History's Mysteries

Virtual Teaching Tips

All History's Mysteries materials are designed for classroom and virtual teaching! All of our resources are usable in traditional, hybrid and virtual classroom. We have intentionally given you access to several versions of our materials in Google format so you can adapt and change them to meet your classroom needs! The narrated slideshows will be helpful this coming year as it will be difficult to speak with a mask on. The narration does the work for you!

Please use the narrated slide shows for guidance in understanding the lesson plan, sequence and narrative. Watching the narrated slideshow on the main page will help you prepare to deliver the lesson.

Please note the following:

1. Slideshows: In the virtual slideshows on each lesson page, most of the recordings available in the narrated slide show have been redacted and replaced with static slides. Instructions have been changed to align with full class virtual instruction versus face-to-face instruction (e.g. "turn and talk" replaced with "share or chat"). Slideshows are intended to be used with Teacher Instructions (either live or pre-recorded), but are not designed for and therefore should not be directly assigned for independent learning.

2. Handouts: Go to each lesson to find student handouts. All of the handouts on the lesson pages have been adapted, where possible, to be used online by providing text boxes that students can type into directly. Unlike the slideshows, handouts could be sent to students virtually and used as independent learning after the lesson has been delivered, at the discretion of the teacher. Please note that some of the handouts have answer keys. If you are pushing the assignment to student virtually, you should make a copy and delete the answer key before distributing.

3. Group and Partner Activities: Many of the small activities in the mysteries suggest best practices like "turn and talk" and small group work. We recognize that this might not be possible during the Covid-19 crisis. Therefore, it is important to give your students explicit instructions about what to do at those points.