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History of Memorial Day - History Channel
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Though you may not be able to view the videos, there also links to good content on military history, military leaders, and the various physical memorial sites that honor US military veterans.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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On This Day - New York Times
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Try this one for a daily "historical current events" sampling. Take advantage of the "ready to go" lesson plans, which include interactive features.This site also makes for decent research. For a classroom-ready activity each day to build understanding of historical events in the context of your students' prior knowledge, also try TeachersFirst's Dates That Matter. Include both links on your teacher web page for instant access by students both in and out of class. Maybe start a class wiki for your own "This Day" collection and assign student groups a day of their own. Add to it from year to year. Or have students write blog responses on class or individual blogs as they choose an event for the day from several sources and react to it.
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Edupic Graphical Resource - William Vann
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Create classroom lessons that are interactive and visual. The images on Edupic are useful for creating interactive whiteboard lessons such as sequencing the life cycle of a frog, labeling the phases of cell mitosis, or adding the dots on a the back of a ladybug. Visual representations will help ELL or ESL teachers explain concepts and key vocabulary. Use imagery to enhance multimedia posters on ThingLink, reviewed here, create digital stories, or bring a slide presentation to life.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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California
Grades
4 to 12Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Pearl Harbor - Battleship Row
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Use the images on this site to create a visual discovery activity in your classroom, introducing the events of Pearl Harbor to students. Select 3-5 images from this site, choosing the most powerful and moving images. Placing the images on individual slides, allow students 1-2 minutes to observe each image. During that time period, students should be taking notes based on what they observe, predict and infer about each image. The more powerful and detailed the image is, the more information students can take out. After the class has observed all the chosen images, have a class discussion based on the notes students took. This is a great way to introduce content in a way that gets students thinking, as well as avoiding the typical lecture format.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Hayes vs. Tilden - Harpweek.com
Grades
6 to 12Although this resource was created based on the 2000 election, the background information and historical comparisons are valuable for teaching about elections in general and for comparing elections as part of U.S. history.
In the Classroom
Use the political cartoons as starters or introductory activities during a lesson on the controversial election. Find a cartoon that you think would be the best understood boy your students as well as the one that will most likely get them communicating and thinking about the topic on hand. Posting the image on the projector, have students reflect on the image either verbally or in some sort of journal writing. To differentiate it for a higher-level class, have the students respond to a specific component of the image, such as perspective, point of view, bias, intent, various layers, etc.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Encyclopedia of Chicago - Chicago Historical Society
Grades
8 to 12In the Classroom
Use the images on this site to create a visual discovery activity in your classroom. The images span the decades, and can be easily searched to find one that matches a particular unit in your classroom. Open the image on the interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students discuss or write what they observe, infer and predict happening in the photograph. This is a great way to review activity in place of a practice assessment, as it requires to use what the have learned and apply it to the circumstances in the photo in order to interpret it.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Digital Footlocker: The Home Fires--Montana in WWII - Thinking Through American History
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site to help students "feel" the realities of life during world war II. As you finish studying an era or concept, consider putting together a digital footlocker of your own on a wiki.Want to know more about wikis? See the TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through. You may also want to google 'digital footlocker' to see other online footlockers assembled by teachers.
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Klondike Gold Rush - Seattle Unit National Historic Park - National Park Service
Grades
3 to 12In the Classroom
Teachers in upper grades could easily pick and choose from these lessons to flesh out a unit on the Gold Rush. The link to "History and Culture" takes you to a Washington State data base of photographs and newspaper clippings that could provide good primary source material for classroom use or for History Day projects on the Gold Rush.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Great Debates in American History - Peter Pappas
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Teachers do not need to start from scratch to develop the themes, nor do they need to be using Boorstin's book to use these activities. Use these handouts and themes to prompt traditional debates or challenge student teams to prepare position videos or multimedia presentations using resource images and texts both from these files and from public domain files and other resources from the Library of Congress. Invite your students to choose from the many multimedia tools on the web to present their position. See the TeachersFirst Edge for reviewed suggestions including Image Annotator, SchoolTube. or TeacherTube for videos, or podomatic for audio-only arguments. Embed the products on your class blog or wiki and let classes vote on the debate "winners."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Academy of Achievement: Virtual Museum
Grades
5 to 12In the Classroom
Use the achievement TV segments to supplement almost any unit during a US history classroom. There's also tv segments that could easily be used in a language arts, science or art class. Really interesting segments - and in regards to history, a great way to add more of a multicultural perspective to your curriculum.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Papers of George Washington - University of Virginia
Grades
8 to 12In the Classroom
In a discussion of the Revolutionary War or the Founding Fathers, use the pictures and images to supplement your lecture. Very rarely do students get to see time-period appropriate maps, and those provided on the site can be used to show and diagram major battles. The site also provides some excellent primary sources that complement such a unit. An excellent one to look at is his famed "Farewell Address," which can be used for both a revolutionary unit and any on American Diplomacy. Have students read the address as a class, following it with a discussion on how this speech impacted American foreign relations for the next 200 years. A great site for any resources on Washington!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Timeline Index--People, Periods, Places, Events.... - Timeline Index
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Younger students might grasp the timeline concept more easily using this website as a starting place. Older students may enjoy just "noodling" around on this site and seeing how different topics and times inter-relate. Check out the "Today in History" section together on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Challenge students to research a topic and create their own online timelines using a tool such as Preceden, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Impact of Culture on U.S. Law - Yale University
Grades
8 to 12In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans and classroom activities on this site during a unit on immigration and the legal system. US history and Government teachers will appreciate this one - be sure to save this one as a favorite on your classroom computer to allow for easy retrieval later on!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Short Stories of Science and Invention - Today in Science History (Stories are from Charles Kettering)
Grades
6 to 12There are a number of short stories from all areas of science taken from Kettering's Radio talk shows. The general topics include "Introduction to Science and Invention," "Science and Invention in Transportation," "Science and Invention in War." Specific topics vary from Energy from the Sun to The Wright Way to Unraveling the Atom and many others.
In the Classroom
This site would be a helpful alternative text in the science classroom. Use this site for research projects or explaining some famous inventions. Extend reading into an online journaling project or even a classroom blog or wiki. Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries - check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through. The opportunity for collaboration, reflection, and eventually creating their own stories of their projects is wonderful. Have cooperative learning groups create multimedia presentations. To show what they have learned from this site, challenge students to create an online graphic to share using Lucidpress, reviewed here. Have groups create news reports using Adobe Express Video Maker, reviewed here, and share them using a tool such as SchoolTube, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Along the Chisholm Trail
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Use this PDF to teach about the "wild west," and how it was affected by the pioneers who settled it. Use this site as a learning center or station during a unit on the West and Westward Expansion. The information given would probably work best with a graphic organizer to accompany it. We recommend Graphic Organizer Maker, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Childe Hassam: American Impressionist - Metropolitan Museum of Art
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site as an introductory activity to impressionism in the U.S. with an interactive whiteboard or projector. The images on the site are excellent representations of impressionism and can be used as examples to help students characterize it.Divide students into cooperative learning groups to explore the site. Have them compare and contrast what they note about impressionism to other styles that have been studied before in class. Use an online tool such as the Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here. Have students print out their diagrams OR display their findings on the interactive whiteboard to their peers.
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Vote: The Machinery of Democracy - Smithsonian
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
Use the interactive exhibition portion of this site as a learning center or station during a unit on the US election process. (extra bonus if your class is specifically studying the 2000 election!)Have cooperative learning groups create podcasts demonstrating their understanding of one of the concepts. Use a site such as podOmatic, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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How the Understanding of US History Changes - National Public Radio
Grades
9 to 12Students are fascinated with the concept that their history text books might be wrong, or biased. Although the interview doesn't mention it, this discussion was also well illustrated in James Loewen's "Lies My Teacher Told Me." The seven minute interview might be quite useful in helping advanced students understand that history isn't static, and that any account of a historical "fact" should be considered in light of its context and the political perspective of the times.
In the Classroom
This site would be helpful to students preparing to do research for your class or for National History Day projects which must be developed using primary documents: to illustrate that even primary documents are subject to interpretation and cannot always be accepted at face value!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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American President - Miller Center of Public Affairs
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
If your students do Presidential biographies, this is a perfect site to save in your favorites for their use in preparing these. In addition, the multimedia gallery could be helpful in providing images to accompany lesson plans or other classroom presentations.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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