ENGAGE: Teaching the Social Studies Podcast
A bunch of social studies teachers sharing their thoughts, tips, tricks, resources, and ideas...while also doing some interviews with some amazing social studies teachers from throughout the United States.
Episodes
In this episode, Justin shares how slow reveal graphs, texts, and images have transformed engagement in his social studies classroom. By revealing information piece by piece, students are encouraged to observe closely, discuss what they notice, and think critically about what the data or image represents.
Looking for a quick engagement move you can use tomorrow? Justin shares his go-to dice routine—an adaptable strategy for reviewing concepts, checking understanding, and giving students a fun challenge. Whether you teach government, AP courses, or anything in between, you'll walk away with ideas you can plug into your classroom right away.
In this episode, Justin shares practical strategies for bringing global citizenship into the classroom, with a strong focus on human rights education. He outlines how foundational concepts like the Bill of Rights, natural rights, and the UN Declaration of Human Rights can be powerful tools for student inquiry and critical thinking. From comparing historical documents to creating their own list of rights, students engage in meaningf...
It’s review season, and Justin’s favorite time of year is in full swing! In this episode of ENGAGE, we dive into two tried-and-true strategies to get students fired up about reviewing content—The Race and Trivia Showdown. Learn how to turn your classroom into a competitive, high-energy review arena using nothing more than a good set of questions, some upbeat music, and a healthy dose of team spirit. Whether you’re teaching AP or ge...
Fresh off the Wisconsin Council for the Social Studies Conference in Madison, Justin and Alisha break down their biggest takeaways—from innovative teaching strategies to the power of professional development. They share engaging classroom activities, including gamified lessons inspired by Dungeons & Dragons and hands-on learning methods that bring history to life. Plus, they discuss how attending conferences fuels creativity, b...
In this episode of ENGAGE, Justin dives into using AI to create dynamic classroom simulations. From Model UN to government crisis scenarios, he shares how AI tools like ChatGPT can streamline the process, making simulations more interactive and adaptable. Learn how he designed a choose-your-own-adventure style UN Security Council simulation, where student decisions shape the evolving crisis. Plus, discover tips on leveraging AI t...
In this episode of Engage, Justin continues exploring civics education, focusing on political parties, elections, polling, and voter behavior. He shares engaging classroom strategies, including a political party jersey design project, a political socialization pie chart activity, and mock elections that simulate real voting experiences. Plus, he discusses polling analysis and debates on voter turnout, voter ID laws, and electio...
Join Justin as he dives into creative and engaging ways to teach civics, focusing on elections, political parties, and interest groups. From candy primaries to interest group speed dating, this episode is packed with interactive strategies to make government lessons come alive in your classroom. Stay tuned for part two, where Justin continues exploring the best ways to bring civics to life!
Previous CIVICS focused episodes:
In this episode of ENGAGE: Teaching the Social Studies, Justin delves into the art of fostering healthy debates and discussions in the classroom. Amid a polarized world dominated by divisive rhetoric and online insults, educators have the power to create spaces for thoughtful, respectful dialogue. Justin shares practical strategies for building classroom culture that values listening, empathy, and nuanced thinking. From icebreak...
In this episode of ENGAGE: Teaching the Social Studies, I share a quick, engaging strategy I recently tried in my classroom: the Tier List. This activity gets students ranking, debating, and discussing content in a way that’s fun and meaningful. Hear how it worked with my AP Government class and how it set the stage for deeper argumentative writing.
Looking for a new way to spark engagement? Tune in and give the Tier List a ...
In today’s polarized world, classrooms are often the frontline for navigating challenging conversations. How can educators create spaces where students feel safe to share, learn, and engage critically with diverse perspectives? In this episode, we dive into practical strategies for fostering civil discourse with John Snoad from Sphere Education.
Justin Glodowski dives into the power of competition in the classroom as a strategy to boost student engagement and active participation. Justin shares how he makes learning fun and interactive by incorporating competitive elements in everyday activities, from breakout rooms to quiz challenges and review games. He explains his approach to incentivizing students with unique prizes, including creative rewards like sandboxes and leade...
This episode of ENGAGE covers highlights from the hosts' summer travels and professional development experiences. Alisha shares about her time with the Founding Forward program, including a trip to Ellis Island and the Tenement Museum, as well as her immersive experience at the White House Historical Association Teacher Institute. Both hosts discuss their excitement about various professional development opportunities for educators...
Justin shares tips and strategies for teaching social studies in an interactive way during an election year. He discusses classroom environment changes, strategies for approaching the election, making the election more fun to follow for different high school age groups, and strategies for approaching AP US Government and Politics in an election year as well.
Summer has been so busy for Alisha and Justin that it took them a whole month to get this episode published. Today, they discuss their summer adventures, including Alisha's trip to Washington, DC with her middle school students, her professional development sessions at Founding Forward/Freedoms Foundation in Philadelphia and the prestigious White House History Teacher Institute. They also chat about the Sphere Summit in DC, highli...
In our third installment on civics education, we dive deep into the structures of government and the policy-making process. Join Justin as he shares innovative classroom activities, including simulations of Congress, creative visual representations of government types, and mini moot court cases. Discover effective strategies to engage students in understanding federalism, the legislative process, the Electoral College, and the powe...
Buckle up for a wild ride through review season mayhem! Justin turns pre-AP exam review into an all-out gameplay extravaganza, complete with leaderboards, calendars packed with mini-games, competitive board game battles, and short answer sprints set to classic 70s-90s rock.
SCOTUS Madness Bracket Example
Delve into the intricacies of Holocaust education with Justin on this episode of Engage. With invaluable resources and innovative teaching methods, this episode equips educators with the tools to engage students deeply in understanding the Holocaust's profound impact and enduring lessons.
Teaching about pre-Holocaust genocide/atrocities from the Herero to the Holodomor
Join us as we delve into the exciting world of integrating AI tools and strategies into social studies classrooms. Discover how these innovative resources can enhance engagement, critical thinking, and historical inquiry for students of all levels. Learn how educators can leverage AI to transform their teaching and create dynamic learning experiences.
Resources:
Today’s topic focuses, once again, on civics with a discussion of how Justin approaches teaching civil liberties, civil rights, and citizenship in his classroom. Resources described in the video can be found below. If you missed the last episode on Navigating Civic Education, find it here for Apple listeners or here for everyone else.
Street Law Court Case Descriptions
Popular Podcasts
Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.