Why Do We Study History and Thinking Like A Historian PowerPoint Lessons and Activities

These engaging, and ready-to-go lessons on understanding and crafting the historical perspective and reviewing essential social studies skills are the perfect way to start any social studies or history class at the beginning of the year! This bundle includes 2 PowerPoints (125 slides) and guided notes, group/partner activities, writing prompts, and more (20 pages of resources/activities) explaining why we study history, reviewing social studies skills, and teaching students how to think like a historian with notes/activities.

Pacing will vary based on how long your classes last, but a general guideline for pacing and lesson plans would be as follows:

• Day 1- Why Do We Study History? - Entire Why Do We Study History PowerPoint with notes and one of the activities- you could spend 2 days on this
• Day 2-Who is a historian and what are the responsibilities of historians?-Think Like a Historian PowerPoint slides 1-23 with guided notes and "What is a historian?" activity
• Day 3- Primary vs. Secondary Sources - Think Like a Historian PowerPoint slides 24-47 with guide notes and a fun cooperative learning activity examining a famous historical artifact (students will write their final report independently)
• Day 4- Eras and Timelines- Think Like A Historian PowerPoint slides 48-63 with guided notes and a build your own timeline activity
• Day 5- Maps & the Role of Geography - Think Like A Historian PowerPoint slides 64-97 with guided notes and a map/research activity that also requires students to identify physical and human characteristics of a region - you could spend 2 days on this

Please see the preview video for samples!

This Bundle Covers Lessons On:

• Why we study history
• Who is a historian?
• What are the responsibilities of a historian?
• Jobs available for historians
• Primary vs. Secondary sources
• Bias
• Sourcing, corroboration, contextualization, and close reading of primary sources
• An analysis of a primary source
• Eras
• Millenniums, centuries, decades
• B.C. & A.D., B.C.E. & C.E.
• Chronological order
• Interpreting timelines
• Timeline activity
• "Pale Blue Dot" - Carl Sagan
• Map vocabulary terms (review)
• Globes vs. maps
• Types of maps
• Longitude and latitude
• Absolute location (using longitude and latitude)
• Hemispheres
• Time zones
• Physical characteristics of geography
• Human characteristics of geography
• Cooperative Learning Activities
• Links to Videos
• Discussion Prompts

Please See The Preview Video For Samples!

Please Note:

• PowerPoints need to have the content enabled before presenting
• Videos are included in the PowerPoint--> LOOK FOR THE VIDEO CAMERA ICON & CLICK!
• Modern Love, and Dreaming Outloud Pro are the primary fonts used in this bundle. You may need to adjust the font/size if you do not have a version of PowerPoint that includes these fonts.

BONUS FILE:16x20 Abraham Lincoln Classroom Poster

This is perfect for hanging in your classroom or in the hallway.

These posters are high-quality and intended to be printed as a 16x20 poster.

You can have these 16x20 posters printed at Walgreens or at Office Depot. Be sure to check for coupons because they frequently offer them for prints!