This PowerPoint presentation is a must have or any history class! Start the first day of school or first lesson with “WHY” because students always want to know why? Why am I learning about history? Why do we have to study this stuff anyway? When am I ever going to use this in life? Isn’t history about a bunch of old dead people and things that have already happened? I typically use this for a first day of school, or first day of history class lesson! You’ve heard these questions before. These are great questions that should not be dismissed but rather explored. I always begin my first day of any history class going through this PowerPoint discussion to convince my students that history is truly important to them. I have found that the “WHY” must be answered before the “WHAT.” When students know why, then learning can begin. I hope this resource helps your students as much as it has helped mine, and gets them excited about learning history! Enjoy this full “NO PREP” mini lesson. What’s Included in the PowerPoint: - A note to the teacher that helps explain why history is so important. - Lesson ideas to incorporate before and after the presentation. - 6 reasons as to “Why we study history?" to present to students - A link to an inspirational 4 min video about history's influence. - Numerous discussion notes and evidences for each of the 6 points to help the teacher lead the large group discussion and/or lecture. - This is ready to go with “NO PREP” or research needed. Yeah!

Have you ever wanted to take your class to Ancient Rome? Now you can without spending a dime. On this virtual field trip, students will become the travel guides. Through summaries and pictures, students will create a travel brochure that highlights 10 major locations of the Ancient Roman Empire. This creative project includes writing, research, and graphic design. What's Included: - Student instructions for completion of project - A map of the Roman Empire for travel needs - Grading rubric for the teacher

The Declaration of Independence was really a big "break-up" letter written by Thomas Jefferson and the colonists to the King of Great Britain. This historical document was written to convince the world of the King's abuses and let everyone know that the colonies no longer want to be in a relationship with Great Britain. After studying the Declaration of Independence, students will use this assignment as a reinforcement to understand just what Jefferson wrote in this historical document. By texting back and forth, it's a fun way to understand the "big idea" behind the Declaration of Independence.

Create A Crossword Puzzle is a great way to review or summarize information by having students create their own crossword puzzles. Students will receive the worksheet templates to create a crossword puzzle for the class by using the major terms, people, or places studied during the chapter or unit. Teachers may choose the best student crossword and distribute it to the class, or students can swap crosswords with each other. As a creative means for learning, this activity allows students to "secretly" help create an assignment, or a center activity, for the teacher. No computers or internet connectivity required.

BATTLESHIPS is the ultimate REVIEW GAME to use for any subject and most any grade level. I created this years ago as I was trying to find a way to keep students engaged and excited about the content being studied. Now I have finally packaged this class favorite into a format for others to enjoy. Here's how it works. Students will be grouped into teams, and each team will have 10 ships loaded with various treasures. The ships will be numbered, but unseen by the rest of the class. The teacher will run the game by asking questions, calling on groups who raise their hands, and recording the captured treasures. The ultimate goal is to answer questions correctly, attack another team's numbered ship, collect the treasures of each ship (or maybe even the negative treasures), then repeat until all unit content or teacher questions have been covered. The team with the most gold at the end of game is declared the winner! Played similar to the well-known Battleship board game, this game keeps students engaged and wanting to study so they can beat their friends in a friendly, competitive game of BATTLESHIPS. Nothing quite beats competition in the classroom! It just might be the new class favorite! All necessary rules, printouts, and score keeping sheets are included. Just print, play, and make your students' day! Enjoy studying with this ultimate review game. If you have time, leave a rating and comment as I'd love to hear how it goes for you!

To better understand the basic information within the United States Constitution, students will browse through the Constitution and find the main ideas about the 7 Articles and the 27 Amendments. Included are 17 questions about the articles, and 27 questions about the amendments. All questions (except for one) will be answered with a number. This is a great way to introduce, study, or review the United States Constitution for your Constitution unit or a Constitution Day activity. You may even want to group your students and make this into a competition or race. Whatever method you use, your students will certainly gain a better understanding of the facts and layout of the U.S. Constitution. Examples of questions include: - Which article explains the Judicial Branch and our court systems? - According to Article II, how old must you be to become President? - This amendment outlaws slavery. - This amendment gives women the right to vote? - And more..... Answer keys are included. A copy of the U.S. Constitution is not included in this product. You will want to use the Constitution found in the textbook or another source. This "Constitution: Scavenger Hunt" product can be used for studying just the Articles (Original Constitution), just the Amendments, or both for a broad overview. This has proven to be one of the best ways for my students to comprehend the information and layout of the U.S. Constitution. In addition, I also use Constitution: The Articles, Primary Source in my unit on the Constitution. Enjoy, and thank you for your comments and ratings!

This is a great way to study and know the information contained within the United States Constitution. To better understand the layout and information within the United States Constitution, students will read through the original 7 Articles of this primary source document and find the main ideas. This is a nice addition to Constitution Day or your existing unit on the Constitution. Don't be afraid to have your students study this great document. One of the most influential documents of all time, the Founding Fathers kept this document short, and at an 8th grade reading level so the average citizen of the late 1700's could understand their own government. Students may grumble at first when talking about the Constitution, but using this "user-friendly" guide to understanding this great document, students will have a sense of accomplishment and patriotism when completed. I believe you and your students will benefit with this practical, do-able series of worksheets for your classroom. What's Included: - Worksheet #1 - 20 questions about Article I. - Worksheet #2 - 14 questions about Article II. - Worksheet #3 - 12 questions about Article III. - Worksheet #4 - 14 questions about Articles IV-VII. - Answer keys are included for all worksheets. A copy of the U.S. Constitution is not included in this product. You will want to use the Constitution found in the textbook or another source. This has proven to be one of the best ways for my students to comprehend the information and layout of the U.S. Constitution. For an even quicker overview of the Constitution, and all 27 amendments, you might enjoy Constitution: Scavenger Hunt, Primary Source.

This Current Events Summary is an excellent tool for students to get involved with the news and the current events of the week. A simple writing format helps students find, summarize, and write opinions about current news stories and current events. I find this activity to be a practical filler for various social studies courses. Included: - Student directions: Find, Highlight, Summarize, Importance, Opinion - Student writing form (2 pages) - Grading rubric

This lesson will help students better understand one of the most important documents of all time: The Declaration of Independence. After becoming familiar with the Declaration from your textbook or another source, students will be given this series of excerpts and questions. Though Thomas Jefferson's Declaration can be difficult to understand for some, this worksheet is a great overall, big-picture, way to study such an important document without becoming overwhelmed. The Declaration is really just a big "break-up letter" from the colonists to the King. After referring to the primary source in our text book, along with the provided discussion questions in this lesson, this has been a concise way for my students to best understand the Declaration of Independence. Download the preview to see what this lesson looks like. An answer key is included. A copy of the Declaration of Independence is not included.

CRACK THE CODE is a fun way to experience what archaeologists or linguists go through as they attempt to decipher and decode unknown languages of the past. Like a cryptogram, have students use the letter frequency chart and the common tendencies of the English language, to crack the code and decipher this very important message! I like to use this for my history class to help students understand the difficulties that historians face in discovering an unknown language. You could also use it as a brain break or a fun filler for any class. Regardless of the use, it’s a fun challenge for students to do individually or as a group competition. Enjoy, and thanks for checking out the resources at Mister Harms! Have an awesome day! What’s Included: - A coded message from an unknown language - A letter frequency chart to help guide students for letter substitution - An answer key

Summarizing the main idea of any informational text can be tough for many students. This template is an excellent way to summarize the conversation or conflict between two people or two groups. In a fun texting-style way, students will label the shaded bubble as one party, and the white bubble as another party. They will continue the conversation in a way that summarizes the information that has been studied. Allow students to have fun mixing knowledgable information with their texting lingo! Included in this product are some content ideas for texting and a list of common texting phrases. Enjoy, and thanks for your comments and ratings! Ideas for use: Democrats / Republicans Federalist / Anti Federalist Jefferson / Lewis & Clark Moctezuma / Hernan Cortez Christopher Columbus / King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella Andrew Jackson / Cherokee Indians Slave Owner / Slave Ulysses S. Grant / Robert E. Lee 49er / Family Member Back Home Oregon Trail Emigrant / Family Member Back Home Any President or Leader / Any Citizen Any two characters of a literary novel or work And so much more.....