[00:00:00] Kirsten This is the Social Studies Teacher Podcast, a show for busy elementary teachers. Looking for fun and engaging ways to easily add social studies into their classroom schedule without feeling overwhelmed or pressed for time. I'm Kirsten of the Southern Teach, an educator and mom who is passionate about all things social studies.

[00:00:21] I love sharing ideas and strategies that are low prep and easy to implement, so let's dive in together.[00:00:30]

[00:00:36] Hi there, and welcome to another episode of the Social Studies Teacher Podcast. And if you're watching this video, welcome to the brand new YouTube channel, smart and Simple Social Studies. I'm super excited. I've moved all of my content, so all of the video episodes, the PD trainings, basically everything for educators and [00:01:00] teachers and parents.

[00:01:00] I moved it over to this. Brand new baby channel, and I'm going to be uploading all of my teacher content to this channel. So keep following or subscribe if you haven't already. If you want the best practices and different engaging strategies for teaching social studies to your child or to your students, depending on how you teach.

[00:01:24] This is the channel for you, but don't worry, because those bite-sized videos and the kid friendly [00:01:30] videos are going to be on my previous channel, and that is Social Studies with the Southern Teach. I changed the name a little bit, so it's still the Southern Teach, but it's Social studies with the Southern Teach because you're going to see a lot of kid friendly content videos on a variety of topics from geography to history to different holidays.

[00:01:49] Actually, if you're watching this in real time, there is a brand new video out on Black History Month. So this kind of ties into what we're talking about today. We're gonna be talking about famous people in history and how to [00:02:00] teach about different famous people in history. So there's exciting content on that channel too, so you can follow it along to both channels.

[00:02:07] There's no need to pick one over the other. You can always do both. And the social studies with the. Southern Teach will be great for students 'cause it's all kid friendly. It's all kid videos. I have another surprise, an exciting announcement. I have officially published a workbook. This is the very first one that is out.

[00:02:28] It's already sold [00:02:30] over 20 copies. This is. Super exciting, but this includes a variety of daily passages that I've created already in my TPT store and my website. But it's structured in a way where it is not just for Texas teachers, it can be for any student in any state, and it is 36 weeks. So I divide up 36 topics.

[00:02:55] Four days of passages and multiple choice questions. And then day [00:03:00] five is a quiz at the end and rinse and repeat. Something that I really love about this is that it only takes about five to 10 minutes a day if that, but it not only is in a kin friendly level, it's at grades three through five, so that is the age range, ages eight through 12, but it also.

[00:03:21] Has a glossary if students are unfamiliar with different terminology. They could always look at the back of the book at the glossary [00:03:30] to define different words, and it practices their reading comprehension skills with the different passages you could teach them and have them practice different reading strategies like underlining and highlighting text evidence, circling key words, and summarizing in their own words.

[00:03:50] It's all stuff that they can do by writing it down, and the best thing is you don't have to print it. It's already put together for you. So I will link my Amazon author [00:04:00] profile, so if you're interested in it, you can purchase it. The good thing that is super exciting is that I am coming out very soon if it's not already out a US history.

[00:04:12] Just like this, it'll be 36 weeks and it's daily passages. It's all related to topics in US history. What I didn't want were the same topics that are in, in this book to also be in that other US History book. So it's taking a little [00:04:30] longer on the second one because I want to make sure if there are topics that are the same.

[00:04:35] At least the passages and the questions are different. So there might be a topic on the physical environment, but the topics and the passages and the questions that are in this book are not gonna be the same in the US history. So I didn't want to rinse and repeat certain things. That's why I am taking some time to write brand new passages that you cannot find anywhere else.

[00:04:56] You cannot find it even on my TPT store or [00:05:00] website, you're gonna find those new passages in the book. So this is great for. Practicing during the summer, or if you're a homeschooling parent, if you want your students to learn social studies and maybe you're looking for different resources to not only learn social studies, but to practice reading and understanding with reading comprehension.

[00:05:20] This is a great book that you can purchase. So again, I'll link that in. The description. Now moving on, we are going to talk about how to [00:05:30] teach famous people in history. I did an episode about this, I guess exactly a year ago now that I think about it, and it was listing eight steps of how to teach social studies.

[00:05:40] I'm gonna expand upon this and really hone in on. Four key things to think about when you are talking about historical figures. I'm talking about throughout the year, whether you're talking about a famous figure during the American Revolution or maybe. Women's history or Hispanic Heritage Month. [00:06:00] Any historical or famous or important figure that has made an impact in your state community or local community or national community?

[00:06:09] An international community. Pretty much anyone who's made a difference and you wanna talk about them and they may or may not be well known. This is something I want you to think about. So that is what we're going to talk about today. I will make sure to link the original blog post. So if you want to know those exact eight steps, you can always refer back to that.

[00:06:28] But I'm gonna pick out my [00:06:30] favorite things and share with you some tips on selecting and teaching different famous figures or historical figures. Tip number one is to choose figures with purpose and diversity. Instead of saving biographies for just one month of the year and then moving on to other things intentionally weave historical figures in your lessons year long.

[00:06:54] Pick people who connect naturally to what you're already teaching have made a very big [00:07:00] impact or an impact in general in history, and represent a variety of backgrounds and experiences. When students see men, women. Older people, younger people, African, Asian, all of these different backgrounds, when they see a variety of famous figures, it builds relevance and belonging.

[00:07:21] Maybe you're teaching a unit on freedom and the importance of freedom. You could talk about Harriet Tubman and her [00:07:30] contributions in the ability to help free enslaved individuals. The second tip is to set the scene before telling a story, before going into the contributions and diving into that individual person's life.

[00:07:42] Make sure you set the scene, set a background of what their life was like during the time period that they lived in. So giving background on the time period. Maybe what they wore, what they ate or daily life, what were the major events happening around them, or even the beliefs, [00:08:00] challenges, or laws that helped shape their choices.

[00:08:04] When students understand the context around their lives and what was happening during that time, famous figures stopped feeling like random names that we just have to memorize, like Abraham Lincoln or George Washington, and they make more sense as real people who lived just like you and I. During that specific time period, it kind of reminds me.

[00:08:26] About even a cartoon or a TV [00:08:30] show, how they cut two different scenes, maybe in the kitchen or in the living room or in someone's bedroom or something like that, but they don't show the real transitions and the real daily things that happen during a person's day. Like, you know, you're laying down. You're getting up, you gotta go to the restroom and then you go shuffle in, make some coffee, start breakfast.

[00:08:54] It's always these curated scenes and I feel like with historical figures, we have these curated. [00:09:00] Things about them that we know, like, okay, this person was born in this year at this time, early childhood. They were farmers and he was at school and he was really smart and they liked science and math and all that stuff.

[00:09:13] So we're learning all these highlights and when we watch the shows, we're watching the highlights. We're not seeing all the nitty gritty, and so we don't really think of them as just like you and I everyday people, but they were everyday people. They just happened to have. A contribution that made them even more famous and [00:09:30] well known than anybody could even imagine.

[00:09:32] So really setting the scene, setting the context can really help bring it down to earth and not think of them as this just person on a pedestal that never made mistakes and was always perfect, and always brave and always courageous. They were human, just like you and I. The third tip is to bring stories to life with stories and sources.

[00:09:51] Kind of pulling into what I talked about in the second tip. Students feel connections when they feel like the historical figure or a [00:10:00] famous figure is more human. So maybe sharing some type of interesting story or quote and talking about what you think they might have meant when they said the quote.

[00:10:10] That could be a way to kind of dig into the interest and how they were human like us. Talk about their struggles as well as their achievement. S, not all of us are perfect and neither our famous figures past and present and even share primary sources like diaries, letters, photographs. My favorite thing [00:10:30] to do, I know it's kind of random, but.

[00:10:32] I will learn about a story and I go on Wikipedia as one does. When you're curious about a famous actor or some type of person that did something, and it could have been a crime or it could have just been some type of historical event, I click on that person's name and if they have a Wikipedia profile.

[00:10:53] Like to go through the biography and read about their life and personal life and their legacy and [00:11:00] contributions and all that stuff. And I love going and seeing all the photographs related to that person if there is anything. So it's just something that helps me understand and kind of see the whole context of a historical or.

[00:11:14] Famous figure or even a notorious person that did something that was not so nice or good. But with that aside, talking about famous figures as real people with fears, failures, and determination can make history [00:11:30] more relatable and memorable. And this is where the engagement really can skyrocket. The fourth tip is to make it relevant and check for understanding.

[00:11:38] So after talking and learning about this historical figure, students are understanding what they did, their struggles and kind of what may be some interesting facts, what makes them human and in general, and their contributions. Make sure you're connecting the past. To the present, discuss why this person matters even today.

[00:11:57] Why are we talking about this person who has [00:12:00] passed away over 200 or 300 years ago? Talk about how their actions connect to current events and even modern life. Maybe what they did planted the seeds for things that are happening in the present and will happen in the future. And also, what lessons can students learn from them.

[00:12:19] I love being able to ask students after talking about historical figure. What did you learn from them? What kind of character traits do they exhibit, and [00:12:30] how can we have those similar character traits as well? And then I would recommend giving them different ways to show understanding. It could be a short response, a project presentation, anything creative, however you wanna do it.

[00:12:44] My favorite is a biography lab book. When students have choice, they're able to take. Ownership of their learning. Some final takeaways and thoughts about this teaching Famous Figures year Round teaches students that history is [00:13:00] ongoing. It's not an isolated event on a timeline with intentional choices.

[00:13:06] Context and engaging strategies. Biography could be a highlight of your social studies block in my TPT store and my website. I have a variety of biographies. I've got WebQuests on a variety of figures past and present from people like Milton Hershey too, even Tom Brady. I also have a curated biography passage activity [00:13:30] specifically related to Black History Month.

[00:13:32] I know Black History Month is currently, if you're watching this video happening now, I also have Women's History Month bundle related to a variety of biographies and activities of famous women in history. If you're looking towards the future in March, thinking about what you could do for Women's History Month, that's also an option there.

[00:13:53] And I'm hoping in the future to add on even more important biographies of famous figures. My [00:14:00] reading comprehension book also has famous figures as well. If you can look at the screen, I've got Harriet Tubman and James A Level as a biography, short biography and comprehension questions. And this is. For the famous heroes topic.

[00:14:17] So there are plenty of topics to go around in here that I know students will be interested in, and it's at a reading level [00:14:30] just for third through fifth grade. But of course, it could be used for higher grade levels. We're lower grade grade levels, depending on the rating level of your student. Well, that is it for today.

[00:14:39] Thank you for watching. Make sure to subscribe and follow along. You can always ask me any questions, comment if you want to share anything or have any additional aha moments. Thank you again for tuning in, and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day. Thanks for listening to the Social Studies Teacher podcast.

[00:14:59] If you [00:15:00] enjoyed listening to this episode, hit that subscribe button and leave a review. I would love to hear your thoughts. You can also find me on Instagram at the Southern Teach. I can't wait for you to join me in the next episode for more teacher tips and strategies.