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return to subject listingBen's Guide to U.S. Government - Government Printing Office
Grades
1 to 12In the Classroom
With younger grades, use an interactive whiteboard or projector to learn the states' locations with the entire group. This simple site would be great to use in your computer center for individual learning or for some indoor recess enrichment fun. Secondary teachers looking for more than the basics will want to supplement this site with other resources. There is a link for parents and teachers, be sure to take a look!You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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DocsTeach - Digital Vaults - National Archives
Grades
3 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site as an anticipatory set for a unit in history or on inventions. Share a collection of images or invention drawings on a projector or whiteboard and ask what the invention will do. Or use the site as the starting point for individual or group projects. After demonstrating on an interactive whiteboard or projector, have students use laptops or lab computers to "collect" resources related to their assigned inventor, decade, or era in American history. Check your school policy regarding accessing student email. If students cannot have their own email accounts, consider using a "class set" of GMail subaccounts (managed by you), explained here. This tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service. This would provide anonymous interaction within your class. Students can use their log-ins to collect resources.Since the documents are in the public domain (are not copyrighted), students may also download and use the files as part of other projects, such as video compilations, Powerpoint presentations, or multimedia of any sort. To access the resources in non-Flash format, click the small link to "research this record in ARC" in the detailed view of the item. You can then view and Save As for use elsewhere. Be sure you teach students about copying the URL and relevant information from this ARC page to cite the source and give credit in any presentation they make. This site is excellent for enrichment or projects for the gifted, as well. Include it on your teacher web page for students to access both in and out of class for students who are working in History Day projects or other assignments for your class.
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Kidlink - Kidlink
Grades
3 to 12In the Classroom
Students need not have their own email to use this site. Kidlink explains that they are permitted to use the teacher's email address (which allows you to monitor their activities, as well). You might want to use your "extra" email account. Set up accounts for your students to communicate in your world language class or as part of your study of other continents. With younger students, you may want to communicate as a whole-class activity, composing on a projector or interactive whiteboard.If your school policies limit your ability to use such a site, see the FAQ information and ready-to-go presentation explaining Kidlink. Share it with your principal and parents. ALWAYS get written parent permission when sharing student work/ideas online.
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Social Studies for Kids
Grades
1 to 8Note: an annoying audio ad plays when you first enter the site. Turn OFF your sound!
In the Classroom
Use the current events segment as weekly discussion starter or assignment in your social studies class. Share this link on your teacher web page for students to access outside of class. To really build a stronger sense of current events, start a class year-long current events "log" on a wiki and have a differnet student write a "week in review" each week throughout the year, based on the current events provided here or others he/she may know about. Reading teachers may also want to use the articles on this site to teach informational text reading skills on an interactive whiteboard. Reading levels are challenging for grades 1-3. Teachers will need to provide help by reading aloud or partnering readers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The National Map - United States Department of the Interior
Grades
2 to 12In the Classroom
Have your students work in cooperative learning groups to investigate the "dynamic maps". Assign each group a topic to explore (there are 7). Have the students research the information using the maps and then report their findings to the class, perhaps displaying examples on a projector or interactive whiteboard. In teaching any of the related subjects, using a projector to share a map will make the content more "real," such as displaying the butterfly layer in the map maker so students can see how the butterfly population their home state compares with other locations.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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World News - WN Network
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Share this site with your school's foreign language teachers. Have students do comparisons between English and foreign language versions of the news. If you teach writing, you can find controversial topics as writing prompts for persuasive writing among the articles, as well, and have students find facts to support their positions. Make this site available from your teacher web page for current events assignments. Reading teachers will want to use the articles on an interactive whiteboard to teach main idea and summarizing: highlight key words to use in a main idea or summary sentence you write together below the article.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Iraq - BBC
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
If you do current events study or have students with family members in Iraq, be sure to include this site as a link from your teacher web page. As the 2008 U.S. elections approach, you may want to begin a "current events" collection of resources for students to use to develop better understanding of election issues.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Fourth of July - Teacher Resources - TeacherVision
Grades
2 to 8In the Classroom
Get an interactive whiteboard and test your students' knowledge of Independence Day with the online quizzes. There are so many choices for observing July 4th, with any grade level, that you can't go wrong! It's a bonus that some activities will lend themselves to small group work.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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ReadyKids - U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Grades
2 to 6In the Classroom
Get an interactive whiteboard (or use a projector) and help your class prepare for severe weather, terrorism and more. Most activities are interactive, educational and fun! Replace the paper and pen journal and enhance learning by having students to write blogs sharing information learned using a site like edublogs, reviewed here. edublogs offers tools for creating class and individual blogs. Check out the "Parents and Teachers" link for lesson plans, standards, activities and more.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Awesome Stories - Awesome Stories Internet Productions
Grades
3 to 8In the Classroom
This is a great jumping off point for beginning researchers. You will find a wonderful compilation of photographs and other realia about the topics. Teach comprehension skills by using the first four chapters and asking students to predict or write aht they think would come next. Bring up the stories on an interactive whiteboard to highlight important terms and access the links that help students build connections to content. Maybe let students select the next topic to help engage reluctant readers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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New Sense, Inc. vs. Fish Till U Drop - EconEdLink
Grades
1 to 12In the Classroom
Take advantage of this free set of lesson plans about economics of topics in everyday life. Be sure to save the site 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 First Amendment: What's Fair in a Free Country? - National Endowment for the Humanities
Grades
3 to 6In the Classroom
Take advantage of this free lesson plan about the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights! To help ELL students, consider using a guided reading activity and vocabulary tools found at Read Ahead, reviewed here, share the vocabulary with them beforehand, OR make and print out easy to understand definitions of words that these students may have trouble with. 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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FBI Kids
Grades
2 to 6In the Classroom
Use this site as a learning center or station during a lesson on the government and how they enforce the laws. Introduce the site over the interactive whiteboard before allowing cooperative learning groups to participate in the online field trip. To summarize the topic, or to give groups who finish first something to do, let students play the games available after the field trip. Though they may not be rich in content, they do provide a review and respite for students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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State Facts for Students - US Census Bureau
Grades
3 to 6In the Classroom
Use this site during state research. Compare various states and have cooperative learning groups create two circle Venn Diagrams comparing two specific states using a site such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram (reviewed here).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Folding the Flag
Grades
1 to 5In the Classroom
Use this site as a refresher course before a Labor day lesson or celebration, helping students understand the significance of the flag and the procedures that care for it. Teachers could even have students practice the flag-folding procedures with small classroom sized flags!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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What is it Like to Live in the White House? - US Government
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Have cooperative learning groups explore this site during a lesson on the White House and its' history. Have students create a multimedia presentation using Microsoft PowerPoint Online, reviewed here. Microsoft PowerPoint Online allows you to narrate a picture. Challenge students to find a photo (legally permitted to be reproduced), and then narrate the photo as if it is a news report - summarizing the history of the White House. To find Creative Commons images for student projects (with credit, of course), try 4 Free Photos, reviewed here, or Bing Images, reviewed here. This would be a great review activity before an end of the year assessment, or a quiz on the topic.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NetState
Grades
4 to 8In 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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50states.com
Grades
4 to 8In the Classroom
There are a lot of ads from this site, so if using be sure to forewarn students not to access any of the side links. Use this site if creating state profiles during an American History class. This activity works best if accompanied by a guided graphic organizer or worksheet - we recommend using Graphic Organizer Maker, (reviewed here).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Boston Navy Yard - National Park Service
Grades
1 to 12Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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How the Grinch Stole Election Day
Grades
1 to 12In 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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