Teaching Washington State History and Geography

Washington Interactive is a digital Washington state history and geography curriculum written specifically for middle school, built around the Common Core State Standards, not only in social studies, but in reading, writing, listening and speaking. Created by Washington state teachers, we've paid close attention to CCSS targets so that teachers have what they need in an easy-to-use format.

We knew this program needed to be different than the traditional textbook. Therefore, our program contains three essential parts and some extras...

Furtive: In order to hook students into history and geography, we needed an engaging story, one that has characters and situations students can make connections with. Therefore, students follow key characters as they try to solve the mysteries left by clues as it relates to history and geography. Each chapter in the book refers to the region of study. We use the student text not only to engage students but also to teach them through the dialogue and situations the characters encounter. The name of the novel is called FURTIVE.

Student Articles: The Student Articles are the core text. Think of this as your traditional textbook, only digital. These dynamic web pages are written as one-page articles to keep students interested. By doing this, teachers have the flexibility to use only the articles they need, and schools don't have to worry about textbooks degrading over time. An added bonus is the ability to update pages and inserts as we modify and add to the curriculum.

Picture Galleries: Over the years of teaching, we realized that many of our students had yet to see much of the state. A textbook can only give a student so much. Field trips are great, but there are too many areas in Washington to get to, which can get expensive, so we created Picture Galleries. The Galleries are high-resolution pictures of the area of study so students can see what the area looks like. The Picture Galleries come with the curriculum, so teachers have a total package: The engaging Student Text, Furtive, Student Articles, and Picture Galleries . . . giving students the best experience possible. And with this new version, we've added student challenges, a fun component that reinforces geography skills.

Downloadable Content: As we enhance and expand our current curriculum, we are excited to introduce a series of Downloadable Content (DLC). Each DLC includes a selection of new student articles, enriching the learning experience. Additionally, these DLCs feature eagerly awaited sequels to our popular student text, Furtive, offering fresh perspectives and continued learning opportunities.

How Washington Interactive Works

Interactive Washington is divided into sections or regions of the state. For each region, students have Articles (student text), the Picture Gallery, the corresponding Furtive chapters, along with other activities the teacher can choose to utilize. A more thorough explanation can be provided by reading the Quick Start Guide (see below).

Sample Materials

Costs

WA Interactive is subscription based. It's $349 per teacher for the first year, then $49.99 per teacher each year after. You will also need student logins for the number of studens you teach. Logins are $8.50 per student and is a yearly cost.