain the significance of our national holidays and the heroism and achievements of the people associated with them.

Multiple Intelligences: Existential and intrapersonal.

Explanation/Example: Students will write a historical fiction about significant people revolving around Abraham Lincoln and Illinois. The students will explain the people who were significant to Abraham Lincoln (Orville Hickman Browning, John Milton Hay, John George Nicolay, etc.) as well as significant events and developments that all of the people contributed to. 

Standard: SS.H.2.3. Describe how significant people, events, and developments have shaped their own community and region.

Multiple Intelligences: Interpersonal and visual-spatial.

Explanation/Example: Students learning about slavery will take a look at a document that is an advertisement for an auction for slaves. Students will identify who made the document, the date, place it was produced, audience it's intended for, and the purpose. After answering these questions, students will decide if this source is useful with what they are learning about (slavery). 

* Document students will be analyzing is above. *

Standard: SS.H.2.5. Use information about a historical source including the maker, date, place of origin, intended audience, and purpose-to judge the extent to which the source is useful for studying a particular topic.

Application(s): Formative and learning activity.

Multiple Intelligences: Intrapersonal and visual-spatial.

Explanation/Example: Use propaganda posters showing the need of war bonds needing to be bought and have students analyze. The poster promotes purchasing war bonds and if people do, they can "bring the soldiers back sooner". This is showing that its American's responsibility to buy war bonds in order for soldiers to come home.  While looking at the poster, have students answer the following: 1.) Is there a point the cartoonist is trying to make? 2.) What techniques (like: analogy, exaggeration, irony, labeling, and symbolism) are demonstrated to communicate the message in the cartoon? 3.) What method of making a point is the most successful and why? 4.) If the cartoonist had a different point of view, how might this cartoon have ended up differently? 5.) What may have caused this cartoon to be produced? 6.) Does this cartoon appeal to a certain/specific group?

*Possible poster to use is at the top. *

Standard: SS.CV.2.4. Explain how a democracy relies on people’s responsible participation, and draw implications for how individuals should participate.

Application(s): Learning activity

Multiple Intelligences: Bodily-kinesthetic and intrapersonal.

Explanation/Example: Students will look at artifacts revolving around Illinois history. Students will answer the following questions regarding the artifacts: Who used this artifact, why do you think so? What was this artifact used for, why do you think so? What does this artifact tell you about the person/people who made it, as well as who used it? What does this artifact tell you about what technology was like at the time this artifact was created? Hints will be given to guide students' thinking.

Standard: SS.H.2.4. Using artifacts and primary sources, investigate how individuals contributed to and the founding and development of Illinois.

Multiple Intelligences: Verbal-linguistic, interpersonal, bodily-kinesthetic, and existential.

Explanation/Example: Students can obtain or create and objects that represents a historical person. Students must use written documents (can be mockups), objects, art, or sayings the person would say. The students will be paired up and share their objects while the partner guesses who they may be. Then the roles will alternate. 

Standard: SS.H.3.2. Explain how different kinds of historical sources (such as written documents, objects, artistic works, and oral accounts) can be used to study the past.

Multiple Intelligences: Interpersonal

Explanation/Example: Students will take on roles of people from the Old West. Students can dress and act based on their character or person. At the end of the activity, students can compare the Old West to now. To guide this activity, ask students questions regarding how they travelled, what they wore, what the wagons were like, how many personal items they could fit on the wagon, etc. 

Standard: SS.H.3.1. Compare perspectives of people in the past to those of people in the present.

Application(s): Summative

Multiple Intelligences: Interpersonal and verbal-linguistic.

Explanation/Example: Have students read a script regarding the role of government officials or other authority members. Students can practice and dress up to represent roles.  

Standard: SS.CV.1.K. Describe roles and responsibilities of people in authority

Multiple Intelligences: Bodily-kinesthetic and verbal-linguistic.

Explanation/Example: Students will take on the role of significant people from Illinois. If needed, there can be two students who do the same statue, but they must work individually. They will express how their person made big changes within Illinois and the Midwest. They can fill out a poster to include more information about their historical person. 

Standard: SS.H.2.3. Describe how significant people, events, and developments have shaped their own community and region.

Multiple Intelligences: Intrapersonal 

Explanation/Example: A lesson will be conducted to look at policies that are enforced within the United States. Once the lesson is wrapped up, students will respond to questions that correspond to the content, with explanations needed if possible. Students will then turn in their exit cards as they leave the classroom, which will be evaluated. 

Standard: SS.CV.4.5. Explain how policies are developed to address public problems.

Multiple Intelligences: Interpersonal and visual-spatial.

Explanation/Example: Students will be placed in groups and will be asked to draw a Venn diagram to show the relationship between Democracy and Monarchy. The students can research how the systems compare and contrast and will fill in a Venn diagram to display their findings. Students will be given a poster with a Venn diagram already drawn on.

Standard: SS.CV.3.5. Compare the origins, functions, and structure of different systems of government.

Multiple Intelligences: Auditory-musical and intrapersonal.

Explanation/Example: After learning about some of the problems that are occurring in the students' area, students will listen to a song written by a local farmer describing his struggles that comes with agriculture lately with all of the rain. After listening to the song, students will then read an article written by another farmer about animals ruining his crops. Students will then list three things they know well, two things they need more clarification on, and one question they still have after this listening to the song and reading the article. They can either write or type out a GoogleDoc to submit responses. 

Standard: SS.IS.7.3-5. Identify a range of local problems and some ways in which people are trying to address these problems.

Multiple Intelligences: Interpersonal and verbal-linguistic.

Explanation/Example: Students will be taught a lesson regarding how to read maps and other ways to navigate (compass and other ways). After the lesson, students will answer "What is something you are "square" with; something they understand fully?" "Triangle- what are points you want to remember", and "What is something that is still circling in your brain? Something you are still confused on or need clarification on?". Each question will be read, and students will turn to a partner and share their responses. Students can then raise their hand to share with the whole class, so clarification is given to all students. 

Standard: SS.G.1.1. Construct and interpret maps and other representations to navigate a familiar place.

Multiple Intelligences: Intrapersonal

Explanation/Example: Students will use the scale to respond their understanding of certain concepts regarding how Americans use their natural resources such as coal, gas, iron soil, etc. The students will then have a unit on United States natural resources and will use the scale at the end of the unit to rate and share their understandings on the concepts.

Standard: SS.G.2.5. Describe how humans have utilized natural resources in the United States.