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Unforgettable social studies lessons immerse high school students in different historical periods, inspiring them to think about human life in another way while collaborating with their peers in innovative ways. Adding strong group activities from high school history classes to your social studies curriculum can help enhance the experience. From high school mock trials to time-traveling gallery walks, you can use these activities to revisit any period in history and connect groups to a new understanding of the past.
1. High school mock trial group activities
There’s a reason high school mock trial is so popular among students. Teens love to argue, and mock trial is a great way to capture that energy and get everyone in the class involved. Create a mock trial assignment based on any major event from your high school civics class, reenact famous court cases in history, or have students test the laws and policies they learned in government instruction.
For students interested in criminal justice and the legal system, a full criminology unit can be constructed, culminating in a mock trial. Use the Scenario Sketch Forensic Activity to have students draw inferences about a fictional crime, work with the student’s science teacher to learn the chemistry and biology concepts needed to analyze forensic evidence, and provide students with the information they need to become expert witnesses in an upcoming mock trial.
Mock Trial for Government and Citizenship Courses: The Trial of the Big Bad Wolf
Next to Room 311
Grade: Grades 7-12
Topics: Citizenship, Criminal Justice – Law, Government
Combine criminal justice and fairy tales with a whimsical and fun high school mock trial assignment. This resource includes student notes, character statements, and evidence from the trial that put Booker T. Lupin (aka Wolfie) on trial for the murder of two of the three little pigs.
2. High School History Escape Room
Indeed, those who do not study history are doomed to repeat its mistakes. But is that really the case for students trying to survive a historically themed escape room? Using only their social studies knowledge, peer collaboration teams, and guidance from well-prepared teachers, history students can put their puzzle- and riddle-solving skills to the test in group escape room activities.
You’ll find escape room ideas for any moment or concept in history that you want to highlight to your students. From the Middle Ages to the Cold War, students can reference primary and secondary texts (as well as class notes) to empower and collaborate with classmates.
Harlem Renaissance Introducing Escape Rooms (Paper) – Black History Month
Author: Nouvelle ELA
Grade: 7-10
Subjects: Literature, American History
Perfect for Black History Month or any time you discuss the Harlem Renaissance, this high school escape room assignment is both engaging and educational. Have students complete the included tasks as designed, use the extension options to increase difficulty, or collaborate with colleagues to create an interdisciplinary project between U.S. History and ELA.
3. Student-run model government
Could your social studies curriculum work as well as government, or even better? Allow students to narrow their concerns, interests, and values as they work together to create a more perfect union. They can draw inspiration from famous governments in history or turning points in world politics, assign roles and positions, and understand the extent to which their governance impacts the “country” for which they are responsible.
For educational expansion, incorporate this project into a list of career exploration ideas. Students interested in public service or politics may find that an autonomous position is an important step for the rest of their lives!
Mayflower Compact: Self-Government and Pilgrims Worksheets and Group Activities
Ms. Mack’s Social Studies
Grade: Grades 7-12
Subjects: Social Studies, United States History, World History
Standard: CCSS RH.9-10.1, 9-10.2, 11-12.1, 11-12.2
Immerse students in the American Colonies unit and participate in Mayflower Compact-themed group activities related to CCSS. After learning more about the Pilgrims and the Mayflower, students worked in small groups to create their own government, including creating laws that reflected their values, and reflected on how their government would be similar or different from the Mayflower Compact.
4. Group Gallery Walk and Visiting Day
Taking teenagers on a historical field trip may not be feasible this year, but that doesn’t mean they can’t visit a museum. Have students work in groups to create crafts and artwork that other students can watch and reflect on as they stroll through the social studies gallery.
To be more collaborative, presentations can be assigned to groups and let them teach their artifacts. These “explainer” talks may be more educational for speakers and listeners than other courses this year.
Alexander the Great Event | Ancient Greece Gallery Stroll and Reading Passage
By: Mr. & Mrs. Social Studies
Grade: Grade 6-9
Subjects: Ancient History, Social Studies, World History
Standard: CCSS RH.6-8.7
Turn your social studies classroom into a history museum with a no-prep gallery walk project themed around Alexander the Great. The resource comes with 13 different artifacts, printable and digital student handouts, and teacher guides and answer keys for easy implementation and assessment.
5. Hike through historical eras
Unless your history classroom is equipped with a time machine, a walking tour with your high school history class is the best way to experience prehistory firsthand. Perfect as a group project culminating in an immersive historical experience, the well-organized walking tour includes role play, sets and artifacts for viewers to explore.
If you invite other classes or younger students on the hike, set up the program in a larger space than the classroom, such as an outdoor patio or multipurpose room. Encourage high school students to dress up in costume and consider awarding a prize to the student who puts the most effort into the project!
Paleo and Neolithic Revolution Events | Stone Age Gallery Walk
Author: Social Studies by Michel Luck
Grade: 6-10
Subjects: Ancient History, Social Studies, World History
Standard: CCSS RH-6-8.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7; RH.9-10.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7
How much do your classmates know about prehistory? Walking tour resources take students through 26 sites in the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods to investigate early humans, the invention of fire, hunting and gathering, early religion and government, and more.
6. Collaborative Social Studies Puzzle Activity
Puzzle activities are an effective way for students to be both learners and teachers in the same assignment. These high school history group activities create sites with information sources for one student in each group to study and take notes. The newly formed experts then return to their groups to teach their colleagues what they have learned.
You can use puzzle activities in your lessons for any historical era or social studies concept. Consider adding videos and other digital resources to each station, and even assign student historians to convey the meaning of different resources to their peers.
Causes of the Great Depression and New Deal Solutions
Stephanie’s History Shop
Grade: 8-11
Subjects: Social Studies, United States History, World History
Use group activities to talk about the multiple causes of the Great Depression by comparing each cause to items in the New Deal. This resource provides students with printable materials and a teacher’s guide to guide the course and is a great way to immerse students in one of the pivotal moments of the 20th century.
More High School History Group Activities
Need more ideas for kids to work with? Use these proven activities, games, and collaborative projects in your next history lesson.
- Have the group play a history- and geography-themed board game, such as Risk or Catan.
- Have students go on a scavenger hunt in the classroom or throughout the school to find historical items, such as school landmarks or items invented in a specific era.
- Divide the class in half and have two teams compete in a board competition, with one student at a time writing answers to a history or social studies question.
- Assign the group a mural project that represents a period or important figure in history.
- Have groups create and perform a parody song, skit, reenactment, or other performance in front of the class.
Tips for leading history group activities
Interested in bringing more group activities into your high school history class? Use these tips to implement high-quality and engaging projects that are sure to inspire social studies students to learn about any moment in history.
- Get students out of their seats whenever possible, whether that’s walking around the classroom, going outside, or just moving to a different part of the room.
- Incorporate other skills into group activities, including art, speaking and listening, mathematics, technology, and leadership.
- Courses are kept as student-oriented and student-led as possible, with teachers only introducing activities and lightly monitoring student progress.
- Use career exploration ideas to address social studies-based career paths such as MP, lawyer, historian, etc.
- Align group activities with NCSS, including culture, power and authority, science and technology, and citizenship ideals and practices.
- Connect with other courses, including ELA and Science, to create interdisciplinary group activities that address skills and concepts in both courses.
Bring history to life through carefully curated teamwork and TPT
When you augment lecture and textbook work in your high school history class with participation in group activities, you create unforgettable opportunities for students to truly learn about history in ways they never have before. These group assignments make great unit or end-of-year projects or review games for high schools, ensuring students never forget this moment in history! Use these and more high school social studies group activities to create an immersive academic experience for teen historians.
