I taught for 33 years and I have my MST in the teaching of Social Studies. In 1988, I was awarded the Elementary Social Studies Classroom Teacher of the Year Award from both the New York State Council for the Social Studies and the National Council for the Social Studies. My shop contains mostly social studies materials including web quests, and reader's theater scripts on famous people in history, science and literature.
I taught for 33 years and I have my MST in the teaching of Social Studies. In 1988, I was awarded the Elementary Social Studies Classroom Teacher of the Year Award from both the New York State Council for the Social Studies and the National Council for the Social Studies. My shop contains mostly social studies materials including web quests, and reader's theater scripts on famous people in history, science and literature.
A Ms.Bie Ograffee Reader’s Theater Script, an interview with Love Brewster, a Pilgrim of Plymouth Colony.Love was an actual member of the 102 Pilgrims that came to America. He was about nine years old. The play includes info on Mayflower, first winter and Thanksgiving feast. Fun facts,Comprehension questions, extension activities, links.
This mini-unit on Prehistoric cultures will assist the classroom teacher in presenting this topic of history to students.In addition to an overview and notes, lots of additional resources and activities are included. 12 question web quest,too! Did you know that historians say the needle was a tremendous advance for early man?Enabled clothes to be more form fitting to protect from winter cold!
Show kids that even chewing gum has a history with this fun/informative web quest. There are 11 web questions, a Did You Know? section, comprehension questions, a teacher page with directions, extension activities and the key.Great for a Friday, day before a vacation or just when you’d like to show kids that history is all around us!
India in Focus,is a web quest, with additional fun facts and extension activities. Did you know that it was ancient India which gave the world the idea of the zero? The game Chutes and Ladders comes from an Indian board game. More people speak English in India than in the United States? Skills include:reading for information and using research/computer skills.
My Country in Focus series, highlights a country with a web quest, some fun facts and some extension activities.Skills include:reading for information and using research/computer skills. Check out ICELAND!
Also have Switzerland, India, Greece, China and Russia in this series…
Yes…that’s me and a “friend” I met while visiting Iceland!
Do your students ask why more women aren’t mentioned in history books?This web quest contains informational text on 15 women who have made contributions to our world. Elizabeth Blackwell,Clara Barton,Amelia Earhart,Susan B Anthony,Sally Ride,Rosa Parks,Jane Goodall,Eleanor Roosevelt,Marie Curie and Sacagawea.Extension links/activities,key. Reading for info research/computer skills. Great for any time of the year or specifically during March(Women’s History Month).
This webquest of 10 questions will enable young people to learn lots of information on the country of Russia! Extension activities, resources, fun facts,key. Skills include:reading for information and using research/computer skills.
Covering the Ancient Greeks? This unit on Ancient Greece includes notes, lots of activities and resources I used with my students. Did you know that the ancient Greeks played with a yo-yo about 3000 years ago or that in the city of Athens, ancient Greeks sold snow cones that were mixed with honey and fruit?Check out my Let’s Explore the Ancient Greeks:
Wish to to practice oral reading fluency in Language Arts and want a biographical play?Need a quick fun Friday or day before a vacation activity? Try this fun/informative biographical play based on the Mark Goodson Production To Tell the Truth Game Show. Grades 4 and up.Comprehension questions, discussion questions and extension activities are included, too.
I also have a play on Abraham Lincoln and an internet activity on Abraham Lincoln.
The region of the Middle East is in the news. Introduce your students to this region of the world with this informative webquest! Additionally, I have included several extension activities.It would be a great one day activity for before a vacation or for an enrichment activity or for a unit of study on this part of the world.
There are 15 webquestions.
Did you know that people actually thought that the airplane would have no real purpose? Less than 10 people showed up that morning to see the attempt! Using this webquest students will learn about the Wright Brothers and their first flight. Extension activities,additional links and key.
In 2021, Perseverance, the space craft that landed on Mars, carried a piece of fabric from the Wright Brothers’ airplane. In 2021, Ingenuity, a helicopter, took the first powered flight on another planet(by people of Earth), flying 9 ft. above the surface of Mars. In memory of their historic flight, the Mars flight was called the “ Wright Brothers’ moment”
Learn about the country of Brazil with this informational web quest. There is also a map skill activity and fun facts. Additionally, there is a teacher page with extension activities and additional links.
Although the map skill/webquest can be completed in one session, if you opt to do the extension activity, additional days could be used.
Use this Reader’s Theater Script to learn about our 3rd President, Thomas Jefferson. Using the format of my Ms. Bie Ografee Talk Show Series, Jefferson is a guest on the show and audience members ask questions of her guest, Thomas Jefferson. In addition to lots of interesting information, there is a Did You Know? section, comprehension questions and a teacher page with extension activities, additional links and the key. The resource can be a one day activity or over several days if you decide to do some of the activities.
1. You may be interested in this Reading Activity on Thomas Jefferson and the Mammoth Cheese:Thomas Jefferson and the Mammoth Cheese
2. You may be interested in this web quest on the Library of Congress: Library of Congress, A Webquet on our Nation’s Library
3. You may be interested in this web quest on the Lewis and Clark Expedition:Lewis and Clark, A Webquest on the Famous Expedition
Other plays in the Ms. Bie Ografee’s Talk Show Series:
Thomas Edison, George Washington Carver,Marie Curie, A Female Spy during the Revolutionary War(Culper Spy Ring), Jacques Cousteau,Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Sacagawea, Sequoia, Michelangelo, DaVinci, Tuskegee Airmen, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Blackwell, Interview with Simon-victim of the Black Death,William Shakespeare, Love Brewster(one of the Pilgrims on the Mayflower), interview with McSean, a leprechaun, interview with Sarsaparilla,a groundhog.More to be added…
Students have always asked me…“Why do we have to learn this stuff about ancient Greeks or Middle Ages?” My answer-much of what we have today was because of things developed by people that lived long ago including, musical notation, counting based on 60, 7 day week,pencils, soap, toilet paper and more)
This reading activity shares with kids how the pencil they are using, the writing system they are using, the eyeglasses they are wearing are just some of the many things we have today thanks to previous cultures of the past. I’ve included several comprehension questions and two extension activities.
Great for a beginning of the year reading activity.
Have students learn about Ramses the Great, pharaoh of ancient Egypt with this reading passage. Additional, there are several Did You Know? facts and comprehension questions. The teacher page gives additional links and the key. This could be used as a homework assignment, enrichment or as a bell ringer activity during a study on the area of Ancient Egypt.
This is part of my new series(LET’S MEET…) of short biographies in ancient History. I am currently adding more titles including Hammurabi and Hatshepsut.
Check out these resources:
1. Covering ancient Egypt? I taught ancient Egypt for 32 years and would love to share some my notes, activities and resources I used with my students. There is also a 9 question webquest: Egypt: Unit of Study
2. Play on King Tut(Lots of information on mummies and the most famous mummy of all!) King Tut: A Reader’s Theater Script
3. Review activity: Mystery Message solved using key vocabulary words about Egypt: Egyptian Secret Message
4. Mummies aren’t just found in ancient Egyptian culture. Mummies have been found all over the world! In fact, the oldest man-made mummies are found in the country of Chile! Mummies can be naturally created or man-made. This web quest includes the different types of mummies and has 12 web questions including information on Bog Mummies such as Tollund Man, the Inca Mummies,the Taklamakan Desert Mummies of China, Otzi, the frozen mummy, the Chinchorro Mummies of Chile, the Egyptian mummies… and more. There are comprehension questions, a Did You Know? section, a teacher section with extension activities, additional links and the key. Great for a Friday activity, at Halloween time, or if you are studying ancient Egypt.
MUMMIES: A Webquest
5. Let’ Meet…Hatshepsut, A Reading Passage.With this biographical reading passage, students will learn about the first female Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. There is a Did You Know? section, comprehension questions and a teacher page with extensions and links.Hatshepsut: A Reading Passage
Kids will have fun learning some very cool facts about pumpkins. Another record breaking pumpkin was grown for 2018! Possible Interactive Notebook Activity. Great for a fall activity. THIS resource has been updated for 2018. Download the newest version.
Want a fun activity to review vocabulary terms for a unit on ancient ancient Mesopotamia? Looking for an enrichment activity in history? Try my Ancient Mesopotamia Puzzler activity. The activity involves students working individually or in groups to review vocabulary terms on Mesopotamia. Then,a following direction activity is next where students place letters from the different terms into boxes found at the end of the activity page. Once all the boxes are filled, a "secret message" about Mesopotamia is revealed! The teacher page includes additional information to share about the "secret message". If you prefer to offer a vocabulary box, I have included this as well.
Check out these resource:
Mesopotamia, means “Land between Two Rivers”.This area is called the cradle of civilization and is where archaeologists have found the remains of the oldest historic people(dating back around 3000BC)People called the Sumerians, Babylonians, Chaldeans, Akkadians and Assyrians, all called the region of Mesopotamia home. These people left behind many ideas which we still have in our world today. This unit of study includes notes, map work, a webquest, activities and resources to help you teach your students about the people of Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia, First Historic People
Check out this fun/informative Reader's Theater Script on Hammurabi, one of the greatest lawmakers in history. Great for reading for purpose and developing reading fluency. The play includes comprehension questions, Did You Know Fun Facts, a teachers's page with extension activities and links. Interviews with Ancient History(Book of 20 biographical plays on famous people in ancient history)
Check out my resource on the Phoenicians! You may find this resource helpful:
Let's Learn about the Phoenicians!
November is Thanksgiving time and most of us will be celebrating with a turkey dinner. Did you know that the Native American Indians were raising turkey as far back as 1000 A.D. ? Did you know that the Aztecs, of Mexico, were raising turkeys even earlier, about 200 B.C. ? Twenty Factoids, extension activities: FREE!
Great for an Interactive Notebook Activity. Have students do some of the extension activities.
Covering Black History Month? Check out these resources:
• Check out my twelve fact-packed Black History Month Webquest/Extension Activities:
Check out my Reader’s Theater Script on Bessie Coleman:
Check out my fact-packed Webquest on Martin Luther King/Extension Activities:
Check out my Reader’s Theater Script on Harriet Tubman:
Check out my Reader’s Theater Script on Rose Parks:
Check out my web quest on First Lady Michelle Obama:
