Give every Texas teacher a social studies system that actually works.
Smart & Simple Social Studies: A complete, 100% TEKS-aligned subscription that brings consistency, quality, and confidence to social studies instruction across every 3rd – 6th grade classroom in your building.
Get a custom quote based on your school’s need.
PERFECTLY ALIGNED TO TEKS
★★★★★
This bundle is perfectly aligned to the Texas TEKS and presents the content in an easy-to-understand and easy-to-use format for my 6th graders. My students were struggling to comprehend and make connections with the curriculum provided by our district, and this resource allows them to take ownership of and feel confident about their learning!
MATTI M.
Social studies instruction in Texas suffers – not because teachers don’t care, but because they’re left without a system.
When curriculum leaders ask why social studies is inconsistent across classrooms, the answer is almost never a lack of effort. It’s a lack of resources, structure, and support.
Instruction varies wildly from classroom to classroom
Without a shared resource system, social studies quality depends entirely on each teacher’s time and initiative – which means some classrooms thrive and others barely touch it before STAAR season.
Teachers don’t prioritize it; not by choice, but by necessity
When testing pressure mounts, social studies is the first thing cut. Teachers need resources that are low-prep and easy to implement, or the subject simply doesn’t happen consistently.
TEKS alignment isn’t optional – and verifying it takes time
Teachers searching independently have no guarantee of alignment. Free materials require vetting, adaptation, and often rework before they’re appropriate for Texas classrooms.
Curriculum investments get purchased and never used
Expensive adoptions often fail not because the content is bad, but because the resources are too complex, too time-consuming, or don’t fit how teachers actually plan their weeks. In short, they’re just not very user-friendly.
There’s a better way.
And it was built specifically for Texas schools.
Every resource. Every standard. Every social studies strand.
Built specifically for Texas classrooms.
Every single resource in the subscription was created by a Texas teacher with 14+ years of classroom experience, specifically designed to meet the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards for 3rd–6th grade social studies. There’s no adaptation required. No “close enough.” It’s built for your campuses, your teachers, and your students.
Here’s what you need to know about Smart & Simple Social Studies:
All 8 TEKS social studies strands, fully covered
History, Geography, Economics, Government, Citizenship, Culture, Science, Technology & Society, and Social Studies Skills.
Organized by TEKS standard and domain
Everything is located in ONE place. Teachers can find resources for exactly what they’re supposed to be teaching, any time.
Built by an M.Ed-holding Texas educator
Rest assured, there’s over a decade of experience teaching upper elementary social studies in Texas classrooms behind each of these resources.
Standards documentation included
I’ve included a link to this PDF that shows exactly which TEKS standards are addressed by grade level and domain!
Get the social studies curriculum your school NEEDS!
FULLY ALIGNED FOR TEKS!
WE COVER ALL 8 TEKS STRANDS FOR GRADES 3–6:
Wondering if your specific standards are covered?
Click the button below to see download the PDF that shows you exactly which TEKS standards are addressed – organized by grade level and domain.
MUST BUY!
★★★★★
This is a MUST BUY! My district only purchases supplemental material for SS and this has been a life saver. I feel confident leaving this with a sub because the teacher guide is easy to follow and the slides are foolproof. The exit tickets are perfect for weekly grades and my students love the end of the unit projects.
JOSEPHINE R.
This video walks you through the subscription dashboard.
Interested in a particular feature?
Check out the timestamps below to find what you’re looking for:
A complete, TEKS-aligned curriculum – organized by grade level, built for Texas.
Administrators tell us the most important question they have is whether this curriculum is fully aligned to the TEKS – and exactly what’s covered at each grade level. Let me show you!
Because every social studies teacher loves a good map, I made this one just for you. 😉
Here’s how every unit is structured:
STEP ONE
PLAN
The curriculum, topics, and activities are already mapped out. Unit overviews, scope & sequence, lesson plans, and answer keys, all included.
STEP TWO
TEACH
Teachers can walk into class with a complete, ready-to-go lesson. Slideshows, guided notes (3 versions), and study guides already built – no scrambling.
STEP THREE
ENGAGE
Practice activities, unit projects, and review games that are purposefully designed – not busy work. Students AND teachers actually enjoy these.
STEP FOUR
ASSESS
Ready-to-use assessments and exit tickets – already aligned to TEKS. Know what your students learned without adding to teacher workload.
Every unit at every grade level follows this same structure – so teachers know exactly what to expect, every time.
What’s covered at each grade level?
Click any grade level below to see the full unit list. For each grade level, you get 36 weeks of TEKS-aligned instruction, organized and ready to go from day one.
12 UNITS · TEKS-Aligned
- Map and Globe Skills
- Physical Environment
- Historical Documents
- Structure and Function of Government
- Good Citizenship
- Ethnic and Cultural Celebrations
- Characteristics of Communities
- Shaping Communities
- Heroes
- Writers, Artists, Science, and Technology
- Ways to Use Money
- The Free Enterprise System
⭐️ Bonus Unit: Celebrate Freedom Week
13 UNITS · TEKS-Aligned
- Regions of Texas
- Patterns of Settlement in Texas
- Adapting and Modifying the Environment in Texas
- Indigenous Groups in Texas
- Early Texas Settlements
- Texas Revolution
- Republic of Texas, Annexation, Texas Government
- Texas in the Late 19th Century
- Texas in the 20th Century
- Texas Economics & the Free Enterprise System
- Citizenship and Civics in Texas
- Customs, Symbols, & Celebrations in Texas
- Contributions to Texas
⭐️ Bonus Unit: Celebrate Freedom Week
14 UNITS · TEKS-Aligned
- Regions of the U.S.
- Patterns of Settlement in the U.S.
- Adapting and Modifying the Environment in the U.S.
- European Colonization of the United States
- The American Revolution
- The Constitution and U.S. Government
- Westward Expansion
- The American Civil War
- Urbanization, Immigration, and Industrialization
- The U.S. in the 20th and 21st Century
- Economic Activities of the United States
- Citizenship and Civics in the U.S.
- Customs, Symbols, and Celebrations in the U.S.
- Contributions to the U.S.
⭐️ Bonus Unit: Celebrate Freedom Week
6 UNITS · TEKS-Aligned
- Foundations of World Cultures
- The Americas
- Europe and Russia
- The Middle East and Africa
- Asia
- Oceania
⭐️ Bonus Unit: Celebrate Freedom Week
Guided curriculum. Aligned standards. FUN to teach!
EVERYTHING YOU NEED & WORTH EVERY PENNY
★★★★★
One of my all time favorite creators!!! This curriculum has everything – beyond well-organized, engaging presentations, extension activities and project students ACTUALLY enjoy, and both print/digital options. Worth every penny and more!
AMANDA W.
Plus, if you get the FULL subscription, you’ll get FOUR bonuses (worth over $900!) that make this even more of a no-brainer!
BONUS 1: Supplemental Resource Library
Bonus lessons, passages, WebQuests, task cards, writing prompts, projects, assessments, and more are embedded throughout each unit. Extra tools ready to grab whenever you need them, no additional planning required.
BONUS 2: Activity Templates
A set of extra templates is included to use however works best for you. Templates include an audio mini lesson template, interactive notebook cover, social studies goal tracker, CNN 10 weekly reflection, question cards, and an exit ticket template — all ready to customize and drop into any unit.
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!
BONUS 4: Resource Planning Guide
A planning guide is included and organized by resource type – so you can quickly identify what to use and when. No digging through the library to figure out where to start. Just open the guide, make your selections, and get planning.
That’s over $900 worth of bonuses when you get the FULL subscription!
The things that matter most to your campus – addressed directly.
CONSISTENCY ACROSS CLASSROOMS
When every teacher has access to the same organized, TEKS-aligned library, grade-level consistency happens naturally – without requiring constant check-ins or collaborative planning sessions to keep everyone aligned. Less work for you AND teachers.
LOW PREP – SO TEACHERS WILL ACTUALLY USE IT!
Every resource includes a ready-to-use lesson plan with objectives, step-by-step instructions, and differentiation options. Teachers pick up any resource and the planning work is already done. High adoption happens when implementation is easy – this is designed for that.
STUDENTS ARE GENUINELY MORE ENGAGED
Resources are intentionally designed to spark discussion, build real curiosity, and give students something to be proud of – not busy work. When students enjoy social studies, teachers teach it more. When teachers teach it more, students learn it better.
A PURCHASING PROCESS BUILT FOR CAMPUSES
Purchase-order friendly with 30-day payment terms. Individual teacher accounts – no shared logins or IT coordination. Access begins as soon as the PO is received. Formal invoicing provided for district procurement processes.
From quote request to classroom access in four simple steps.
No complicated procurement. No IT setup. A straightforward process designed to work with how Texas campuses actually purchase curriculum resources.
SUBMIT A QUOTE REQUEST
Fill out the short form with your school name, grade levels, and number of teachers needing access.
RECEIVE A FORMAL QUOTE
You’ll receive custom pricing and a formal quote you can route through your district’s purchasing process.
Submit Your Purchase Order or Pay Online
If you choose to submit a purchase order, an invoice will be sent, and payment is due within 30 of the invoice. Checks, credit, debit, or ACH direct debit are accepted payments. PO receipt alone activates access.
Teachers Get Individual Accounts & Start Teaching
Each teacher creates their own account using their school email. No IT coordination. No shared passwords. Once they log in, teachers can begin using resources immediately. Onboarding tutorials walk them through the platform.
MAKES TEACHING EASIER + RELATABLE FOR STUDENTS
★★★★★
I have been using this for Social Studies instead of Studies Weekly. It makes teaching easier and is more relatable for the students. I also love the end of unit research projects
REBEKAH
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 in Texas and beyond.
*Self-reported by members in an annual survey.
Built by a Texas educator who spent 14 years in the classrooms you’re trying to support.
Hi, I’m Kirsten, and I spent years teaching upper elementary social studies across multiple Texas districts. I know firsthand what it feels like to be handed a list of TEKS standards and told to figure it out. Most schools don’t provide a social studies curriculum, which means teachers are either piecing things together from random internet searches, relying on Studies Weekly, or quietly skipping social studies when testing season hits.
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 20-year-old textbook. They were discussing, building notebooks, and actually retaining what they learned. I realized I wasn’t just making resources – I was building a system. One that worked. One that teachers could follow without spending their Sundays figuring it out.
That’s what this subscription brings to your campus. A complete, organized library of TEKS-aligned resources with a lesson plan attached to every single one.
With this subscription, your teachers never have to start from scratch, never have to wonder what to do next, and never have to open another tab searching for something that actually meets the standard. I can’t wait to support your team.
Check out what districts, schools & teachers appreciate about the resources included!
SAVED MY LIFE!
★★★★★
I bought this whole year bundle for our SS plans since I’m the Social Studies rep and it saved my life! I just download and plug everything into our grade level plans and they’re simple and time efficient!
MARTHA S.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED
★★★★★
I am SO grateful for this bundle. I moved grade levels for the upcoming school year and was stressed about starting from scratch for all the subjects, and began looking to see if I could find something for social studies to make my life a little easier and I am so glad I found this. Includes slides, notes, practice, assessments, and fun projects. I am really looking forward to using with my class! Thank you for including absolutely everything in one bundle, a few others I looked at you would need to buy multiple bundles to have everything.
SHELBY
MY STUDENTS STAY ENGAGED
★★★★★
I am so glad I purchased this! Having ready-to-use slideshows is a huge timesaver. However, my favorite thing about this bundle is the practice activities. There are so many different types of activities included. My students remain engaged because they don’t feel like they are doing the same thing over and over again.
SHANNON C.
EVEN I LEARNED A LOT!
★★★★★
This bundle was fantastic! It had everything I needed to teach Texas History for my first year back. Even I learned so much and I’m a devout Texan.
RACHEL S.
TRANSFORMED MY TEACHING
★★★★★
I am absolutely thrilled with this purchase! As a newer teacher, I’ve tried countless resources, but this Social Studies Unit stands head and shoulders above the rest. It has genuinely transformed the way I teach history in my classroom.
Kayla R.
OUR STUDENTS LOVE THIS!
★★★★★
We have been looking for a resource to supplement our district curriculum and this was perfect! Very comprehensive, well-thought out and designed. Very much a time saver and easy to implement. Our students love this!
MALLI T.
CAN’T SAY ENOUGH GOOD THINGS
★★★★★
I cannot say enough good things about this resource. It is completely TEKS aligned. My students love that it follows a predictable structure, so they always know what is coming next. At the end of each unit, they have a beautiful display of their learning. Because this resource is heavily guided, I would like to incorporate more meaning-making activities throughout the units (like having students draw pictures, do quick writes, etc.). The review and projects at the end of each unit are well designed and the kids love them. We spent weeks on the Civil War quilt because they were so engaged.
BRYN B.
WORTH EVERY SINGLE PENNY!
★★★★★
For years I have taught Social Studies, but most recently I began teaching 6th Grade – World Cultures. I remember the countless hours I spent searching for resources that were not just informative, but were engaging for kids at this grade level. This bundle is worth every single penny! It is well planned, organized, full of great – yet not overwhelming information, and has everything you need for the entire year. I cannot say enough about this product. Thank you so much for investing your all into this wonderful resource!
ERICA M.
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 Subscription? A fraction of that!
Trusted by Texas campuses across the state.
These Texas school districts are already giving their teachers a complete, TEKS-aligned social studies system with Smart & Simple Social Studies – serving hundreds of students across the state.
⭐️ Tomball ISD
⭐️ Anahuac ISD
⭐️ Granger ISD
⭐️ Hawley ISD
⭐️ San Antonio ISD
⭐️ Keene ISD
⭐️ Mineola ISD
⭐️ New Home ISD
⭐️ Hermleigh ISD
⭐️ Elysian Fields ISD
⭐️ Port Neches-Groves ISD
⭐️ Plemons-Stinnett-Phillips CISD
And many more Texas teachers from a variety of districts across the state – and growing every school year.
Two tiers to fit your campus needs
Pricing is custom-quoted based on the number of teacher accounts your campus needs. Both tiers are purchase-order friendly and cover the full school year.
BASIC SUBSCRIPTION
The TEKS-aligned planning framework and structured units your team needs to teach social studies consistently.
FULL SUBSCRIPTION
The complete library – every resource category, every support tool, every grade level. For campuses that want to fully solve social studies.
GET EVERYTHING IN THE BASIC SUBSCRIPTION PLUS:
Great social studies instruction isn’t just about meeting the TEKS. It’s about what those standards are trying to build.
Social studies isn’t merely a box to check on the TEKS. It’s the subject that helps teach students who they are, where they come from, and how their community and country work. When teachers are under-resourced and scrambling, that content gets cut – and students miss more than a lesson.
That’s the real reason this membership exists.
This subscription puts the right resources in your teachers’ hands so social studies gets the instructional time it deserves.
Students who genuinely engage with social studies don’t just pass the standard, they start to become the citizens you hope to help shape.
MAKES TEACHING MUCH LESS OVERWHELMING
★★★★★
This is exactly what I was looking for in a social studies bundle! I love the presentations, the guided the notes, the vocabulary walls, and the bulletin boards. It’s made teaching social studies much less overwhelming. I also appreciate that the presentations don’t look too young or have overdone cute clipart. It’s great content presented in an easily accessible way!
KARA G.
Your campus is ready for this.
Great social studies instruction starts with the right support.
Your teachers have the heart. This gives them the tools.
Every day without a consistent, TEKS-aligned social studies system is another day your teachers are figuring it out alone – and another day your students are missing content that matters. Request a quote today. We’ll handle the rest.
Get a custom quote based on your school’s need.