Smush Studies

Engage students in exploring the major causes and effects of the American Revolution through a structured essay assignment. Students will identify and explain key causes such as taxation without representation, growing colonial unrest, and tensions between Britain and the colonies. They will also describe the effects that these Revolutionary events had on the formation of the United States. The lesson includes a student-friendly essay outline and a rubric to support planning, writing, and revising.

Testing can be hard sometimes. And that's why I created a "Request to Retest" years ago for my classroom. Sometimes students just don't study, BUT more often than not, there are valid reasons why a student wasn't able to put in the study time for a test. So, whatever the parameters are for your classroom/school/district regarding retesting, this form is useful. Students must complete three activities to demonstrate that they made the effort to understand and absorb the material, PLUS it requires a student signature AND a parent signature so everyone knows what's going on!

Make learning the Bill of Rights simple and engaging with this easy-to-use scenario-based civics lesson. This can also be used as a quiz/assessment. Students simply read each scenario and select the amendment that best matches using the dropdown choices. The included grading key makes checking student work quick and easy. This resource is perfect for middle school civics, U.S. government, American history, social studies, and Constitution lessons. What’s Included: Scenario-based Bill of Rights questions Dropdown answer choices for easy student use Practice identifying the First 10 Amendments Simple, student-friendly scenarios Digital-friendly format Student quiz/assessment Perfect for: Middle school social studies Civics and government U.S. Constitution units Bill of Rights review Test prep and assessment Independent practice Homework Bell ringers and review activities Digital learning

Make learning the Bill of Rights simple and engaging with this easy-to-use scenario-based civics lesson. This can also be used as a quiz/assessment. Students simply read each scenario and select the amendment that best matches using the dropdown choices. The included grading key makes checking student work quick and easy. This resource is perfect for middle school civics, U.S. government, American history, social studies, and Constitution lessons. What’s Included: Scenario-based Bill of Rights questions Practice identifying the First 10 Amendments Simple, student-friendly scenarios Answer key For reference: Simplified Bill of Rights Amendments Student quiz/assessment Perfect for: Middle school social studies Civics and government U.S. Constitution units Bill of Rights review Test prep and assessment Independent practice Homework Bell ringers and review activities Digital learning

Building critical thinking skills and real-world connections is always a winning combination. Help your student connect classroom learning to the world around them with this engaging yet flexible Current Events Assignment. This resource encourages students to explore reliable news sources, summarize key information, and express their own opinions with a reflection component. Current events activities help students strengthen reading comprehension, critical thinking, media literacy, and writing skills while increasing their awareness of local, national, and global events and issues. By examining real-world topics, students learn to identify credible sources, understand different perspectives, and make meaningful connections. This assignment is perfect for middle school and high school students, and can be used as a weekly bellringer or warm-up activity, a weekly assignment, independent or partner work, a research and discussion assignment, and can even be used cross-curricularly in Social Studies, ELA, Government, or Civics. This assignment can be a low-prep, versatile lesson for your classroom that helps promote meaningful class discussions, all while helping students become informed, thoughtful, and engaged learners.

Learning about history is important! It is so much more than a ‘bunch of old dead guys.’ By studying history, we gain a better understanding of the world around us, including the achievements, challenges, and diverse perspectives of a country or nation, while developing critical thinking skills and becoming more informed. This is the perfect enrichment activity (or a stand-alone lesson) to help students hone their research skills.

This creative Famous People in History Baseball Card Project challenges 8th-grade students to transform dense historical research into a high-engagement, collectible trading card. This assignment can be used anytime of the year, but is perfect for an end-of-year activity. Included are two rubrics. One is for the written submission only, and the other includes an oral presentation component. Students will utilize the following skills: Primary source analysis to find authentic portraits, quotes, and diary entries. Secondary source examination to cross-check biographical facts, dates, and locations. Historical synthesis to condense complex lifelong achievements into punchy statistics. Chronological thinking to accurately track the figure's life events and career timeline. Cause-and-effect identification to connect the figure's actions to their lasting historical impact. Historical empathy to understand the figure's motivations and choices within the context of their era.