ThinkCERCA offers a wide variety of Georgia Standards of Excellence-aligned lessons that can easily integrate into your curriculum. These lessons include differentiated sets of applied writing lessons as well as direct instruction lessons to introduce or review key, subject-specific literacy concepts with your students. These lessons provide great support for students preparing for the Georgia Milestones assessments. The following social studies sets and lessons are organized by discipline for quick inclusion into units and address a key question for collaborative discussion and debate:
Sign up for a ThinkCERCA account to view these lessons >>
Discipline: U.S. History
Differentiated lesson sets (CERCA Sets) and suggested direct instruction lesson pairings (Minilessons) for teaching standards-aligned key skills and concepts Jamestown: What actions and events shaped the progress of Jamestown? (LRH3, LWHST2)
- Suggested Pairing: Thinking Like a Historian (LRH1)
Paul Revere and the Revolutionary War: What does the story of Paul Revere's ride reveal about the way history is remembered? (LRH8, LWHST1)
- Suggested Pairing: Thinking Like a Historian (LRH2)
The U.S. Constitution: How do certain elements of the United States Constitution reflect the issues faced by the new nation? (LRH5, LWHST2)
- Suggested Pairing: Organization and Structure (LRH5)
The Electoral College: Should we continue to use the Electoral College as part of the process of electing a president in the United States? (LRH4, LWHST1)
- Suggested Pairing: Writing about Social Studies (LWHST1)
Struggle of a New Nation: What should citizens do when they feel their government is not acting in their best interest? (LRH1, LWHST1)
- Suggested Pairing: Reasoning (ELAGSERI8)
Westward Expansion: How did the westward expansion of the United States affect both the white American pioneers and the Native Americans? (LRH6, LWHST1)
- Suggested Pairing: Multiple Perspectives (ELAGSERI1)
Economic Strategies in the Civil War: What role did economics play in the outcome of the Civil War? (LRH9, LWHST1)
- Suggested Pairing: Reading Visual Sources (LRH7)
Time in the Industrial Revolution: How did the changing nature of work during the Industrial Revolution create a changing concept of time for businesses and workers? (LRH1, LWHST1)
- Suggested Pairing: Explicit and Inferred Information (ELAGSERI1)
Immigration through Ellis Island: How did individuals' experiences at Ellis Island both affect their lives and reflect the changes taking place in the United States at the time? (LRH8, LWHST1)
- Suggested Pairing: Multiple Perspectives (ELAGSERI6)
Progressive Era Child Labor: What challenges did advocates for child labor laws face during the Progressive Era in the United States? (LRH9, LWHST1)
- Suggested Pairing: Multiple Perspectives (ELAGSERI6)
The Great Depression: Which of the proposed or attempted solutions to the Great Depression was most effective? (LRH7, LWHST1)
- Suggested Pairing: Reading Visual Sources (LRH7)
Voting Rights Act: What strategies were most effective in the struggle to pass the Voting Rights Act? (LRH3, LWHST1)
- Suggested Pairing: Summarizing (ELAGSERI2)
Women in War: What are the opportunities and challenges of women fighting in combat? (LRH5, LWHST1)
- Suggested Pairing: Organization and Structure (ELAGSERI5)
Supreme Court Decisions: Free Speech: What evidence and reasoning has the Supreme Court used to protect or deny an individual's right to free speech? (LRH8, LWHST1)
- Suggested Pairing: Reasoning (ELAGSERI8)
Technology and the Fourth Amendment: How does the 4th Amendment protect our rights even as technology changes? (LRH1, LWHST1)
- Suggested Pairing: Reasoning (ELAGSERI8)
Discipline: World History
Differentiated lesson sets (CERCA Sets) and suggested direct instruction lesson pairings (Minilessons) for teaching standards-aligned key skills and concepts The Art and Architecture of Ancient Greece: What values and beliefs of ancient Greek culture are reflected in its art and architecture? (LRH7, LWHST2)
- Suggested Pairing: Reading Visual Sources (LRH7)
Afterlife in Ancient Egypt: How did the ancient Egyptians’ beliefs about an afterlife affect their everyday lives and their burial practices? (LRH2, LWHST1)
- Suggested Pairing: Central Ideas (ELAGSERI2)
Ancient Maya: How did the ancient Mayans interact with the geography and the peoples around them? (LRH3, LWHST2)
- Suggested Pairing: Making Connections within Texts (ELAGSERI3)
The Black Death: What were the short- and long-term effects of the Black Death on European societies? (LRH2, LWHST1)
- Suggested Pairing: Summarizing (ELAGSERI2)
The Art of the Renaissance: How did people's changing perceptions of their place in the world during the Renaissance affect the art they created? (LRH9, LWHST1)
- Suggested Pairing: Reading Visual Sources (LRH7)
Christopher Columbus: What were the causes and effects of Columbus's voyage to the New World in 1492? (LRH1, LWHST1)
- Suggested Pairing: Thinking Like a Historian (LRH1)
Thomas Paine and the Philosophy of Revolutions: How did the writings of Thomas Paine influence both the American and French Revolutions? (LRH3, LWHST1)
- Suggested Pairing: Connections Within a Text (ELAGSERI3)
Societal Hierarchies: How did the early Japanese, Chinese, and Korean peoples organize their societies? (LRH4, LWHST2)
- Suggested Pairing: Words and Details (ELAGSERI4)
The Transatlantic Slave Trade: What were the experiences of enslaved people in the transatlantic slave trade? (LRH1, LWHST2)
- Suggested Pairing: Evidence (ELAGSERI1)
Mahatma Gandhi: How did Gandhi encourage nonviolence throughout the world through his writings? (LRH1, LWHST1)
- Suggested Pairing: Primary Source Documents (LRH2)
World War II: How prepared was the United States to fight World War II on two fronts? (LRH3, LWHST2)
- Suggested Pairing: Connections within a Text (ELAGSERI3)
Discipline: Civics
Differentiated lesson sets (CERCA Sets) and suggested direct instruction lesson pairings (Minilessons) for teaching standards-aligned key skills and concepts Crime Prevention: What are the benefits and possible drawbacks of various approaches to crime prevention? (LRH6, LWHST1)
- Suggested Pairing: Multiple Perspectives (ELAGSERI6)
Voting: Should the United States consider modifying the way citizens elect their leaders? (LRH1, LWHST1)
- Suggested Pairing: Writing about Social Studies (LWHST1)
Modern Protest: What is the most effective way to organize a protest? (LRH1, LWHST2)
- Suggested Pairing: Claim (ELAGSERI2)
Discipline: Economics
Differentiated lesson sets (CERCA Sets) and suggested direct instruction lesson pairings (Minilessons) for teaching standards-aligned key skills and concepts. Value: How do cultures assign value to goods and currencies? (LRH3, LWHST2)
- Suggested Pairing: Writing about Social Studies (LWHST1)
Economic Disasters: What factors lead to economic disaster? (LRH4, LWHST2)
- Suggested Pairing: Words and Details (ELAGSERI4)
Hydroelectric Power: What is the most important factor to consider when building dams for hydroelectric power? (LRH9, LWHST1)
- Suggested Pairing: Connections within a Text (ELAGSERI3)