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The most popular reviews in /r/historyteachers:
This doesn't really fit it completely but PBS series The African Americans has an episode containing various things from 1861-1896.
https://www.amazon.com/African-Americans-Many-Rivers-Cross/dp/B00G9U4DDA
The new Netflix series Amend has an episode that doesn't focus on the Civil War but deals with this. First episode. On youtube too.
https://theintercept.com/ - I think they have great journalism here, owned by Glenn Greenwald
http://ralphnaderradiohour.com/ - self explanatory, Nader isn't actually a psychopath and while I don't think he's a genius, his podcast covers many issues. Focuses on what the listener can do about it, always with a guest.
Richard Wolff talks about recent economic issues but he might be too anti-capitalist for the classroom in the same way that it might not be appropriate to play Milton Friedman's Free to Choose. To be clear Wolff holds the marxist view that capitalism is a process which will invariably terminate itself at some point. But he doesn't think that what happens after that will be communism.
To balance him you actually should look at mainstream economists like Krugman (and Piketty who people think of as a leftist but he believes in the longevity of capitalism unlike Wolff).
The thing about noncorporate news is that it tends to not be interested in only covering US current events. Democracy Now is good, they recently did a feature on refugees in France. If I were going to show kids a feature from Democracy Now it would either be that or the drone operators episode.
I let my kids use this website. https://www.geoguessr.com/ It's geography related (which I could justify if I had to) and they have to use contextual clues to make a guess as to where the images are from.
I just finished readingAn Edible History of Humanity, and I'd recommend it; I plan to use the chapter on the industrial era for some of my world history students. I've also finished Sugar: A Bittersweet History by Abbott, which I can also recommend. Also Stamped from the Beginning.
This is specific for history, but I like The Big Six Historical Thinking Concepts. It defines thinking like a historian in a way that is accessible for the middle and high school history classroom. The book does draw heavily on Canadian history for examples (a nice break for Canadian teachers face a wealth of American resources online), but you can adapt the ideas and examples for the areas of history you teach.
Link to the book on Amazon
Link to the book's website. You can find an overview here
This might be a bit advanced for high school (depending on students of course), but its worth a read regardless. 1491 by Charles Mann. Here's an Atlantic article about it. Here's the Amazon link to his book.
https://www.amazon.com/Celia-Slave-Melton-Mclaurin/dp/0380803364
"In 1850, fourteen-year-old Celia became the property of Robert Newsom, a prosperous and respected Missouri farmer. For the next five years, she was cruelly and repeatedly molested by her abusive master—and bore him two children in the process. But in 1855, driven to the limits of her endurance, Celia fought back. And at the tender age of eighteen, the desperate and frightened young black woman found herself on trial for Newsom's murder—the defendant in a landmark courtroom battle that threatened to undermine the very foundations of the South's most cherished institution.
Based on court records, correspondences and newspaper accounts past and present, Celia, A Slave is a powerful masterwork of passion and scholarship—a stunning literary achievement that brilliantly illuminates one of the most extraordinary events in the long, dark history of slavery in America."
Pick main topics that interest you. Go on amazon and read some book reviews.
"World History" in itself is so vast.
If you want something really basic but is readable and just a broad overview this is a really neat, easy to read book.
Look up Kagan for group work. Basically gives kids roles in the group so the group can't be successful without 100% participation. Don't get it wrong, they're kids, they'll still slack off. But it is less, and the teammates will actually give a shit if one of the kids is slacking off.
Also, you are not alone in kids reading below level. I would dream for 1-2 grade levels below. The HIGH kids I have are at grade level. A SOLID chunk of mine are demonstrably entirely illiterate in 7th grade. It is what it is. Get them reading, keep them reading things at their grade level, don't let them read easy things like comics. Most kids don't have the intrinsic motivation to make good choices with their time, you have to make them and check up on them. If you have software to manage chromebooks (GoGuardian) learn to use it, and use it well. Teach them nonfiction reading strategies (get your boss to buy this, or something similar) and force them to use them.
Don't worry too much about doing the curriculum 'correctly' if your admin isn't micromanaging you and giving you resources it's because they expect you to do it on your own, and are aware that your class will have your unique flavor. Just cover the skills and standards, grade based on grade-level competency of said skills and standards.
This book is good for some graphic organizers and stuff, but what I really love is the later section where 2 sources about a topic are used. It's essentially an AP US History material, but the comparison sections with 2 texts are awesome and I take the readings but change the questions for my 10th grade US History class. I teach a lot of emerging readers so I scaffold their discussions with specific questions that they'll have opposing answers for.
World map shower curtain on Amazon. Around 20 bucks. Best thing I bought this year to hang on my wall. Can even expo marker on it.
Well.... I can solve the "No-Zero" pollicy issue for you!
Read "Grading for Equity" by Jow Feldman. It's the book where admin gets their "No Zero" policy from and screws the rest of it up. It's a short read, and if you have to do No-Zeros anyway, this book will help you implement the REST of the philosophy. It will allow you to hold them accountable without running afoul of their policy!
He may enjoy Gombrich's Little History of the World which I use to teach 9th grade Ancient History.
I largely agree with others in this thread that through the lens of history, your child can probably be successful in nearly every subject. History was how I became interested in classical literature, and why I nearly considered a Classics double major in college. Perhaps he would enjoy this book on the history of philosophy (it's written for kids, trust me) and through that you could transition him to a lot of other subjects like architecture and archaeology to stimulate interest in the other core subjects.
I mainly used these flash cards to study. Bit boring and stale using them but it got the job done.
A Patriot's Handbook by Caroline Kennedy
This is one of my favorite resources, as it delves into primary sources not only by subject area but also chronologically. As a first-time history teacher, it's important to embed primary source analysis into your class. Most high school and definitely all college classes rely on students being able to analyze a primary source.
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Additionally, you're going to need to teach the students how to write a DBQ (document based question). THIS is one possible resource, but there are plenty of cheaper ones online (especially TPT).
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The biggest mistake you can make in teaching a history class is to chain yourself to a textbook. It's so easy to get stuck in "lecture in class, read the book for homework"; instead, have the kids do timelines, thematic groupings, and document analysis.
I use gaffer tape on my floors. It’s kind of like a cross between masking tape and duct tape.
XFasten Multicolor Neon Gaffer Tape, 1-inch x 18-Feet, UV Blacklight Reactive Fluorescent Tape (5-Pack, Multicolor) Heavy Duty, Non-Reflective, Neon Fluorescent Gaffers Tape https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08B5YZ287/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_QE9CGJ5XEWVAPZ82FJ9M
My favorite piece of teaching equipment is an alphabetizer. Kids turn their work in it and it speeds up entering grades. However, the real trick is that I staple the work together. I won’t loose their work if they turn it in on time unless I loose the whole class and they know it! It had cut down this claims by 99%. If I make a mistake and skip a paper it is super easy to find and fix. They also can’t slip anything in late. This is the one that I use: https://www.amazon.com/C-Line-All-Purpose-Document-Sorter-30526/dp/B0006HWA2I
🤣 try this app in the app store. If I should add anything that may help you let me know! If you have a topic you need covered or anything.
Yes. I also recommend Sundown Towns, which highlights the collaboration of law enforcement with the KKK in towns all over the USA. Another good book, which caused me (a 25+ year veteran teacher) to completely overhaul my grading system: Grading for Equity, by Joe Feldman.
http://www.openculture.com/2013/05/take_a_3d_virtual_tour_of_the_sistine_chapel_st_peters_basilica_.html Maybe this can be useful? Havent used it in a while. But i think you xan zoom in on the pics ? Maybe you can use the snipping tool on microsoft to save the zoomed in pics ? ... On my ipad at the moment , cant test it out.
Yeah - the GoPro Fusion is $200 and comes with stabilization which is a key feature. Pretty decent camera.
We also find that it works well with Davinci Resolve which is a free but high quality video editor that supports 360 video editing.
Reach out if you have any additional questions. Happy to help.
Noted, thanks! We hope to create teaching materials in the near future.
We do have an interactive map where you can see civilizations at any particular date. Only ancient history though and still a work in progress: http://www.ancient.eu/mapselect/
There’s an excellent book about teaching with film that might be helpful (https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-History-Film-Strategies-Secondary/dp/0415999561). One great thing about teaching with film is you can have students analyze not only how the movie compares with the real story but also what the movie tells us about the time in which it was made (ex. You can ask students what the Patriot tells us about pre-9/11 America). Good luck!
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I learned so much from this book and her other one that starts in the 1970s.
https://www.amazon.com/Social-Studies-Modern-World-History/dp/0544669118
This HMH textbook is pretty good. It does a good job of using good pictures and does a great job of covering topics. The teacher’s edition compliments it well and can be used for lessons without much planning to be done if you happen to do a textbook-based lesson.
Lots of great suggestions but I’m going to also suggest you do some academic research on the field of world history because it will help you better understand how to teach it in a non-Eurocentric manner. Admittedly, my grad program was for history with a world history emphasis and to graduate with that emphasis we had to take a world history seminar class. Sort of a historiography of world history, this was one of the required texts and did the most for me when it came to theories of how to teach world history. I still pull it out every once in a while and skim through to see it I can get any new ideas.
Amazon! I have them around the top of my walls and then hung across the center. My students love trying to find the different flags, it’s nice and simple too.
Cartoon History of the U.S. It's done comic book style so you can get through it quickly, but it also has surprising depth to help you get beyond just surface levels.
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https://www.amazon.com/Cartoon-History-United-States-Guide/dp/0062730983
You may already be familiar with this book because it is pretty popular, but "Intimate Frontiers: Sex, Gender, and Culture in Old California" by Albert Hurtado is great! Here is a link to the first chapter, PDF of Chapter 1
I remember reading this during my undergrad. He covers a lot of information about the California Mission system and the unique sexual practices of Native Americans during that era very in depth. Lots of information about polyamory, transgender, and homosexual practices during this era and how it was viewed from a Christian lens... I loved this book.
Geography Coloring Book (3rd Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0131014722/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_K7MjDbD2FVF4T
This is a little older and some of the maps are a bit dated but it is still a great resource. It has maps for all of the continents but are not just “find this place” maps. For example, one of the maps is on the different climate zones in the world. My students have learned a lot from coloring these!
Seterra is also a great website to check out!
I don't use textbooks in history. I'll be honest - it's tough. You will need a lot of sources and do things like guided notetaking/lecturing and PowerPoints to get the information across. Brief, 2-3 paragraph readings with 3-5 questions from the readings are good for homework too. Try to find condensed versions of history books to help you as well. For example, something like this which I use - https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Need-American-History-Notebook/dp/0761160833/ref=asc_df_0761160833/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312178232056&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5033432836201444507&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003217&hvtargid=pla-481046914717&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=60258870937&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312178232056&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5033432836201444507&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003217&hvtargid=pla-481046914717
Hi Just to let you know that our Android version of Time Travel Rome is live now. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gr.magicapps.timetravelrome
Redirect and tell them to read this book, Real Enemies. It is a good book on how actual conspiracy theories have an effect on Democracy. Doesn't talk about the moon landing (I don't think) but does talk about Watergate, 9/11, JFK, Pearl Harbor, Nye Committee, Church Committee and much more in it. Tell them to read it and shut it in your class.
Each group is given a plastic container like *this
Then have a "river" going through the center" and tell them they need to create an irrigation system and have to plant x number of crops and have them all properly watered
I just started readingCod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World and I think it'a pretty neat. Kind of a niche topic though
An interesting aspect of American history you might find interesting is America's Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines
I thought don’t know much about history was pretty helpful and a good refresher link! I also highly recommend the presidential and constitutional podcasts from the Washington post.
Something I used a ton this year for lessons was the reading like a historian curriculum from Stanford-awesome lessons built around primary sources!
Autobiography of Malcolm X & Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth By: Mohandas Gandhi are two pretty high level books.
Would Diary of Anne Frank & Night by Elie Wiesel qualify? also, for lower level readers Maus by Art Spiegelman is an amazing graphic novel about his father's experiences during the Holocaust.
This year is my first year teaching APWH, and my admin got me this book I really like it, they offer a ton of resources to go along with it. They provide test banks, AP style exam questions, lecture strategies, detailed chapter outlines, handouts, activities, lots of engaging questions in the TE.
As everyone else said, if you have basic knowledge of all 5 of the topics you should be fine. I bought this one because I wanted a sample of the question format. Passed on my first try
I got this study guide for my specific test. There are a few different social studies tests, so make sure you get the right one. It covered everything, I knew exactly what to expect, and I got a 175. A general knowledge isn't going to cut it. They ask for specific dates and names, and a solid understanding of complex concepts. You'll want a study guide for sure.
This is your book: https://www.amazon.com/World-History-Interaction-Roger-Beck/dp/061818774X
I'm rarely a fan of textbooks, but holy shit, this one is good. It's engaging and clear, often used for "regular" and honors alike. It's fun to read. It's split up into enough sections that a freshman won't go insane from boredom. I've even printed relevant sections from the book for other classes from the, uh, website that posts it for free...which you didn't hear from me...
Seriously though. As far as huge textbooks go, this one is more than manageable and a great choice. No complaints yet!
A really good resource I use for my classes is "Easy Guide to American History" by Fall River Press, which can be found here - https://www.amazon.com/Guide-American-History-Easy-Understand/dp/1435154290
Sometimes, I struggle with translating complicated situations in American history into a language that the students can easily understand. Luckily, as the title suggests, the book does a great job of breaking things down. It also focuses on the highlights of each time period and is essentially broken up into "units." It's a great read and well worth the price! While it's expensive online, I scooped it up at a Barnes & Noble sale for about $8.
You can also look into Michael Parenti's Democracy for the Few.
The Amazon link.
I put this on my Goodreads account to look at, maybe of some use to you Writing History: A Guide for Students