Having modified lessons to use in the classroom has become a must-have in today’s education climate. Classrooms have students at all different levels with various individual needs that we must accommodate.
It can be challenging to have students work at different levels, but there is a way to do it that benefits both teachers and students.
Why Teachers Need Modified Social Studies Lessons
Modified social studies lessons allow teachers to engage all students constructively.
Modified lessons help teachers instruct students working below grade level (such as IEP, ELL, and MLL students) and offer alternate activities and instruction that specifically meet their needs and comprehension level. All 2 Peas and a Dog modified units are based on the regular units for each specified grade level.
It’s important that students working with modified lessons feel included in classroom instruction. When developing these resources, as many similar activities as possible are included. This allows modified learners to work on the same material as their peers while accessing material more suited to their academic level.
Differentiated Instruction
Modified social studies lessons also allow teachers to provide differentiated instruction to those students who may need a change in the curriculum. This is not only for students working below grade level or those with an IEP, but it can also include English Language Learners.
Differentiated lessons will help build confidence in students who require modified social studies lessons since they won’t be (and do not need to be) struggling with the regular material. Instead, by using material crafted specifically to meet them where they are, these learners can gain confidence in their ability to understand the material and complete the tasks provided.
It’s a win for students and teachers who can now have more successful students.
Joining the Class
One key aspect of using modified social studies lessons is allowing your modified learners to participate in regular class learning and activities. These resources are specifically tailored to allow this as much as possible because it’s so important that kids feel included and part of the group. No one wants to be singled out.
When working on activities, try to put modified and regular learners together at least some of the time. You want a classroom that is working together, where everyone feels valued and has something to offer.
One great activity that allows for this (and lets students have some fun) is a digital escape room.
The Canada Digital Escape Room and the Prime Ministers of Canada Digital Escape Room are both engaging and fun activities you can use in your social studies classroom.
This Canada-Themed Digital Escape Room provides students with the opportunity to work independently or with their peers to solve 10 Canada-themed challenges. Students must solve these required challenges to “escape” from the train that they have accidentally gotten locked in. This Canada-Themed Digital Escape Room is available at Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD.
The Prime Ministers of Canada Digital Escape Room allows students to work independently or with their peers to solve 11 challenges related to Canadian Prime Ministers. Students must solve the required challenges to “escape” the museum room they accidentally got locked in. Participants will use their reading and listening comprehension skills as well as their knowledge about Canada to solve each challenge. This Prime Ministers of Canada Digital Escape Room is available at Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD.
You can find all 2 Peas and a Dog digital escape rooms on Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD.
Having all students work together allows for sharing ideas and feeling included. It promotes acceptance by showing students that it’s okay for some students to need some changes in the lesson plan.
Grade 6/7 Modified Social Studies Unit
This Grade 6/7 Modified Social Studies Unit provides everything you need for a full year of lessons, allowing you to merge all levels of learners in your classroom easily. These modified social studies lessons are based on the regular grade level units but have been specifically tailored for students working below grade level.
Teachers will receive 104 engaging modified social studies lessons, each aligning with a critical concept in the Ontario Social Studies Curriculum. Each lesson has been reworked to reduce reading and writing expectations significantly.
These lessons will help teachers to immerse their modified Grade 6/7 students in learning about key concepts in the Grade 6 and 7 Social Studies, History, and Geography curriculums.
The Grade 6/7 Modified Social Studies Unit is available at Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD.
Grade 6/7 Social Studies Modified Bundle Overview:
- 104 Engaging Modified Social Studies Lessons: Immerse your students in enthralling learning experiences that ignite their curiosity across both the Strand A and Strand B units.
- MP3 Audio Files: Elevate student learning and accessibility with audio recordings of the student readings.
- Easy-to-Use Lesson Plans: Experience a seamless and enriching educational journey with easy-to-follow daily lesson plans, saving precious preparation time.
- Self-Marking Google Forms: Benefit from the efficiency of self-marking Google Forms, automating the assessment process and gaining quick insights into your students’ progress.
- Graphic Organizers: Empower your students with graphic organizers that facilitate information organization, making complex concepts more accessible and memorable.
- Answer Keys: Optimize your grading process with readily available answer keys for assessments and activities.
- Print and Digital Formats: Embrace the convenience of accessing materials in print and digital formats.
Curriculum Alignment:
- Ontario Social Studies Curriculum 2023 Grade 6 Strand A and B
- Ontario History Curriculum 2023 Grade 7 Strand A and B
- Ontario Geography Curriculum 2023 Grade 7 Strand A and B
Grade 6 Social Studies Lesson Overview & Modifications
Strand A
1. Building Vocabulary & Map Creation – (Reading + Map Creation)
2. What Shapes Our Canadian Identity? – (Reading + Cut & Match Activity)
3. Canadian Identity: Fundamentals – (Reading + Cut & Match Activity)
4. Canadian Identity: Indigenous Peoples – (Reading + Fill in the Blanks Activity)
5. Canadian Identity: Settler Communities – (Reading + Cut & Match Activity)
6. Canadian Identity: Inclusiveness – (Reading + Cut & Match Activity)
7. Historical Perspectives: Communities Inquiry – (Guided Inquiry Activities)
8. Traditional Territories – (Graphic Organizer)
9. Migration Reasons – (Reading + Cut & Match and Fill in the Blanks Activities)
10. Settler Life in Canada – (Reading + Interactive Notes)
11. Economic Development – (Reading + Fill in the Blanks Activities and Cut & Match)
12. Creation of Nunavut, Nunavik, and Nunatsiavut – (Reading + Fill in the Blank)
13A. Community Developments – (Reading + Primary Source Analysis)
13B. Community Developments – (Reading + Timeline Activity)
14. Interactions Between Settler Communities – (Reading + Graphic Organizer)
15. Differences Between Communities – (Reading + True/False Questions)
16. How Did We Get Here Assignment? – (Guided Slideshow Creation)
Strand B
1. Introduction: Key Vocabulary (QR Code Vocabulary)
2. Canadian Government and Global Interactions (Reading + Cut & Match Activity)
3A. International Accords and Organizations (Video + Cut & Match Activity)
3B. International Accords and Organizations (Video + Quiz)
3C. International Accords and Organizations (Video + Fill in the Blanks Activity)
4. Canada’s Role in International Programs (Reading + Sorting Activity)
5. Canada’s Role in International Non-Government Organizations (Reading + Quiz)
6. Canada’s Crisis Response: H1N1 and Ebola (Reading + Cut & Match Activity)
7A. Canada’s Role in International Peace (Guided Inquiry Activities)
7B. Canada’s Role in International Peace (Timeline Activity & Videos)
8. Canada’s Global Relationships (Reading, Graphic Organizer & Map Activity)
9. Canada’s Trading Partners (Tally Activity, Reading and Multiple Choice)
10. Canada’s Economy (Reading, Multiple Choice and Cut & Match)
11. Environmental Issues: Overfishing (Reading + Cut & Match)
12A. Environmental Issues: Invasive Species (Reading, True/False Questions & Folding Notes)
12B. Environmental Issues: Canada’s Impact (Reading & Newspaper Article)
13. Plastics in the Ocean Inquiry (Guided Inquiry)
Grade 7 History Lesson Overview & Modifications
Strand A
Intro – Why Study History? (Reading, Cut & Match)
1. Important Events Sorting Activity (Reading, Cut & Match)
2. Historica Minutes (Video, Fill in the Blanks)
3A. Canadian Settlement Objects Activity (Matching)
3B. Haudenosaunee, Inuit and Métis (Reading, True/False)
4. The Map of New France 1700 (Compare and Contrast)
5A. The Creation of New France (Reading, Fill in the Blanks)
5B. Medical Care in the 1700s (Reading, Cut & Match)
6. New France Vocabulary (QR Code Scavenger Hunt)
7. Historical Figures Assignment (Poster or Slideshow Creation)
8. Fur Trade Inquiry Assignment (Multimedia, True/False)
9. Mid-Unit Quiz (Multiple Choice, Short Answer)
10A. The Treaty of Utrecht 1713 (Fill in the Blanks)
10B. The Treaties (Reading, Cut and Paste)
11. Image Analysis & The Acadians (True/False)
12. Seven Years’ War (Readings, Newspaper Article)
13. The Establishment of British Rule (Reading, Folding Notes)
14. The American Revolution (Videos, Cut and Paste)
15. Black Loyalists Inquiry (Videos, Cut and Paste)
16. The Impact of the Loyalists’ Migration on the Mississaugas of the Credit Nation (Reading, Note-Taking Graphic Organizer)
17. The Constitution Act of 1791 (Reading, Cut and Match)
Strand B
1. Important Events (Reading/Cut & Match)
2. Métis & Settler Relations (Reading/True/False)
3. War of 1812 (Videos/Fill in the Blanks)
4. War of 1812 Overview (Reading/Interactive Notes)
5. Battle of Queenston Image Analysis (Image Analysis)
6. War of 1812 Inquiry (Structured Inquiry)
7. War of 1812 Newspaper Article (Fill in the Blanks)
8. Results of the War of 1812 (Reading/Cut & Match)
9. Mackinac and Drummond Islands (Reading/Cut & Match)
10. Mid-Unit Quiz (Quiz)
11. A Question of Identity: War of 1812 (Movie)
12. Life in Lower Canada (Reading/Cut & Match)
13. Lower Canada Government Structure (Reading/Cut & Match)
14. Château Clique (Reading/Fill in the Blanks)
15. The Rebellions in Lower Canada (Reading/Interactive Notes)
16. Life in Upper Canada (Reading/Colour Coding)
17. Rebellion in Upper Canada (Reading/Interactive Notes)
18. Rebellions Quiz (Quiz)
19. Legal Issues (Reading, True or False, Timeline, Opinion Writing)
20. Politics in British North America (Reading/Interactive Notes)
21. British – Indigenous Treaties (Reading, Fill in the Blanks, True False)
22. Summative Task (Poster)
Grade 7 Geography Lesson Overview & Modifications
Strand A
1. Mapping Skills Review & Map of Canada (Cut & Match, Numbered Map)
2. What is Geography (Reading, Cut & Match)
3. Physical Characteristics of Landforms (Reading, Cut & Match)
4. Changes to Landforms (Reading, Sequencing)
5. Quiz (Matching, Fill in the Blanks)
6. Physical Characteristics of Water Systems (Label a Diagram, Create an Image)
7. Changes to Water Systems Inquiry (True or False)
8. Characteristics of Climate Regions (Photo Inquiry, Cut and Match)
9. Climate Change Factors (Reading, Cut and Match)
10. Natural Vegetations Regions (Fill in the Blanks)
11. Changes to Natural Vegetation Regions (Reading, Cut and Match)
12. Invasive Species Assignment (Poster or Slideshow Creation)
13. Challenges and Opportunities Presented by Physical Environments (Reading, Graphic Organizer)
Strand B
Introduction: Canada: A Land of Natural Resources (Cut and Match & Journal Entry)
1. Natural Resources and Manufactured Goods (Reading & Cut and Match)
2. Natural Resources in Canada (Reading & Cut and Match)
3. Natural Resources in the World (Reading & Sorting)
4. Needs vs. Wants (Reading & Sorting)
5. Natural Resource Types (Reading, Writing, Sort & Match)
6. Natural Resources Quiz
7. Natural Resource Perspectives (Modified Inquiry)
8. Current Events (Summarizing Skills)
9. Mining Techniques (Reading & Fill in the Blanks)
10. Forestry Techniques (Pictorial Sequencing Assignment)
11. Natural Resource Extraction (Modified Inquiry)
12. Eco-Friendly Energy (Reading & True or False)
13. Personal Plan of Action (Personal Monitoring Project
Do you have students working at grade level?
Check out this comprehensive Grade 6/7 Social Studies Bundle Ontario Curriculum on Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD.
Social Studies Sub-Plans
Are you in need of some engaging go-to sub plans? Why not try these lessons that students will love:
- Parliament Hill Cat Colony – Buy Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD
- The Avro Arrow – Buy Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD
- Significant Moments – Buy Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD
- All About Canada Alphabet Activity – Buy Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD
- Parliament Hill – Buy Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD
- Prime Ministers of Canada Research Assignment – Buy Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD
Or, for a complete set of sub plans to add to your social studies sub plan binder, grab this Canadian History Sub Plans Bundle of 6 different sub plan topics and activities on Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD.
Using Grade 6/7 modified social studies lessons in the classroom helps students who may otherwise struggle to keep pace with standard materials. By accommodating different learning needs, we create an inclusive environment where every student can actively participate and feel valued.
With resources like these modified social studies lessons, we can build supportive and successful learning communities for all students.
The Grade 6/7 Modified Social Studies Unit is available at Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD.
Additional Resources:
- Best Strategies For Teaching Split-Grade Classes
- 7 Sanity-Saving Strategies for Teaching Split Grades
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