Where students and teachers thrive
Empowering Teachers, Engaging Students
Active Classroom was created to transform social studies into active, meaningful learning that builds critical thinking, disciplinary literacy, and real-world skills. By combining curated, standards-aligned resources with flexible tools and built-in support, it empowers teachers to teach creatively and confidently while helping students take ownership of their learning to thrive in middle school, high school, and life beyond school.
Why Active Classroom?
Anatomy of an Active Classroom
Step Into an
Active Classroom
You’ll see students thinking like historians from the very start. A compelling image or question launches the lesson, prompting learners to surface assumptions and reconsider what they think they know. With clear vocabulary supports and habits of historical thinking, students read closely, annotate purposefully, and begin sourcing and contextualizing documents rather than simply absorbing information.
As the lesson progresses, students analyze primary sources, compare secondary interpretations, and corroborate evidence across texts and visuals. Structured analysis and collaborative discussion push them to examine point of view, bias, and cause and effect before synthesizing their thinking in evidence-based writing. In Active Classroom, history isn’t delivered it’s investigated, interpreted, and brought to life by students themselves.
See What’s Inside
Explore the standards-aligned resources, flexible teaching options, and active learning experiences.
Standards-Aligned Resources
Plan with confidence using lessons and activities aligned to state standards and the C3 Framework, helping teachers connect instruction to what students need to learn.
Teacher Guidance
Built-in teaching notes, pacing suggestions, and instructional support help teachers prepare efficiently while giving them the flexibility to adapt instruction for their students.
Standards-Based Search
Search by standard to quickly find curated resources that support instructional goals making it easier to find the right resource for the right lesson.
Thousands of Curated Resources
Find the right resource for the right lesson with thousands of high-quality, curated resources across social studies, all in one place.
Flexible Lesson Building
Search by subject, keyword, standard, era, series, or activity type. Use resources as they are, add them to existing instruction, or mix and match activities to create lessons that fit your students needs and instructional goals.
Support for Diverse Learners
Adapt instruction with a variety of activity formats and multiple reading levels. Text-to-speech, translation, dictionaries, and other built-in supports help more students access and engage with content.
Active Learning Experiences
Give students meaningful opportunities to read closely, analyze primary sources and images, interpret maps and data, discuss ideas, make decisions, collaborate, and communicate their thinking.
Student Learning Tools
Students can highlight and annotate content, take notes, use graphic organizers, analyze images, and interact directly with resources supporting deeper thinking and disciplinary literacy.
Assignments & Assessments
Assign activities to a class or specific groups, build custom assessments from a question bank, and review student work in one place. Auto-grading helps teachers provide timely feedback while saving time.
Ready to learn more
about Active Classroom?
Reach out to your dedicated curriculum specialist.
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