Ohio Social Studies

Mandy DulingLindsey Grandominico

Jen SchubertLaura SpicerED 417-02

Social Studies Strands

• History• People in Societies• Geography• Economics• Government• Citizenship Rights

and Responsibilities• Social Studies Skills

and Methods

History Activities1.Timeline

-After discussing significant events in Ohio history, have students work in small groups to construct timelines of the events they feel have impacted our lives the most. They can also add illustrations for each significant event.

History Activities2. Sequencing

-Review how things generally happen in a sequence (ie. You get up, get dressed, and then go to school). Have children sequence pre-made cards that display events in Ohio history. Would it make sense for these things to happen in a different order? Discuss why or why not.

History Activities3.Jobs Past & Present

-Students will work in pairs to compile lists of jobs from the past and present day jobs. How do these jobs compare? Are there any jobs that they would not want to do or any that sound fun to them? What might account for the change in jobs over the years?

History Activities4. History of the Flag

-Students will use resources within the classroom to find out about the history of the Ohio flag. What is the significance of the stars and stripes? Who made the first flag? How long have we used this flag? Has the flag changed over the years? They will then share their findings in small groups.

                                                    

     

History Activities5. Reenactment of History

-The class will study the daily life of our ancestors. What kinds of food did they eat? What jobs did they have? What were their homes like? What did they do for fun? Each child will then take on a role (ie. blacksmith, farmer, market owner, etc.) and present a play to younger children within the school. Children can dress to fit their character and create background scenery.

History Websites• Buckeye Chronicles –This site contains valuable information for

educators, such as how Ohio got its nickname, what’s the state flower, and famous people and places.

• Hello Time Traveler –This is a great interactive site for kids! Kids can play games dealing with Ohio history, research our history, or look up things in the interactive Ohio encyclopedia.

• Ohio History Teacher Resources –This site provides educators with additional resources, field trip information, and lesson plans.

• Educational Television –This site offers educators a brief overview of educational television shows available for children’s viewing. There are also links to websites where you can gain more information.

• Ohio Fast Facts –Looking for some fun facts about the state of Ohio? This website offers50 short facts about the state of Ohio!

People in Societies Activities

1. Orville and Wilbur Wright• Read The Wright Brothers by Pamela D.

Edwards and My Brother’s Flying Machine, Wilbur, Orville, and Me by Jane Yolen

• Have students discuss what they learned after reading stories and then allow the children to make paper airplanes and fly them in the hallway. Have students record how many floor tiles their airplane flew for 3 different flights.

People in Societies Activities

2. What’s different?• Ask students to compare and contrast the

Wright Brothers’ plane to today’s planes. Record their responses on a Venn Diagram chart.

3. My Trip to the Moon with Neil!• After learning about Neil Armstrong, allow

students to write how they would feel if they were on the moon with Neil. (What would they do? What would be different? How would they act? Etc.)

People in Societies Activities

4. Who Am I?• After learning about famous Ohioans, have

students work in groups of 4-5 to describe a famous Ohioan. The child will describe the person until another group member can guess who the Ohioan is.

5. Concentration• Students will play concentration with pre-

made cards. The students will try to match the famous Ohioan with the corresponding image (i.e. Neil Armstrong- moon, etc.)

People in Societies Websites• Famous Ohioans

This website provides links so that you can research various famous Ohioans. It also has fun games to see how much you know about Ohioans.

• Wright Brothers Theme PageThis website has links to the Wright Brothers museums. It also has biographies of the brothers and teacher resources!

• Interested in teaching about the Wright Brothers?This website provides previously made class projects on the Wright Brothers. It also has a quiz about the brothers that you can take electronically!

People in Societies Websites

•For TeachersA website which offers lesson plans about flying and the Wright Brothers. The website also offers links to Wright Brothers and aviation websites.

•Children's Books LibraryThis website provides a list of books about Neil Armstrong. The list also gives a summary of the books and a recommended age for reading them.

Geography Activities

1. Treasure Hunt• Students will work in groups to use a

map of the state of Ohio to locate various interesting places (Cedar Point, Ohio River, Columbus Zoo, etc.).

2. How Did I Get Here?• Students will discover what places

(rivers, lakes, counties, etc.) the postcard traveled over to get to their current location.

Geography Activities

3. Making a Map• Students will work in groups to design a map of their

chosen place (school, classroom, playground, etc.)

4. “Find Me” BINGO• Students will locate various Ohio places by listening to

the directions. One student will be the “caller” and will make the actual statement (i.e. : “This is Ohio’s capital city and is located in the middle of the state.”

5. Where Was I Born?• Students will use a map to find the location of where

the 8 Ohio presidents were born. The students then need to find which president was born closest to where they were born.

Geography Websites

• Ohio's CountiesThis website has a clear map of Ohio’s counties.

• Social Studies Lesson PlansThis website has a number of social studies lesson plans available to access.

• More Social Studies IdeasOver 51 lesson ideas to see!

Geography Websites

• Ohio for KidsThis website provides facts about Ohio in a colorful, kid-friendly format! It also has print-outs available for teachers.

• Places to See in OhioLooking for a website which has all the places for children to see in Ohio? This website has links to tons of theme parks and zoos in Ohio!

Economics Activities1.Making the most of resources!

-Divide children into groups of 3 or 4. Have each group chose a material, for instance wood, corn, rocks, etc. How might this material be used. List as many uses as you can think of. How would our ancestors have used this material? How does this differ from the way we use it today?

Economics Activities2.Ohio Jobs

-Discuss the multitude of jobs that people take on in Ohio. Explain that all of these jobs did not always exist. Can the students think of any jobs that exist today that may not have been around when their grandparents were younger? Why are all of these jobs important to Ohio? Are jobs the same in every state? What jobs might people have in other states that we don’t have in Ohio? Why is this so?

Economics Activities3.History is Priceless!

-Discuss how things are bought today. Have people always used paper money and coins to receive goods or services? What types of things might people have used in the past as compensation? Have children make collages showing items that may have been used by our ancestors to obtain goods and services.

Economics Activities4.Supply and Demand

-Explain the concept of supply and demand to students. What types of items are in demand today? How do we supply all of these items? Why do we need these items? Are the things that are in demand today similar to those that our ancestors would have demanded? How would our ancestors have obtained all of the materials that they needed? Have children write a story about something that they feel would have been in high demand in Ohio 100 years ago. Why was this particular item so important to Ohio settlers?

Economics Activities5.Tough Decisions

-Resources were often scarce for early settlers in Ohio. Often times tough decisions had to be made on what would be purchased. Have children work in small groups. Have them pretend that is the late 1800’s. Compile a list of five items that they would purchase at the town store. Why are these items needed? Do they serve multiple purposes? What makes these items more important than others? Have each group share their choices and reasoning with the class.

• Ohio History Central –This site is an online encyclopedia. You can find information on anything that you would possibly want to know about the state of Ohio!

• Ohio History Teachers –This site offers lesson plans as well as links to the Ohio Academic Social Studies Content Standards.

• Economics for ECE-This site has literally thousands of lesson plans for K-6 educators. There is also a message board where you can post questions for other ECE teachers.

• Elementary Economics Lessons- Teachers can access lesson plans and worksheets through this site. The site provides tips for making economics a concept that youngsters can understand.

• KidsEcon-Posters that explain various economic

concepts in terms that kids can understand. A funand educational way to decorate your room!

Economics Websites

Government Activities

1. Elections/Voting– Discuss the candidates who are

running for a particular office and what their issues are. After everyone has a clear understanding, hold a mock election to discover who is the popular candidate in your classroom.

Government Activities

2. Qualifications-Brainstorm with your class about the qualifications that makes a good officer. These ideas can be displayed on a poster or mobile in the classroom.

Government Activities

3. Matching-Match a picture of a government official doing a his particular job to a job description. People to include: Mayor, President, Senator, etc.

Government Activities

4. Graphic Organizer- Design a graphic organizer to describe the different jobs of mayor, senator, president and then draw pictures of these people doing their job.

Government Activities

5. If I Were President…-Read “The Kid Who Ran for President” by Dan Gutman. After the book have the students write their own story about what they would do if they were the president for one day.

Government Websites• Proteacher-This site has wonderful lesson plan ideas in all

areas of the curriculum. It’s simple search makes it easy to locate thousands of resources.

• Education World--Known as the educators best friend, this site offers creative ways to teach government and how to make your lessons creative by integrating technology.

• PBS-This site not only offers historical background information for adults, but also for children. There are many lesson plans and activities for parents, teachers and children alike.

• ABC Teach-This site offers lesson plans and helpful tips in all areas of the curriculum all under one roof…Check it out!

• Smithsonian Education-This site is a wonderful resource for families, educators and students to research history in fun interesting ways. You can also buy wonderful social studies books and kits to help create a more interactive classroom environment.

Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities Activities

1. Voting-We can discuss how voting has a big impact on Ohio. We can even have a pretend voting activity.

2. Guest speaker-A policeman could come in and talk about citizens rights in Ohio.

Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities Activities

3. Ohio Patriotism Collage-Students will make a collage on pictures showing Ohio patriotism. We will then post them around the school to be viewed around voting time.

4. Research in Ohio-Students will research their rights and responsibilities for Ohio as a young person.

Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities Activities

5. Clean Up the School-Talk to the children about rights and responsiblities that each student has for our school. Tell the children that it is important to keep our school clean, because if our ancestors did not keep Ohio clean, we would not have the land we have now. We could walk around the school and pick up any trash with gloves on and place it in a bag. We could then talk about how irresponsible it is to litter and trash our school and the Earth.

Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities Websites

• Kids VotingThis website is to educate young people to

become good citizens and informed, lifelong voters.

• Global Youth Action NetworkThere mission is to facilitate youth

participation and intergenerational partnership in global decision-making; to support collaboration among diverse youth organizations; and to provide tools, resources, and recognitionfor positive youth action.

Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities Websites

• Stories in TimeThis site has a unit on the

United States flag. This incorporates states, communities, and the nation.

• ScholasticThis site contains lesson plans

on citizenship, civil rights, elections, and symbols.

Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities Websites

• The New York Times Learning NetworkThis website is a kids version on the New

York Times. It has things about patriotism, and about students rights. This would have activities for all sections of history.

Social Skills and Methods Activities

1. Fact/Fiction Flashcards-The children will have flashcards with

statements about the history of Ohio. Students must choose a card and decide if it is fact of fiction.

Social Skills and Methods Activities

2. State to State Pen pals-Students will write a letter to another student

in another state describing life in Ohio. This letter could include the type of food that is grown, the weather, the types of entertainment and the history of the state.

Social Skills and Methods Activities

3. Field Trip to Historical Society-The children will travel to a local historical

society to gain information. Upon returning to school they will share what they learned through class discussion or journal writings.

Social Skills and Methods Activities

4. Sequencing-The students will sequence the stages

of a Buckeye tree’s life, from planting to the production of the nuts.

Social Skills and Methods Activities

5. Problem Solving-Have the children pretend that they are

living on an Native Americans reservation. They will work together to identify a problem that the Native Americans in the Ohio areas may of encountered.

Social Skills and Methods Websites

•Social Studies for Kids- This site not only covers the history of the U.S., but also other countries. Children will be very interested in reviewing this history of certain holidays and reviewing books from other countries.•Across the Globe for Kids- This site allows you to travel across the globe and visit beautiful historical sites. Many historical texts are also broken down for children.•Great Sites for Great Kids- Social Studies -Another great site that contains information from states to trees. There are a lot of hyperlinks that send you to other wonderful sites.•Education for Kids- This site contains games that can be used for all curriculum areas in all grade levels.•The Kaboose Network- This site offers hundreds of downloads for children and adults. These downloads offer and interactive approach to learning social studies through games and on the web!