Key Decisions in History Template | Problem Solving Activity

Put kids in the driver seat of history! These activities are really game changers in the classroom and sure to get kids excited about learning history! Rather than just see history as 'what happened' this activity allows students to think about key events and pivotal decisions that presidents, individual citizens, or activists make that change the course of history. This could work from 5-12 grade. Your grades would need more guided support.  

The template guides students through the decision making process, step by step to support critical thinking and careful consideration of the issue at hand. Rather than simply stating 'what would you do' and getting superficial or simple answers that students are not really invested in, this will make history come alive by really getting students to invested in the outcome!

INCLUDED are two different templates- one is specifically for presidents and includes questions like 'what are your constitutional limitations' and 'how can you ensure voters and American support this decision' to get students to understand the many things that constrain and influence presidents. It can be for every unit you teach- any major decision a president made and there are many examples given in the 'how to' page. The other template is for world leaders who are not limited by constitutions or public opinion (as much), ordinary citizens, or activist leaders like Gandhi for world history or civil rights leaders like Rosa Parks or John Lewis for US history. This template can be used for so many lessons - from merchants on the silk road (should you travel a dangerous pass to make more money on goods), to abolitionists in the 1850s (how will you go about emancipating enslaved peoples or raising awareness?), to John Smith at Jamestown and how you will ensure the survival and profitability of the Jamestown settlement.

This could be a great weekly activity that kids would look forward to and will make history exciting for students! "Key Decisions Fridays" sounds great to me :)

Check out the previews on how it works!