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Kazan, Miller, and the McCarthy Era - PBS- Anna Chan Rekate
Grades
10 to 12
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PBS provides this comprehensive set of lesson plans, including links and video clips to help your social studies or English students understand about the McCarthy Era and its impact...more
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PBS provides this comprehensive set of lesson plans, including links and video clips to help your social studies or English students understand about the McCarthy Era and its impact on the arts. Whether you are teaching The Crucible or the U.S. in the 1950s, this will help students understand the era in greater depth. Activities include Readers Theatre readings of the Crucible in your English class. The lesson series was written to accompany an episode in the PBS series American Masters, and some lesons include use of the video from this series.
In the Classroom
If you do not have time for all the lessons or do not have access to the fullvideo, there is a wealth of information for you to use as background and valuable links for planning shorter activities.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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How the Grinch Stole Election Day
Grades
1 to 12
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Humor for election day (based on the election of 2000). Although this resource was created for the 2000 election, the background information and story is valuable for teaching about...more
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Humor for election day (based on the election of 2000). Although this resource was created for the 2000 election, the background information and story is valuable for teaching about elections in general and for comparing elections as part of U.S. history.
In the Classroom
This would be a cute way to teach students about the events of the 2000 election and the voting process. Open the site on the interactive whiteboard or projector, either playing the audio version or have students take turns reading the lyrics. VERY useful for a US history or Government classroom.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Nevada Test Site Oral History Project - University of Nevada Las Vegas
Grades
9 to 12
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Oral history has become an increasingly important tool in understanding recent history. This site chronicles the stories of those who have been personally affected by the testing of...more
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Oral history has become an increasingly important tool in understanding recent history. This site chronicles the stories of those who have been personally affected by the testing of nuclear weapons in Nevada between 1951 and 1992. You can browse a very rich list of individual transcripts or search by category of interviewee. There is a fairly short list of video interviews. There is a nice timeline that puts the development of nuclear weapons in the US into perspective. Finally, there is a link to information about the test site as a place, both as a place for testing, a place for protesting, and a sacred place to native people.
In the Classroom
This site might serve as a useful supplement to a unit on the Cold War. Students doing research on nuclear testing will find the transcripts and video interviews very valuable as primary source material. The timeline would be helpful projected on an interactive whiteboard or projector as part of a discussion of recent American history. Use this site for research about the Cold War and World War II. Have students create a multimedia presentation using Google Drawings, reviewed here to narrate a photo as if it is a news report. Google Drawings allows you to annotate an image with links to videos, text, websites, and more. Not familiar with Google Drawings? Watch an archived OK2Ask session to learn how to use: OK2Ask Google Drawings, here.
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Crash Course - John and Hank Green
Grades
6 to 12
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Join John and Hank Green on the you Tube channel, Crash Course. Crash Course consists of highly engaging video presentations that explain the basics on many topics: about 10-15 minutes...more
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Join John and Hank Green on the you Tube channel, Crash Course. Crash Course consists of highly engaging video presentations that explain the basics on many topics: about 10-15 minutes in length, humorous, and engaging! The general topic areas include World History, Literature, and US History. At the time of this review, biology topics include: the carbon cycle, water cycle, molecules, nutrition, animal and plant cells, photosynthesis, heredity, DNA, mitosis, meiosis, natural selection, evolution, genetics, taxonomy, evolution, simple animals, complex animals, animal behavior, various systems of the body, bacteria, protists, and even more. In literature, five videos cover subjects from Romeo and Juliet to The Great Gatsby. There are over forty world history topics: Agricultural revolution, Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, The Persians and Greeks, Buddha and Ashoka, Chinese History, Alexander the Great, The Roman Empire, Christianity from Judaism to Constantine, Fall of the Roman Empire, Islam the Quran, and the Five Pillars, Venice and Ottoman Empire, Russia, Columbus, The Spanish Empire, The French Revolution, Haitian Revolution, Industrial Revolution, Capitalism, Socialism, Imperialism, and many more. If your district blocks YouTube, they may not be viewable.
Tip: to watch or share a video without the ads and clutter, use a tool such as ViewPure, reviewed here, to watch the video ad-free!
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Use as a way to introduce new topics or subjects to establish background knowledge. Share these videos on your projector or interactive whiteboard to provide an introduction (or review) on various topics. Use as an alternate way to help motivate your tech savvy students. Use as an example for a group project with the students planning, writing, and producing an informational video in the subject you are studying. Enhance learning by having cooperative learning groups create videos using Typito,reviewed here, and share them on a site such as TeacherTube, reviewed here. Be sure to point out the steps followed in teaching and learning in the videos. Independent learners and gifted students will love the opportunity to learn on their own using these videos. Instead of "games" for times when student finish work early, why not share the link to this YouTube channel and encourage them to keep a blog using Blogger, reviewed here about what they discover.
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Voices from the Days of Slavery - Library of Congress
Grades
7 to 12
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This collection of digital sound recordings (in MP3, RealAudio, and wav formats), corresponding transcripts, and photographs provide an authentic experience in the study of slavery...more
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This collection of digital sound recordings (in MP3, RealAudio, and wav formats), corresponding transcripts, and photographs provide an authentic experience in the study of slavery in America. Interviews conducted between 1932 and 1975, reveal how former slaves felt about their owners, their families, and their freedom. All recordings are taken from the American Folklife Collection of the Library of Congress.
In the Classroom
Introduce this site on the interactive whiteboard during a unit on slavery in the 19th century. Have students explore the site in cooperative learning groups, with the intentions of presenting a summary of the information they've seen. Students can present the information from a particularly perspective or as though they're reteaching it to their peers. Have the groups present with a podcast, using a site such as PodOmatic.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Congressional Directory
Grades
1 to 12
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Use this site to search for information from 1774 through the present for any congressman or woman. ...more
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Use this site to search for information from 1774 through the present for any congressman or woman.
In 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!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Carpenters' Hall - Independence Hall Association
Grades
3 to 8
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Carpenters' Hall was the site of the first Continental Congress. Carpenters' Hall was a key meeting spot during the struggle for independence. This website provides information about...more
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Carpenters' Hall was the site of the first Continental Congress. Carpenters' Hall was a key meeting spot during the struggle for independence. This website provides information about the history of Carpenters' Hall and a lot of other information about the past and present.
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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Radio Diaries - National Public Radio
Grades
6 to 12
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This site provides a large database of first-person accounts and contemporaneous accounts of important eras and events in history. Primary sources can give the sense of "you are there"...more
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This site provides a large database of first-person accounts and contemporaneous accounts of important eras and events in history. Primary sources can give the sense of "you are there" that can make history come alive. They can also give valuable insight into the context and culture of a time and place remote from our own. Without the interpretation, summarization, and dilution that comes from textbook accounts, these narratives are invaluable to understand history in its purest sense. Search by time period or general topic and get speeches, diaries, and eyewitness accounts. A collection of the audio essays, Diaries, draws on the experiences of a diverse group of teens who describe their lives, what's important, and what they're thinking. There are also interviews with several of these teens 16 years later! If you enjoy history from the mid 20th century, visit Histories. Portraits has more recent histories such as stories during the pandemic. It's fun to browse and explore, but there is also a comprehensive index if you're searching for something in particular.
In the Classroom
This is a fabulous resource for augmenting generic textbook accounts of history with primary source material. Whether we like it or not, our students are more visual than we were. Use this site on an interactive whiteboard or projector for full impact. If you teach social studies, this is a site you'll want to bookmark and visit often. English teachers will want to use the teenage diaries as inspiration for creative writing assignments, or even as a source of ideas for college admissions essays. Challenge students to create their own visual stories to the audio essays using a tool such as Voxer, reviewed here. With Voxer you can record up to a 15-minute voice message (as well as pictures and videos) to a person or group of people at any time, and those people can listen and respond when it's convenient for them.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Monitor - NOAA The Mariner's Museum
Grades
4 to 12
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View this site about one of the Civil War's two most famous ironclad fighting ships and the effort to find and restore her. The site includes information on the recovery ...more
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View this site about one of the Civil War's two most famous ironclad fighting ships and the effort to find and restore her. The site includes information on the recovery expedition as well as the way in which the ship was used in combat during the war.
In the Classroom
Divide students into cooperative learning groups to explore the site. Have them go through the interactive tour of the monitor and take notes, with the end result being shared on Padlet, reviewed here. Padlet offers virtual sticky notes, perfect for collaboration and note-taking. Also, since this site has audio features, be sure to include headphones or earbuds near computers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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New York
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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Civil War Letters of Calvin Shedd - University of Miami
Grades
6 to 12
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The library at the University of Miami has put together this collection of letters from Calvin Shedd, a Union soldier from New Hampshire who spent much of the Civil War ...more
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The library at the University of Miami has put together this collection of letters from Calvin Shedd, a Union soldier from New Hampshire who spent much of the Civil War in Florida. They will be interesting to history teachers interested in teaching with original source materials, and to those interested in studying the Civil War from a personal perspective.
In the Classroom
Beyond the obvious insight this sight provides concerning the gritty details of the revolution, but it can also be used as an excellent example of a useful primary source. Open one of the documents on the interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students read the document and then have a classroom discussion as to the reliability of the source. Question students as to the motive of the writer, bias, information quality, and how that affects how they interpret the source. An interesting starting point to discuss the variability of history, and how historians interpret different sources.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Teachable Moment - Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility
Grades
K to 12
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Teachable Moments provides lesson ideas and plans for "just in time" events happening around the world. All of the activities foster a positive classroom environment and focus on critical...more
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Teachable Moments provides lesson ideas and plans for "just in time" events happening around the world. All of the activities foster a positive classroom environment and focus on critical thinking. Lessons can be found for elementary, middle, and high school students. Lessons contain some combination of text, links, video, and audio. Some lesson plans available at the time of this review included Islam and Islamaphobia, Just How Broken is the Senate, and many others. All lessons are presented in a "standard" lesson plan format and provides the time needed for each portion of the lesson. The offerings can also help misinformed or alarmed students to better understand events in a context appropriate for their age, unlike the screaming headlines they may hear on the television or elsewhere on the web.
In the Classroom
This site will fit perfectly into any social studies, history, or current events class. Use the lessons to discuss important events that are happening right now. Several of the lessons have links to video so use them with an interactive whiteboard or projector. In addition to lessons on current events, use the essays and ideas on teaching strategies to improve your teaching skills. Teachers of gifted will appreciate this site to help their students who are often well beyond their years in their concern over news events.
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Prohibition and Temperance - OSU Department of History
Grades
9 to 12
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From the Ohio State University history department, this site includes resources related to the prohibition and temperance movement in the US. There is a good, straightforward summary...more
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From the Ohio State University history department, this site includes resources related to the prohibition and temperance movement in the US. There is a good, straightforward summary of prohibition including hyperlinks, information about the Women's crusade against alcohol and the Women's Christian Temperance Union, and contemporary opinion pieces about prohibition. Of particular use is a series of political cartoons from the period which illustrate contemporary political viewpoints.
In the Classroom
This site is best used as a supplementary set of resources for further exploration. Teachers might use some of the contemporary illustrations or narratives to expand understanding, or students working on an independent project might find the resources helpful. You could use TrackStar, reviewed here, to design a brief web scavenger hunt within the site to engage students and introduce the topic in a new way.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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StoryCorps - Dave Isay
Grades
4 to 12
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StoryCorps is a nonprofit site where Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs can record, share, and preserve the stories of their lives. It is one of the largest oral history ...more
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StoryCorps is a nonprofit site where Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs can record, share, and preserve the stories of their lives. It is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind. At the site you can download a "Do it Yourself Guide", find resources for teachers, and a list of great questions. You can subscribe to their podcast, e-newsletter, and blog, or you can upload your own story or that of a loved one or friend for free. Each conversation is recorded on a free CD to share, and is preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.
In the Classroom
Grandparent's day is in September. What better gift to a grandparent than to be able to spend time with their grandchild and tell them a story about an important time in their lives? Of course, you'll want to prepare students with some interviewing skills and questions before they interview their grandparents, and show them how to record the interview with some type of recorder (tape recorder, cell phone, video camera, etc). This recording can then be submitted to StoryCorps and it will then reside at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Students can also interview parents about their first memories of school, and what they remember about the grade that the student is currently in. Share these interviews during the first week or month of the school year. Not only can these interviews be submitted to StoryCorp, but students could then do a write up of their interviews and publish them in a classroom book of memories. Have students create online books to share with the class about their interview. Use a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here. Or have students narrate a photo of the person they interviewed using a site such as ThingLink, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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History Net - HistoryNet LLC,
Grades
6 to 12
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A very good site for the history buff or those struggling to understand historical events. Pictures make the history come alive and support the information given. On the top menu ...more
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A very good site for the history buff or those struggling to understand historical events. Pictures make the history come alive and support the information given. On the top menu find links to their version of Today in History, Wars and Events, Famous People. Eras, Topics, and under More are several topics of interest.
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This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
This site would be ideal for research projects. For a classroom-ready activity each day to build understanding of historical events in the context of your students' prior knowledge, also try TeachersFirst's Dates That Matter. Include both links on your teacher web page for instant access by students both in and out of class. Maybe start a class wiki for your own "This Day" collection and assign student groups a day of their own. Add to it from year to year. Or have students write blog responses on class or individual blogs as they choose an event for the day from several sources and react to it.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NetState
Grades
4 to 8
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Minimal historical information, basic almanac facts, interesting lists of "famous sons and daughters." This site is far from one-stop shopping, but there's useful information here....more
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Minimal historical information, basic almanac facts, interesting lists of "famous sons and daughters." This site is far from one-stop shopping, but there's useful information here.
In the Classroom
Use this site as a reference for students working on a research project on the 50 states. Have students work on "state reports" during a unit on the geography of the 50 states, using this site as a point of reference. To show what they have learned from this site, challenge students to create an online graphic to share using DesignBold, reviewed here. Assign students specific states to research and report on, presenting their graphics to their classmates.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The new $100 Note - Dept. of Treasury
Grades
3 to 12
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Get to know the new $100 bill through this resource provided by the Department of Treasury. There is an interactive video quiz and an applet to design your own bill. ...more
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Get to know the new $100 bill through this resource provided by the Department of Treasury. There is an interactive video quiz and an applet to design your own bill. The video quiz can also be seen with captions. In addition, there is a link to materials that can be downloaded for classroom use.
In the Classroom
Take the quiz together as a class to learn about the features of the $100 bill. Research the reasons for changing from the old bill to the new style. Create and design a new bill that incorporates various security features and relevant symbols. You could also include this in your unit on national symbols and how they are used.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Search for the Lost Colony - National Park Service
Grades
3 to 8
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The Search for the Lost Colony is Roanoke's great mystery. This page from Roanoke Revisited may give young detectives some clues. ...more
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The Search for the Lost Colony is Roanoke's great mystery. This page from Roanoke Revisited may give young detectives some clues.
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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Podcasts from Colonial Williamsburg - Colonial Williamsburg
Grades
4 to 12
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Listen to Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and many lesser known inhabitants and visitors to the colony. Even some of today's actors tell about their roles as craftspeople and "residents"...more
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Listen to Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and many lesser known inhabitants and visitors to the colony. Even some of today's actors tell about their roles as craftspeople and "residents" of Colonial Williamsburg.
In the Classroom
Use these podcasts to introduce events (and even technology innovations of the times) from Colonial Williamsburg to your students. Listen together, or create a link to the podcast on classroom computers. Instead of sharing a written response to information learned on the podcast, have cooperative learning groups create their own podcasts demonstrating their understanding of one of the concepts. Use a site such as podOmatic, reviewed here. For younger students, after listening to a podcast, you may want to challenge students to reflect on their learning and what they would like to learn more about using a tool such as Flip, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Constitutional Convention
Grades
5 to 12
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Find interactives, podcasts, tool kits, lesson plans, original paintings from the Convention, and more at this great resource. ...more
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Find interactives, podcasts, tool kits, lesson plans, original paintings from the Convention, and more at this great resource.
In the Classroom
Look at this site before planning your unit on the Founding Fathers and the New Republic in an American History class. Lloyd has provided a new take on the convention, creating a 4 day drama that summarizes the main events. There are a lot of primary sources and fresh takes on the convention here, making this site extremely beneficial to planning ahead for your unit.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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