In The News

The exploration of American Principles is not just a theoretical exercise but a practical tool for students to navigate the complex terrain of American governance

Poptential course packages have been updated to incorporate “American Principles” designed to foster a greater understanding of American civic life and sharpen critical thinking skills among students. Additionally, Certell introduced a powerful new dashboard for teachers called Engauge™, which helps instructors understand student engagement with Poptential e-books in real time.

October historically has been a month of notable volatility in the stock market, with historic crashes like the 1929 Great Depression and Black Monday in 1987. These events have given rise to a sense of “Octoberphobia” among some investors. Lessons on these events and others are included in Common Sense Economics from Poptential™, a comprehensive…

This October marks 66 years since the international space race began between the United States and Russia, and much has changed since then. In 2023, history was made when India successfully touched down on the moon’s southern polar region, signifying a milestone in the world of space exploration, and private space travel rocketed towards reality…

Certell, has infused personal finance lessons as part of its free Economics course to help students begin developing strong financial habits. Poptential’s Economics Module 12 features bell ringers, mini-lessons, and multimedia content to engage and teach students strategies for managing money, such as how to open a bank account, create and maintain a budget and…

Poptential™, a family of free social studies course packages from Certell, provides rich content to teach the history leading up to Juneteenth, a national holiday on June 19, which commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States.

With availability of free teaching materials online and the speed at which physical textbooks become outdated, it’s not a surprise that schools are questioning if physical books are even essential. Students expect to learn using digital tools, so embrace the technology, and let it guide how you teach.

“While today’s high school students weren’t yet born when the United States was attacked on 9/11, the War on Terror resulting from that day has been in the news for most of their lives,” said Julie Smitherman, a former social studies teacher and director of content at Certell, Inc. Potential™, a family of free social…

While the U.S. Supreme Court begins hearing final cases in April before recessing until the fall, Poptential’s free digital curriculum provides teachers a rich curriculum about the role the Supreme Court plays in the U.S. government, including landmark cases and the court’s lifetime appointments.

As Tax Day approaches, Poptential™, a family of free social studies course packages, offers instructors media-rich content to teach key concepts about taxation in the United States.

As bank failures continue to make headlines in the United States and around the world, free digital content from Poptential™ offers teachers multimedia-rich content to help students learn why banks fail and what happens to the global economy when financial institutions collapse.

If students don’t improve their understanding of economics and personal finance at the high school level, they may never be exposed to it.

Poptential™, an award-winning family of free social studies course packages, offers instructors a variety of content to help students learn about the national debt using pop culture media to engage students.

The vast majority of high school students are not financially literate but respond well to economics and personal finance courses that include digital tools in their curriculum, according to a new study by Project Tomorrow and Certell, creator of the Poptential™ family of free, award-winning social studies course packages.

Certell, Inc., announced that the number of teachers and students registered to use its free Poptential™ social studies curriculum packages exceeded 100,000 in 2022 as teachers forgo printed textbooks for more current and interactive online tools. Nearly 1 million interactions were recorded on the Poptential platform in the fall 2022 semester.

Poptential™, a family of free, award-winning social studies course packages that infuse lessons with digital storytelling, offers an array of engaging content about the Civil Rights Movement for instruction during Black History Month.

In this episode, we discuss how to support teachers with classroom management, engagement, and actionable data collection. You’ll also hear how the Poptential curriculum has formative assessment seamlessly integrated and allows students to self-assess in real time!

Storytelling can be an effective way for teachers to make topics like inflation relevant to students.

Poptential™ offers an array of engaging content to illustrate the culture, traditions, and history of Native Americans for National American Indian Heritage Month.

“Poptential is full of ways teachers can demonstrate the importance of the upcoming midterms.”

When done right, American history instruction creates independent thinkers and respectful debaters.

One of the most effective teaching methods for the past 2,500 years has been the Socratic method, which encourages learning and critical thinking through fruitful dialogue and debate. When digital learning tools and curricula came on the scene, it appeared that classrooms fueled by Socratic discussions would go the way of dinosaurs — or Socrates.…

Rising gas prices, soaring inflation, and the sky-high cost of attending college are three economic challenges impacting high schoolers, and a recent survey conducted by Junior Achievement and Citizens Financial Group shows that majority of them feel unprepared to deal with these financial issues. Poptential™ offers a free curriculum designed to make learning about personal…

Courses like Poptential, which infuse course content with pop culture media, really appeal to digital-native students and make learning fun and effective…

Poptential courses, used by more than 30,000 teachers in 50 states, include everything instructors need to teach a subject, digitally accessible in one place, including lessons, ebooks, bell ringers, quizzes, and tests, as well as pop culture media to make lessons interesting and relatable to students. Curriculum packages are standards-based and developed by social studies…

Certell, Inc., a nonprofit online curriculum developer, announced it was named a Finalist for two EdTech 2022 Awards sponsored by EdTech Digest. Certell’s Poptential™ social studies curriculum was recognized as a Finalist for Curriculum and Instruction Solution, and Certell CEO Fred Fransen was named a Finalist for the EdTech Leadership Award.

Certell, Inc., a nonprofit online curriculum developer, announced that the number of teachers using its Poptential™ social studies curriculum packages grew by 70% in 2021, a sign that teachers are looking for ways to infuse lessons with popular culture and digital storytelling to reach digital native students.

Certell, Inc., a nonprofit online curriculum developer, announced that the number of teachers using its Poptential™ social studies curriculum packages grew by 70% in 2021, a sign that teachers are looking for ways to infuse lessons with popular culture and digital storytelling to reach digital native students.