[teachergranma]

I am teaching 7th and 8th grade Social Studies next year. Our books are very old. My children used them when they were in 7th and 8th and they have been out of school for several years now. I was wondering what text books you use and if you like them. Are there lessons that I can get on ipads or the computer for thses classes. I am new to this. I have been teaching elementary the last 18 years. Please make suggestions to help me make this a smooth transition. Thanks to all.

[Rockguykev]

What are you looking for in a textbook?

I personally hate our textbook (Holt's Medieval to Early Modern Times) because it has no soul or challenge. Other teachers loved it because it has no soul or challenge (and had questions for students to answer at the end of each section.)

[teachergranma]

I am not sure what to look for in a textbook for Jr JHigh students. It has to be readable but it needs to motivate and inspire them to become a good citizen. I don't know if that makes sense. I know I will need to cover early American history, government, economics, and some US geography. I want to do projects and I want the students to do research and learn not just spoon feed them from a book. There is so much more to learn. I guess I just want the book as a supplement and guide. I hope this makes sense. I am new to this. In elementary we didn't use texts except for science and math.
We used big books for Social studies. I supplemented a lot with other things I found to make the lessons more interesting, I think this may be what I need to do next year too.

[Rockguykev]

In that case I highly recommend History Alive. The text is laid out in a very modular fashion and, if you get the ancillary materials, has some wonderful hands-on activities.

[mrsb12247]

I would also second History Alive. We don't have a common textbook in 7th grade, and as a result, everyone kind of picks and chooses from a variety of place; but i really like History Alive's thematic (as opposed to strictly chronological) approach. The series also come with some very interactive lesson ideas; and lots of good supplementary materials, including color transparencies, digital copies, CDs of sound and music clips, etc... Overall, I like the text because the readability is a bit on the easy side (good for new, non-fiction information).

[teachergranma]

Thanks to both of you that suggested this. I plan to look into it. I am not sure we will get anything for next year but I would think that soon we should get something. Tomorrow is my last day in the elementary. I hope I am ready for this move.