Need students to dig into a historical event? You may find that a one-page organizer is enough and gets students thinking. You can help fill it in later, while getting insight into what they know (or do not). Give students a question, point them toward reliable sources, then use an event map to capture what they find.
That is the idea behind History Event Maps, a collection of reusable, printable organizers for social studies. The maps are designed for quick source review, brief research, note-making, and teacher-created activities. You do not have to adopt a lesson or work through a unit to use one.
Introducing History Event Maps
In this collection, you will find twenty-four maps for your use. You will find eight maps per grade bands, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. What’s more, each event map is available in seven different languages, including English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, and Urdu.
Start With the Thinking
One feature I like is that you can begin with what you want students to do rather than hunting through a stack of worksheets. You can use the built-in drop-downs to select grade band (3-5, 6-8, 9-12), the desired thinking skill (e.g. Action and Reaction, Cause and Effect, etc.), or search maps as you like.
Use the filters to narrow the collection by grade band or skill, or search the available maps. Once you find the organizer that fits, students can research an event and fill in what they discover. The site describes them simply: “Pick a map. Research an event. Fill in what you discover.” It is pretty easy website to navigate. And, once you save the PDF, you can print it for an offline activity.
This approach also leaves the content choice with you. A map can become part of a warm-up, a short research task, a station activity, or a way to organize information before students write.
Spanish version of English version of Event Snapshot. Content is available in seven languages.
Keep the Technology Out of the Way
There are no student accounts or logins. The site does not collect any student data, and the tools run in the browser. That makes these organizers easier to consider when you want a quick activity without introducing another account or service.
The collection is also aligned to the 2022-adopted Texas Social Studies TEKS implemented beginning in the 2024-2025 school year. For teachers who want paper copies, the site offers print packets with all of the maps in a selected language, formatted for US Letter landscape printing.
Get the PowerPoint and/or Google Slides Version
Are you wanting to use these in your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace? In addition to the PDF version, you can also get the PPTx version or Google Slides version:
Need a particular language version? While the links above will get you the editable PowerPoint in English, click on the individual item to see the link to a PowerPoint file with “all 7 languages” displayed:
That way, you can get the multilingual version. For example, here’s the multilingual version in PowerPoint format for Event Snapshot map. Keep the slide you want, remove the unneeded ones.
Try One With Your Next Event
Pick an event students are already studying. Give them one History Event Map and two or three sources, then ask them to complete the organizer before discussing what they found.
Explore the History Event Maps and choose one that fits what your students need to think through next.