Coming up with science experiments for the whole class can be challenging. That’s why we created Project Time videos where science extraordinaire, Discovery Dan, shows kids how to conduct simple lab activities while explaining the science behind them. Funny and easy to understand, these videos will make teaching elementary science easier for you and more…
There is much debate and strong feelings within our nation that are connected to how to identify various groups. At Studies Weekly, we diligently work to create and nurture inclusive content using acceptable terms. When referring to indigenous people in the United States, some state standards use American Indians while others prefer Native Americans. This…
Science education can prepare students to not only face the world’s future challenges but also find solutions. Unfortunately, many science teachers fail to show students how to apply science to real-world problems, according to William C. Kyle Jr., professor of science education at the University of Missouri in St. Louis. In Kyle’s article, Expanding our…
Children do better in school when they dare to take risks. While courage doesn’t come naturally for some children, your teachers can still help them develop this characteristic. Psychologist Dr. Stanley J. Rachman defines courage as a “behavioral approach in spite of the experience of fear.” This means courage is not a feeling but a…
After a hectic year impacted by a global pandemic, elementary summer school programs may play a crucial role this year in getting students caught up on math, ELA, and other standardized test subjects in just a few weeks. But with Studies Weekly’s print and online resources, summer school can be stress-free for you and fun…
A Teacher’s Guide to Celebrating Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Diverse perspectives strengthen education, according to Heather Singmaster’s EdWeek article from November 2018. They broaden students’ view of history and teach them to respect people from different cultures. This month, you have the opportunity to foster students’ appreciation for Asian/Pacific Americans by celebrating Asian…
How Teachers Can Overcome Compassion Fatigue One in three children in the United States suffers at least one serious trauma, according to the 2018 National Survey for Children’s Health. As an elementary school teacher, that means a third of your students may struggle with a form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Supporting your students through…
Improving Students’ Critical Thinking with the 5E Model One of the best instructional strategies for developing students’ critical thinking skills is the 5E model. This active learning approach teaches students how to dig deeper into any given topic using these five phases: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. Researchers created the 5E model in 1987…
Why Students Should Debate Controversial Topics in History In a world of fake news and polarized politics, your teachers have a responsibility to teach students how to evaluate and value different opinions. The challenge is helping students overcome my-side bias — the tendency to evaluate information and test hypotheses based on prior opinions. When students…
25 Fun End-of-Year Celebration Ideas for Remote Learning What a year! No doubt after all the changes and adjustments you’ve had to make these last two school years, you are ready for summer to begin. However, before you get ready to jump into the swimming pool, binge-watch your favorite TV show, or tackle professional development…
Using Inquiry-Based Learning in Four Easy Steps Students learn at a deeper level when they ask lots of questions, according to John Nabors, Studies Weekly product manager and former educator. In a recent webinar, Nabors showed a graph that revealed that the older children get, the fewer questions they ask. He suggested this might be…
Helping Your Students Thrive with Our Well-Being Curriculum Every year, students struggle more and more with overcoming normal developmental challenges. From 2003 to 2012, the number of children ages 6-7 diagnosed with anxiety or depression increased by 3%, according to CDC. In 2016, one in six U.S. children ages 2-8 had a diagnosed mental, behavioral,…
How the Engineering Design Process Improves Science Education One of the primary goals of the Next Generation of Science Standards (NGSS) is to integrate the engineering design process (EDP) into science education. According to the National Research Council, the hope is that by raising engineering design to the same level as scientific inquiry, educators will…
5 Tips for Effective Digital Learning for Elementary Teachers When schools closed in March 2020 due to COVID-19, Danny Hulshult, a curriculum coach at Studies Weekly, worried that his 6-year-old daughter, Ella, would fall behind in school. All the research he’d read said that 1st grade was an important time in a child’s development, but…
10 Female Painters Who Shaped Art History Many female painters have made significant contributions to art history. Not only did they create masterpieces, but they pioneered art movements and painting techniques that inspire artists today. Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–c. 1652) Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi was the first female member of the prestigious Accademia de Arte…
8 Famous Female Doctors to Inspire Your Students Women’s History Month is the perfect time to talk about some of the most famous female doctors in US history. Not only did they improve this country’s healthcare, but their determination paved the way for women and minorities to thrive in the medical field. Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910)…
Lab Safety Rules You Should Know [Infographics] How do you guarantee students’ safety while they perform science lab experiments at home or in the classroom? Lab activities give students essential hands-on experience and align with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The best way to keep lab work a part of your school’s science curriculum…
Finding and Sharing Diverse Voices in Children’s Books The National Center for Education Statistics estimates that by 2027, 55% of elementary and secondary students will be minorities. Students of color already total a little more than 50% of school enrollment across the nation. As our student population evolves, our education resources must evolve as well.…
How can educators help students develop their sense of identity? How do we help kids explore who they are? Where do our kids find mirrors of themselves? That is not something we can dictate, but something we can encourage. Teachers who want to promote a positive sense of self must create a safe place for…
New Features Alert: Article Question Reports and More We are excited to announce three new Studies Weekly Online features that will make things easier. These features were inspired by feedback we’ve received from teachers, so we hope these changes improve your user experience. Monitor Article Question Reports from Your Teacher Account Now you can access…
How to Keep Teachers Happy Are your teachers happy? That is a tough question to answer lately. But part of an administrator’s job is looking after teacher well-being, and ensuring teachers are motivated and feel appreciated. These efforts don’t have to be big. Small efforts to improve teachers’ happiness and job satisfaction helps them be…
Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Through Storytelling “The Spirit of Ubuntu — that profound African sense that we are human only through the humanity of another human being — is not a parochial phenomenon, but has added globally to our common search for a better world.” — Nelson Mandela “Why is storytelling so important to…
Black Scientists Who Made History Celebrating Black History Month is not just for Social Studies. Many Black scientists have contributed to our knowledge of biology, chemistry, and physics. Thanks to their legacy of hard work and perseverance, students today know they can overcome socio-economic challenges and accomplish their dreams. As your school celebrates African Americans…
As a subject, Science can be one of the most equitable topics taught in the elementary classroom. Race, culture, and socio-economic status can affect how prepared a student is to gain literacy or math skills, but phenomena-based instruction that pulls directly from the observable world around students puts all students on equal footing. “Centering science…
“Life is integrated. Why isn’t learning?” —Tom Vander Ark Charlie Perryman, Director of Professional Development with Studies Weekly, posed this question in a recent webinar with curriculum coaches and district personnel. “Can you think of a single job in the world today our students are going to enter, that doesn’t require integrated knowledge and thinking?”…
Sandra Bradshaw, a second-grade teacher in Texas, is in the education field because she wants to positively impact students’ lives. “When students show a true understanding of the concepts being taught and topics being discussed, then I am thrilled for their discoveries and personal connections,” she said in a recent interview. As a child, Bradshaw…
Jen Mello has been an educator for 15 years and doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon. Her very own elementary teachers as a child were her inspiration. “They made learning fun and made personal connections with myself and my classmates,” she said in a recent interview with Studies Weekly. “I still keep in touch with…
Teaching is hard. Fun. Joyful. Stressful. Exciting. All of the above. That’s why Studies Weekly’s goal is to make curriculum that is enjoyable to use and helps teachers successfully realize learning outcomes. To help you do this, we’ve launched completely new 2020-2021 Professional Development training offerings. These PD programs can be done digitally or face-to-face.…
Education is evolving, and Studies Weekly is matching that change step for step. Educators need a curriculum that strengthens and supports them as they use multiple diverse learning strategies with today’s students. Thus, we are very, very excited to announce our NEW Studies Weekly Social Studies product line. Currently in limited states, it will soon…
Crystal Pilcher loves teaching. In fact, with her degree, she could be earning a significantly higher salary, but she chooses to be a teacher. “I wanted to be a teacher my entire life. As a kid, I used to make my uncles and aunts play school with me,” Pilcher said from Texas in a recent…
Studies Weekly is uniquely suited to be your students’ passport to lifelong success because we’re unlike any other standards-based curriculum out there today. In addition to Studies Weekly Online — a robust interactive platform that works within the classroom and for distance learning — our print publications are fully consumable. What does consumable mean? When…
In some schools, students work with multiple teachers. When learning remotely, there can be some confusion about which assignments go to which teacher. But Studies Weekly Online can help. The tech team at Studies Weekly recently made some upgrades to the student online platform to help students connect with the correct teacher. This situation only…
COVID-19 has uprooted classroom teaching and learning, forcing educators to step into a new role as a remote teacher. As an educator who is supporting their students’ education through distance learning, online learning, printed packets, etc., it’s a new experience — and for some, it is overwhelming. Educators, with their unique in-depth training in pedagogy…
Even though learning is currently remote, we can still celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. This is a great opportunity to incorporate culturally responsive teaching into students’ learning experience. Congress designated May in 1992 as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month — a month to honor the contributions of many Asians and Pacific Islanders. They helped…
In this era of distance learning, teachers all over the nation really do miss the controlled chaos that was their classrooms just months ago. But what do they miss most? Their students. “I used to think it was too loud when 15 6-year-olds would tell me about recess all at the same time. Now it’s…
When will schools open? And what will they look like when they do? As educators juggle online education software, printed packets, and ensuring communication with their current students, many wonder how to plan for the 2020-2021 school year. According to an April 15 EdWeek article, States Face Thorny Issues in Deciding When to Reopen Schools…
Learning can continue even though we’re all social distancing. COVID-19 has impacted every school in every state in America, and districts are handling school closures according to their community’s needs. For many children, though, the days can feel very long without the playdates, sports, and after-school activities they usually enjoy. The days may also feel…
At Studies Weekly, we are continually looking to help our customers utilize our curriculum and provide you with the resources you need to teach students more effectively. Our goal is to make using Studies Weekly learning materials easy so you can plan less and teach more. Our online learning platform, Studies Weekly Online, not only…
https://cdn.studiesweekly.com/marketing/Wordpress/Tutorials/Google+Classroom+Article+Level.mp4 Studies Weekly Online is integrated with Google Classroom! With just a few clicks, you can assign articles, images or videos to the entire classroom. The Google Classroom integration works with our entire platform, making your job smoother. David Bagley, Studies Weekly vice president of sales, explained that many teachers across the nation use Google…
We are happy to support educators during this time of remote learning with open access to Studies Weekly Online, and we are impressed with the creative ways teachers are reaching out and teaching their students. In this time of flux, though, we ask that all who are using our curriculum remember that it is protected…
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, remote learning is now the norm for most students across the nation. Teachers and students, although separated by distance, are learning together how to make this work, and parents are more involved in their children’s daily learning than ever before. Many are now using the newly free access to Studies…
If you are new to using Studies Weekly Online, you’ve come to the right place. If you haven’t registered or logged in yet, read this article for instructions, or check out our Tutorial Page. This platform can be a great asset for you and your students as you navigate remote learning, so we want to…
Some of today’s students have grandparents who served in the Vietnam War or lived during that era of history. Unfortunately, these same students may not understand that war or its place in our nation’s history. National Vietnam War Veterans Day, on March 29 each year, is a great opportunity to introduce elementary students to the…
For the third year in a row, Studies Weekly’s publications earned awards from the Textbook & Academic Authors Association. Studies Weekly’s Oklahoma Studies Weekly – Our State, 2nd Edition, 7th Volume won the K-12 Textbook Excellence Award for 2020. This textbook uses Oklahoma’s history, geography, economy, and people to introduce social studies concepts in a…
At Studies Weekly, we build Social Studies and Science curriculum, but literacy skills are an essential backbone to our work. If students struggle with reading, they will struggle with valuable historical and scientific content and concepts. As Rebecca Alber explained in a 2014 Edutopia article, “The days of believing that we could hand informational text…
Every year, Women’s History Month is a great opportunity to delve even deeper into history and hear from new voices and experiences. As you teach about women’s many contributions to history, here are a few historic women of color whose actions brought about significant change. Women of Strength Lozen Lozen was an Apache warrior active…
When you order Studies Weekly, you get an innovative, hands-on social studies or science curriculum packaged in easy-to-use, fun, and engaging periodicals. We love how much students get excited about our unique print product, and we work every day to improve it page by page. We also consistently work every single day to improve the…
Until the mid-1800s, when women married, they could not open a bank account, enter into a contract, rent a place to live or file a lawsuit against someone. Any income that a woman earned was considered the property of her husband. Anthony’s alligator purse, pictured here, was not a fashion statement — the purse was…
The walls of this tent witnessed many of the highs and lows of the Revolutionary War. George Washington took command of the Continental Army on July 3, 1775, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. During America’s War for Independence, Washington requested two oval canvas tents to serve as his wartime headquarters. He used the first tent for dining.…
At 6’4″, President Abraham Lincoln was a very tall man, even by today’s standards. He chose to stand out even more by wearing a top hat. As biographer Harold Holzer explained in a 2013 Smithsonian Magazine article, even if his clothes were a bit worn — as they sometimes were — when Lincoln gave a…
Are you celebrating the 100 Day? Depending on when schools start in the fall, the 100th day of school falls somewhere between late January and mid-February. Wherever you are, this celebration is fun for kids, parents, and teachers. And while most 100 Day activities center on math, there are many reading, writing, and social studies…
Without the bravery, labor, and successes of many, many African Americans, our nation would not be where it is today. Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement ensured the voting rights of all citizens, and paved the way for the human rights and equality measures taken in the years since. While Martin Luther King Jr., Medgar…
Rosa Parks stood up for her belief that all humans have equal rights, and her experience during the Civil Rights Movement is a powerful example of quiet courage and respect. As you teach about Parks during Black History Month or during a unit on the Civil Rights Movement, students can feel inspired by her words…
In 1955 Montgomery, Alabama, an African American woman found a seat in the “Colored Section” of the city bus. A few stops down, the bus driver told her to make room for white passengers and move further back. The woman refused and was arrested. This story brings to mind Rosa Parks and her quiet defiance…
Holocaust education is the story of people. Each number, statistic, chart, or list depicts an individual — someone’s son or daughter. According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, those who teach about the Holocaust must “seek to honestly and accurately investigate a history in which millions of people were dehumanized, brutalized and killed while…
The systemic murder of an ethnic group or people does not begin overnight. It is a long process that relies on categorizing a group of people according to stereotypical traits, while other people remain silent. The Holocaust of the Jews by the Nazi Party of Germany in the 1930s and 40s was carried out this…
Birmingham, Alabama in 1963 was one of the key turning points for the Civil Rights Movement. The Birmingham Campaign in April of that year showed the world that the Civil Rights Movement was not just a series of small, disparate local protests across the South, but many groups working toward the same goal of desegregation…
If you’re an Oklahoma educator, you may be wondering, what the 2020 Studies Weekly Oklahoma Social Studies State Adoption means to you. Bottom line, it means you are getting the most customized, updated, and standards-aligned content you could possibly have. Those of you who have been using our 2013 state-adopted Social Studies curriculum will be…
November is famously the month for football, turkey, and the kick-off to holiday shopping. But November is also Native American Heritage Month. And many educators today are becoming more culturally responsive in their teaching and changing the way they address Native American, or American Indian, history. They also are changing the way they teach about…
It’s time to toggle! In response to numerous teacher requests, we’ve added the ability to toggle games on and off on Studies Weekly Online. We’re thrilled that students are engaged and excited about learning through the online games, but sometimes a few students get off task by playing the games rather than learning the content.…
One of the most exciting ways to teach is through an integrated learning approach. Integrated learning pedagogy has been around for decades, but it is especially appropriate for today’s students, who need essential skills to analyze and apply learning from diverse perspectives to real-world problems. And social studies and science are excellent subjects to act…
Do you use interactive notebooks in your classroom? Interactive notebooks are not new in education circles, but they are uniquely suited to engage and excite students. And when you pair the Studies Weekly curriculum with interactive notebooks, you create a deeper level of learning. Interactive notebooks are based on a composition or spiral-bound notebook, but…
To prepare students for a global society that is in constant flux, education experts agree that we must incorporate 21st Century Learning Skills and the 6Cs. The Three Rs of decades past — reading, writing, and arithmetic — are not enough in education today, say the authors of a National Education Association (NEA) report “Preparing…
“If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten” – Rudyard Kipling Social studies is more than just teaching kids facts, dates, states and capitals. It’s about the stories — it’s the “why” behind each individual’s choices, their interactions with each other and the world. Social studies also has the…
Mathematics is a straightforward subject. Students know the expectations they must meet to get a good grade: show their work, and make sure their numbers add up to the right answer. Social studies and language arts are not as cut and dry, though. History, especially, is open to debate and opinion. Students often show their…
According to a 2017 study, about 63% of K-12 teachers use technology in their classrooms daily. Other studies suggest that number is rising each year. As more and more elementary classrooms access educational technology, they can tap into the many available programs that really bring social studies alive. Integrating Studies Weekly Online’s primary source videos,…
Integrating and optimizing technology and online learning into the classroom can be a hefty task. To facilitate the best online learning practices, Studies Weekly includes Student Accounts as part of the Studies Weekly Online platform. These student accounts allow learners to work through online articles and assessments at their own pace. Here are a few…
As educators striving to encourage and ensure the social-emotional well-being of students, we often work with students who seem to give up too easily. Some students are excited by a new, challenging task — seeing it as a mountain they can summit, if they just start hiking up. Other students see the challenge as an…
If you are using the Studies Weekly Social Studies or Science print publications, you already have a subscription to Studies Weekly Online — a robust platform that supports and extends the printed publications through thousands of primary source videos, audio, documents, images and artwork. If you have a computer or mobile device, you can log…
As Columbus Day approaches, many educators are preparing lessons about this federal holiday. In the diverse classrooms of today, Columbus Day can be a sensitive topic. Many indigenous people protest against the colonialism symbolized by Columbus Day — while Columbus’ explorations opened the door for European settlements, often these settlements pushed indigenous groups from their…
The Studies Weekly online platform offers you many ways to assess students’ progress. After every weekly unit, there is an assigned test. These tests are located on Studies Weekly Online and can be edited and assigned through your teacher account. Before your students take the unit test, they can prepare for it by doing the…
1 in 5 children in the United States have learning and attention issues, and only 17% of teachers say they “feel very well prepared to teach” these students. This disparity was highlighted earlier this year in a joint report, “Forward Together,” by the National Center for Learning Disabilities and Understood.org. The report further explained that…
Almost all of us can access a map of our town, our country, and our world with just a few clicks on our smartphones. So why do we need to teach geography? At its most basic, geography is the study of places, according to GeogSpace, an initiative of the Australian Geography Teachers Association. Geography looks…
It’s often difficult to connect students to the real-world, real-time applications of events from history and the real people who lived them. For example, most people over 25 can remember where they were on Sept. 11, 2001. But elementary students sitting in school desks today were not even born when this historically significant event occurred.…
How can we build a safe community within the classroom so students will take academic risks? Education in the 21st Century is becoming more about skills than content knowledge. Students are not empty buckets to fill with facts and figures, but real individuals who need to learn compassion, empathy, strength, a sense of self, collaboration,…
While you have been prepping for the new school year, we have been updating Studies Weekly Online to give you a better user experience. Reading Tab One of the first things you’ll notice when you access Studies Weekly Online is a slight reorganization of the online publications under the Reading tab. They are all now…
September is Hispanic Heritage Month, and we applaud all those educators who celebrate the historic and current contributions of Hispanic people. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the percentage of Hispanic students in elementary and secondary schools across the nation is increasing. In a recent study, between 2000 and 2015, their number increased…
As this school year gets underway, teachers who want a consistently good year institute straightforward, steady classroom management. Too many new teachers assume children instinctively know how to behave — that they’ve learned the way a classroom runs in prior grades, or are so used to school they inherently know what to do. But kids…
We want to be the strongest standards-based social studies and science curriculum out there, so we’re upping our game. Let us introduce you to a few of our recent powerhouse hires. Kelly Jeffery Kelly Jeffery is our new director of curriculum over ELA. She comes to Studies Weekly with 20 years of teaching experience, both…
Studies Weekly’s new product manager, John Nabors, believes social studies and literacy go hand in hand. “Content is the center of literacy. And literacy isn’t just fiction. It’s also nonfiction and informational text. If we want to turn the dial on students mastering informational text, we need social studies,” he said. Every student needs to…
Organizers of the 13th annual Back 2 School BBQ at Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City spent the afternoon of Aug. 17 preparing kids to head back to school, running a blood drive, feeding and entertaining families and connecting Utah community members with local resources. The event was hosted by members of the Iota…
Every educator hopes for a smooth first week of school. It’s a unique chance to teach rules, procedures and expectations — and also set the vision for the entire school year. Studies Weekly has multiple ideas and activities to help you teach your students how to learn and how to dig into history as historians.…
We know that parent involvement is one of the key indicators in the value of your students’ education. As an educator, parents can either be your greatest allies or some of your most difficult hurdles. This is where the Parent Accounts in Studies Weekly Online comes in. The ability to create Parent Accounts through Studies…
As the month of August rolls on and the dog days of summer slowly start to come to an end, the promise of cooler weather and a new school year approaches. Teachers around the U.S. are preparing for the upcoming school year, and with it comes the never-ending work of planning. From scopes and sequences,…
When you order Studies Weekly print publications, each print edition comes with a Studies Weekly Online subscription, as well as access for you, the teacher. The same content in your print versions is online in an interactive format, with thousands of additional primary source videos, images, artwork, and other media. Here’s a few tips for setting…
The way we teach history is changing, and Studies Weekly is working diligently to rise to the challenge. Many teachers leading their own classrooms today grew up learning history as taught through a “heritage approach.” This pedagogy, according to Valerie Strauss in a 2013 Washington Post article, uses “facts from the past to recreate a…
Studies Weekly materials are some of the most affordable out there. From our printing processes to editorial calendaring, we do everything to keep our production costs low. We want teachers and schools to have standards-based social studies and science curriculum materials at as low a price possible. That said, many educators don’t get as much…
Did you know you can preview Studies Weekly with a free print sample? When you use our Request a Sample form at studiesweekly.com, you will get grade-level samples of our award-winning K-6 social studies curriculum and sample publications from our new 7th and 8th grade United States History and World History curricula we are prototyping.…
As you’re relaxing on the beach, listening to the rhythm of the tide, we interrupt your reverie to say, “Hey, this would make a great science lesson!” Yes, we’re nerdy that way. Sorry. The pulse of the ocean waves as they crash into the shore is a wonderful, hypnotic sound. But it is also a…
Studies Weekly publications continue to win awards and recognition. The Textbook & Academic Authors Association recently honored Studies Weekly at its annual TAA Conference in Philadelphia. Two Studies Weekly publications took top spots as 2019 Textbook Award Winners. TAA awarded “Oklahoma Studies Weekly – Our State, 6th ed.” as one of just two 2019 Textbook…
School may be out, but it’s a great time to sign up for a 30-day Free Trial of Studies Weekly. Why? You ask. Because with access to our interactive and robust online platform, you can make this the Summer of Science! Summer is a great time to get out and experience the world around us.…
Testing is over. Your students’ last assignments and extra credit are trickling in, and sunny days are beckoning. Your students are antsy. And well, honestly, so are you, right? In prior school years, those last few days of school were lots of fun — with field days, end-of-the-year performances, class parties and the like. Of…
Testing is over. Your students’ last assignments and extra credit are trickling in, and sunny days are beckoning. Your students are antsy. And well, honestly, so are you, right? Those last few days of school are always lots of fun — with field days, end-of-the-year performances, class parties and the like. Of course, it often…
One of the most exciting things for us to see here at Studies Weekly is pictures and videos of teachers using our products. Our in-house content creators, writers, designers, artists and editors all diligently work to make our products top-notch for teachers and students, and we always have students in mind as we create. But…
Growing up, Kristin Wolfgang didn’t dream of being a teacher. But now she doesn’t dream of any other career. Before heading into the classroom, Wolfgang worked at Borders Bookstore. She heard about a part-time Kindergarten teacher position and tried it out. Her fellow teachers asked her to lead small groups in reading. “And I was…
Award-Winning Social Studies Teacher Uses Studies Weekly Cathlina Marston is a fourth grade teacher in Glendora, California. A veteran teacher of 30 years, Marston has been using Studies Weekly in her classroom for the last 15 years. In 2016, Marston won the California Elementary Outstanding Social Studies Teacher of the Year Award! Award Nomination Requirements…