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Voices of Democracy - The U.S. Oratory Project - Voices of Democracy
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Include these significant speeches as part of speech class or during history lessons related to the speech's topic or speaker. Clip portions of any video using ytCropper, reviewed here, for students to use when focusing on presentation techniques or content of the speech. For a more in-depth look at any video clip or the entire speech, use Timelinely, reviewed here, to add images, maps, links, and more to any area on the video timeline. As a final project, ask students to record their own speeches or present one of the featured speeches on Padlet, reviewed here. Padlet includes many tools to extend student learning in addition to the video recording feature. Ask students to use Padlet's features such as the Brainstorming Board, AI Art, various graphic organizers, images, and more to enhance their speech presentation. This is a link to Padlet's Help section for posting video or an image.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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The Lost Museum - American Social History Productions
Grades
8 to 12In the Classroom
View this site on your interactive whiteboard and use the teaching activities as a supplement to information in the museum. Divide students into groups to complete the different activities. Have groups share their information usingScreencast-o-matic, reviewed here, or Screencastify (Chrome app), reviewed here, to make narrated recordings about information they find on this site.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Understanding & Celebrating Juneteenth - National Museum of African American History and Culture
Grades
K to 6In the Classroom
Use this document as a resource for understanding Juneteenth while taking advantage of the suggestions for discussing slavery and civil rights in age-appropriate ways. Share this information with parents to help them understand the history of Juneteenth. As you talk about the questions found in this article, use Draw.Chat, reviewed here to add and share student comments and add images to enhance understanding. For example, ask students to describe "freedom" and then use text boxes to add their comments. During your discussion, upload images that depict freedom in several different forms. Extend learning by asking students to write and share stories using the prompt found in this document to tell about positive changes they would like to make in the world. Use PDFescape, reviewed here to write the stories, then, use PDF to Flipbook Converter, reviewed here to turn their PDFs into an online flippable book.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Birth of Juneteenth; Voices of the Enslaved - Library of Congress and Neely Tucker
Grades
8 to 12In the Classroom
Bookmark and save this article to use when planning lessons on Juneteenth, slavery, or the Civil War, both as a resource of quality information and to access the many primary source links found in the article. Visit the Library of Congress: For Teachers, reviewed here to search and find many more Juneteenth-related documents. Engage students in learning more about Juneteenth by asking them to research information through different focus points. For example, this article discusses specific cities, people, and architecture. Ask students to share their learning by creating infographics using templates from Timeline Infographic Templates, reviewed here or Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Reading Treks: A Long Way from Chicago - TeachersFirst
Grades
4 to 8In the Classroom
Discover the many suggested classroom uses for this resource found on the Instructional Guide (PDF). Consider using the historical information and primary sources from the book to have students create timelines of the important events throughout the book, beginning with American prosperity, the Great Depression, and into World War II. Find a variety of free online timeline creation tools here. Using the map and locales, trace and then calculate distances for Joey and Mary Alice's journeys back and forth to Grandma Dowdel's home. Use Google My Maps, reviewed here, to create and share custom maps that include information about events and important information about the time.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Teaching Hard History in Grades K-5 - Learning for Justice
Grades
K to 7In the Classroom
Take advantage of this free professional development to learn new strategies and access resources for teaching about slavery to students in elementary school. The information in the webinar provides ideas for teaching difficult history topics using current classroom materials and suggesting additional resources and teaching strategies. Consider viewing this webinar with other elementary teachers across grade levels as part of your professional development and understanding scaffolding of information throughout the elementary grades and preparing for middle and high school content. Although this webinar is for elementary teachers, it is also a helpful tool for upper-level educators to understand methods for teaching young students and applying them to middle and high school lessons. As you participate in the webinar and discuss the content, use Threadit, reviewed here. Threadit is a tool that incorporates video conversations as a tool for collaboration. Begin a thread with a question or conversation starter, asking participants to analyze current teaching materials based on the webinar's strategies. Following this conversation, discuss ways to bolster your instruction based on learned teaching strategies.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Civics Renewal Network - The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the Univ of Pennsylvania
Grades
1 to 12In the Classroom
Include the Civics Renewal Network with your other resources for teaching civics content. Include activities on this site as part of self-guided lessons created using Microsoft PowerPoint Online, reviewed here, or add to classroom lessons created with NearPod, reviewed here. Extend student learning by asking them to become creators using a digital storytelling tool such as Elementari, reviewed here. Elementari includes features that bring students' stories to life, such as animations, font choices, and drag-and-drop text.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Gilder Lehrman Collection - The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Teachers use the provided discussion questions to enhance your unit of study. Use the questions to activate knowledge or to assess students. Students can search the site for primary sources that can be downloaded and used in reports or presentations. Display maps on whiteboards to show students important places in history. Have students view the online exhibitions centered around historical figures and events. English teachers can use the primary source documents to discuss writing structures and illustrate how written English has changed over the years.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Nixon Tapes and Transcripts - Luke Nichter
Grades
8 to 12In the Classroom
Use portions of tapes and transcripts during lessons on the Vietnam War, Richard Nixon, presidents, the 1960s and 70s, and more. Share a link to specific conversations on your class website, and have students create blogs. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, have students create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Telegra.ph, reviewed here. This blog creator requires no registration. Have students use Fakebook (reviewed here) to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about participants in conversations during the Nixon era.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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In Their Footsteps: Walking the Picket Line - Brett Kelley
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Include this journal as part of your Civil War unit. Have students read this along with diaries and journals of actual Civil War soldiers. Compare and contrast his experience with those of the soldiers. Share one entry per day and have students create their own blog posts in response with possible questions they may have, how they would feel in the same situation, etc. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, have students create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Tumblr, reviewed here. For a more major project, create a blog as a class, having students take turns playing the role of one civil war soldier and adding to the blog daily.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Causes of the American Revolution | Interactive Timeline - BS & WGBH Educational Foundation.
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Students examine the timeline to identify where key events took place. Using Google My Maps, reviewed here or another mapping tool, have students create an interactive map that plots the locations of significant events leading up to the American Revolution, adding descriptions and images for each location. Have students use the timeline to gather evidence on the causes of the American Revolution and organize a class debate on whether the American Revolution was justified. Divide the class into two groups, one arguing in favor and the other against, using information from the timeline to support their arguments. Using ePubEditor, reviewed here have students create an interactive quiz using information they find from the timeline.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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America's Second Independence Day - Juneteenth - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Use the suggested activities and book lists to find resources for teaching about Juneteenth in your classroom. Include these lessons as part of Black History Month and when teaching about United States history and civil rights. Engage students in learning about Juneteenth by asking them to create interactive presentations using Genially, reviewed here. Search for Juneteenth on Genially to find a template to use when presenting Juneteenth to students or for students to use to share their knowledge on this topic. Extend learning using Figjam, reviewed here, an online interactive whiteboard, to share additional resources, add polls, diagrams, sketches, and more using Figjam.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Reading Trek: Keep On! The Story of Matthew Henson Co-Discoverer of the North Pole - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 6In the Classroom
Take advantage of the many ideas found in this Reading Trek to teach students about cultural prejudices and exploration of the North Pole. Enhance student learning by having them research and create a Then and Now Chart/Venn Diagram to compare and contrast sea travel for merchant ships. Use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here. Ask students to create their own digital book sharing their journey to a difficult environment using Write Reader, reviewed here, for younger students or Book Creator, reviewed here, for older students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Teaching of the Bill of Rights - Lou Frey Institute
Grades
5 to 12In the Classroom
Listen to this podcast episode to gather ideas on developing lessons that teach the Bill of Rights in meaningful ways that foster students' understanding using scaffolds to students' frames of reference. Use the podcast as a model for students to create a Bill of Rights podcast as a learning activity. Create ten groups, then ask each group to design and create a podcast with each group discussing one of the original rights using a free podcast creation tool such as Buzzsprout, reviewed here. Visit the National Archives Educator Resources page, reviewed here to find additional activities and lesson ideas. After learning about the Bill of Rights, have students play That's Your Right, reviewed here, a digital card game provided by the Annenberg Institute. Challenge students to increase proficiency by beginning with the easiest level, then try to move successfully to the most difficult level.Comments
I really like this idea. My 5th graders will enjoy this podcast.jenna, , Grades: 0 - 12
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Best Word Book Ever - kokogiak on Flickr
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Do you still have a favorite picture book from your childhood? Consider going to the library to find a more current version and compare the differences. Have your students ask their parents if they still have a copy of their favorite picture book, and they can pick up a copy of the current edition to compare. With older students, you can use the Best Word Book Ever comparison to see the changes in what is politically incorrect now that was in the earlier version. Students then discuss what society valued at the time of the older edition compared to what our current society values. There are not just the gender role differences (policeman vs the woman police officer). Look at the wording in the older version for behavioral expectations, too. Literature teachers could carry this one step further and make a comparison of the expectations of society at the time of a classic (Tom Sawyer, Pride and Prejudice ) and what society valued during that time. Students could make one of these comparisons using a program like Bookemon reviewed here, which creates interactive online books. Make sure your students adhere to Copyright laws if creating online. You may want to work offline using PowerPoint so student products can include copyrighted images under "Fair Use."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Web of Stories - WebOfStories.com
Grades
8 to 12In the Classroom
Choose from videos on the site to watch on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) for any range of subjects. Make science more real by sharing these stories. Embed videos using the code on the site onto your class website or blog for students to view at home. Have students record responses using an online tool such as the Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram (reviewed here) to create a visual comparison of two different videos on any given topic. Share videos with students to view when exploring career options.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Causes - Countable Corp
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
If you teach government or civics, this site is a must-have to use throughout the year! Share the current legislative information with students on your interactive whiteboard or through a link on your class webpage. As you progress throughout your unit or research topics, ask students to collect links of information, videos, and images using an organizing and bookmarking tool like Raindrop.io, reviewed here. Students can then create a website sharing information on the topic using Webnode, reviewed here. Webnode is a free website builder that includes many templates and an easy to use format. Take learning a step further and ask students to compile information supporting their opinions and facts on a piece of legislation and create a video to share their thoughts with a tool like FlexClip, reviewed here. FlexClip is designed to allow you to create short animated or explainer videos to share on YouTube and other social media sites.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Reading Trek: March, Book One - TeachersFirst
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
Using the Reading Trek, explore the periods of the 1930s and 1960s using maps and other non-fiction resources. Engage students and use an online organization tool like Padlet, reviewed here, to collect and share resources with students. Organize information within the Padlet using columns to sort content by decade. Be sure to allow comments to encourage student discussion and collaboration. Enhance learning by asking students to create infographics using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here. Use the infographics as an alternative to a book report and ask students to share important places, dates, and historical characters to tell the story of John Lewis.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Retro Report Education - Retro Report
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
High school social studies teachers will want to bookmark and save this site as an excellent resource for lessons and videos to accompany current lessons. Use the lessons to differentiate activities based on student interests. For example, when teaching about the Bill of Rights, offer groups of students different topics to explore from the provided lessons, including the Pentagon Papers, evolution in science class, conspiracy theories, and Waco as a 2nd amendment battleground. Use Padlet, reviewed here, or Wakelet, reviewed here as a curation tool for you and students to gather resources related to their topic. Ask students to share their findings using a presentation tool like the ones found at Canva Edu, reviewed here, which includes options for adding links to resources shared.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The U.S. and the Holocaust - PBS Learning Media
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
Engage students in learning about the many different stories behind the Holocaust by including materials found on the PBS site within your lessons. Enhance learning by asking students to work in small groups to analyze primary source documents related to the U.S. response to the Holocaust. For example, share The Timeline of the Holocaust at Teaching With Testimony, reviewed here as a resource for understanding the timeline of events that features many primary source images. Extend student understanding and reflection of the Holocaust through a debate activity. Divide the class into two groups and have them debate whether the U.S. should have done more to help Jews during the Holocaust. Encourage students to research and prepare arguments and provide opportunities for both groups to present their cases and respond to each other. Create and edit videos using an online tool such as FlexClip, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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