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National Women's Hall of Fame - National Women's Hall of Fame
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): famous people (40), women (192), womenchangemaker (83)
In the Classroom
This site would be useful as a resource for teachers who assign "heroes" biographies, particularly during Women's History month. As a class activity, or in small groups, brainstorm a list of modern women, not included on this site, for a future nomination. Challenge students to research one of these modern women and write up nominations. Create the new biographies, using the same format as this site, by using a tool like Sway, reviewed here.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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American Bald Eagle Information - Hope Rutledge
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): endangered species (28), species (15)
In the Classroom
Use this site as the starting point for individual and group projects. Save it on your desktop as a center or enrichment activity, especially during a unit on American symbols. Note that the images are strictly copyrighted (see the notice at the bottom).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Renaissance: The Elizabethan World - Maggi Ros
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): elizabethan (12), renaissance (36)
In the Classroom
Share this resource on your teacher web page for students to choose different research topics related to Elizabethan or Renaissance times. As you teach Shakespeare, bring up a daily "factoid," text snippet, or image on a projector to take students back in time before you start class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Franklin Institute - The Franklin Institute Science Museum
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): colonial america (86), franklin (12), philadelphia (7)
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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Carpenters' Hall - Independence Hall Association
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): american revolution (99), colonial america (86), philadelphia (7)
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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The Freedom Trail - Boston National Historical Park
Grades
2 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): american revolution (99), boston (10), colonial america (86), game based learning (329), virtual field trips (153)
In the Classroom
Invite students to build an interactive geographic story with StoryMap JS, reviewed here, connecting Freedom Trail locations with historical images, quotations, and short explanations. Have students follow the official trail map and create a chronological route with Google My Maps, reviewed here showing how selected sites connect to events leading to the American Revolution. Assign small groups Patriot, Loyalist, British soldier, merchant, woman, or enslaved-person perspectives from the teaching guide, then have each group prepare and perform a town-meeting role-play about taxation or independence.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Pyramids: The Inside Story - NOVA: PBS
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): archeology (26), egypt (60), pyramids (24)
In the Classroom
Use the lesson plan to build a scale model of a pyramid in your classroom or assign your students to explore the pyramids and collect information to compare them to burial customs of other ancient civilizations. You will definitely want to make this site available as a link from your teacher web page for further exploration. Teachers of gifted could use this as a springboard for an entire Egypt unit.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Fort Matanzas
Grades
K to 12tag(s): climate change (112), colonial america (86), ecosystems (114), preK (338), primary sources (165)
In the Classroom
Invite students to complete an exit-ticket argument answering whether Fort Matanzas should be preserved and what responsibilities citizens have toward historic and natural resources. Use the NPS discussion questions as a starting point, then have students cite one historical and one environmental piece of evidence from the site. Have students compare Fort Matanzas with another colonial fort by sorting similarities and differences in purpose, materials, geography, and defensive design, then record their conclusions with 2 and 3 Interactive Venn Diagrams by Class Tools, reviewed here. Students can finish by arguing which fort was best suited to its location.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Colonial Williamsburg: Virtual Tours of the Town - Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): colonial america (86), virtual field trips (153), williamsburg (6)
In the Classroom
If you have a whiteboard or projector, you will have a captivated class. Individual or paired computer experience will allow your students to walk through the streets on their own. How about having a cyber-scavenger hunt? You will need to walk through the town yourself to find tidbits along the way, then later, ask the students to find them. They must give you the location where they were found.Younger students will need to be shown how to cyber-walk through the streets. You can ask them to report to you about the citizens they meet along the way. Ask students to draw their own colonial town based upon a layout like Williamsburg.
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History is Fun: Jamestown and Yorktown - Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): colonial america (86), colonization (22), india (33), jamestown (5)
In the Classroom
Using a projector or interactive whiteboard, you may enhance your lesson by viewing the short one-minute videos. What a great activator or anticipatory set! With a quick click, this site allows you to buy tickets to these two historical places, so you will want to monitor students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Academy of Achievement - Academy of Achievement
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): charactered (88), heroes (22), pioneers (13), social skills (23)
In the Classroom
If you assign any kind of "hero," "pioneer," or "leader" biography project, this site is a fabulous resource for students. The list of achievers includes many who may not be instantly recognizable to students and therefore provide more potential for discovery. In addition, the site is large enough and well-enough organized that students can start with this site and "dig" for a possible achiever to research, either by achievement area or by character trait. The site includes a diverse group of achievers, so is also useful if you're doing Women's History or Black History projects. Include this site on your teacher web page for students and parents to access as a reference.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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When the Personal Becomes Presidential - New York Times Learning Network
Grades
6 to 12The lesson plan starts with the familiar "read the story and discuss" format, but there are a number of good essential questions and extension activities provided that could be tailored into a strong classroom plan. The lesson plans have cross-curricular suggestions, and are tied to standards.
tag(s): elections (87), presidents (152)
In the Classroom
Be sure help your weaker readers and ELL students by sharing the listed vocabulary words prior to reading, either on a handout or by projecting on an interactive whiteboard and highlighting them in the text as you come to them.Use this lesson to discuss current events in politics (which changes daily). Have students discuss and debate the current issues. Have the students write a wiki about a current event in politics (for example, Governor Palin being the first woman VP on the GOP ticket).
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The Pocahontas Myth - The Powhatan Renape Nation
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Students usually enjoy "debunking" myths of history and learning ways that their teachers or textbooks might be wrong. This site provides another viewpoint in the well-known Pocahontas story. There are also possibilities here for discussions of racial stereotyping and the way Pocahontas is portrayed in the media, particularly in the Walt Disney film. Use this discussion to prompt a persuasive writing assignment or history essay on differeing views of history.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Vincent Voice Library - Michigan State University
Grades
3 to 12Requires Quick time. Videos require RealPlayer. Get these plug-ins from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
tag(s): authors (116), news (223), poetry (196), speech (65), speeches (22)
In the Classroom
Play a recording of a famous speech or video relevant to today's lesson as students enter the room (turn up your speakers!). Or have your students create multimedia presentations using these sounds in the background, such as portraits orf a decade, an author study, or a moment in history.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Celebrate Mother's Day in a New Way - Education World
Grades
K to 12tag(s): mothers day (29), sociology (23), statistics (126)
In the Classroom
If you are looking for some new ideas to use in your classroom, check out these lessons. They are ready to go, highly creative topics, and most importantly - FREE.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Easter Lesson Plans - Teachnology
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Use these free lesson plans with your students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Public Domain Books On-Line - Jeff Kelley
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): digital reading (18), ebooks (49)
In the Classroom
Because these books are in the public domain (i.e., older), their language is not "contemporary." The texts would make excellent reading comprehension passages or cultural studies of past times, and you need not worry about copying/pasting text from these into other software or making copies. You could even use them as passages on an interactive whiteboard to practice "main idea" or parts of speech.The illustrations are beautiful and straightforward. Print out some great artwork for your classroom bulletin boards, copyright-free!
The myths/legends collection would be great for upper elementary or later mythology units. Students can also use the passages and illustrations to create multimedia "tales" of their own. Give them the opening passage and let them write the rest.
Comments
The myths/legends collection would be great for upper elementary or later mythology unitsDavid, VA, Grades: 4 - 8
The illustrations are simple and beautiful.David, VA, Grades: 4 - 8
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Story Corps - NPR
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): digital storytelling (181), podcasts (183)
In the Classroom
Use this site to connect your students with people from other generations and geographic locations. Turn up your speakers and listen to some examples in your classroom. You can even use the story collection site as a model to start your own oral history project for your class or the entire school. You may not want to actually place your recording on the NPR site but instead house it locally on your school or community website. As major events occur in your community, such as an anniversary or the opening of a new school, engage your students in documenting the event. The general interview guides also offer useful interview techniques for school newspapers or news broadcasts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Race to Build the Atomic Bomb - Contra Costa County Department of Education
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): atomic bomb (7), cold war (40)
In the Classroom
Consider using this exploration about the development of the bomb as a focus while studying atomic particles or twentieth century history. The webquests are ready-to-go units or you can "cherry pick" sites to feature as a single class activity on laptops or in a lab.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Teaching about Japanese-American Internment - ERIC
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): 1940s (70), 20th century (171), civil rights (225), japan (62), japanese (54), racism (83), world war 2 (169)
In the Classroom
Teachers have to walk a fine line between helping students see history as it was experienced at the time, and showing them what we may have learned from those events. This site can assist with the difficulty of discussing the blatant racism of Japanese-American internment while acknowledging its presence in American history.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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