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Classroom Materials - Primary Source Sets - Library of Congress
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
When introducing a new unit, show students photos from the era (on the left menu) and have them describe what they see and what period they think it is. Find plenty of questions and activities (including a blank analysis organizer for students) in the Teacher's Guides. Also look at Library of Congress: for Teachers, reviewed here. Encourage your students to use this tool for projects. Challenge students to find a photo (legally permitted for reproduction), and then narrate the photo as if it is a news report. Have students create a multimedia presentation using Google Slides, reviewed here. Google Slides allows you to narrate a picture (choose Insert from the top menu, then audio) modifying student learning. Include this site on your class webpage for students and parents to access as a reference.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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U.S. Capitol Tour - U.S. Senate
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site as a learning center or station during a unit on the branches and houses of government. Students will be able to connect the visual images with the content, and also gain more insight from the text. To highlight whats more important from the site, have students complete a follow-along guide of questions. For help creating one, we recommend using Graphic Organizer Maker, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Arizona
Grades
5 to 12In the Classroom
Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector when students are studying states and creating reports, then allow students to explore on their own. Create (or have a group of students create) a scavenger hunt to find information included on the site. To show what they have learned from this site, challenge students to create an online graphic to share using DesignBold, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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FactCheck - Annenberg Public Policy Center
Grades
8 to 12In the Classroom
After presidential debates, go to Fact Check to see what was true and what was "stretched." Have students use this site for research about the candidates.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Testmoz - testmoz.com
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Skills required: Be sure to remember the password for your tests, as well as the unique URL. It would be wise to copy/paste them into a document you keep somewhere for reference. Users are unable to access the tests without the URL. Be sure to not share this ahead of time. Items in Testmoz are not made public.Use where automatically graded tests are required, such as for formative assessments to check student understanding. Use as a "ticket out the door" to see what students know at the end of class. Be sure that this is the medium you want to use for testing. Be flexible with students who find it difficult to take online testing. Entering all the material ahead of time can be time consuming, so this may not be the best format for long tests. Use this quiz application to create study quizzes for review for students to complete as homework (or during class time). Have students rotate to create daily check quizzes for their peers (earning a grade for test-creation). Learning support students and others who need a little extra review might like to make quizzes to challenge each other or themselves. Have students who are preparing to give oral presentations in any subject prepare a short Testmoz for their peers to take at the end.
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WordArt - WordArt.com
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
You must be able to copy and paste text or provide a url to a page of text as well as determine parameters of more advanced word clouds. Alternately, these word clouds can be kept very simple. After creating the word cloud, be sure to save the image (or use a screen capture) to share with others. Another idea, use the url of the cloud or embed into a place to share such as blog, wiki, or site.This is a terrific visual tool to share on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Help students develop creative fluency by creating their own WordArt and ideas from scratch. Paste in a passage or URL for a political speech to visualize the politician's "message." Analyze advertising propaganda by visualizing the language used in TV or print ads. Create WordArt of historical texts of inauguration speeches as time capsules of the issues of the day. Use this site as a way to help students see and memorize text, especially visual learners. Use it also when writing poetry or reading passages of great literature to "see" themes and motifs of repeated words and images. Have students paste in their own writing to spot repeated (and monotonous) language when teaching lessons on word choice. Students will be surprised to see what words appear to be dominant. ESL and ELL students will eagerly use this site since word order will no longer be a problem for them. Have students work in groups to create word posters of vocabulary words with related meanings, such as different ways to say "walk" or "said" and decorate your classroom with these visual reminders of the richness of language. Collect thoughts about the class subject at the beginning of the year and then again at the end of the year to determine changes in thoughts about the subject matter.
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iCivics - iCivics Inc.
Grades
5 to 10In the Classroom
As you study the Constitution or U.S. government, have students participate in the activities, stopping to write blog entries as their legal character discussing the results they have achieved in court or in their role within other interactive simulations. Students can work individually or with a partner. Be sure to demonstrate the activities on an interactive whiteboard or projector so students understand how they work. Another option is to enhance student learning and modify classroom technology use by having students create a multimedia guide to one of the constitutional rights learned in the games. Use a tool such as Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here, to make an interactive poster or infographic on each right. If your class is remote learning, try using Zoom, reviewed here, or another video conferencing tool, to demonstrate or introduce your class to iCivics and the individual activities.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The American Presidency - A Glorious Burden - Smithsonian Institution
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
This site is great to use for research projects or to find activity ideas for the entire class! Share the interactives on your projector or interactive whiteboard.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Living Room Candidate - American Museum of the Moving Image
Grades
8 to 12In the Classroom
Use the information at this site to compare past campaign commercials with current ads for the 2008 presidential election. Search the Internet for recent commercials (using whatever video websites are permitted at your school). Share a sample of commercials from the 1950s - the present. Have students discuss the similarities and differences. Have students create their own ad commercials about a presidential candidate that they support or a "mock" candidate that they created. To upload the students' commercials, use a tool such as TeacherTube (explained here). Be sure to obtain parental permission before videotaping any students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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FireWise
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
As your students study about safety or environmental issues, include this site as a resource. Ask students to create a fire pro and con list as they discuss the more obvious safety issues of fire and the balancing role that fire can play in renewing habitats and nature's cycles. Extend learning by using an online graphic organizer tool such as bubbl.us, to map out the many impacts that wildland fires can have.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Essay Exchange Unit - George Cassutto
Grades
9 to 12While this site does give a template of lessons for students to follow as a guide, teachers have a wide range of flexibility with it. Topics can be about anything of your choosing; the length of time given to the lesson and the type and amount of feedback is controlled. While this project started within the subject of Social Studies, this unit can be used in conjunction with any subject.
In the Classroom
Teachers can adapt the assignment to use other genres of expression to evaluate student performance. All subject area teachers can integrate the procedures listed to develop on-line projects for their students. The ideal places to post papers for feedback and final publication would be on a blog (for comments) or wiki (for collaborative editing and additions).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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Lincoln Birthday - February 12 - Myvocabulary.com
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Be sure to check out the interactive word puzzles! Have students work in cooperative learning groups, divide up the vocabulary words, and have each group find the definitions for their assigned vocabulary words. Have students locate a picture of Lincoln. Challenge students to narrate the picture using PowerPoint Online, reviewed here. Have the groups share the photos and presidents on your interactive whiteboard or projector.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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KML Factbook - CIA World Factbook
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Assign students various countries within a data set to make comparisons. Tie the data to biological, geographical, cultural, and social issues that exist in the world. Bring a greater understanding to economic and environmental issues currently a problem in many countries throughout the world. World language classes can see this data to help students understand the cultures of the countries where the language is spoken. Have students use an online graphing tool such as Chartgo, reviewed here, to display results. Compare specific attributes of two countries using an online Venn Diagram, such as the Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here. Another idea: have cooperative learning groups use this resource to create online books about the country using a resource such as Bookemon, reviewed here. How about having students research using this site and then create a project using Zeemaps, reviewed here. Zeemaps allows students to create audio recordings AND choose a location (on a map) where the story takes place.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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How Art Made the World - PBS/KCET
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
These articles and lessons would be great interdisciplinary "idea banks" for classes in art, world cultures, or government.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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John Roberts Nominated as Chief Justice - NPR
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Though there have been judges nominated and appointed more recently than Roberts, this site provides some excellent information that makes it a great resource for a lesson on judicial nominations. Use this site as a hands-on activity after a class discussion or lecture on the topic. Have cooperative learning groups explore the site with the intentions of showing how Roberts moved through the processes to become a judge. Have students create graphic organizers or concept maps demonstrating the process. Use a tool such as bubbl.us (reviewed here) to create and share the concept maps.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Founders' Constitution - University of Chicago
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site as a resource for students preparing for a classroom debate based on one or more articles of the constitution. This site is more useful if the debate is set into the time period of the Revolution, allowing students to treat the primary sources as though they were writings from contemporary peers rather than distant founding fathers. A great resource for a US history or government class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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National First Ladies' Library - National First Ladies' Library
Grades
6 to 12The National First Ladies' Library, located in Canton, Ohio, is dedicated to teaching others about the contributions of the First Ladies of the United States, as well as other notable women in U.S. History. In fact, the library is housed in the former home of Ida Saxton McKinley, the wife of President William McKinley. The Library is both a physical resource, but also a comprehensive virtual library of information. The site contains biographies of US First Ladies, lesson plans, and a searchable timeline. There is an online catalog of the many resources available in the library itself; those who do not live nearby could still use the catalog to identify resources associated with former First Ladies. This site requires Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
In the Classroom
These resources might be useful to those doing First Lady biographies for Women's History Month or other famous Americans reports. Students doing more in-depth research for History Day projects will find the online catalog helpful. Check out the link to facts and trivia for a good First Ladies Trivia page.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Cartoons for the Classroom - The Association for American Editorial Cartoonists
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
These one-page discussion starters could help students keep up with current political issues, provide an opening or closing activity, or serve as an enrichment activity for students who move through other assignments more quickly. Available either with or without guiding questions, and covering a wide range of relevant and timely topics, they are perfect to keep as a Plan B or for an emergency substitute teacher activity. Elsewhere on the site are links to Weekly News Videos with prompts for discussion, and other information about political cartooning through history; most of these latter links connect to outside sites so be sure and preview carefully. In an art class, create a "political" option during a line drawing unit for current events enthusiasts to draw their own political cartoons. Include these cartoons during a unit on humor and satire in an English/Language Arts class or gifted program.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Rulers
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Save this site as a favorite on your class wiki or webpage and refer students to it for reference. It's best use would be to help students compile the executive history of a country and search that way, rather than searching for information on a specific ruler. This would be a great starting point for a student studying monarchy in a particular country such as Britain or Saudi Arabia.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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