History Teachers Club

In this episode, the PLC is joined by the EduProtocols 'Dream Team' to discuss how EduProtocols can save teachers time and energy in prepping and planning while engaging students in active learning.Jon Corippo (co-developer of Eduprotocols), and  Adam Moler, and Scott Petri (authors of the EduProtocols Social Studies edition book) joined us to share how EduProtocols really can be a teachers best friend. "By making learning visible" you can ensure students are engaged, monitor students' growth, and with consistent use of these versatile strategies, so much more class time is devoted to actual learning. They share some of their favorite ways to use EduProtocols, tips for getting started, and how it can really help students feel comfortable and confident in class.You can check out their book, "The EduProtocols Field Guide Social Studies Edition"  on our amazon storefront.Check out all our resources and lessons: www.historyteachersclub.comCONTACT INFO: Follow Scott @scottmpetri on twitter & his blog @ HistoryRewriter.com Follow Adam- @moler3031 on Twitter and TikTok and @moler.adam on Instagram. His blog is:  molersmusings.wordpress.com Follow Jon @jcorippo on Twitter and Tiktok.And you can join their facebook group- "EduProtocols Community" for lots of ideas and support with using EP.

How do you get those students who just rely on their peers to do their work and feed them the answers instead of actually working and engaged in class? Well, thats what we jump into in this episode!Dan and Caitlin share many strategies and tips for getting those students more engaged in class and how to reach them where they are at. The key thing is to realize that moochers are generally doing so for a reason - they could be lost, bored, or needing attention.  Once you identify the root of the students 'mooching' then you can strategize how to help that student.From taking little breaks to spark fun and excitement to get those students' attention, to having private conferences with that student to let them know we care, allowing for more student choice in work, and much, much more- you'll learn many ways you can reach those students and make them want to learn and want to work.Dan and Caitlin also discuss how its not always something you can address and fix and that is okay! You are doing amazing work and if you're reaching most of your students, bravo to you, rockstar teacher!Please check out our site for resources and awesome lesson plans www.historyteachersclub.com and sign up for our mailing list for more great tips and tricks!

Gallery walks can be great activities to use in history class and once and with some secret sauce they can be unforgettable!In this episode, we are joined by Matt Barry to walk us through (get it!) his outstanding Lewis  and Clark Expedition Gallery Walk that he has been doing for years with his students.His students get role cards of specific members of the expedition and then have to navigate through the hallway with numerous stations to not just learn about the Corps of Discovery but in some way, experience it!Besides diving deep into this one lesson, we talk about many different ways you can spice up gallery walks to make them more interactive, exciting, and impactful. If you enjoyed this episode, we would love it if you left us a review where ever you listen. And you can sign up for our newsletter at www.historyteachersclub.com to get the info graphic that Caitlin mentioned in the podcast and many other goodies that our newsletter receives!Mahalo and 'gigem,Dan & Caitlin

John Spencer is something of a project based learning guru and an expert in delivering empowering student-centered projects. In this episode, we get all into how to manage and how to incorporate PBL in history and social studies classrooms. In the episode we talk about how moving towards more project-based-learning can be intimidating for teachers because as John discusses, getting off the tracks is part of the process. But we discuss ways to provide supports for students, ensuring content and standards are still being met, and how to enjoy the process even when it gets messy. John shared about fun, single class period explorations that he calls "wonder day projects" where students research and discover something that they are interested in and want to learn about. I also loved his idea of using 'curiosity-casts' where students create a podcast reflecting and discussing about what they learned during the project or exploration period.Dan, Caitlin, and John share ways to create 'maker spaces' even with limited resources- because you don't need 3D printers and tech centers. You just need a to make room or create some space for students to work and create original projects and products of their interest (within your content and standards, of course). Love this quote John shared:"Higher standards doesn't mean more work, it means better thinking." Something many administrators and teachers could reflect on. :)John Spencer mentions, "The Pulse of PBL" by Mike Kaechele and Matinga Ragatz. You can follow John Spencer at www.spencerauthor.com  on twitter @spencerideas on IG @spencereducation and his youtube vids can be found @ www.spencervideos.comLet us know what you think of the episode! Please rate and review the podcast where ever you listen to them!

In this episode we are joined by Bruce Lesh, author of "Why Won't You Just Tell Us the Answer? Teaching Historical Thinking in Grades 7-12", to talk all about how to use history labs in the classroom.Bruce shares form his years of experience on why history labs engage and excite students by making students much more active in the learning process. Dan and Caitlin share how they have used labs in their classes and why they love them. Together, we did some trouble shooting of the common problems that can happen with inquiry lessons, what separates a DBQ from a 'history lab,' and why labs can generate more authentic learning that the standard DBQ. Bruce also shares several alternative assignments to go with history labs instead of the common 5 paragraph essay used for the DBQ- ones that are much more student and teacher friendly, while not sacrificing the skill-building in the process.  But if we are going to change the way we teach, we also need to change the way we access to focus more on those historical thinking skills. Bruce has a new book coming out in 2023 building on the ideas of his last book that you should definitely stay tuned for!If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a review where ever you listen to your podcasts. Thanks and gig 'em,-Caitlin & Dan

Its everyones favorite time of the year- Halloween season (its not just a day!). And we got you covered with lots of great activities and lessons for Halloween.In this episode Dan and Caitlin share some fun things they have done for US and world history for Halloween and even some local history things you could do as well. From learning about the history of Halloween, 'haunted geography', slimy sources (thats a winner!), and making tombstone epitaphs and graveyards for historical figures, we tried to include as many fun and engaging but still content rich activities you could do for Halloween.To get the "History of Halloween" video lesson go to our History Teachers Club site. Have fun and happy haunted teaching!-dan and caitlin

In this comical episode, Dan and Caitlin are joined with the one and only, Gaspare Randazzo, @standuprandazzo, to talk about costumes in the classroom. Caitlin couldn’t be happier!With Dan being a reluctant costume wearer, Caitlin and Gaspare share about why they love dressing up, some of their favorite costumes, where to get affordable costumes, how to make your own with things from around the house, and why raiding Halloween stores the day after the holiday is a gold mine for deals! They all share why its important to step out of your comfort zone if you feel weird or awkward dressing up and how to go into school dressed as Julius Caesar or a Crusading Knight, or even a piece of bread, with confidence! Costumes can make lessons memorable and add an element of fun to learning that students won’t forget.

Getting students to think critically, carefully analyze primary and secondary sources, and gather evidence to answer a prompt can sometimes be like pulling teeth, but CSI activities get students doing all these with enthusiasm!In this episode, Dan and Caitlin break down why inquiry is such a powerful teaching modality for history classrooms. And one of the coolest and most engaging ways to implement an inquiry lesson is with CSIs- Crime Scene Investigations! From the basics of just using 'crime scene' yellow tape in the room with a couple of simple artifacts, and playing pink panther or X-File music, to going a little over the top by outlining body outlines on the floor, providing magnifying glasses,  and having students create detective names, Dan and Caitlin share how to create a lesson students will never forget!All CSIs and inquiry lessons need to start with a great question - but make sure to keep it simple and then of course, they need great sources for students to analyze. But getting students really interested, really curious, and super engaged sometimes takes us to bring a little magic and pageantry into the room. In the episode, Dan shares a few lessons you can find with History's Mysteries  (though they are pricer than he recalled- starting at $29.95). There are others on Teachers Pay Teachers for cheaper and you can purchase Caitlin's Boston Massacre lesson on our website! Please let us know if you have questions by hitting us up on social media or emailing us through our site. Happy Teaching!

In this episode, Caitlin breaks down how she uses "Symbol Slam" to engage students while building historical knowledge for her students. Its more than notes, its more than a call-and-response- its more than a review of key terms - its an active learning strategy that can be applied to any subject matter, any history class, at any age to get students to comprehend essential terms and then to be able to think critically about them!Dan pretty much ends up interviewing Caitlin for this special episode due to the number of requests we got to review how this strategy works. Think of the 10 million things you need to get students to learn in the 10 months you teach them and now narrow down just the 50-100 most essential terms, people, events, or concepts that are most important for mastering the standards and understanding your subject matter. Caitlin explains her process for determining which terms make the cut and get a symbol (she narrows it down to just 70 for the year), what the symbol will look like (keep it simple, stupid!), and what students must know for each. From there, what is the super simple, must know thing about the term, and that will be the call and response. Then of course, she covers what might be most important- which is how to get your room to sound like a rock concert of excitement and engagement when you are teaching and reviewing these key terms. That is symbol slam!Trust me, after listening to this, you'll see why this is such a powerful way to build historical knowledge. And definitely listen to the end for the little sneak peak into Caitlin's class reviewing some symbols from the first month of school. 

17 unique and great tips and tricks we wish we knew when we were entering the profession! In this episode, Dan and Caitlin share many actionable tips, strategies, procedures, and routines that will help all teachers - not just history teachers! From always remembering you cannot possibly grade everything and you shouldn't feel guilty for that, how to use manipulatives and artifacts to help all learners connect to history in a tangible way (yes, you should serve tea for your lesson the Boston Tea Party!),  to saying no unless its a 'heck yes!' so you don't over extend yourself, to classroom management tips to get a room where students know the rules and actually follow them! These are things we wish we knew when we were wide-eyed newbies! We got into a ton of other things like using history themed shower curtains from Amazon as classroom decor, to using engagement to monitor students, how having fun is essential for students of all ages, to advice for dealing with principles, and negative teachers. Let us know what you liked about this episode, what questions you have, or what you would like to hear more of on our instagram or our website- www.historyteachersclub.comSee you next week! Club dismissed :)