4099 social-studies results | sort by:

Congress.org - C-Q Roll Call, Inc
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Consider placing this site on your class web page for students to use in researching political viewpoints, both in relation to upcoming elections and in ongoing political debate. It's a site for true politics junkies, but will be useful for those who are looking for concise information collected in a readable, easy-to-access format. Use the site during your study of the legislative branch and have groups follow congressional groups of individuals, creating a timeline of their activities using a tool such as Time Graphics Timeline Maker, reviewed here,You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
CurriConnects - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Share CurriConnects as links on your class web page or wiki or share them with school and local libraries where students can select books to accompany what they are studying. Explore the many ideas TeachersFirst offers for using CurriConnects in your classroom. Be sure to share these lists with ENL/ELL teachers for reading selections to build student vocabulary and understanding of curriculum.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
The Supreme Court: Games - PBS
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
These lessons would be useful on an interactive whiteboard or projector along with a unit on the Supreme Court or the US judicial system. Students might also use them to to extend or enrich the topic on their own time, or when they have completed other classwork. They are well researched and informative, however, most students won't view them as "games" as they are labeled. Have cooperative learning groups investigate one specific topic and share their discoveries with the class. Challenge students to create a video using Powtoon, reviewed here, and it share using a site such as SchoolTube, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Project Vote Smart - Project Vote Smart
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site as the basis of a homework or group assignment: students can write about the candidate they would support in an upcoming election referencing the information found on the site about each candidate's views on specific issues. Take it further and have them create a print ad for their candidate or an online "poster" using Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here. Alternatively, the site could be used on an interactive whiteboard as a springboard for a class-wide discussion. Be aware that the site uses a "grassroots" theme, and has a barely audible--and at times annoying--sound track of chirping birds. Turn down the sound if it bothers you.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Testmoz - testmoz.com
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Skills required: Be sure to remember the password for your tests, as well as the unique URL. It would be wise to copy/paste them into a document you keep somewhere for reference. Users are unable to access the tests without the URL. Be sure to not share this ahead of time. Items in Testmoz are not made public.Use where automatically graded tests are required, such as for formative assessments to check student understanding. Use as a "ticket out the door" to see what students know at the end of class. Be sure that this is the medium you want to use for testing. Be flexible with students who find it difficult to take online testing. Entering all the material ahead of time can be time consuming, so this may not be the best format for long tests. Use this quiz application to create study quizzes for review for students to complete as homework (or during class time). Have students rotate to create daily check quizzes for their peers (earning a grade for test-creation). Learning support students and others who need a little extra review might like to make quizzes to challenge each other or themselves. Have students who are preparing to give oral presentations in any subject prepare a short Testmoz for their peers to take at the end.
Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Cybraryman Educational Chats on X (formerly Twitter) - Cybraryman
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
New to X (formerly Twitter)? Learn more about Twitter and how to set up searches to see these chats on your own time using suggestions and other reviewed resources included on the TeachersFirst's X (formerly Twitter) for Teachers page.Comments
So helpful, very completeFrances, CT, Grades: 6 - 8
Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Budget Simulator - Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
Grades
8 to 12In the Classroom
This would make a wonderful class team competition. Consider dividing the class into groups, or even pitting different sections of the same course against each other. Encourage the students not to breeze through the choices too quickly. The site might be useful for mature younger students if they have the attention span required to make careful and reasoned choices. Another option is to complete this activity as a class on an interactive whiteboard or projector.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
geoGreeting - Jesse Vig
Grades
1 to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Introduce students to Google Maps by creating messages with geoGreeting. Art teachers can use this tool to show the flexibility of letter forms created by real objects via satellite view. Primary reading teachers may even want to expose students to alternate letter forms created from satellite views! Use this site to expand your students' understanding of geography. Create messages, then explore and research the buildings and areas that are used in the creation of the message. Have students work with a partner to research a building and create a multimedia presentation to share with the class. How about an interactive online poster using Genial.ly, reviewed here, or narrate a picture using a tool such as ThingLink, reviewed here. If you want to use another geography tool, have students use an online mapping tool to create their own "tour" for the class. Try a tool such as Tour Builder, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Sweet Search - Dulcinea Media, Inc.
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Provide Sweet Search for your students to find some of the best student friendly material on the web. For older students, evaluate Sweet Search with other search engines to determine which provides the best information.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Instapaper.com - Marco Arment
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
You must be able to set up your free account and manage bookmarklets in their browser toolbar. Be sure to click on the Account tab to set a password or change your username. Be sure to check with your IT Department before adding on to your browser. (Some school computers may be locked down, preventing this capability.) When articles are out of sight, they are often forgotten. Decide where you plan to access articles later (iPhone app, Google Reader) to catch up on the articles you have found interesting. Download your articles in a printable file or export the entire list as a .csv or .html file. Archive your articles and easily retrieve them from the tab along the top. For more features view this video which resides on YouTube. If your school blocks YouTube, it may not be viewable.Safety/security: If students are using Instapaper, plan ahead for classroom use. Be sure that students are aware of appropriate and inappropriate use, even if inappropriate articles are added to the account from home. Make sure that you have district and parent permission. Spell out consequences for inappropriate use. Students must have individual accounts (email required).
Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Guzzle - Lemonchick
Grades
8 to 12In the Classroom
This site is excellent for enrichment, research, or a current events class. Include it on your class web page for students to access both in and out of class. Have students try out this site on individual computers, or as a learning center. This site is ideal for an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have the students open the site and use the whiteboard tools to set up a class selected news offering for each day.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Timelines: Sources from History - British Library
Grades
4 to 12In 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
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Inventors and Inventions Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
This collection includes resources for all grades. Each review includes several classroom use ideas. These are excellent tools to use to study science, social studies, and more! Explore the activities suggested. Share sites on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Provide the link on your class website for students to access both in and out of class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Symbaloo EDU - Symbaloo BV
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Be sure to know the URL's of the resources you are planning to share or have them open in other tabs to copy/paste. To share you must be able to copy/paste URLs (web addresses). Have older students create their own webmixes, but this resource is best used as a teacher sharing tool for sharing links, RSS feeds, and other resources for students to use in specific projects or as general course links. If shared with the world, the webmix can be viewed by others and is public.Create a webmix of the most used sites for your class and first demonstrate how the webmix works on a projector or interactive whiteboard if you have special instructions or color coding for its use. Some examples include links to copyright free images, online textbooks, or online tools such as Google Drive/Docs, Google Drawings, Prezi, and more. Link to teacher web pages, webquests, resource sites for your subject, and any other resource that is helpful for students. Consider creating a login for the whole class to update with suggestions from class members. Use this AS your class website. Color code the tiles on a webmix for younger, non-reader, or ESL/ELL students. For example, color each subject differently from the others. Differentiate by color coding varying levels of skills practice at a classroom computer center or to distinguish homework practice sites from in-class sites. Differentiate difficulty levels using the various colors enabling you to list resources for both your learning support students and gifted students and all in between. Use color to organize tools for different projects or individual students. You may want to share Symbaloo EDU with parents at Back to School Night and the color-coding system for differentiation. This will help parents (and students) find what sites are ideal for their levels. Be sure to link or embed your webmix on a computer center in your room for easy access. Share a review site webmix for parents and students to access at home before tests, as well. Team up with other teachers in your subject/grade to create chapter by chapter webmixes for all your students. If you are just starting with Symbaloo, this is a simple way to differentiate, however, Symbaloo now has a Lesson Plans tool (also called Learning Paths), reviewed here, to help you differentiate for individual or groups of students.
Challenge your gifted students to curate and collaborate on their own webmixes as a curriculum extension activity on topics such as climate change or pros and cons of genetically engineered food. They can use color coding to sort sites by bias (or neutrality) as well as to group subtopics under the overall theme. Use the student-made webmixes with other students to raise the overall level of discussion in your class or as an extra credit challenge. If you embed the webmix in a class wiki, all students can respond with questions and comments for the gifted students to moderate and reply, creating a student-led community of learners.
Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Flickriver - flickriver.com
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Users must be familiar with how to use Flickr reviewed here.Create a class Flickr account to upload pictures of experiments, student projects, and items related to class content. Use Flickriver to pull these pictures in to view by the class. Use pictures to represent Math concepts, poems and stories, science concepts in the real world, or items belonging to cultures. Create a flickriver of art projects to display to the world. If students are allowed individual accounts, they could use this as a way to share their portfolios of artwork or digital images.
Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Reading in the Content Areas - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Mark this collection as a MUST have for teaching reading to students struggling to apply more than decoding skills. Pay special attention to some of the "In the classroom" tips for unexpected ways to use these sites to teach reading along with other subjects.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
How Stuff Works - Howstuffworks, Inc.
Grades
4 to 10In the Classroom
Use this site as an "activator" to introduce a new science unit or lesson on a projector. It could also be a great way to introduce informational speeches/videos and how to write them. The videos on earth and life science topics provide a great launchpad for further class discussions. Participate in the poll of the day. Use the trivia and facts section for interesting ways to get kids thinking in class. Use this site for students to "show and tell" something they have learned. Use the information presented here to understand better how science is applied in our everyday lives. This activity would work well for individual or pairs of students in a lab or on laptops. Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students explore this site independently or in small groups. Ask students to visit the site and give them a choice for how to share the information they learned by creating a multimedia presentation using Canva Edu, reviewed here, a video using Adobe Express Video Maker, reviewed here, a podcast using Podcast Generator, reviewed here, or a blog post using edublogs, reviewed here. Use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Be sure to include this site on your class web page for students to access both in and outside of class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
National History Day - National History Day
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
From the tabs at the top of the page click Teacher Resources to find Lesson Plans, Webinars and Videos, and more. Students Resources helps students connect with the NEH Expert Series, gives helpful links for research, topics, and others. Whether you choose to hold a History Day event within your school or to compete against others, this site will get you started. Make this a permanent link on your class web page or share it with your gifted enrichment specialist for a curriculum connection to challenge any student. Extend student learning and challenge them to use a multimedia tool to present their research, Genially, reviewed here, is a good tool; it allows students a choice of multimedia products and they can insert maps, surveys, video, audio and more.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Online-Calculator - Online-calculator.com
Grades
K to 12Be aware: this site does include advertisements.
This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
There are many uses for this practical online tool, beyond the obvious ones for math class. Bookmark this site on your own computer for projection on an interactive whiteboard and make the link available on your class web page for students to access from individual computers. You can shrink the calculator window in the corner of your interactive whiteboard to use as needed. Use this tool in social studies class for quickly calculating years or months from important timelines or when figuring out geographical distances. In English or L.A. classes, quickly figure out the life span of authors or how long ago a story took place. In health or science classes, use the BMI calculator or get other accurate measurements. The stopwatch tool can be useful for any in-class, timed assignment.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
map a list - Innovation Geo, LLC
Grades
2 to 12In the Classroom
You must be familiar with using a Google form for collecting data and finding the spreadsheet in your list of documents. You must have a Google account and an email address to register for map a list. Create a class account for students to use. Publish your Google form on a blog, site, or wiki to collect entries to be used to make a map.Use a Google form to collect addresses of various locations such as historic places students know, my most memorable vacation, where I live, or where my grandparents were born. Use to teach some basic map skills to younger students. Map locations of government services for a civics class, local locations of healthy activities or farmers markets in a health class, locations where students can find certain trees, insects, or other wildlife to name a few. Map the locations of anything collected in a Google Spreadsheet. Be sure that information collected is in address format so it can be mapped by this amazing tool.
Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
Close comment form