Social Studies Can Be So FUN!

Are you looking for a great social studies unit that your students will love? Scaredy Squirrel books are my go to books for loads of learning fun! I posted this freebie last year but if you are new around here, you should totally grab it!  I use SS to teach all sorts of social studies and literacy concepts. 

Last year, I had never heard of Scaredy Squirrel. One of my students checked out one of the books from the library and asked if I would read it to the class. We were immediately hooked! The next day I checked out three more books and we decided that we would do a book study on Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt. I cannot tell you enough how much FUN this was! 

We focused our unit on four books: Scaredy Squirrel, Scaredy Squirrel makes a friend, Scaredy Squirrel goes camping, & Scaredy Squirrel at the beach.  There are several more that I intend to purchase and create resources for in the future too. 

This funny character covers so many areas of learning. Each book includes great examples of maps, lists, timelines, charts, etc.  Scaredy Squirrel books are also great examples of being afraid, scared, and worried.  This funny little squirrel overcomes many fears in a comical way. 

I really let my students guide the learning for this book study and they chose what we wanted to create. Here are some examples of our work. 

 I asked my students to write to Scaredy Squirrel and tell him what they would do if he would be brave enough to go on an adventure with them. 

Scaredy Squirrel is famous for timelines. We decided to create a timeline of our day so SS would know what to expect if he visited our classroom. 

 In one of the books, SS makes a pros and cons chart. We had just made kites for our wind study. I asked the kids what we could create a pros and cons chart on and THEY came up with flying a kite. I was so impressed with the conversations we had. 

We created a map of our school. Our goal was to create a map that would get Scaredy Squirrel from the cafeteria door (where students are dropped off in the morning) to our classroom. Each student had a part in drawing something for our map. 

If you are looking for a fun book study chalk full of literacy and social study lessons, then Scaredy Squirrel should visit your classroom soon!  Here is a preview of the whole unit. You can click on the pictures to see more. It's over 80 pages of fun.

Click the picture below to grab this freebie. Scaredy Squirrel always has a plan. It usually doesn't go his way, but it's fun to watch it unveil. 

I hope you love this unit as much as we do. If anything, check out a Scaredy Squirrel book and read it to your students. I promise fun and engagement on this one.