Hey, it’s time for the Historical Happenings of the week for August 27-31! I do intend to keep up my show and blog post during the school year and if that means I’m sporting a low-maintenance  look during the show with my dog co-anchoring so be it. I’m coming to you every Sunday with “three historical events that occurred this week so that you can plan ahead. I’ll feature helpful ideas for integrating literacy, technology, and supporting all learners! These fun facts can be your saving grace in those transition moments, great lesson hooks, or the makings of morning work. I’ll be including significant events from across the spectrum including “born on this day, battles, inventions, sports, scientific achievements, music, arts, pop culture and more!”

Find out the interests of your students and use these tidbits as a way to build community and foster relationships with your learners this year and spark further interest in history at the same time! You can find all previous IGTV episodes in my Instagram profile and a link to all of the blog posts at the bottom of each new post!  And also 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 my 16 year old son!

Let’s get started with the week of August 27th. This is a big week for Civil Rights but not really much else. And you’ll note for my show I’m running the weeks Monday-Saturday. Sunday’s are all you!

MONDAY

During this week in 1952, the Red Scare really started picking up speed. This was the time period during the Cold War Era when Senator Joseph McCarthy led a witch hunt of sorts accusing various actors and other Americans of being communist spies. Click to learn more: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/red-scare-dominates-american-politics

TUESDAY

TOP HIT 1 is Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream Speech at the March on Washington in 1963. This was also the same day in history that Emmett Till was tragically murdered. Want more info? Click this link: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-death-of-emmett-till  Every time I listen to I Have a Dream it gives me chills. It’s like Dr. King knew his untimely death was coming. I have a blog post with resources for African American History Month with a link to multiple resources for the speech. Click the picture to check it out!

I highly recommend using the Civil Rights Flocabulary unit. The end of the clip is a quote from the speech. There is also a newer unit just about Dr. King. As always, click the pictures to check them out! Fun fact, I share a birthday with Martin Luther King Jr. Side note, if you know me, you know I’m a huge fan of flocabulary.com, 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 teaching 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.

Teaching Tolerance is another phenomenal resource for all things Civil Rights. You can find it at tolerance.org! I have another blog post with 10 reasons why you should be using it! My favorite activity to have students do after discussing the speech is having them write about what their dream for the future is. I even did this with the 1st graders I taught last year!

WEDNESDAY

During Episode 1, I mentioned Berlin being split and how in part that led to the Cold War. Did you know poet Robert Frost went on a goodwill tour of the USSR? Well TOP HIT 2 is that he did on August 29, 1962! First of all explain to students that the USSR is the former name of communist Russia. That’s the elementary level explanation. This event caught my attention because I love Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken.” I shared some ideas for incorporating figurative language into The Cold War. Obviously this poem is a big metaphor for life! Have students research other Americans who visited the USSR to try to foster better relations.

Also, if you or your student’s families are from New Orleans, August 29, 2005 is a day that will live in infamy for you. It was the day Hurricane Katrina wreaked massive havoc on the Gulf coast. You can still see evidence of the storm today. Many areas of New Orleans are still under construction.

THURSDAY

I mentioned that this was a big week for Civil Rights. TOP HIT 3 is the confirmation of Thurgood Marshall as Supreme Court justice on August 30, 1967. Why is this significant? Justice Marshall was the first African American member of the Supreme Court. Even more notable was during that this appointment was during the height of the Civil Rights era. Marshall was the trailblazing attorney who led the Brown family to victory in the landmark court case Brown v the Board of Education. Well guess what? Flocabulary has a unit about Thurgood Marshall, too (click the picture)! When I say unit, I mean a 3ish minute rap, lyrics, printables, vocabulary, a vocabulary game, lesson plans, and more. It’s not just YouTube.

You could also show the movie trailer for the movie Marshall on IMDB. Click the picture to find it directly! As always please preview ahead of time and note that this site does show ads. Speaking of landmark court cases, check out http://streetlaw.org. There’s tons of info there and a link to another great site about the cases themselves!

FRIDAY

As an Atlanta native, the Battle of Jonesboro on August 31st, 1864 was an event that caught my eye. After the Union Victory, it was the beginning of the end for the metropolis. Sherman and his men had captured Atlanta. You can learn all about it on the American Battlefield Trust site. There is even an app you can download if you plan to visit the sites involved in the Atlanta Campaign. Atlanta Campaign

Also on this day 22 years later, there was a major earthquake in Charleston! Learn more at this link:https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/earthquake-shakes-charleston-south-carolina

This wraps up the TOP HITS of August 27-August 31! 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! But wait, there’s more! Are you in my Facebook group for teachers called Social Studies Salute? I’d love to have you! Click the picture!

SocialStudiesTeacherFacebookGroupSSW

I just uploaded the PDF with the clues/answers for the World Class Mistake Makers bulletin board I whipped up earlier this week! I’m grateful to all the teachers on Instagram and in my group who offered ideas so it only felt right to share it! Thanks for watching and be sure to let me know if you used any of these TOP HITS! See ya next Sunday for Episode 5!

Check out the IGTV Show replay right here: