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Pennsylvania Geography Bundle
Pennsylvania geography is too often ignored by teachers because it isn’t included in textbooks. This doesn’t have to be the case for you. Here are three of my TPT resources that focus exclusively on Pennsylvania geography and are built for elementary students. Pennsylvania Geography Workbook This resource focues on PA’s physical geography. This print-and-go resource…
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5 Reasons African Queens Need to be Included in Your History Class This Year
I’d love to see history classes reworked to include many more women throughout an entire academic year. Since we don’t live in that world yet, here are five reasons why you should consider spending time this Women’s History Month studying African queens in your history class. 1.Africa had numerous female regnants not just regents. Female…
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Wives of Henry VIII Short Read Bundle
The wives of Henry VIII are not necessarily part of any history curriculum. Their story is unique, interesting, and allows for many opportunities for discussion in the classroom. Teachers also don’t have a lot of time to add to much information to the class which is why it is important to use resources designed to…
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Shop Small Teacher Shops 2023
After one year off, the annual Shop Small Teacher Shops is back for the 2023 edition. I hope you find something interesting and support a small shop today. Here was my criteria for inclusion: I have NOT reviewed these resources and make no guarantees about quality. I do however want you to consider finding a…
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What’s your favorite game (card, board, video, etc.)? Why? (WordPress daily writing prompt)
What’s my favorite game? The one I invented for my TPT shop.
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What makes a teacher great? (WordPress daily writing prompt)
My passion for education and teaching could make this topic a book. Some of the chapters would be philosophical musings about the profession while others would be practical how-to’s. Rather than spouting out my entire thesis on teaching, I will narrow it down to my two most important traits for teachers. Being flexible and adaptable…
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When is the last time you took a risk? How did it work out? (WordPress daily writing prompt)
When talking about teaching risks (classroom teaching not physical, mental, or emotional safety), there is a lot to unpack. Teaching to the test, teachers paying their bills, public pressure, and school funding; there are a lot of reasons why teachers don’t push themselves to try new methods. Sometimes, you do find a few teachers who…
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Taking a break
I’m signing off for a little while to enjoy summer vacation. If you are a teacher, do the same. June is not the month to get ready for next school year. Relax. Sleep in. Be with your family and friends. See you later in the summer!
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Pharaoh Queens
This is the final installment in my Queens of Africa series. To catch up on the others first click the links below: Kandakes of Kush Queens of Ethiopia Queens of Madagascar Warrior and Rain Queens Queens of Africa: Full Bundle Like the other resources before, Pharaoh Queens is a collection of short reads that are…
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Project-based learning: Build-a-museum
Let’s get right to it. If you’re here you’re wondering what the grade levels are for this PBL. This resource that can be purchased in my TpT store is available for grades 1 – 4, 5 – 8, and 9 – 12. Something for everyone! Brief Overview This resource was inspired by an article I…
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Tru’ng Sisters: A TpT Resource Blog
Adding more women to your world history or Asian history classes can be difficult for many of us because we studied a European-centric curriculum. I knew I wanted to add more women to my world history curriculum but the list of Asian women was limited to two names: Empress Wu and Dowager Empress Cixi. Both…
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End-of-year Busy Work: 6 Fun Resources
If you are a staunch believer that no time in the classroom can ever be wasted then this is not the blog for you. If you are, however, a realist and understand that many times at the end of the year, we are all just hanging on till the end, then read on. I see…
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Indigenous Languages of North & South America
It all began when I gathered too much information about the history of the English language while I built my History Behind Beowulf in my TpT store. I was really enjoying learning so much about English but most of the information would never make the final resource. I packaged it and created a separate resource.…
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The Grading Policy That Saved My Life
It’s no secret that teachers have no time. There are only so many hours in the day yet the to-do list for teachers is endless, especially if you are at a school that requires you to fully clean out your classroom each year. There are ways to simplify your life but not every method will…
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Top 25 Inventions and Discoveries: A Google Classroom™ Resource
Inspired by the passionate arguments that grownups have over sports, I wanted to inspire students to become just as passionate about world history concepts. It took me a while to figure out but I finally achieved it when I created the Tournament of Technology. Then the pandemic began. Scrambling to convert resources into Google Classroom™,…
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Warrior and Rain Queens
When I decided to create the African Queens series, I began with two areas that I knew: Egypt and Nubia. I knew of one Nubian kandake and a handful of Egyptian queens. I like that advice. Start with what you know. Researching Nubia led me down a research rabbit hole that led to gathering names…
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Women’s History Month: A list of women to teach this month
My problem with a lot of women’s history month lessons that are built for elementary-aged students is that they tend to highlight women who worked rather than women in history. This sounds divisive but I want students to know that women made history, led revolts, changed nations, fought in wars, and all the other things…
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Study more Black History
Sticking with the traditional people such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, or Harriet Tubman is all well and good. Their stories are important, interesting, and essential to American history. But world history teachers need something different for their classrooms. Adding more Black history doesn’t necessarily mean adding more Black American history. World…
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Taking a winter break
I take a winter break every year. Writing, editing, and formatting blogs is time consuming and during December, I am just too busy. Being honest with myself, I’m too busy in the first half of January too as the new year starts too which is why I don’t return until mid-way through January. 2021 has…
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Queens of Madagascar
Madagascar has a long history of queen regnants and was a country of unrelenting materialism. Until the Europeans arrived anyway. Once the Europeans set their sights on Madagascar, they infused their code of paternalism and a great social shift occurred. The women of Madagascar fought changing gender roles and expectations while at the same time…
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Shop Small TpT Shops
Welcome to the fourth annual Shop Small TpT Store blog! I hope you find something you like and will support a small TpT shop this holiday season. Here was my criteria for selection: Must be a small shop (fewer than 3,000 followers) Resource must have a cover For middle and high school only I have…
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Queens of Ethiopia
Learning about the history of Ethiopia and the role they played in Africa is usually contained to their adoption of Christianity. I was ignorant of the role of women in Ethiopia before I set out to create a series about the queens of Africa. However, this might be my favorite resource in the entire series…
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Chinese History Essentials Bundle
Especially if you do not have a textbook or other curriculum supplies, teaching Chinese history can be daunting. It is a long and highly documented history that makes it difficult to narrow down the curriculum to what American students need to know. Check out my Chinese History Essentials Bundle. This TpT bundle includes five of…
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World History Activities on Google Classroom™
Google Classroom™ resources are an opportunity to stretch your teaching wings a little and try something new. Digital learning doesn’t mean it is all reading and typing. These activities are all created for high school world history classes and all require Google Classroom™. Use them during a regular class period, during centers, snow days, or…
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Kandakes of Kush: Part of the Queens of Africa Series
The Kandakes of Kush had to handle the pressure from their northern neighbor, the Ancient Egyptians while they maintained their prominence on the African continent. Combine those pressures with an impending patriarchal shift and you have a group of amazing women. We don’t know a lot about them. We know when some of them ruled…
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Fun History Writing Prompts
How could you tell your Model-T from your neighbors Model-T? Which would you rather live in: castle or palace? Which old skill would you rather have: being able to dial an 11-digit number on a rotary phone or grabbing a CD without touching any part of it? These are the tough history questions that we…
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Free High School History Resources in my TpT Store
Everyone loves freebies. Download some of my favorite freebies for your high school world history class. Click the image to be directed to my TpT store for download. Social Studies Vocabulary AND Social Studies Project These are two different resources that I also like to suggest together. Working with just vocabulary gets boring. Adding the…
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Novels for High School History Class: Books by Time Periods
Fitting in a novel to a world history class is difficult. There is a lot to cover and adding a novel complete with in-classroom discussion seems next to impossible. But if you can manage it, and I highly encourage you to, your students will be greatly benefited. Novels in history class can add a human…
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History Behind Beowulf
To this day, there is nothing less satisfying in school than when an English teacher gets the history wrong during the introduction to a new piece of literature. Small mistakes are forgivable. Commonly held beliefs, less so. Plus, teachers too often skip the fun stuff of the fashion. How can students imagine the story if…
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Queens of Africa: A TpT Bundle
As more educators add the stories of Black women to their social studies curriculum, I noticed a complete lack of historical women. There is absolutely nothing wrong with learning about modern Black women but I wanted to create resources that highlighted the stories of historical women that helped shaped the history of Africa. I think…
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Free Elementary History Resources in my TpT Store
The free samples in my TpT store for elementary aged students are all free samples of larger resources. I do like to include however, enough of a resource that you can get one lesson out of it. Sometimes teachers just need a quick, easy lesson that is free to help them fill some time. There…
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Games for World History: A Pacing Guide
I’ve got a bunch of games for world history class and if you like more than one of them, you may be asking, “when will I have time?” Here are my suggestions for some of my games in my TpT store. Teaching with Monopoly This is the game I would start with. I would introduce…
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Dear Returning Teachers: A Pep Talk
Since March 2020, you’ve had a rough time. Learning how to teach with little to no resources, conquering technology issues, and trying to maintain your own household has taken a toll. Hopefully, this past summer you took some much needed time off because this school year will present you will even more challenges. New challenges.…
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Back to the Classroom: Review those History Skills
Most schools are returning to in-person teaching this fall. Students however, have been out of the classroom for a long time and will definitely need refreshers on the history skills. I know you’ve got a lot to do. I know that history teachers have one of the toughest jobs because they have SO MUCH content…
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Minimalistic Classrooms
Given the lingering infection rates of covid-19, this year is the perfect year to go minimalistic. When I was in the classroom, I didn’t bring much into my classroom, preferring to embrace blank wall space and directing student attention where I wanted it. Why have a minimal classroom? Cleanliness Less in your classroom means there…
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History Writing Rubrics
When I was in school, there was nothing more annoying than history writing rubrics that focused on grammar rather than history. If the teacher was so concerned about the grammar then how exactly did I earn a history grade? I’m not saying that grammar isn’t important. But in history class, history teachers need to be…
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Taking a Summer Break
My blog will be on a summer break. See you in August. If you are a teacher, TAKE OFF THE SUMMER! Be sure to make PLENTY of time for yourself and your family. You deserve it. Enjoy. ***************************** Follow me: If you liked this then maybe you’d also like:
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Old School but Not Outdated: No Screen Time Resources
I’m not anti-technology in the classroom but I do believe that great learning can happen with no technology. There are some old-school teaching methods that still work well because great teaching methods are timeless. Whether you are striving for less screen time or want to get back to some basic paper resources, here is what…
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Asian Women’s History Short Reads
Ensuring that women are included in history curriculum can sometimes be a daunting task because most of us didn’t have women included in our own historical studies. Especially if you teach world or Asian history then another thing educators have to think about is the inclusion of Asian women and in this country, finding sources…
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Quick Last Minute High School History Resources for the End-of-the-Year
Testing is over. You’ve already turned in your textbook (or you never had one to begin with). Your students are burned out and need a change. Your brain is DONE with the school year. Whatever the reason, I’ve got some ideas for some quick, last-minute history lessons that will work well at the end of…