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Congressional Directory
Grades
1 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site as a starting point for students working on biographies or research projects about specific congressmen. Although the biographies are short, they provide other resources that could easily be followed up!You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Civics Online
Grades
1 to 12In the Classroom
Be sure to save this site as a favorite to allow for easy retrieval later on.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The American Presidents
Grades
1 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site as a point of reference for information about our Presidents. Students could use this site as a spring board for research projects, or historical heads. For historical heads, have students draw inside of a blank outline of a human face graphic representations of the president chosen for their project. Students should be able to describe and explain all representations, but it's a great way for them to organize their ideas and provide more memorable symbols for facts that they need to know.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mosaic America on Film: Fact Versus Fiction - Yale University
Grades
1 to 12In the Classroom
Use this lesson plan to add multicultural perspectives to various lessons throughout your US history curriculum. Although intended to be taught separately, these lessons could easily be modified to fit within your pre-determined units, making the content more accurate. Make sure to add this one as a favorite to allow for easy retrieval later on!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Life, Liberty and The Pursuit of Happiness - Yale University
Grades
1 to 12In the Classroom
If in need for some new material during a lesson on the American Revolution, take advantage of this one provided by Yale University. Just make sure to save it 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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The Eye Behind the Camera: the Voice Behind the Story - Yale University
Grades
1 to 12In the Classroom
Take advantage of this free lesson plan during a unit on racism and civil rights! Make sure to save this one as a favorite on your classroom computer to allow for easier retrieval later on.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Myth of the Melting Pot - Washington Post
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Teachers looking for another perspective to add to a class discussion on assimilation or immigration should add this article to their curriculum. Have students read the article as homework or as an in-class activity, via individual classroom computers. Students should read quietly and then respond or reflect in some manner. Teachers can do this via classroom discussion, or can have students work on this via blogpost on your class wiki. Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries - check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Ellis Island - Original Images
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Use the images on this site to create a "picture walk" in your classroom, introducing the topic of immigration in the 19th and 20th century. Select 10-15 of the more powerful and diverse images, hanging them up in different locations around your classroom. Have students rotate around the classroom every 30-45 seconds, jotting down what they observe and infer about each image until the entire class has completed the circuit. After the class is back in their seats, have a class discussion based on what they observed and what this says about the immigration experience. A great way to get students thinking about the content in a way that's more personal and lecture-less!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Immigration Simulation - Ellis Island
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans and classroom activities hosted on this site! Make sure to save this one as a favorite to allow for easier retrieval later on.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Immigrant Wall of Honor
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Use the "search names" option to allow students to search for their ancestors who came through Ellis Island, or even to see if they can find anyone with a like-name. The activity could be a great writing prompt, with students writing a diary entry of the person they found, detailing what it must have been like the pass through Ellis Island. There would have to be additional resources available about Ellis Island, but it could make for a great activity!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Ellis Island Museum
Grades
5 to 12In the Classroom
One of the more interesting details of this site is the timeline of Ellis Island that is showcased in the section entitled "Ellis Island." The background information is interesting and provides reason for Ellis Island's symbolic value. Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students explore this site independently or in small groups. To show what they have learned from this site, challenge students to create an online infographic to share using Visme, reviewed here. Have students pick a detail from the timeline such as most interesting, most important or most symbolic.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Within These Walls - Smithsonian Institution
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
The "Go Back in time" activity would be a quick and interesting way for students to review primary evidences and determine what time period they would be from. This can be done as a class on the interactive whiteboard. Complete the activity, and afterwards let it lead into a class discussion of what sources are and how historians determine validity. This would be a great way to review the information before a big research project or paper, when students will be collecting their own sources.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Religion and the Founding of the American Republic
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Use the images on this site to create a "picture walk" in your classroom, introducing the topic of religion in US politics and government. Select 10-15 of the more powerful and diverse images, hanging them up in different locations around your classroom. Have students rotate around the classroom every 30-45 seconds, jotting down what they observe and infer about each image until the entire class has completed the circuit. After the class is back in their seats, have a class discussion based on what they observed and what this says about the people's desire for an establishment clause. A great way to get students thinking about the content in a way that's more personal and lecture-less!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Picturing the Century - National Archives
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
History and social studies teachers should see this one.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Divining America - Lilly Endowment
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
This is an excellent site for examining religion throughout American history! A great use for this site would be to review for a unit soon to close on religion. Introduce the site on the interactive whiteboard or projector, and allow cooperative learning groups to pick the topic that most interests them. Insuring that each group has a different topic, allow them to explore the remainder of the site on classroom computers. Have groups show what they learned using a tool such as an online poster creator, like Padlet (reviewed here). Allow students to present their posters on the interactive whiteboard or projector, thereby helping their peers review the subject matter!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Living History Farms
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Each farm section has limited information offered, so this activity would best be used as an quick introduction to a unit rather than a major activity. Open the site on the interactive whiteboard or projector, and examine each farm with the class. Pull out important characteristics offered, and compare and contrast the farms. We recommend a Venn diagram tool such as 2 and 3 Circle Interactive Venn Diagrams, reviewed here. This would be a useful activity to discuss the differences in habitats, and different ways people have subsisted on the same land.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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At Home in the Heartland
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site as a learning center or station to accompany US history curriculum. Find the time period that's most appropriate for the unit being studied, with students working in pairs to explore the site. Before beginning your unit, use a quiz tool like Bamboozle, reviewed here to assess student knowledge or use Bamboozle as a review tool at the end of your unit. This would be a better tool to help review since not all the material is "need-to-know" for National standards, but serves as great supplementary information that students can connect the content to.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Democracy in America - C-SPAN
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Use the journal entries portion of this site to help students not only learn the content, but to learn to retrieve information from primary sources. Divide students into groups, and assign them each one of the states Tocqueville wrote about. Have students analyze and interpret what was written, with the intentions of presenting their findings to the class. To connect it to the content being studied at the time, have a discussion with students about whether Congress was also concerned or if we see some of the issues he talked about still prevalent today.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A Biography of America - CPB/Annenberg
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
The possibilities for this site are virtually limitless. Open the site on the interactive whiteboard or projector and select one of the many topics that is applicable to your unit. Teachers can play the video for students to review material, use the map to provide something for visual learners can connect to, or use the time-line to guide student learning. This is really an amazing tool for teachers trying to utilize technology in the classroom!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Who Invented it? When? Chinese Inventions: An Introductory Activity - Ask Asia
Grades
5 to 12In the Classroom
Use this free lesson plan in class during a unit on Chinese inventions and innovations. Make sure to mention the years inventions were made while performing the activity, students will be amazed just how many inventions we use today were made almost 3 thousand years ago!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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