341 history-culture-americas results | sort by:

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.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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1492 - An Ongoing Voyage - Library of Congress
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Use the images on this site to create a picture walk activity in your classroom. Select 10-15 of the more descriptive images, preferably with different subjects. Assign students to stand at specific images, rotating every 30-45 seconds. In that time, students should quickly jot down what they observe, infer and predict about each. After the walk is done, have a class discussion based on the notes that students have taken. This is a great way to introduce the beginnings of the New World in a non-lecture format.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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1865 - Wondery
Grades
8 to 12In the Classroom
Engage students in American history by sharing some or all of the podcast episodes as an introduction to the events surrounding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln; however, verify that the final three episodes are appropriate for your students before assigning them. Share a visual timeline from Lincoln's Assination (Ford's Theatre), reviewed here as an interactive look at the events leading up to and after Lincoln's assassination. Encourage students to extend learning using materials available at Project Zero's Thinking Routine Toolbox, reviewed here. For example, use the Unveiling Stories activity in the Digging Deeper section to ask students to reflect upon the untold stories from the podcast.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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1913 International Exhibition of Modern Art - University of Virginia
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students explore this site independently or in small groups. To show what they have learned from this site, challenge students to create an online graphic to share using Genial.ly, reviewed here. This is a very interesting site for an art history classroom.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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20th Century America (1900-1945) Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Find resources to educate yourself and your students about various topics related to American history during the years of 1900-1945. This collection includes lesson plans and interactives too. Share these resources with your colleagues and families.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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20th Century America (1945-2000) Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Use these resources as you prepare social studies lessons related to American History 1945-2000. Each review includes technology integration ideas. This list includes resources for elementary and secondary students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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21 Must-Read Books - Asian Pacific American Heritage Month - Amer. Indian Lib. Assn & the Asian/Pacific American Lib. Assn.
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Refer your class to this list for multicultural reading and reports. If you have any ESL/ELL students from these areas, they may enjoy reading literature from (or about) their homeland. Challenge students to read one of the books on this list and research the location. Have cooperative learning groups create a mash-up map using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge Tools reviewed here. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Google My Maps, Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, StoryMap JS, Renderforest, and Genially.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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25 Moments That Changed America - Time Magazine
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Use this site to introduce any lesson or unit on 20th century America with an interactive whiteboard or projector. At the end of a 20th century unit, have students create their own list individually or as a group before sharing this site. This site contains many events that may be unfamiliar to most younger Americans, use it as an opportunity to explore these events further. Have students create an annotated image including text boxes and related links using a tool such as Google Drawings, reviewed here, to share information from different events. 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.This is a good informational reading source to help meet your Common Core Standards.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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360Cities - 360 Cities s.r.o.
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
The 360Cities panoramic pictures provide a vivid visual experience to enhance any lesson. Students can search and view the panoramic setting of a reading passage or novel. Need to paint a picture for students about a historical topic? View the image on 360Cities. Activate schema with these vivid images. Bring Science to life as you explore the many natural wonders of our world and even space. Explore these exciting worlds through the panoramic pictures. Visit businesses and famous landmarks around the world for a free virtual tour. Looking for creative writing prompts? Use the images for poems or story starters. Teaching geometry? Have students locate geometric figures in the pictures. Provide students an image and challenge them to create a virtual tour as they explore the image. Use web 2.0 tools or the students' artistic talents to create travel brochures for the panoramic pictures. You or students can also create your own guided tours. Learn how to embed a tour on your blog. Record the tours as a screencast or present orally. Use the "how-to" section to have your students create their own panoramic pictures. Take a panoramic shot of your classroom to post on your website or blog. Use DSLR cameras or cell phones to create your panoramic pictures.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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3D Toad - TechTol Imaging
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Use 3D Toad as a visual glossary on classroom computers. Have students visit this "visual glossary" center to explore objects and new vocabulary that they are learning. View and examine objects together on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Choose an area/topic that relates to what you are learning about in class. Have each student choose an object from that area to observe and explore to heighten observation skills. Challenge students to create an annotated image including text boxes and related links using a tool such as Thinglink, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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40 Maps That Explain World War I - Vox
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
These maps are perfect for use on an interactive whiteboard. If you are teaching World War I, these maps need to be among your "go to" bookmarks for illustrating important highlights about the War. Consider also providing a link to the maps as part of materials students can access to learn more, as extra challenge, or for independent or group projects. The maps illustrating important technology first used in World War I will fascinate students who enjoy learning how things work. Have students create a multimedia presentation about the aspects of WWI that fascinate them most.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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50 States Part 2 - PBS Learning Media
Grades
3 to 5In the Classroom
Use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson about state facts on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Have students choose a state to research and then have them create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here. Have students create maps using MapHub, reviewed here. Students can add icons, URLs, text, images, and location stops! Share with your ESL/ELL students so they can learn more about the states in the United States.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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50th Anniversary of JFK Assassination - Associated Press
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
This site represents a good "quick access" point for photos related to the JFK assassination. Use them to illustrate a discussion of the event, or consider asking students to analyze the perspective presented in the photos. What is the photo communicating? How have these photos influenced the way we remember this important event? Students might be asked to compare the photographic "evidence" that was part of the investigation of this crime with the resources that are available today when a similar incident occurs. For example, how is this documentation different from that which was used to identify the Boston Marathon bombing suspects? In English class, use the photos as prompts for students to write informational texts about the Kennedy Assassination in journalistic or historic styles. Since there is such fascination with the Kennedy assassination, you could use this as a chance to discuss purpose and audience, writing to spin the same information several ways.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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65 History X Feeds (formerly Twitter) - Glenn Wiebe
Grades
8 to 12In the Classroom
Create a classroom X (formerlyTwitter) account and choose feeds to follow that relate to classroom studies. Assign different students to follow the feed each week to summarize and review. Challenge students to find other X (Twitter) feeds to follow. Have students create an X (formerly Twitter) account as a historical figure as part of research projects. Looking for more ways to use X (Twitter) in the classroom? Read more about X (Twitter) from TeachersFirst's Twitter for Teachers page.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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80 Years of Canadian Geographic Maps - The Royal Canadian Geographical Society
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Even if you do not teach in Canada be sure to explore this site for lesson plans and map making information applicable to any country. Adjust lesson plans to your particular area of study. Challenge advanced students to create a presentation using Swipe, reviewed here, demonstrating similar themes. Use an online tool such a Canva, reviewed here, to create diagrams, mindmaps, and other visual graphic organizers comparing and contrasting information found on different maps.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A Colonial Tour from TeachersFirst - TeachersFirst
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Use this colonial tour as a starting point for a virtual experience of colonial America. Assign different student groups to each colonial location, and have them create an extended virtual "tour" using a tool such as Google Earth, reviewed here, or (simpler) MapHub, reviewed here. Then have the groups take each other's tours to "discover" the colonies! If you don't have enough time for an extended project, share aspects of the tour and supplement by sharing photos from Google Earth's Panoramio layer on your projector or interactive whiteboard.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A Day in the Life: Dress the Part - History.org
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Use this activity to introduce the idea of social classifications during the 1700's. Use this site as the starting point for individual or group projects. Challenge students to create an interactive map and tell a digital story about a society member's ancestry and movements. Use a tool such as Tour Builder, reviewed here. With Tour Builder, you can add locations, text, images, and videos to build the story. A simpler project would be to ask students to use Cube Creator, reviewed here, and design a Bio Cube about different members of Virginia society.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A Family Farm Album: The Photographs of Frank Sadorus - Illinois State Museum
Grades
3 to 12In the Classroom
This site is a good site to use if you want to introduce more primary sources into your teaching. There is an extensive activities and resource section that covers the topics of photography, history, farming and genealogy. In addition, the PDF entitled the Turning Point would be a good resource to use in a lesson on narrative writing. Share the photos in art (or photography) class on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Have students create blog entries from the perspective of Frank Sadorus. Use the pictures for creative writing exercises. Why not have a photo of the week and have students write a short piece on the class wiki about what they feel the picture represents, what is happening in the photo, what the animal or person was doing/thinking in the photo, or whatever else is applicable in your class. Do you want to learn more about wikis? Check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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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
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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
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