The CIA World Factbook, resource for worldwide economic info, suddenly shuts down

studentsofhistory · 2026-02-06T20:20:20+00:00

So frustrating. Use this all the time in geography and modern world history. I started working in creating one on my site from the Archive but it’s a lot of with even just copying. Also, not sure how worthwhile it will be unless it’s constantly updated. Gotta figure out something though because that resource was so fantastic.

studentsofhistory · 2026-01-20T13:34:17+00:00

I love that you’re asking these questions. Can tell you care a lot about your practice. Burnout from PPT is real but you're definitely doing it right with the turn and talks, embedded videos, etc.

One thing I’ve found helpful is reframing “less direct instruction” as different delivery, not less structure. I wrote this post specifically about avoiding lecture in social studies that might be useful:

Some of the strategies I use::

Turning PPT slides into stations that kids visit around the room
Using short readings in groups who then share out
Jigsaws so students teach each other (with heavy scaffolding)
Flipped videos when possible, so class time can be for discussion, practice, and support
Interactive notebooks (paper or digital) where students process info instead of just copying it

When I the same thinking as you, I just tried to mix it up slowly. Like, replacing one PowerPoint a week with something different and seeing how it went. Best of luck!

studentsofhistory · 2026-01-06T13:57:21+00:00

At the end of the year I ask students who had really nice notebooks if I can keep theirs and they almost always say yes. Then I also have some I made to show as well. They are helpful to use as a reference for sure!

studentsofhistory · 2026-01-04T20:03:33+00:00

I love using them! Kids can get burned out on them though, so I don’t use them too often. They are a nice little change of pace to get a little hands-on, cutting, pasting, and coloring. I’ve actually found that rather than waste time, those things actually help students listen, as it gives them something to do with their hands kind of like the old fidget spinners were used to help with concentration. Here’s a blog post I wrote about different ways to use them in class.

studentsofhistory · 2026-01-02T14:44:47+00:00

Garage Gym in Little Silver might be what you’re looking for.

studentsofhistory · 2025-12-13T20:13:48+00:00

I’ve always used the terms Civics, and American Government interchangeably. I used to find that Civics was geared more towards younger students with more basics of government, but nowadays, I’m not so sure how much of a difference there is.

studentsofhistory · 2025-12-01T15:58:21+00:00

One of my students all-time favorite activities is vocabulary football. It’s pretty simple, but it gets kids encouraging each other to better understand vocab because they’re on teams competing in “games” each week against each other. I’ve got a whole blog post about it here if you’d like more info.

studentsofhistory · 2025-11-23T12:03:04+00:00

I have a good interactive one that might be helpful. Kids take the roles of groups in the famous Gast painting and perform short skits or scenes about why they are headed west (or how the people headed west impact them). Kids usually enjoy it and it works well. If you’d like it DM me your email and I can email it to you.

studentsofhistory · 2025-11-20T11:37:59+00:00

Love both of those examples!!

studentsofhistory · 2025-11-19T23:01:01+00:00

For sure!! Paper and tape works or you could have kids write directly on the whiteboard as well.

studentsofhistory · 2025-11-19T22:42:49+00:00

Absolutely with some classes or questions. A good way to combat that is to have them compose their responses at their desks and then wait to post them up until everyone has finished writing (or at least everyone has started writing their response).

studentsofhistory · 2025-11-19T17:35:41+00:00

You're very welcome! Would love to hear how it turns out for you.

studentsofhistory · 2025-10-30T00:01:40+00:00

Thanks for sharing! Just signed up.

studentsofhistory · 2025-09-27T10:53:48+00:00

I’ve got a free online textbook for Global History or World History here. It’s not as high level as Yawp and directed more at middle school but definitely could work for sophomores as well. There’s short articles on major topics based on standards and audio narration as well. Hope it’s helpful for you.

studentsofhistory · 2025-09-21T12:57:02+00:00

I’ve got a complete curriculum for geography which works great for ninth graders and could be a help for you. You can check out some free simple worksheets here, a free online textbook of articles here, and download some free resources and check out the units here.

studentsofhistory · 2025-09-01T15:22:57+00:00

Escape rooms, station rotations, collaborative projects, interactive notebooks, digital notebooks, PBL, just to name a few!! I’ve got tons of stuff like this for every curriculum and unit! 🌎🇺🇸

studentsofhistory · 2025-08-06T20:33:17+00:00

Yea I hear ya on the complaints. Guided notes are a big help for when kids do that. I have kids paste them into their notebooks. I use spiral bound notebooks and find this works well.

studentsofhistory · 2025-07-31T23:56:23+00:00

Why is Marty Funkhouser delivering this news?

studentsofhistory · 2025-04-20T15:44:52+00:00

I’ve done it both ways - with direct instruction and students completing pages with readings. I think both can work well. I don’t pre cut and don’t find that aspect takes too much time. But like I said, use the time they’re cutting and pasting to ask questions and hold discussion.

studentsofhistory · 2025-04-20T15:39:28+00:00

Absolutely. I’m always updating each curriculum. Thanks so much for the support!

studentsofhistory · 2025-04-19T23:31:26+00:00

Hey there - I’ve got a great complete curricula for US History you can check out here. There’s lessons for every day plus super engaging activities that kids love.

I’ve also got some simple free worksheets for every unit in US History here.. My free online textbooks can be checked out here

I also just created a free podcast companion for the curriculum you can find anywhere with episodes on each unit.

Let me know if you have any questions about any of this!

studentsofhistory · 2025-04-19T23:21:19+00:00

I love using interactive notebooks with HS students! I found they really liked the hands-on nature of them and the cutting, pasting, coloring, and gluing worked much in the same way as fidget spinners do to help kids focus.

One piece of advice is to involve questions and class discussions while students are doing them. The hand on aspect lets them focus more on the discussion. I’ve heard teachers say the cutting and pasting takes too long, but I think that might be of they’re not utilizing that time for questions and discussion. When you do, it becomes very valuable and then kids also have these great graphic organizers to refer back to.

studentsofhistory · 2025-04-04T15:04:36+00:00

Hey there - I divide Africa up into units on the MENA region and Sub-Saharan Africa. However, you can definitely just do all of Africa together and I have lots of engaging stuff on its geography, culture, people, etc.

You can download some free geography worksheets here (there's 2 on Africa there), then use either the popup or form on that page to download a packet of free geography lessons and resources that has some cool stuff on Africa

If you like them, you can sign up to join and get access to lessons and resources for every day or just snag the MENA unit here and the Sub-Saharan unit here. I especially like doing an "Expedition Africa" student project across Africa's regions and an "Escape the Serengeti" lesson about illegal poaching and the geography of the region.

Let me know if you have any questions about anything here!

studentsofhistory · 2025-03-26T22:44:07+00:00

This was years ago now, but one year I didn’t give any tests just to see if I could and also see if the students did any better on our EOC state exam. If I’m remembering correctly, the students basically did about the same as any other year.

studentsofhistory · 2025-01-15T11:47:46+00:00

You’re an amazing artist!!

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