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in Our Own Backyard: The Hidden Problem of Child Farmworkers - AFT
Grades
8 to 12
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This site presents facts, video, activities, and thoughtful questions about the treatment of migrant children today in the U.S. Help students learn first hand about social problems,...more
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This site presents facts, video, activities, and thoughtful questions about the treatment of migrant children today in the U.S. Help students learn first hand about social problems, the possibility of social change, the role of legislation, critical thinking, and the power of original documents.
In the Classroom
Use this site as a launch point for debates, class discussion, or student projects on the history of labor, the contributions of minorities in American life, and the hot current events discussions of border control. Consider this topic for possible social action projects or political letter-writing and more. Examples of projects other classrooms have created are available on the website as well as teacher testimonials on teaching about child labor.
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Connecticut
Grades
4 to 12
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The state's home page. ...more
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The state's home page.
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History Matters - George Mason University
Grades
9 to 12
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George Mason University has created what is almost a one stop shopping site for American History. This is a rich resource of primary source materials, introductions to historical analysis,...more
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George Mason University has created what is almost a one stop shopping site for American History. This is a rich resource of primary source materials, introductions to historical analysis, factual material, and much more. The site concentrates on both historical content and the craft of teaching history. This makes it an ideal starting point for social studies or history teachers interested in a fresh approach to their curriculum.
In the Classroom
This site offers a treasure trove of primary sources that would be useful for any history classroom. Teachers can either use the sources to supplement their lectures, or can use them to start a debate with students on the qualities of effective primary sources. Separate students into groups, and provide each group with a different primary source, although from the same time frame you are studying in class. Have the groups analyze the sources, and a list of reasons as to why or why not their source is a reliable source. From then on, have the groups debate in class which is the most reliable by way of class debate. Not only will the kids synthesize the important information within the sources, but they will also get a handle as to what makes a source reliable.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Image Detective - Library of Congress
Grades
5 to 12
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In this activity, you select a photo from a topic of interest. Topics include: Immigration, Cities, Industrialization, The West, Leisure and Amusement, Progressive Reform, Woman & Suffrage,...more
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In this activity, you select a photo from a topic of interest. Topics include: Immigration, Cities, Industrialization, The West, Leisure and Amusement, Progressive Reform, Woman & Suffrage, Children, and World War I. Next you create a story background for the photo you have chosen. Select a question to answer on each page or create your own question about the photo. Click to the next screen to gather clues as you mouse over different sections of the photo and type in information gained from observing closely. Another screen yields background information on the photo. In the second to last screen, combine the clues in order to safely draw conclusions about the information the photo provides. A comparison screen at the end lets you see information others have deduced from the photo.
In the Classroom
Share the photos on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Use the series of steps on this activity to teach students the skills of observation, deduction, and drawing intelligent conclusions. Have students do this activity in pairs in a computer lab. The steps are available to use on paper or printable in pdf format, so students can select their own mystery photos and create a similar activity away from the computer. ESL/ELL students can benefit from using the steps in this process. Images will help them understand material better, and they can also create their own presentations. Have students bring and exchange mystery photos; see if the conclusions they draw match the family stories the photo owners have. Science teachers can use this photo activity to teach about scientific method and, in particular, making observations. Start with the offerings on this site, then try it with more "scientific" images.
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Star Spangled Banner - Smithsonian
Grades
6 to 12
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Learn about the flag that inspired the National Anthem at this Smithsonian site. The site includes a quiz, a teacher section, and descriptive information about the flag, the War of...more
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Learn about the flag that inspired the National Anthem at this Smithsonian site. The site includes a quiz, a teacher section, and descriptive information about the flag, the War of 1812, and the battle at Fort McHenry that inspired Francis Scott Key's poem.
In the Classroom
Use this site as an introductory activity for a lesson on the Flag's creating during a unit on the American Revolutionary War. Introduce the site on the interactive whiteboard before allowing students to explore it in cooperative learning groups on classroom computers. Have the students search the site with, answering specific questions on a follow-along (created by you) that encourages them to explore the site in depth. For help with making that follow-along, we recommend using Graphic Organizer Maker, (reviewed here). Afterward, have a class discussion or some sort of reflection piece to allow students to vocalize questions and opinions about the information presented.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Discovering Lewis and Clark - VIAs Inc.
Grades
7 to 12
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Capture the excitement and adventure of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with this beautifully crafted and continually evolving multimedia site. Choose one of ten discovery paths and...more
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Capture the excitement and adventure of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with this beautifully crafted and continually evolving multimedia site. Choose one of ten discovery paths and enter the unchartered lands of early 19th century America. Visitors can see and experience the western United States through the eyes of the explorers, learn about the geography, flora and fauna, native peoples, and values and visions that defined their journey. This site has many possibilities for classroom use, but it stands out as an excellent tool for independent student research.
In the Classroom
Use this site as a learning center or station during a unit on the two explorers and western expansion. Based on what they read, have students create a multi-media presentation summarizing the main points. Have students create a presentation using PowerPoint Online, reviewed here. This site allows users to narrate a picture. Challenge students to find a photo (legally permitted to be reproduced), and then narrate the photo as if it is a news report. To find Creative Commons images for student projects (with credit, of course), try Pikwizard, reviewed here. Have students report the exploration as though it were a current event, using images from the site or other approved sources.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Indian Peoples of the Northern Great Plains - Montana State University
Grades
4 to 12
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Created at Montana State University, this site offers archival photos, descriptions, and related information organized around the tribes of the northern great plains. These photos show...more
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Created at Montana State University, this site offers archival photos, descriptions, and related information organized around the tribes of the northern great plains. These photos show tribal customs and activities, and may sometimes be a more accurate portrayal of native American cultures than that commonly available.
In the Classroom
Use this site as a point of reference in searching for primary sources and images of the Native American tribes from the Northwest. These images could easily be used to supplement a unit on the tribes themselves, Westward Expansion, and the tensions between the US government and the various tribes in that region. Useful resource for a US history or government classroom.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Franklin Institute - The Franklin Institute Science Museum
Grades
2 to 12
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This website includes information about Benjamin Franklin, lesson ideas for the classroom, field trip ideas for visiting the Franklin Institute and information about the many unique...more
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This website includes information about Benjamin Franklin, lesson ideas for the classroom, field trip ideas for visiting the Franklin Institute and information about the many unique and educational exhibits at the museum. Ben Franklin is one of America's most colorful patriots. His accomplishments as legislator, diplomat, and scientist were recognized as extraordinary even in his own day. Philadelphia's Franklin Institute has a memorial to Franklin. You can include it in your Philadelphia visit, or learn more about it here.
In the Classroom
Share this and other sections of the TeachersFirst Colonial America tour as part of your study of the colonies so students can see what these historic locations look like today.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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GOV.com - GOV.com
Grades
9 to 12
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Need an honest, unbiased resource on government news and policy? Tap into this site that delivers verifiable information on everything from FBI press releases, to travel warnings, to...more
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Need an honest, unbiased resource on government news and policy? Tap into this site that delivers verifiable information on everything from FBI press releases, to travel warnings, to White House statements. No media editing, opinion, or commentary provided! Let your students add that!
In the Classroom
Enrich a current events discussion with this resource. Compare what is heard and seen by students in the media with the facts that appear on this site.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Timelines: Sources from History - British Library
Grades
4 to 12
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This site, created in the United Kingdom, offers many timelines with a simple click to launch an amazing 3-dimensional page. Timelines are organized by subject matter and include samplings...more
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This site, created in the United Kingdom, offers many timelines with a simple click to launch an amazing 3-dimensional page. Timelines are organized by subject matter and include samplings from literature, sociology, history, everyday life, science, technology, explorers, medicine, and more. With another click, you can zoom from one century to another. Start in the 1210s and work your way through the years. View the context of history using visual artifacts from DaVinci's contemporaries to shopping in the 1890s. Connect historical events or technological accomplishments by seeing them alongside simultaneous events, precursors, or results. An additional option allows you to save favorite timelines and/or events. Although the main timeline requires flash which is no longer supported, the century timelines remain viewable and provide valuable information.
In the Classroom
This site is excellent for research projects or to provide visual context to your curriculum in social studies, world cultures, world history, literature, art, or western heritage classes. Offer this set of timelines as a research source for history, social studies, and literature classes. Show students these timelines on an interactive whiteboard. Or have students research various topics on their own using this fabulous tool. Pique their interest by letting them browse to find out what else happened at the same time as events in the standard history curriculum -- then ask WHY. Challenge cooperative learning groups to create online posters displaying their findings using an online poster creator, such as Padlet (reviewed here).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Debates in the Federal Convention
Grades
9 to 12
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Cmprising the period from May through October, 1787, this site contains the daily journals of James Madison in which he discusses the progress of the Constitutional Convention. Students...more
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Cmprising the period from May through October, 1787, this site contains the daily journals of James Madison in which he discusses the progress of the Constitutional Convention. Students interested in first-hand accounts of the forming of the American Government will find these journals great reading. High ideals notwithstanding, they show that the art of compromise was alive and well at the birth of the federal government.
In the Classroom
Use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson on a projector. Fit to compliment a lesson on the Continental Congress, select a few debates in the site to exhibit how detailed some of the issues faced were. Use the examples as a writing prompt - if in the Continental Congress, what would be the most important issues the Students would raise? If the federal government ceased to exist today, what laws would they create? Would they change anything? This is a great way for students to connect the past lessons of the Revolution to the present!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Lewis & Clark and the Revealing of America - Library of Congress
Grades
6 to 12
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This online exhibition site offers a glimpse of some of the many documents associated with the Lewis and Clark expedition, ranging from maps drawn by the explorers to Thomas Jefferson's...more
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This online exhibition site offers a glimpse of some of the many documents associated with the Lewis and Clark expedition, ranging from maps drawn by the explorers to Thomas Jefferson's secret cipher for sending coded messages. The text includes excerpts from the journals the explorers kept.
In the Classroom
Use this site as a learning center or station during a lesson on Lewis and Clark and their travels. Introduce the site on the interactive whiteboard before allowing students to explore the site in cooperative learning groups on classroom computers. Have cooperative learning groups create podcasts demonstrating their understanding of one of the concepts. Use a site such as PodOmatic (reviewed here).Students can summarize their entire journey, or focus on one specific aspect, such as the explorers interactions with Native Americans. American history teachers will definitely be able to incorporate this one into their classroom.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Historypin - We Are What We Do
Grades
4 to 12
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This is a site created in partnership with Google as a project to help generations share and talk more through social networking. The concept is that young people ask older ...more
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This is a site created in partnership with Google as a project to help generations share and talk more through social networking. The concept is that young people ask older people to share their photos; these photos are then uploaded through Google maps to show the world as it once was. The older pictures can be compared to today's images through Google street view. In addition to uploading photos, stories can also be shared about the time period and the pictures.
In the Classroom
Use as an enhancement to research projects of family, historic events, and world cultures by finding and uploading pictures to the map. Use Historypin as a resource to compare and contrast different time periods in the same geographic area. Demonstrate on the interactive whiteboard or projector how different places have changed over time. Have individual students or cooperative learning groups create podcasts using PodOmatic (reviewed here) to go along with the maps. ESL students will appreciate the ability to upload pictures and/or learn about their country of original.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Photos from the Library of Congress - Library of Congress
Grades
4 to 12
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This site offers examples from the Library of Congress collection of civil war photos by Matthew Brady and other photographers of the era. ...more
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This site offers examples from the Library of Congress collection of civil war photos by Matthew Brady and other photographers of the era.
In the Classroom
Useful as an introduction to the use of primary source materials in teaching history.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Early Cultures: The Pre European Peoples of Wisconsin - Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center
Grades
6 to 12
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Although this site is designed to illustrate the early peoples of Wisconsin, the information may be useful to anyone studying the broader areas around the upper Mississippi Valley....more
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Although this site is designed to illustrate the early peoples of Wisconsin, the information may be useful to anyone studying the broader areas around the upper Mississippi Valley. The site looks at the people, artifacts, and cultures of a series of inhabitants beginning around 10,000 BC and continuing up until European contact around 1650. Good narratives about each culture, along with photos of artifacts and drawings of settlements and activities all can be obtained asPDFs.
In the Classroom
There are some nice PDF files for teacher use that compare and contrast the pre-contact cultures. This would be especially helpful in illustrating that the "native people" of North America vary widely depending upon time frame and geography. There are lesson plans and a very nice illustrated glossary of terms and artifacts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Social Studies Web Sites and Resources
Grades
1 to 12
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Here's a treasure-trove of lessons, materials, ideas, units and resources. Lots and lots of great material here from sources as various as the academy Curriculum Exchange, Houghton...more
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Here's a treasure-trove of lessons, materials, ideas, units and resources. Lots and lots of great material here from sources as various as the academy Curriculum Exchange, Houghton Mifflin, Addison Wesley, AskERIC, Encarta and the Peace Corps. Print 'em out and turn 'em loose on the kids! This is definitely worth a browse!
In the Classroom
Save this site as a favorite it and browse it whenever in need of new lesson plans and materials within a social studies classroom. This is a great resource for new teachers, or for someone just looking for fresh ideas on how to cover a topic.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Library of Congress 9/11 Acquisitions - Library of Congress
Grades
6 to 12
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This page offers an entry point to the various images and materials about the 9/11 attacks which the Library of Congress has acquired. The collection includes photos, newspaper accounts,...more
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This page offers an entry point to the various images and materials about the 9/11 attacks which the Library of Congress has acquired. The collection includes photos, newspaper accounts, books, and works of art inspired by the attacks. While there is likely no single definitive collection of this material, this one is an extensive resource.
In the Classroom
Use this site as a learning center or station during a unit on September 11th, focusing mainly on the images and posters available. The images could be used for a picture walk or to accompany a lecture.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Wright Brothers and the Invention of the Aerial Age - Smithsonian
Grades
8 to 12
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This site offers beautiful illustrations, photographs and interactive activities, all designed to acquaint visitors with the challenges and achievements of the Wright Brothers. In...more
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This site offers beautiful illustrations, photographs and interactive activities, all designed to acquaint visitors with the challenges and achievements of the Wright Brothers. In addition to excellent content - organized by topic in timeline format - the site features an artifact gallery and several well-planned classroom activities. An interactive "pitch, roll, and yaw" experiment is coming soon.
In the Classroom
Use the images on this site to create a visual discovery activity in your classroom to introduce the topic of the Wright brothers. Select 3-5 of the more powerful images, placing them on separate slides in a Powerpoint, to be displayed over the projector. Have students write down what they observe, predict and infer about each image jotting them down on a graphic organizer. (For help making graphic organizers, try: Graphic Organizer Maker, (reviewed here).) Once the class has gone through all of the images, have a class discussion based on the notes that students took during the process. This activity can be used to introduce or review, in a non-lecture format.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Centennial of Flight Commission - US government
Grades
4 to 12
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This government site offers information the celebration of the Wright Brothers' Flight centennial, as well as a great collection of printable posters and commemorative lesson materials....more
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This government site offers information the celebration of the Wright Brothers' Flight centennial, as well as a great collection of printable posters and commemorative lesson materials. These could make great classroom decorations, and the lesson materials are thorough and grade-specific. Try this one on students interested in the physics of flight or a career in aviation.
In the Classroom
Use the games on this site as a way to help students review the information in learning centers or during a lull in class time. Teachers can also post this on their class wiki to allow students to access it both in and out of the classroom!
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Frontline Teachers Guides - PBS Frontline
Grades
8 to 12
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The PBS Frontline series regularly challenges viewers' assumptions about controversial issues. This teacher portal for the series offers direct access to supplementary materials for...more
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The PBS Frontline series regularly challenges viewers' assumptions about controversial issues. This teacher portal for the series offers direct access to supplementary materials for many current and past programs, all sorted by subject area. If your field is government or social studies and you enjoy letting students wrestle with ideas, you will find lots of possibilities in this one.
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans hosted on this site! Be sure to save this one as a favorite to allow for easy retrieval later on.
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