TCI’s online History Alive! programs transform middle school social studies class into a multi-faceted learning experience. TCI lessons start with a big idea — Essential Question — and incorporate graphic notetaking, groupwork, and step-by-step discovery. Students are the center of instruction that taps a variety of learning styles, allowing students of all abilities to learn and succeed. 

Social Studies Alive! is aligned with the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy (CCELA) to ensure that students develop literacy skills through learning social studies

In a TCI classroom, you’ll see students out of their seats, desks rearranged, placards on the walls, and lots of smiles.

Social Studies Alive! reflects this balance in the student text. Each lesson has several sections of purely informational text that explains the content of that lesson, followed by a Reading Further article that blends literary and informational style text to engage students.

Social Studies Alive! is written with close attention paid to the text complexity, with increasingly sophisticated text as students progress through the grades. However, within each grade’s text, there is variation in the complexity to ensure that there is challenging text for all students.

Social Studies Alive! Reading Notes in the Interactive Student Notebook require students to answer questions using evidence from the text and require a clear understanding of the main ideas and other details provided in the section.

Social Studies Alive! students are expected to use evidence appropriately to support their analysis, reflections, and research. They are given support in identifying key details, which will serve most effectively as evidence. They also reflect on the role evidence plays in the social sciences and argument in general

Participation in rich, structured academic conversations in one-on-one, small-group, and whole class situations is emphasized.
The teaching strategies in Social Studies Alive! provide varied grouping techniques resulting in a balance of paired, small group, and whole class discussions in which students reflect on their experiences and understanding of the activities. These discussions are designed to build clear communication skills that are critical to success in social studies and for college and career readiness.

Contributing accurate, relevant information; responding to and building on what others have said; and making comparisons and contrasts are important skills for productive conversations.The cooperative tolerant classroom conventions emphasized throughout all of TCI’s curricula encourage students to respond to and build on ideas and arguments presented by other students. During discussions, Social Studies Alive! guides students to compare and contrast relevant experiences across the four disciplines of social studies.

ocial Studies Alive! has a progression of increasingly sophisticated vocabulary built into it. Key terms are used throughout a lesson or the year without overwhelming students with too many unfamiliar words. Every component of Social Studies Alive! makes use of the vocabulary and includes activities to help solidify comprehension.

Social Studies Alive! vocabulary terms are previewed at the beginning of the lesson and students complete vocabulary development assignments, such as a Word Parts Log that trains students to break down words to infer meaning.

Throughout all components of Social Studies Alive!, students are expected to demonstrate command of the conventions of written and spoken English. An Editing and Proofreading Checklist is included to help students create writing that is free of errors.