David Cooper
108 Followers
East Petersburg, Pennsylvania, United States
About the store
Thank you for visiting me at Teachers Pay Teachers! My resources draw upon thirty years of teaching middle school Social Studies and a long-time love for writing. I work hard to provide practical, creative, and thoughtful resources for history, civics, geography, writing across the content areas, social-emotional learning, and so much more. I earned a Masters of Teaching and Curriculum from Penn State and a BA of Secondary Education Social Studies from York College of PA. In addition to teaching Social Studies for 30 years, I served as a martial arts instructor for 29 and have written compulsively since my second-grade teacher read my Star Trek story to the class.
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Gold Rush Fortunes and Heartbreak: Texts, Activities, Role-Plays, and Assessment
Gold Rush Fortunes and Heartbreaks provides 6th through 8th graders with the thought-provoking content and activities necessary to experience the thrills, risks, and dreams of the California Gold Rush. These materials can be used as stand-alone lessons complementing your existing curriculum or as a complete seven-day mini-unit. Gold Rush Fortunes and Heartbreaks consists of the following resources and learning experiences: a primary-source activity involving the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mi
6th - 8th
Economics , Informational Text, U.S. History
CCSS
RH.6-8.2
, RH.6-8.4
, RH.6-8.10
+1
Agribusiness And Geography: Building A Farming Supply Store
Student groups take control of an agribusiness and use map resources to choose locations to build new stores within the United States-- locations with access to transportation, work forces, and ready markets for products. Through research, information organization, and decision-making, each group writes a business proposal placing a farm and tractor store at an absolute location. Connections between geography, agriculture, and business emerge through their justifications. Agribusiness And Geogra
7th - 9th
Economics , Geography
CCSS
RH.6-8.1
, RH.6-8.2
, RH.6-8.4
+4
Prioritizing-- What Should I Do First? An Exercise For Executive Functioning
To-do lists overwhelm us from time-to-time, and prioritizing tasks can be difficult even for adults with excellent executive functioning skills— just imagine how an overwhelmed young person feels trying to prioritize schoolwork. Prioritizing—What Should I Do First? provides seventh through ninth grade students with a process of ordering assignments and assessments based upon timeliness, importance, benefits of completion, and perceived challenges. All students require guidance and support to de
7th - 9th
Not Subject Specific
Academic Intervention— Getting Back on Track
All students get derailed at some point in their school careers. Derailments can become important life lessons and opportunities to strengthen executive functioning skills if students receive guidance, support, and hope. Academic Intervention—Getting Back on Track is a positively-framed resource to help students in grades four through nine improve grades, regain self-confidence, and realize everyone experiences challenging times. Prompts and recommendations provide teachers and staff with tools
5th - 9th
For All Subjects, Not Subject Specific
A Profile of The Nile River: An Informational Text & Comprehension Questions
The Nile River is an intriguing feature rich in history, geography, and history. Use this brief geographic overview and reading strategy as a Geography warm-up activity, an introduction to Egypt (past or present), or an introduction to the region of North Africa. The reading and connected activity address Common Core Standard RH6-8.10. A Profile of The Nile River is an excerpt from a larger word-problem-based activity entitled Adventure On The Nile, which is also available from Teachers Pay Tea
6th - 8th
Geography, Informational Text, World History
CCSS
RH.6-8.10
Civil War Photography and Camp Life
Civil War Photography and Camp Life explores the use of photography during The Civil War and provides students in grades six through eight with first-person perspectives into the lives of the era’s soldiers. What do students see, hear, smell, taste and touch in their encampment? What do students think and feel when their sergeant tells them they will march to a major battle after having wintered three long months? Students compose a purpose statement setting a course for their learning, engage a
6th - 8th
U.S. History
CCSS
RH.6-8.2
, RH.6-8.10
, WHST.6-8.4
Behavior Management Tools: Goals, Monitoring, Reflection, & Conflict Resolution
Helping students learn to manage their behaviors and to resolve conflict constructively can be challenging. These directions for setting clear and measurable behavior goals and three ready-to-use tools can help. The "Behavior Progress Monitoring Form" enables teachers to collect detailed data consistently with little attention diverted from instruction, and the "Behavior Progress Reflection Form" is a self-evaluation tool for encouraging the development of behavioral awareness and compensatory
6th - 10th
Not Subject Specific, School Counseling
George Washington Learns Civility: Primary Source Social and Emotional Learning
George Washington Learns Civility is a thirty-minute activity for history, social and emotional learning, and leadership classes enabling students in grades six through eight to interpret and apply seven of the “Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation.” Washington’s hand-written copy of this document survives as a valuable and much-studied primary source from his early education. The Continental Army’s Commander-in-chief, president of the Constitutional Convention, and
6th - 8th
Character Education, U.S. History
CCSS
RH.6-8.2
, RH.6-8.4
We're a Little Like Lincoln: A Social-Emotional Learning Mini-Lesson
We sometimes overlook an emotional-health principle many pre-adolescents have difficulty internalizing— adversity and defeat are parts of everyone’s life. “We’re a Little Like Lincoln” is a mini-lesson for grades six through eight normalizing thoughts and feelings associated with struggle by examining perceptions of “greatness” and how individuals overcome setbacks. A brainstorming activity involving key words and sketches introduces a reading presenting some of Abraham Lincoln’s political defe
6th - 8th
Social Emotional Learning, U.S. History
The Five Themes of Geography Resource Sheet
The 5 Themes of Geography are useful tools for analyzing locations and human interaction with geographic features. Provide this handout to students for use as a reference when engaging activities involving the themes. The handout’s “clue words” are in-text signals some students may find helpful when connecting content to themes. These words can also serve as the basis for a micro-lesson on using context clues when analyzing geographic information.
This handout is part of a larger work entitl
6th - 8th
Geography
DBQ: Native American Perspectives On Relations With The British
This DBQ activity involves one of Captain John Smith’s conflicts with Virginia’s Native Americans in 1609 and a plea for justice and cultural understanding following a massacre in the colony of Maryland in 1633. Students use active-reading strategies to interpret and analyze the words of two Native Americans involved in these conflicts. Defining unknown terms, rewriting difficult phrases in modern language, and providing personal reactions assist students in their interpretations and enables th
7th - 9th
Social Studies, U.S. History
CCSS
RH.6-8.2
, RH.6-8.4
The Declaration of Independence: The Making of Liberty Info. Text and Activity
The Declaration of Independence is an inspiring document built upon the trials, hopes, and fears of Americans in the late 18th century. Much can be learned about how the United States came to be and what drives its government by studying the Declaration of Independence. This stand-alone two-page informational text and activity are parts of a larger work entitled Analyzing The U.S. Declaration of Independence also available from Teachers Pay Teachers. http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/A
7th - 10th
Government, Informational Text, U.S. History
CCSS
RH.6-8.2
, RH.6-8.10
, WHST.6-8.1b
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About the store
Experience
Thank you for visiting me at Teachers Pay Teachers! My resources draw upon thirty years of teaching middle school Social Studies and a long-time love for writing. I work hard to provide practical, creative, and thoughtful resources for history, civics, geography, writing across the content areas, social-emotional learning, and so much more. I earned a Masters of Teaching and Curriculum from Penn State and a BA of Secondary Education Social Studies from York College of PA. In addition to teaching Social Studies for 30 years, I served as a martial arts instructor for 29 and have written compulsively since my second-grade teacher read my Star Trek story to the class.
Teaching style
Challenging students with new ways to examine history, to express ideas and discoveries through multiple media, and to value learning beyond letter grades is an approach to teaching I have clung to and continue to develop with the help of colleagues, and, most importantly, my students.
Awards & shining teacher moments
Dave received the first place award for Literary Short Fiction at the 2012 Philadelphia Writers' Conference. He received the Outstanding Graduate Student In Teaching and Curriculum Award from the School of Behavioral Sciences and Education, Penn State Harrisburg in 2001. He also received Departmental Recognition For Contributions To The Field Of Education from York College of Pennsylvania in 1995.
My own education history
Dave graduated from York College Of Pennsylvania in 1995 with a degree in Secondary Education-- Social Studies. He completed his Master's Degree in Teaching and Curriculum through Penn State University in 2001.
Additional biographical information
Visit Dave’s website and blog at davidcooperwriting.com for more teaching resources and information about his writing projects.
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