Detroit Phone-Free Classrooms: Printable History Units for Grades 7–9
Detroit Phone-Free Classrooms: Printable History Units for Grades 7–9
Yes, you can run full history lessons in a Detroit classroom where phones stay away from the entry bell to the dismissal bell. The Middle School History Units Bundle ($74.99) gives you nine printable resources for Grades 7–9, from the Black Death and Pompeii to industrialization and migration, with reading texts, source tasks, worksheets and answer keys that students use on paper.
Open the history bundleIf your DPSCD class is phone-free this year, the Middle School History Units Bundle is a practical fit at $74.99. Its nine resources are The Medieval Plague, Daily Life of Medieval Peasants, Pompeii and Herculaneum, Industrialization & Labor Movements, European Integration, Migration in the 21st Century, Famous U.S. Presidents, a 1930 school workbook and a history escape room. Students work from printed pages; only you need a screen for slides. It is not written for Michigan's standards.
The resources
Middle School History Units Bundle, Grades 7–9
9 resources in one download: $74.99 instead of $123.91 bought separately.
Start with the first resource; the others are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
Middle School History Units Bundle | Black Death, Peasants, Pompeii, Industrialization, Migration & U.S. Presidents | 9 Resources | Grades 7–9
XXL History Teaching Bundle – Grades 6 to 9 | Complete Curriculum
World History Complete – Ready-to-Use Curriculum for Middle School History
XXL Medieval History Bundle – Black Death, Feudalism & Society
The real problem
History without the phone in the room
Detroit Public Schools Community District expects students not to use cell phones from the entry bell to the dismissal bell, starting on the first day of the 2026–27 school year, August 24, 2026. Each school decides whether phones are collected or stored powered off, and some high schools may allow them at lunch. The district is not acting alone: new Michigan rules for this school year require every district to adopt a policy restricting cellphones, smart watches and smart glasses during instruction. For a history teacher the change shows up in small places. A quick image search for a primary source, a phone poll during a debate, students photographing the board: those habits are gone. What works instead is material students can hold, annotate and argue over. The content question is separate. Michigan's Grade 7 course is World History and Geography, from pre-history through the classical empires with case studies before 1500, and Grade 8 is Integrated U.S. History from the Revolution through Reconstruction. Middle school teachers need printed units that slot into that sequence or carry review and sub days without assuming a device in every hand.
Why it fits
Why these nine resources suit a DPSCD phone-free room
The units were built for print and digital classrooms, so the paper side stands on its own. Here is where that matters under the new policy.
- The Medieval Plague unit uses printed chronicles and images, so source work needs no search engine.
- Roleplay and debate preparation in the plague unit replace phone polls with structured talk.
- Pompeii and Herculaneum works as a stand-alone case study next to Grade 7 lessons on the classical world.
- Differentiated worksheets in the plague unit let mixed readers tackle the same source at different levels.
- The History Escape Room is printable, so review days stay active while phones are locked away.
- Teacher slides run from one screen while students work on paper and check answers against the keys.
Getting started
Running a device-free history week
One way to build a week around a single unit. Swap in whichever unit matches your scope and sequence.
- Monday: printed reading, pens outHand out the informational text from The Medieval Plague with its reading scaffolds. Students annotate on paper, so the habit of looking things up gives way to reading closely.
- Tuesday: sources at the tableGroups work through the source analysis tasks with images and chronicles. Project the slides for whole-class discussion and have students compare a medieval account with modern pandemics.
- Wednesday: differentiated practiceAssign the differentiated worksheets by reading level. The answer keys let you check work while you circulate instead of carrying a stack of papers home.
- Thursday: roleplay and debate prepUse the roleplay and debate preparation tasks. Without phones, students rely on their notes and the texts, which keeps every argument tied to evidence they have read.
- Friday: timeline and escape roomClose with the unit's timeline work. Save the printable History Escape Room for a review day before a break or a unit test, when attention is low and phones are already put away.
What to buy
Which history product fits your year
For a Detroit teacher who needs ready units for single topics or sub days, the Middle School History Units Bundle at $74.99 is the efficient choice; its nine parts cost $123.91 separately. If you want one source for a full year from ancient civilizations to the Cold War, the XXL History Teaching Bundle ($249.90) covers all major periods. World History Complete – Middle School ($149.90, 190+ resources) starts with early civilizations and leans on historical thinking, closer to the Grade 7 focus. For the medieval topics alone, the XXL Medieval History Bundle costs $19.99.
Honest limits
Limits to know before you buy
The units are written for a national audience. There is no Michigan history, no Michigan K-12 Social Studies Standards codes and no units on the Revolution or Reconstruction for Grade 8, and DPSCD has not reviewed or approved it. Compare each unit with your district's scope and sequence. You supply printing, and the slides need a classroom display. Enforcing the phone policy stays with your school; the units only give students something worthwhile to do on paper. If several teachers will share the files, message Teach Lessons first. Within 7 days you can exchange the bundle for store credit of equal value, not cash.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Does this bundle line up with the Michigan K-12 Social Studies Standards?
No. It is not aligned to, endorsed by or approved by Michigan or DPSCD. The units are general middle school history. Before teaching, compare each one with the Michigan K-12 Social Studies Standards and your Grade 7 or Grade 8 course map, and use what fits as a case study, an extension or review.
Can students complete every part without a phone or laptop?
The reading texts, worksheets, source tasks, escape room and answer keys are printable, so students can do the work on paper. The slides are meant for you to project. Nothing in the product descriptions requires a student device, account or app. Students need the printed pages and a pencil.
Does the escape room work if phones are collected at the door?
Yes. History Escape Room – The Lost Time Archive is a printable activity. Print and prepare it the day before, and students solve it with the printed materials, which suits schools that collect phones as well as those where phones stay stored and powered off. Keep a set aside for sub days.
Which units suit Grade 8 U.S. history in Michigan?
Honestly, few. Famous U.S. Presidents touches U.S. history, but the bundle has no units on the Revolution, the new nation, the Civil War or Reconstruction. For Grade 8 treat it as enrichment or sub-day material, not as your core. Your core Grade 8 units have to come from your district materials.
Can our department share the bundle?
The licence is for your own teaching. If other history teachers in your building want the same units, send Teach Lessons a short message before sharing them, and say how many teachers are involved. Posting the files on a public site or passing them to other schools is not allowed.
What happens after I order?
You get a download link by email right after purchase, and the files stay in your account under Orders, so the first unit can be printed the same evening. If the bundle turns out not to fit your course, exchange it within 7 days for store credit of equal value.
Plan the next phone-free week in one sitting
The product page lists all nine resources with their grade ranges.
Open the history bundle