Social Studies Teaching Resources
Take your students on a journey through world and US history with thousands of printable cross-curricular social studies worksheets, history teaching slides, anchor charts, Google Slide interactive activities, and thousands more teacher-created resources to turn every child into a tiny historian.
Are you teaching your primary grade students about community helpers and need engaging new materials? Or maybe you're teaching in the upper elementary grades where your students journey through the 13 colonies, the Revolutionary War, Civil War, or other historical events?
No matter the grade, this collection of teaching resources from Teach Starter's teacher team has curriculum-aligned options to help you cut down on the time-consuming task of lesson planning and help your elementary class meet both Common Core and state-level standards.
With editable options for many of the collection's digital and printable teaching resources, save yourself a ton of time with these ready-made social studies lesson plans.
Social Studies Lesson Plan Library
Our library contains thousands of resources designed by teachers for teachers to help you teach your primary level social studies topics, as well as upper elementary and middle school social studies curriculum. Find resources to teach a wide range of social studies topics, including
- Community helper teaching slides, printable community helper worksheets, and community helper crafts that make perfect additions to social studies for 1st grade
- Content-aligned task cards, games, printable maps, and teaching slide decks to teach American history for kids, along with printable Veterans Day Crafts, patriotic coloring sheets, World War II lesson plans PDF resources, and more
- Cross-curricular teaching resources including reading passages on Susan B. Anthony, Henry Ford worksheets, famous historical figure projects, and even anchor charts for social studies
- Printable blank maps of the 13 colonies, United States, continents of the world, and accompanying map skills worksheets
- Sorting activities, Google Interactives, active games, and worksheets covering wants and needs for primary grades
If you're looking for Social Studies games and resources specifically for higher grades, you'll find:
- Materials for teaching an entire Westward Expansion Unit — such as Westward Expansion worksheets, Lewis and Clark slide decks, vocabulary games, and even an Oregon Trail game to help you teach about early America
- Posters, anchor charts, interactive activities, and lesson plans for a unit on women's suffrage — discover female leaders of the time and their contributions to the passing of the 19th Amendment
- Government worksheets, mini books, and activities teaching the Bill of Rights for Kids
- Note taking-templates, worksheets, slide decks, and graphic organizers to uncover the causes of the American Revolution
Our Social Studies worksheet library spans a wide range of topics and social studies curriculum standards that are sure to save you a TON of time and cut back on the research and planning needed for engaging social studies lessons. Make sure you check out our 3rd-grade history, 4th-grade history, 5th-grade history, and 6th-grade history resources as well!
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Reading Activity Pack
Apply a range of reading comprehension strategies to learn about Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Who Is Ruby Bridges? – Shared Reading and Activity
Read along to learn about Ruby Bridges and her role in desegregation with this 14-slide PowerPoint presentation.
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Who Is Harriet Tubman? – Shared Reading and Activity
Learn about Harriet Tubman and her work in the abolitionist movement with this 15-slide read-along PowerPoint presentation.
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Black History Profile - Picture Match Activity
Review and complete the defining details of 6 revered Black icons and match their images with each completed biography.
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Printable Wanted Poster Template Pack
Use a 'Wanted' poster template to encourage your students to research and write about historical figures and more!
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Abraham Lincoln Activity Pack
Learn about the life and contributions of Abraham Lincoln with a comprehensive pack of Presidents’ Day Worksheets.
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Presidents' Day Activities - George Washington Worksheet Pack
Learn about the life and contributions of George Washington with a comprehensive pack of Presidents’ Day Worksheets.
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What Does the President Do? Activity Pack
Learn about the role of the President with a pack of printable Presidents’ Day Worksheets.
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Segregation and the Civil Rights Movement Instructional Slide Deck
Travel into the past and take your students along to discover the long road to the desegregation of schools in the United States.
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What Are Needs and Wants? Task Cards
Use these free Needs and Wants Task Cards to practice identifying things that are needs and things that are wants.
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Free U.S. Mountains, Rivers, and Land Features Worksheet
Apply knowledge of the major U.S. land features, mountains, and rivers with a map labeling worksheet.
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Black History Profile: Barack Obama - Comprehension Worksheet
Review our profile on the first African American President of the United States, and answer questions to reinforce understanding.
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My Research Project - Pennant Banner
Create a pennant banner for students to record and display their biography research.
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A Historic Movement – Teaching Presentation
Introduce students to the people and events of the American civil rights movement with this 17-slide PowerPoint presentation.
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Rosa Parks Timeline Activity
Craft an illustrated timeline for students to visually explore 6 events in Rosa Parks’s life.
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The Great State Of... State Research Template
A free template for students to identify important aspects of their state.
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'I Have a Dream' Mobile
Celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. with this ‘I Have a Dream’ craft.
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Who Is Rosa Parks? – Shared Reading and Activity
Learn about and discuss activist Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott with this 15-slide read-along PowerPoint presentation.
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Math Dream House Project
Introduce this math dream house project to your students to help them increase spatial skills while designing the home of their dreams!
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Word Wall - Earth's History Vocabulary Cards
Introduce your students to Earth's history with a printable vocabulary word wall.
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Climate Zone Map — Printable Classroom Resource
Print a climate zone map for the classroom to support lessons about the 6 climate types.
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Influential Black Leaders - Research Project
Help your students learn about and recognize some of the most influential Black leaders in history with Black History Month Research Project.
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Katherine Johnson Activity Pack
Learn about the life and contributions of Katherine Johnson with a comprehensive pack of informational worksheets.
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Thurgood Marshall Mini Book
Discover the accomplishments of Thurgood Marshall with a printable mini-book.
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President's Day Crafts - Biography Writing Template
Encourage students to dive into writing a biography Abraham Lincoln or George Washington with a printable Presidents’ Day Craft template.
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How to Draw George Washington - Directed Drawing Activity
Bring a bit of art into the classroom this Presidents’ Day with a “How to Draw George Washington.” directed drawing worksheet.
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Barack Obama - Biography Activity Pack
Learn about the life and contributions of Barack Obama with a comprehensive pack of Presidents’ Day Worksheets.
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Cardinal Directions Worksheet for First Grade
Use cardinal directions to create a simple town map with this 2-page cut-and-paste activity sheet.
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Civil War Graphic Organizer
Provide your learners with an organized note-taking method with a Civil War note-taking template.
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Influential Black Leaders InstaFan Profile Template
Demonstrate learning about the most influential black leaders in history with an engaging social media biography template.
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Veterans Day Writing Craftivity
Create the perfect Veteran’s Day bulletin board with a student-made Veteran’s Day writing and craft activity.
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Patriot Day Writing Craftivity
Celebrate important heroes with this Patriot Day writing prompt and craft.
- Social Studies Worksheets
- Social Studies Templates
- Social Studies Posters
- Social Studies Games
- Social Studies Word Walls
- Social Studies Projects
- Social Studies for Pre-K
- Social Studies for Kindergarten
- Social Studies for 1st Grade
- Social Studies for 2nd Grade
- Social Studies for 3rd Grade
- Social Studies for 4th Grade
- Social Studies for 5th Grade
- Social Studies for 6th Grade
- Social Studies for 7th Grade