Hey! I’m Andrea Runnels, aka The Social Studies Whisperer.” I’m back with the second edition of the “Weekly TOP HITS for August 13-18!” Catch the video show on Instagram or at the bottom of this post! I’m featuring helpful ideas from this week in American history with tips for integrating literacy, technology, and supporting all learners! These fun facts can be your saving grace in those transition moments, great lesson hooks, the makings of morning work, or even extension ideas for fast finishers! Use now or save for later for when you cover this content!  I’ll be including significant historical events from multiple areas to spark interest for a wide range of kiddos! You never know what fun fact could ignite a passion! Your token history nerd will appreciate them! You’re bound to at least have one! If you missed last week you can find Episode 1 here: Historical Happenings of August 6-11th!

Let’s move on to this week in American history! And also please note that many of my links below are to history.com. I love this site. Mostly. What I don’t love is that the videos auto-play. My teenage son showed me a super helpful hack for this. Right click on the browser tab and opt to “mute site” or “mute tab.” That tech tip comes straight to you from a 16 year old!

MONDAY

The first event for this week occurred August 13th, 1961. It was the day Berlin was split into eastern Berlin and western Berlin. The situation in Germany had been #complicated ever since the end of WWII. It had been split into 4 zones: American, Soviet, British, and French. Things starting getting more tense with the Soviets during this time and it was decided that the capital city of Berlin would be split down the middle for decades to follow with the eastern side being communist and the western side being democratic. I’m a firm believer in literacy integration. The Cold War lends itself to a lesson in figurative language. Have students create a T-chart in their Interactive Notebook labeled figurative on one side and literal on the other and then categorize terms like “Iron Curtain,” “Red Scare”, “Berlin Wall”, etc!

 

And a recommendation for a powerful song to use with The Cold War is  “Russians” by Sting.  You could have students analyze the lyrics first or just listen and respond or discuss. There are tons of websites with song lyrics. I always just use lyrics.com.  They may need a little guidance with this because it’s so far out of context for them! They don’t remember the Hoff performing as the wall crumbled! You millenials can message me later and I’ll explain it. There are other versions of the song on YouTube that include the lyrics as another option!

Oh and of course I have to mention that my favorite website Flocabulary.com has a Cold War unit! If you know me, you know I’m a huge fan of the website which features engaging and educational raps. I’m such a fan that I became a Flocab MC Educator, which means I’m a brand ambassador. I just share the love for the glory and sometimes swag because it’s an invaluable learning tool! I am not a paid affiliate nor would I ever be. If you don’t have a subscription, you can check it out with a free trial. Click the picture to preview The Cold War!

TUESDAY

Next up is TOP HIT number 2! It’s FDR signing the Social Security Act on August 14, 1935. Why is this significant? Because it’s one of the only remnants of the New Deal still in place! The New Deal was a series of programs and initiatives designed to stimulate the economy to bring America out of the Great Depression. The New Deal provides another opportunity to tie in figurative language! All of the program acronyms were referred to as “alphabet soup.” Want an unexpected way for students to learn more about the New Deal? FDR presidential library for the win! There is an interactive periodic table of New Deal programs! You can also download a PDF and if you contact them they will send you a large poster size version! Click the picture to go to the link.

I had students keep track of important programs required by the curriculum on their picture dictionary, the unique study guides I created for each unit in Social Studies. You can learn more about these and how to create your own in my Teachers Pay Teachers store appropriately named “The Social Studies Whisperer.” Learn more by clicking below!

Guess what? There is a Great Depression Flocabulary unit which mentions the New Deal and the Social Security Act, too! Does your school have a Brain pop subscription? There’s an awesome New Deal Brain Pop clip! Tim and Moby can be your teaching assistant BFFs! Find each link by clicking on the pictures!

 

Also on this day were several notable births and a death! Click each name to learn more! Born on August 13th, Annie Oakley, Fidel Castro, and Alfred Hitchcock! And sadly baseball great Mickey Mantle passed away on this day in 1995.

WEDNESDAY

Last week I talked about the atomic bomb being dropped on Japan. That led to the Japanese surrender and declaration of victory in Japan on this day in 1945! Americans back home rejoiced! This iconic picture was taken on what’s commonly referred to as VJ Day! I got this poster from the National WWII Museum’s Online Shop! Their website is a wonderful resource! Here is the link: https://www.nationalww2museum.org/

Have you heard of “Francis Marion, The Swamp Fox?” If you live in South Carolina you have! Well he was quite the patriot. He had a major  encounter with a group of loyalists on this day in 1780! Read more about it here: Swamp Fox.

*UPDATE

Before anybody sends me any angry emails, just wanted to clarify that I did some research to fact check myself because I have seen conflicting info on what date was really V-J Day. I went straight to the National WWII Museum’s website. Turns out it’s August 14/15!

THURSDAY

We’ve got another day of an iconic births and some deaths for August 16th! On this day in 1948 Babe Ruth passed away. Ten years later Madonna was born! Also on this day was the loss of  “The King” Elvis Presley, which the whole world mourned in 1977. Read more about that here: Elvis Presley dies.

Oh, wait! There’s more! On this day in 1896 gold was discovered in them thar ummm large amounts of ice. That’s because it happened in Alaska! So it’s today we have to thank for that *quality* programming on the Discovery channel.

FRIDAY

I’ve got a tidbit for you music lovers like me! The original Woodstock concluded on this day in 1969. That had to be a legendary 3 days with the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and The Grateful Dead performing! If your inner hippie wants to know more check out http://woodstock.com!

SATURDAY

Saturday brings us the colony of Roanoke being deserted in 1590 and my TOP HIT Number 3. Last week I talked about the signing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 and how it was necessary despite the 15th Amendment having been signed in 1870. Well that 15th Amendment guaranteed the right to vote for freed slaves. With a catch. It was only men. Women didn’t get the right to vote until years later. Many members of the women’s suffrage movement began their plight even before the Civil War began. After the end of the war many abolitionists, those who fought against slavery, were able to focus even more attention on this social justice issue.  Did you know Harriet Tubman became an outspoken advocate for this movement? The hard work of Tubman, Susan B. Anthony, and countless other women paid off years later with the ratification of the 19th Amendment on August 18, 1920. 8 days later it became #constitutionofficial. Have students create trading cards for women and men who supported the movement or create a timeline. A fantastic resource is the National Women’s History Museum website! You can find it at http://womenshistory.org. I have an entire blog post with Women’s History essentials for all year! Click the picture to check it out!


That wraps up this week’s TOP HITS! Don’t forget to check the link in the description to read the blog post and sign up for a weekly reminder at http://bit.ly/SShooks! You’ll get my free lesson hooks cheat sheet, too! Thanks for watching and be sure to let me know if you used any of these TOP HITS! See ya next Sunday for Episode 3!