Everything you need to teach 3rd-5th grade Social Studies… and actually enjoy it!
A comprehensive social studies membership that gives upper elementary teachers an organized roadmap, engaging lessons, and ready-to-use resources – all in one place.
No more bouncing between outdated textbooks and disconnected TPT purchases. Just everything you need to teach with more confidence and a whole lot less scrambling.
Low monthly, quarterly, or annual pricing options available.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
★★★★★
Excellent resource! It was engaging, student-friendly, and easy to implement in my classroom. Everything was clear and ready to go, which made planning so much easier. My students responded well, and I will definitely use this again. Highly recommend!
CHANTEL N.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
Social studies tends to be the “figure it out yourself” subject.
Most schools hand you a list of standards and wish you luck.
✖️ No curriculum.
✖️ No plan.
✖️ No real support.
So you do what teachers do:
You figure it out.
You go down the TPT, Pinterest, and YouTube rabbit hole, and before you know it, you lost your Sunday evening…again.
That’s exactly why the Smart & Simple Social Studies Membership exists.
With this low-cost membership, you get a complete, comprehensive social studies system – so weekends and evenings stay yours, planning takes minutes instead of hours, and social studies becomes the class you and your students actually look forward to. 🎉
WE COVER THE MAIN SOCIAL STUDIES DOMAINS FOR GRADES 3–5:
Everything is organized by domain & topic!
With your membership, you’ll get immediate & ongoing access to:
Lessons that are actually ready to go
Every resource comes with a ready-to-use lesson plan: objectives, step-by-step instructions, and options to extend or differentiate. The planning work is done before you even open the file.
Activities your students will genuinely enjoy
No busy work here! You’ll get access to engaging WebQuests, projects, biography passages, and task cards that make social studies stick
Assessments already written and aligned
So checking for understanding never has to be another thing on your list
300+ resources and growing
Organized, searchable, and built by a Texas teacher who’s been exactly where you are
Finally get everything you need to teach social studies confidently – without sacrificing your time or energy.
MAKES PLANNING SO EASY!
★★★★★
I have never had an easier time planning. It is all there!!! I am able to take time to add more things if needed.
HEATHER
This video walks you through the membership dashboard!
Interested in a particular feature?
Check out the timestamps below to find what you’re looking for:
This isn’t just a resource bank. It’s a complete social studies roadmap – with all the resources already built in.
A random folder of downloads isn’t a system. What makes this different is that every resource is intentionally organized, comes with a lesson plan already written, and fits into a clear instructional framework – so you can grab what you need for today and trust that it connects to everything else in the library. Flexible enough to use your way. Complete enough that you never have to start from scratch.
Because every social studies teacher loves a good map, I made this one just for you. 😉
STEP ONE
PLAN
We’ve done the heavy lifting. The curriculum, topics, and activities are already mapped out – you just decide which resources fit your class that day.
STEP TWO
TEACH
Walk into class with a complete, ready-to-go lesson every single time.
No last-minute searching, no scrambling, no building from scratch.
STEP THREE
ENGAGE
Purposefully designed activities your students will actually enjoy. Not busy work, but engaging resources that make the content stick and come alive.
STEP FOUR
ASSESS
Know exactly what your students learned with ready-to-use assessments that are already built, already aligned, and waiting in your library.
Whether you have 5 minutes to prep or 55, there’s something in here that’s ready to go.
The sequence is planned. The lessons are structured. The resources are ready. You make the final call on what works best for your students that day – and that decision takes minutes, not hours.
LOVE MY MEMBERSHIP EXPERIENCE
★★★★★
I’m loving my experience with the Smart and Simple Social Studies membership. The resources are perfect for my fifth graders and they are very engaging.
NICHOLE
Everything you need, completely done for you.
Every resource in the library corresponds directly to a step in the roadmap – so you always know where it fits and when to use it.
Planning Resources
The heavy lifting is done – you just make the final call for your class.
Done-for-You Lesson Plans
Every resource in the library includes a ready-to-use lesson plan with clear objectives, step-by-step instructions, and options to extend or differentiate. Pick up any resource and the plan is already there – nothing to write yourself.
Curriculum Maps & Pacing Guides
Stay organized and plan with confidence. With these suggested pacing options, you’ll have a clearer roadmap for teaching social studies consistently while still allowing flexibility for your classroom schedule and student needs.
Teaching Resources
Walk into class with a complete, ready-to-go lesson – no scrambling.
Guided Curriculum Units
Complete, structured units with day-by-day pacing, slideshows, guided notes, practice activities, projects, and assessments. Everything you need for a full unit – nothing you have to build yourself.
Guided Notes
You’ll find filled in, partially completed, or blank options that help students focus on key ideas. These can be used as anchor charts, graphic organizers, etc. and are especially helpful for differentiating instruction.
Mini Lessons
Focused, single-concept lessons for days when class time is tight. Perfect for keeping social studies consistent even during busy testing weeks without sacrificing quality.
Mini Audio Lessons
Podcast-style clips that break down key concepts in a student-friendly way.
A game-changer for auditory learners – and for days when you need to introduce a topic without a full lesson ready.
Daily Passages
Short reading texts designed for warm-ups and bellringers. They reinforce social studies concepts while building literacy skills — double the value, zero extra prep.
Engagement Resources
Purposefully designed – not busy work. Activities students AND teachers actually enjoy.
WebQuests
Guided digital research activities where students investigate topics using pre-selected sources. Builds critical thinking and inquiry skills in a format that’s structured enough for any grade level.
Biography Passage Activities
Student-friendly readings that introduce the real people behind major historical events. When students can see the humans in history, content becomes more relatable, more memorable, and a lot more interesting to discuss.
Task Cards
Printable or digital sets that review concepts and vocabulary in a flexible, engaging format. Use them for stations, partner work, whole-class review, or early finishers — they work a dozen different ways without any extra planning on your end.
Writing Prompts
Prompts designed to spark reflection and critical thinking about key topics — giving students a meaningful way to show what they know through writing. A great alternative to multiple choice when you want to see their actual thinking.
Projects
Hands-on tasks that give students a chance to go deeper and show what they’ve learned in a creative way. They build ownership and engagement — and give you authentic evidence of learning that goes well beyond a worksheet or multiple-choice test.
Assessment Resources
Know what your students learned – without building assessments from scratch.
Assessments
Ready-to-go quizzes and unit tests aligned to standards – no last-minute scramble to build your own. Use them for mid-unit checks or end-of-unit wrap-ups and get quick, clear insight into what your students actually know.
Exit Tickets
Quick, low-stakes checks that tell you in 5 minutes whether students grasped the day’s concept — so you can adjust before the next lesson instead of finding out on a unit test.
Vocabulary Cards & Quizzes
Visual cards and simple quizzes that help students lock in key terms as they move through each unit. When students can talk about social studies with confidence, everything else gets easier — the discussions, the writing, the assessments.
This library grows with you – and with your feedback.
Members can request new resources, and Kirsten genuinely listens. Recent additions include vocabulary cards for word walls and review games – all added because members asked. 👏
GREAT ROADMAP
★★★★★
I feel like I have a great roadmap, which gives me more room to breathe.
HEidi
THREE BONUSES (worth over $396!) that make this membership even more of a no-brainer!
These extras are built in. Every member gets all three from day one.
Bonus 1: Monthly Social Studies Surprises
Each month, members unlock a fun, seasonal, or timely bonus resource to keep things fresh and engaging in the classroom. From digital games to themed activities and creative printables, these surprises are the perfect way to add a little extra spark to your social studies routine – without adding to your workload.
Bonus 2: Social Studies Simplified Course
This self-paced course shows you exactly how to bring social studies to life in your classroom – without the overwhelm. You’ll learn how to structure your block, keep students engaged, and make the most of your time – even in short chunks. Best of all, it walks you through how to effectively use the membership resources so you can plan with ease and teach with confidence, all year long.
Bonus 3: Lesson Planner GPT
Stuck on what to teach or how to break it down? Lesson Planner GPT is your AI-powered planning assistant that helps you map out social studies lessons in minutes. Just tell it your topic or standard, and it’ll suggest lesson ideas, activities, and pacing—all tailored to upper elementary. It’s like having a planning partner at your fingertips, anytime you need it!
That’s over $396 worth of bonuses when you join!
FANTASTIC RESOURCE!
★★★★★
U.S. History Curriculum – 5th grade
This was a fantastic resource! It saved me time and worked perfectly in my classroom. I appreciate the quality and will definitely use it again.
Michelle
Every social studies domain – all in one place.
Whether you teach one domain or loop through all of them, every topic is organized and waiting for you.
MEET KIRSTEN
I built the membership I desperately needed as a teacher.
I spent years doing what most elementary teachers do – searching all over the internet for social studies resources that were actually aligned to standards, weren’t too easy or boring for my students, and didn’t take half my Sunday night to find and prep. After all, most schools don’t supply a social studies curriculum at all, which means teachers are either using Studies Weekly, cobbling together random resources, or quietly skipping social studies when the schedule gets tight.
When I finally started creating my own resources from scratch, I noticed something.
When I paired structured guided notes with interactive slideshow lessons, my students stayed engaged. They weren’t reading from a boring 20-year-old textbook. They were discussing, filling in notes, and building something they could actually refer back to all year long. I realized I wasn’t just making resources – I was building a system.
That’s what this membership is – a growing library of organized, ready-to-use resources that are actually engaging, with a lesson plan already attached to every single one.
You never have to start from scratch, never have to wonder what to do with a resource, and never have to open another tab and go down the rabbit hole to find something of quality for your classroom. I can’t wait for you to join us!
Smart & Simple Social Studies Report Card
At Smart and Simple Social Studies, we are committed to delivering high-quality curriculum and social studies resources for teachers and students that make a positive impact on upper elementary social studies education.
*Self-reported by members in an annual survey.
Check out what teachers appreciate about the resources included!
ENJOYABLE ACTIVITY!
★★★★★
The Roaring 20s WebQuest – Internet Scavenger Hunt Digital Inquiry Activity
My students enjoyed this activity so much. It was a wonderful way to learn more about the Roaring 20s.
Leslie C., Alabama teacher
SUPER HELPFUL!
★★★★★
3rd Grade Social Studies Curriculum – Maps and Globes Skills Geography Unit
I teach in Ohio, and we don’t have a set social studies curriculum, so this has been super helpful with hitting some of our standards!
KATE, OHIO TEACHER
ENGAGING RESOURCES
★★★★★
Social Studies Worksheets & Daily Passages for Reading Comprehension
I am not a TX teacher, but I was looking for something that would be short enough to fill the small amount of time I had to teach history during the school day. This bundle has so much in it! There are resources that I would not have thought of in here. I appreciate that the reading passages are relatively short for students, and they are engaging.
KATHLEEN, CALIFORNIA TEACHER
INFORMATIVE & ENGAGING
★★★★★
3rd Grade Social Studies Curriculum 3 Branches of Government Unit Activities
This is a great unit for learning about government. The slideshows are informative and engaging. My students enjoyed the lessons.
Lauren D.
These are just a few of the resources waiting for you inside. Purchased individually in my TpT shop, they’d cost over $1,100. Your Smart & Simple Social Studies Membership? A fraction of that!
Here’s what teachers love about this membership:
It’s simple to implement
No more searching through countless folders and random purchases.
Saves hours of planning + prep time
Teachers consistently mention how much easier lesson planning becomes.
STUDENTS ARE MORE ENGAGED
Lessons are interactive & student-friendly. You AND your students have more fun!
resources are simple to implement
Everything is practical, usable, and designed for real teachers & real classrooms.
structure + flexibility
Use the pacing guides as-is or customize lessons to fit your classroom.
The library keeps growing!
Kirsten continues to add resources based on teacher needs and feedback.
YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS ANSWERED!
Teaching social studies isn’t just about “getting through the standards.”
You became a teacher because you wanted to matter – to help students develop real curiosity about the world and grow into informed, thoughtful citizens. Social studies has the power to do that. But not when you’re overwhelmed and scrambling.
That’s the real reason this membership exists.
Every resource was built to make social studies come alive – the lessons spark discussion, the activities build curiosity, the projects give students something to be proud of.
When you feel supported as a teacher, your students become the people you hoped to help shape.
Choose a Subscription Option!
Choose the plan that fits you best – monthly, quarterly, or annual – for the 2026-2027 school year. This is an ongoing subscription, but you’re never locked in. You can cancel anytime, and you’ll continue to have access through the end of your current billing period. If it’s still a great fit for your classroom, just keep it going! Simple, flexible, and made with teachers in mind!
monthly
($324/year)
$27
QUARTERLY
($264/year)
$66
ANNUAL
($259/year)
$259
2026-2027 SCHOOL YEAR
$279
*SPECIAL OFFER*
Annual Texas School Subscriptions
This option gives teachers at your school access to all social studies resources specific to 3rd-5th grade through June 2027. Request a quote here. Perfect for multiple teachers in 1 or more grade levels!
THIS WILL SAVE YOU TIME & HEADACHES!
★★★★★
This makes planning easier because I have almost all resources in one spot! The resources are organized; it’s so fast and easy to locate them. This membership will save you time and headaches!
Kelly
Stop Scrambling to Teach Social Studies.
Everything you need is right here.
You don’t need another outdated textbook. You don’t need more disconnected TPT purchases or another Sunday lost to lesson planning.
You need a roadmap. A system. An organized library of engaging resources that makes teaching social studies something you – and your students – actually look forward to.