249 history-culture-americas results | sort by:
return to subject listingWide Angle Window Into Global History - PBS
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
These resources and videos are extremely flexible for classroom use. Use the film clips for current events, and to also highlight events from the past. Use a video segment to get students thinking about past incidents, solutions, and whether today's environment has changed from that of the past. View a variety of clips from one theme and discuss events in the clip or use a writing assignment to provide time to process the events. Discuss in what ways these clips are similar and other societal, economic, and political factors that affected them. Use any of these videos to find any current events that are still dealing with the same issue today. Be sure to brainstorm how different people, in other areas of the world, would view these issues. Research these issues using resources from other areas of the world to see editorials and news clippings that are not American. Note: Use the country code after your search term or use this news search. Were there other people interviewed about any of these issues? Who are they and what did they say? Consider creating videos showcasing a variety of viewpoints using Typito, reviewed here. Besides the viewpoint of each video, what would be a common question that all videos within the theme have in common? How does the bubble of our American culture hamper our understanding of other people both here in the U.S. and abroad? Research the history and culture of the various areas to identify factors responsible for the themes portrayed by this resource.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 Roosevelts - PBS
Grades
7 to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans offered to supplement your current lessons based on the Roosevelt family. Have groups of students complete different Snapshot Lessons then share with the class. Have students make a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Multimedia Edge tools, reviewed here. Have students use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about a member of the Roosevelt family.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 Digital Declaration of Independence - David McClure
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
Challenge students to find other paintings depicting famous events in United States (or another country). Have cooperative learning groups create a multimedia presentation about the paintings. Create fictitious blog entries from one character in a painting to another character within another painting at another famous event. What would John F. Kennedy write to Benjamin Franklin? Assign students different roles, i.e. founding fathers, and have them use the biographies on this site to allow them to research what their role was and what their beliefs were for a debate as to whether or not to sign the Declaration of Independence.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!).
From Wood Cabin to White House: An Abe Lincoln Timeline - National Park Service
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Have students brainstorm ideas to create a book about Lincoln's life. Use and online bulletin board like Dotstorming, reviewed here. With Dotstorming students are allowed to vote and make comments. Then challenge younger students create an online book of images and captions about Lincoln's life using Book Creator, reviewed here,. For older students - challenge cooperative learning groups (or partners) to create a similar story about another president using pictures, themes, and other prompts generated by the site My Storybook, reviewed here. To find Creative Commons images for student projects (with credit, of course), try Vecteezy, 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!).
A Journey to a New Land - Simon Fraser University Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
Grades
1 to 12In the Classroom
Include this resource as you teach about Native Americans. These peoples did not divide themselves as "Canadian" or "American," so much of the information here is applicable in a U.S. classroom as well! Differentiate for high or low students easily using the different levels of the site. The primary level requires far less reading so offers a good introduction for weaker readers or ESL/ELL students. Have students write a script and create a video or simply compose a blog post about daily life as one of the people migrating into North America (but be sure to talk about the fact that they probably did not actually know how to write). Extend learning by using a visual blogging tool such as Telegra.ph, reviewed here, for students to share their learning and understanding. With Telegra.ph you just click on an icon to upload images from your computer, add a YouTube or Vimeo, or Twitter links. This blog creator requires no registration.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 Battle of Appomattox - Civil War Trust
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Use one of the short videos hosted by National Park Service historians to give students the context and details about the Battle of Appomattox and Lee's surrender. Share the video clips on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Some nice graphics give a summary of the battle, a map shows troop movements, and a gallery of photos can give students a look at the battlefield today.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!).
Once Upon a Roof - Virtual Museum of Canada/ Societe d'histoire du Lac-Saint-Jea
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Include this resource during an elementary social studies unit on homes (Homes in the New World). The Prozone includes Teacher materials for Canadian elementary social studies lessons. Include it during an Art or drafting lesson on home design. If you teach about career explorations, this site would be of interest to budding architects and builders from elementary on up. Have students draw or annotate an image of a home, complete with architectural terms, and explain why it fits the location where it is built. In upper level classes, compare the homes found on this site with newer, green designs. Have physics or science students annotate a home image to show the forces upon it and the underlying structures used to keep the home standing. Share the images in a "home show" on your class wiki!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!).
Cinco de Mayo Study Guide - The History Channel
Grades
4 to 9In the Classroom
This site is ready to use in class. Have cooperative learning groups debate the discussion questions. Better yet, turn the discussion questions into a class wiki, allowing students to input their thoughts on the wiki. Have students write a journal entry (as a blog) highlighting one of the discussion questions or from the perspective of someone living during the 1800s. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, have students replace pen and paper and create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Penzu, reviewed here. If you are teaching younger students and looking for an easy way to integrate technology and check for understanding, challenge your students to create a blog using Edublog, reviewed here. Share maps of Mexico on your interactive whiteboard or projector. The Extension Activity calls for students to create and label a map. MapStory, reviewed here, would be the perfect tool for redefining student learning since you can have images, text, and video in the annotation, and it has a timeline feature. Have cooperative learning groups create commercials enhancing and highlighting what they have learned (be sure they include some new vocabulary words) or transform learning by having students create a video advertisement for your class's Cinco de Mayo celebration. Use a tool like Typito, 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!).
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection - Cartography Associates
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Use this historical map collection to highlight contemporary views of places featured in your history, literature, or geography lessons. Consider asking students to create a slideshow of maps that show how a location has changed over time, or how political boundaries have changed. Use a tool like Slides, 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!).
Ducksters - Technological Solutions, Inc. (TSI)
Grades
2 to 8This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
This site is a perfect addition for use with a biography unit. Explore and share information categorized by topics such as Civil Rights, the Cold War, Ancient Greece, and WWII. Extend student learning by having 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. Be sure to create a link to the site on your class webpage or newsletter for students to explore at home. Create a link on classroom computers for students to use the interactives during center time.Comments
Very safe and reliable. Everyone else is my school thinks ducksters is stupid but I love ducksters.Ry, CA, Grades: 6 - 12
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!).
Retronaut via Mashable - Timescape
Grades
7 to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Share Retronaut via Mashable with students to explore images from a given time or relating to any historic topic to get an interesting perspective not typically seen in textbooks. Create capsules using images to share for any classroom project or allow students to create their own in conjunction with classroom presentations. Use Wellcome Images, reviewed here, with over 100,000 historical images if you do not find what you want on Retronaut. Galleries are not moderated, so check before sharing on your interactive whiteboard or projector. You can always use the URL of the topic you wish to share on a new tab of your web browser.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!).
A Sailor's Life for Me! - USS Constitution Museum
Grades
5 to 12In the Classroom
The great sailing ships of the 18th and 19th century were important both to the nation's defense and to the growth of the US economy. There are hours of content here and the frustration will be selecting what you can use within the classroom timeframe you have. Consider introducing the site with some small portions on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Allow accelerated students to spend time with further exploration for enrichment.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!).
100 Years of Parcels, Packages, and Packets, Oh My! - Smithsonian National Postal Museum
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
The ability to mail packages across the country is an important factor in the growth of the US and has contributed to an ever-more-mobile society. Incorporate some of the historic images here into a discussion of changes in transportation and communication over the 20th and early 21st centuries. Ask students to brainstorm the items in their own bedrooms that might have arrived via Parcel Post. How would their lives be different without package delivery? Why is it important for the US Government to be involved in package delivery? Have students share their findings and thoughts by creating online posters individually or together as a class. Use a tool such as Web Poster Wizard (reviewed here) or PicLits (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!).
The Ancestral Pueblo People - National Park Service
Grades
6 to 10In the Classroom
Assign this activity in pairs when studying native Americans. The student challenges teach about the Ancestral Pueblo people and how they adapted to their harsh environment. The text portions might be challenging. Pair weak readers with a strong reader. Allow your ENL/ESL students to try using a text to speech program such as Text to Speech Reader, reviewed here, that will allow these students to follow the text as the article or passage is read to them.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!).
CurriConnects Book List - 20th Century America, Part 2 (1945-2000) - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Make the 1950s and beyond come alive during your unit on American History. Have students choose a book from this list and present their impressions from it in the form of a blog post from the times. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, have students create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Webnode, reviewed here. Have students interview parents about different times that they learn about. Have students include the interview in the blogs. Collect the links to all the student posts on your class web page for students to browse and gather a "human" experience of history.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!).
History on the Net - Heather Wheeler
Grades
7 to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Make a shortcut to this site on classroom computers and use it as a center. Use this site as the starting point for individual or group projects. This site is a perfect addition to use with President's Day activities, when learning about the Olympics, or as part of a Black History Month lesson. Be sure to include this site on your class web page for students to access both in and outside of class. Enhance students' learning by having them use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about a president, a passenger on the Titanic, a famous scientist, or another person learned about on this site. Have students modify their learning by creating an interactive, multimedia infographic sharing their findings using Venngage, 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!).
Timeline: US-Cuba Relations - Council on Foreign Relations
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
No lesson on the Spanish American War, the Cold War, or US diplomatic relations within the Americas is complete without an examination of the tensions between the US and Cuba. The timeline is suitable for use on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Share or embed this tool into a classroom website or blog.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!).
Teach World War One History with Food - American Historical Association
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
Use these short videos to make life during World War I come alive. Consider asking students to make some of these recipes themselves at home, or if it's feasible, prepare an authentic meal at school as a treat during the unit. Students might discuss the issue of food rationing during both World War I and II as a contrast to the widespread availability of all kinds of food today. How is food rationing a patriotic act? Challenge students to find other popular recipes from this time in history. Have students video the preparation and explanation of the recipe. Share the videos on a site such as TeacherTube 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!).
The Center on Representative Government - Indiana University
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
Clearly, this is a great resource for those teaching civics or US government. These activities will also be useful to US History teachers, as the issues covered span important political eras. For example, there are activities related to women's suffrage, the child labor movement, the GI Bill and the development of the Interstate Highway system. Lesson plans range from those designed to cover several days, to short "Congressional moments" videos perfect for introducing a concept or sparking class discussion. A number of the lesson plans and activities are designed specifically for iPads. Of note also is the fact that the video clips on the site are not links to YouTube, so will not pose an access problem for school districts that block the site.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!).
Statue of Liberty Virtual Tour - National Park Service
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
In the age of shrinking opportunities for field trips, jump right in! Find out about the partnership between the United States and France and how they collaborated together. Explore partnerships between countries. Add this amazing piece of art into a unit about American Revolution and determine its significance.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