1395 american-history results | sort by:

Mapping the Nation - Susan Schulten
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
Bookmark and save this site to use in a variety of ways. Share maps with students that show information for different periods of time during the 19th Century. Because this site includes various types of maps, use these resources to provide a wider context of the time period. For example, choose the time from 1860-1870 to take a look at the Civil War era. Have students use the information found in the maps to research and understand population patterns in the United States, explore the slave population's distribution, and understand the geographic locations of the south's cotton regions. Help students understand the different content using Padlet, reviewed here, to organize and share information. Create columns within the Padlet to share maps, articles, and primary sources separated by content such as geography, weather, political information, or other important categories. Ask students to share their understanding using one of the many digital tools found at Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here. Have a group create posters that include downloadable maps found at this site to tell the story of the Civil War through a geographic lens, ask another group to create a web page sharing information from a journalist's point of view, and have others create social media graphics featuring headlines of the day appealing to different areas of the country.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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The People's House: History, Art & Archives - Office of the Historian, US House of Representatives
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Understanding the separation of powers is fundamental to learning about how the US is governed. While it may be tempting to group the Senate and the House of Representatives into one legislative entity, there are important differences between the two bodies. This site can help students see the specific role the Founders had for this branch of government. Looking at important events in US history, like women's suffrage, civil rights, and foreign policy through the lens of the House gives added depth to the lesson. Students may be interested in the process by which the House conducts its business. Who is a "whip" and why do they call him (or her) that? Take some time to check out the lesson plans and other resources designed for educators as well.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A Whole New World: Using Books to Help Teach Students About Colonial America - TeachersFirst
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Bookmark and save this resource to use when teaching about Colonial America. Engage students in learning by incorporating suggested book titles that help students understand colonial times through a personal perspective. Help students compare and contrast current times to the colonial time period using a Venn Diagram. Canva's Venn Diagram Creator reviewed here, includes easy to use tools for creating and sharing a variety of Venn Diagrams. Extend learning by asking students to create animated videos using Adobe Express Video Maker, reviewed here to tell the story about a character or event from colonial times.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin and the Components of Stars - Project PHaEDRA
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Share this collection with students to explore when learning about famous Women in History, scientific advancements, or during an astronomy unit. Ask collaborative groups to work together and share information found in the collection. Use a collaborative note-taking tool such as Notejoy, reviewed here, to have students share ideas and information using checklists, adding images and links, and documenting individual contributions to the project. You may also want to show a few videos, or provide a list for students to watch using Youtube videos. Ask groups or individuals to share their learning using a simple video creation tool like CapCut, reviewed here with voice overs and templates. Ask students to include images and require they include proper citations along with their original work.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Teachers Righting History - Rosie Rios
Grades
5 to 12In the Classroom
Download and share the database provided on the site as a starting point for many different history projects. Enhance student learning and begin your project by having students choose a famous woman and personalizing a dollar bill with her image using Festisite Money, reviewed here. As students continue researching famous women, share our TeachersFirst Women's History Month Resources located here, as a starting point for finding information. Instead of just creating a list of online resources for student research, engage students by creating interactive learning activities using a tool like FigJam, reviewed here. Google Jamboard allows you to highlight, add comments, and add sticky notes including video to any web page. Students reply directly within the page and add their own notes. As a final project, enhance learning by asking students to use a timeline tool like Time Graphics Timeline Maker, reviewed here, to share information about their research and add context with other historical events of the time.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Maya Angelou - Unit - Kids Disover
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
This unit is geared for 5th-6th grade readability (Lexile level 750-890). Introduce your students to this unit on your interactive whiteboard or a projector. The first part, Tough Beginnings, is very interesting, describing that Maya didn't speak for five years and why. Once you get through that part and the Think Piece that goes with it, let students read the rest in pairs or small groups. For the Think Piece(s), create a class Google Jamboard, reviewed here, where students can record their answers and include sticky notes and images. Depending on the age of your students, you may want to create a guided reading activity using Read Ahead, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Teaching The New Jim Crow - Tolerance.org
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Incorporate this free unit as a guide to teaching the sensitive topics of race and justice with or without using the novel. As you begin your unit, use AnswerGarden, reviewed here, as an anonymous brainstorming and response tool. Use AnswerGarden by forming open-ended questions such as "The hard part of talking about racism is..." or "The beneficial part of talking about racism is..." as a way to elicit student ideas without students being concerned about sharing ideas orally with their peers. Use AnswerGarden in various ways throughout the unit to gauge student ideas and responses to lesson topics. All of the lessons include essential questions and big ideas, use Gravity, reviewed here as a collaborative tool to encourage student conversations through Gravity's video response options. Extend learning using podcasts as a format for students to share their learning about race and our justice system. For example, PodcastGenerator, reviewed here, for students to create podcasts to discuss different components of race relations and the justice system.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Social History for Every Classroom (SHEC) - American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Bookmark and save this site to find lesson ideas and teaching activities to use in any American History Class. Include the ideas found on SHEC to apply to other history lesson topics. For example, one activity looks at slave life using primary source images and short text. As part of this activity, students create found poems using the keywords found in the documents. Adapt this strategy to learning about the American Revolution, World Wars, or any other significant events. Using lesson ideas and information on SHEC, engage students to start a new learning unit using a polling tool to create a word cloud. Answer Garden, reviewed here, is a free tool that creates word clouds based on students' short answer responses to an initial question. Ideas might include, "What words come to mind when you think about slave life?" or "What do you think life was like for the first colonists arriving from England?" Enhance student learning using Curipod, reviewed here, to create interactive lessons that include videos, quizzes, and learning activities. Extend learning by asking students to demonstrate learning using a multimedia tool such as Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here. Offer students options to "show what they know" by creating a website, video, or graphic images that share their understanding of the content.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Quatr.us - Dr. Karen Carr
Grades
8 to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Bookmark Quatr.us as a resource for history articles and "on this date" information to share with students. Instead of creating links to bookmarked sites on your class webpage or computer, use Padlet, reviewed here to create an interactive resource for students. Within your Padlet create columns to add websites, videos, or other student resources. Consider using Quatr.us along with other history sites as a resource for students to use and create a weekly or monthly podcast discussing historic events using a site like Podcast Generator, reviewed here. Instead of just learning about historic events, different time periods, or the history of a country enhance student knowledge by having individual students or groups of students use Google My Maps reviewed here to create a virtual field trip to tell the story. Enhance student learning by asking students to use a timeline creation tool like Time Graphics Timeline Maker, reviewed here, to create an interactive timeline using images, maps, and video.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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You Can't Say That in School?! - NewseumED
Grades
8 to 12In the Classroom
Download (left menu in PDF or Word doc) and carefully read through the Unit - You Can't Say That in School?! Select activities and discussion questions that you think will pique student interest. You may want to print the scenarios and explanations made in the ready-made lesson of the Unit and hand one or two out to small groups of students to discuss. Break students into small groups, by interest, to investigate the results of each of the Allowed or Not Allowed questions. Have students present their findings to the class with a simple infographic tool such as Venngage, reviewed here, or creating a newsletter using Revue, here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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'Watergate' Video Lesson - NewseumED
Grades
8 to 12In the Classroom
Include this site with any lessons on the power of the press, the 70's, or presidents. This site is perfect for a flipped classroom activity, have students view the video and complete the worksheet questions at home before going in-depth with the material at school. Transform learning by having students create a timeline of events related to Watergate (with music, photos, videos, and more) using Timeline JS, reviewed here. Redefine learning by allowing students to be journalists and create their own newspaper using a site such as Printing Press, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Letters of Note - Shaun Usher
Grades
8 to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Find letters from authors to read when studying their novels. Choose letters from different time periods to share with students as an authentic look at life during that time (primary sources!). Have students share what they learned using a tool such as Zeemaps, reviewed here. Zeemaps allows students to create audio recordings AND choose a location (on a map) where the story takes place. Have students use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about a president, famous scientist, or nearly any other real or fictitious person.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Interdisciplinary Civics Education Lessons - United4SC
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Bookmark this excellent resource for use throughout the year to engage students as they learn about various social studies topics. Luckily, this site includes a link to each of the videos that are shared on EdPuzzle, reviewed here. Use these links to create and share video lessons with your students, including notes, quizzes, and comments extending learning. Use the included lesson plans as a starting point for your lessons, then ask students to extend learning by sharing information through various choices. For example, offer students options for creating a podcast teaching about one of the topics using Buzzsprout, reviewed here. Buzzsprout includes options to personalize podcasts, such as the ability to add links to show notes and the option to schedule episodes for release at specific times and dates; in addition offer Genially, reviewed here, where students can choose to create interactive presentations, images, infographics, charts, and anything else you can think of.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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JuxtaposeJS - Knight Lab
Grades
5 to 12In the Classroom
Use JuxtaposeJS to highlight then and now images of any location or building. Compare current cities to images taken many years ago. Compare and contrast pictures of major war battles to how they look in the present. Highlight changes in photographs over time. Compare and contrast changes in plants or animals. It may take some practice getting images to align properly; however, it is worth the time to create the visual presentation provided by this tool. Upload finished images to your class or student's websites. If you don't have a website, try a simple web page creator like Carrd, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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State of the Union Bingo - National Constitution Center
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
Take advantage of this free lesson plan as a supplement to your current events lessons. The Bingo sheet was created in 2012, you may need to modify some terms to adapt to current events. Divide students into groups and compare State of the Union addresses from throughout any one president's terms. Have students create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Venngage, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Who Was Alexander Hamilton? Early Influences - PBS Learning Media California
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
View this video together as a class as an introduction to lessons on Alexander Hamilton, the Constitution, or slavery. Flip your lessons and have students watch the video before class. Use the Discussion Questions from the site to challenge students to research other Founding Fathers. Have students or groups share what they know about Hamilton using Padlet, reviewed here. The Padlet application creates free online bulletin boards. Encourage students to research Alexander Hamilton's later life, then upload a photo they have encountered (with proper credit, of course) and add an explanation about what they learned using a tool such as Add Text, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Lewis and Clark - History.com
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Include this site with your resources for units involving American expansion, Thomas Jefferson, the French and Indian War, the Louisiana Purchase, or any related topics. Use an online teachers' utility like Actively Learn, reviewed here, to curate and distribute websites, videos, and more to students. In addition to the curation of resources, Actively Learn offers tools for student note-taking and assessments. When sharing this Lewis and Clark page with students, use Fiskkit, reviewed here, to collaboratively discuss the information found on the site, or for students to post notes and questions. Engage students in their own learning and ask them to create a book telling the story of Lewis and Clark using Book Creator, reviewed here. Ask students to include videos, online articles, and their own work to tell the story of Lewis and Clark's expedition. As students become more familiar with the expedition and the time period, ask them to create podcasts using Anchor, reviewed here, to retell the story of their journey. Another option is to ask students to create a timeline using Timeline JS, reviewed here, or choose from other timeline creation tools located here to tell the story using maps, videos, primary sources, and more.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Golden Gate and San Francisco Bay Bridge Construction 1934-1936 - The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
These are great primary source images and documents for the study of 1930s construction projects related to the rebuilding of the US during the final years of the Great Depression. Share the PowerPoint and photographs on your interactive whiteboard. Have students create a multimedia presentation using Presentious, reviewed here. This tool allows narrating and adding text to a picture. To find Creative Commons images (with credit, of course), try Wikimedia Commons, reviewed here. Use the photos as part of a physics or technology unit about bridges. Include this as one of several structures for students to research and analyze using their new-found concepts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Columbus/Indigenous Peoples Day - Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Use the materials shared on this site to enhance your current lessons about Christopher Columbus and Indigenous Americans. Many lessons include using organizational frameworks like Frayer Models and adding a Frayer Model to Google Slides, reviewed here, or Microsoft PowerPoint, reviewed here for students to share their information digitally. Find ready-to-use Frayer Model templates on sites like SlidesMania, reviewed here, by using the search feature. As students explore the primary source documents and information shared during the lesson activities, use Padlet, reviewed here, to curate and share information with students. Add links for viewing primary source documents, supplemental articles, and videos related to the lesson topic. As a learning extension, ask students to share their understanding of history by creating websites using Site123, reviewed here, which provides documentation and reflection upon the different historical perspectives found during the lessons.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Persuasive Cartography - Cornell University
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
Explore this site together as a class or allow students time to explore on their own. Select maps that correspond to your current teaching units; for example, when teaching about the Civil War, browse through many maps related to that time period and slavery. Save several examples in a Padlet collection, reviewed here, and ask students to analyze the map features and how they might be used to influence and persuade others. Have students create webpages to share their discussions on the features of persuasive maps using an easy website creation tool such as Carrd, reviewed here. Ask students to use the download link provided with each image to download the image and share it on their webpage. Enhance learning further by using digital annotation tools to add text, videos, and additional information to the downloaded image using Google Drawings, reviewed here, then embed the Google Drawing image on the webpage along with other student work. Extend learning further by asking students to think of other examples used in modern times to persuade and influence options such as infographics, social media posts, and commercials. Watch an archived OK2Ask session to learn how to use: OK2Ask Google Drawings, here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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