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Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald? - PBS - Frontline
Grades
7 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): kennedy (20), presidents (135)
In the Classroom
Students are often fascinated by conspiracy theories, and the mystery of whether Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone or was part of a larger plot to kill the President represents one of US history's most enduring. Certainly the site will be useful in a discussion of the event itself. However, it can be used more generally as a springboard for discussion of conspiracy theories themselves. See the lesson ideas in the Teachers Guide section. What evidence do we require to decide if something is true or not? Who can be trusted to tell the story of an emotional event? Is "seeing" always "believing"? How can resolve the fact that eyewitnesses do not all have the same recollection of the event? Have your gifted and highly able students do a special project investigating conspiracy theories in history and sharing them as a role play or video for the rest of the class.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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50th Anniversary of JFK Assassination - Associated Press
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): kennedy (20), presidents (135)
In 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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Beyond The Bubble - Stanford History Education Group
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): 1920s (15), assessment (143), civil rights (201), civil war (138), cold war (30), colonial america (95), immigrants (34), immigration (68), racism (79), rubrics (36), slavery (78), thanksgiving (24), war of 1812 (15), womens suffrage (51)
In the Classroom
Bookmark and save this excellent site as a resource for Common Core social studies literacy assessments. Many of these activities (and videos) are ideal for your interactive whiteboard or projector. Share the interactive rubric BEFORE the lesson, so students are aware of exactly what is expected. Use activities and materials provided on the site to teach lessons in character education, bias, and racism. Create your own similiar activities. Explore this site during professional development sessions for ideas for rubrics and lesson planning. Click on tags for "same assessment type" to find additional assessments not in the main list.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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White House Tapes - The President Calling - American Radio Works
Grades
8 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): kennedy (20), presidents (135), vietnam (38)
In the Classroom
Include the tapes and transcripts as part of any unit involving the 1960's, Vietnam, presidents, and more. Have students create timelines with music, photos, videos, and more using Timeline JS, reviewed here, and include information gathered on the audio tapes. Have students use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about characters involved in the audio tapes.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Artifacts & Analysis - Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): 1930s (20), 1960s (26), 20th century (62), cultures (172), decades (7)
In the Classroom
Start off with a visit to the Teaching Guide to find some great ideas to incorporate in your class. Use materials from this site to enhance and bring historical teaching to life. Print the student guide for writing effective essays for students to include with history notebooks. Use questions from the teaching materials here to add to your current teaching plans or as discussion topics. Create a link on your class website for students to view this site at home. Have students research and find documents and artifacts in your own community or online to share in the classroom. Have them create curated collections in digital form with accompanying writings to explain them. Students could create annotated images 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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History Labs - A Guided Approach to Historical Inquiry in the K-12 Classroom - UMBC Center for History Education
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): african american (110), american revolution (82), civil rights (201), civil war (138), colonial america (95), colonization (21), great depression (30), iran (8), jefferson (19), kennedy (20), native americans (108), roosevelt (15), slavery (78), washington (28), womens suffrage (51), world war 2 (160)
In the Classroom
Bookmark and save this site for use with any American History topic as a complete lesson or to offer another angle on current lessons. Enhance learning by having students create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Venngage reviewed here. Before beginning a unit, have students brainstorm or collect ideas on a collaborative bulletin board like Stickies.io, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Documentary Tube - DocumentaryTube.com
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): video (264)
In the Classroom
Discover the power of documentaries while studying point of view, primary and secondary resources, and debate skills. Examine the aspects shown in documentaries and help students find structure to provide an unbiased research project. Challenge existing knowledge in many areas. Help students become active thinkers and become involved in current events. Sharpen your own understandings.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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TeachersFirst's Resources for John F. Kennedy, Jr. - TeachersFirst
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): kennedy (20), presidents (135)
In the Classroom
Whether you focus on Kennedy for one class or spend an entire unit on U.S. presidents, the ideas included within the "In the Classroom" portion of reviews will launch discussions and meaningful projects for student-centered learning. Find more presidential resources in TeacherFirst's Resources for American Presidents.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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CurriConnects Booklist: By the People - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): book lists (166), branches of government (64), congress (40), constitution (93), presidents (135)
In the Classroom
Encourage students to select independent reading from this list as part of a citizenship unit, as a focus for Constitution Day, or in a civics/government class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Green Vegetation - NOAA
Grades
8 to 12In the Classroom
Look at the map on an Interactive Whiteboard (or projector) to look at the different colors and determine what they represent. Zoom in to the Nile region to view the stark contrast between the Nile River delta and the desert that surrounds it. Brainstorm how vegetation changes can indicate potential forest fires or drought and how weather is predicted based upon vegetation, humidity, runoff, and surface temperature. Compare the locations of high vegetation to those with low or no vegetation. What factors change the locations of these areas? Watch this interactive over a period of time (possibly the whole school year) to identify changes in areas around the world. Create a presentation about the changes in vegetation including research as to why it is very important. Find great tools on TeachersFirst for creating presentations or Infographics. Tie discussion of this map into economics, political policy, our food system, health statistics, and more.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Battle of Gettysburg - Esri.com
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): civil war (138), gettysburg (15)
In the Classroom
Explore the map and timeline on your interactive whiteboard with your class. Use the sources PDF and this page from TeachersFirst's Gettysburg by the Numbers to find additional Civil War and Gettysburg information. Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students explore the map independently or in small groups. Have students create an annotated image including text boxes and related links using a tool such as Thinglink, reviewed here. Use information from this site and have students create their own battle timelines (with music, photos, videos, and more) using Timeline JS, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Saylor - Free Online Courses Built by Professors - Michael J Saylor
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): professional development (373)
In the Classroom
Allow gifted students to enroll in courses that interest them or that provide enrichment beyond classroom content. Share with others in your building as a resource for professional development. Explore the topics yourself for some new, engaging topics to round out your own expertise. Allow students to enroll in a course that would fit into their career goals as an exploratory opportunity in that field.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Advanced Energy Legislation Tracker - Colorado State University's Center for the New Energy Economy
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): debate (42), energy (131), environment (246), persuasive writing (58), politics (117), solar energy (34)
In the Classroom
Use this resource in an Energy or Environmental unit or as an applied way to study civics and government. Students can search their State and compare to other States. Discuss the different bills being proposed and how they would affect consumers or businesses. As a project idea, assign student groups the task of creating a bill that they would like to see adopted by their State. Challenge students to share their bill and ideas by using Prezi (reviewed here) to create a presentation. Consider making this an authentic experience in civics by having students compose persuasive letters with their suggestions (with the link to their presentation) to send to legislators. The many bills shared on this site would also provide excellent topics for debate or persuasive writing in English classes.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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English For Everyone - The Read Theory Team
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): grammar (137), grammar review (31), spelling (98), worksheets (69)
In the Classroom
English, writing, and language arts teachers: use the worksheets to reinforce skills taught in class. Project the PDF on your interactive whiteboard and use the whiteboard pens to complete the worksheet with the whole class. Have your students complete a word search and crossword puzzle when they finish their classwork. Civics teachers give your students the US Citizen test and see how they do.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Manifest Destiny - The Story of the US Told in 141 Maps - Michael Porath
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): 1800s (75), 1900s (72), 20th century (62), civil war (138), colonization (21), maps (215)
In the Classroom
Use Manifest Destiny as a resource for any American History unit. Share the maps on your projector or interactive whiteboard. The many maps are an excellent visual demonstration of the growth of the US. Use information from the site to have students create timelines (with music, photos, videos, and more) using Timeline JS, reviewed here. Include this site in lessons about information literacy and evaluating sources in your history course. Challenge students to verify the accuracy of the information depicted. Was Wikipedia right?Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Climate Commons - Earth Journalism Network
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): climate (82), climate change (94)
In the Classroom
Use the data and geotagged stories to understand more about climate change. Create multimedia (podcast, video, blog, wiki, etc.) or conventional products (poster or bulletin board) to explain the basics of climate change. Click on different dots on the map to view specific stories that are being published there. Compare the tone and substance of the different articles found in each of the areas. Are there certain regions that are more skeptical (or less) about this issue? Have students select a story to research in terms of its local implications at that location, such as a story about fracking in the Marcellus Shale region. Civics/government classes can use this site to trace political issues, news, and related policy initiatives related to climate change.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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CommonCore Sheets - Common Core Sheets
Grades
2 to 8This site includes advertising.
tag(s): charts and graphs (170), decimals (85), fractions (159), measurement (123), money (114), negative numbers (12), operations (72), order of operations (28), parts of speech (38), primary sources (116), probability (98), sentences (21), time (91), timelines (53), variables (14)
In the Classroom
Find worksheets for every subject to better prepare your students for Common Core standards and testing. Use the sheets to make a formative or even summative assessment for many different topics in math. Use as a review or even practice. Provide this link on your class website for students (and parents) to find extra practice. Printable answer keys come with the worksheets. Allow students to create their own quizzes. Easy to use, grade, and share. Use for gifted students needing some acceleration. Use for extra practice with students struggling with new concepts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Abbreviations - STANDS4 LLC
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): search engines (48)
In the Classroom
Bookmark this site for reference to find or to decipher abbreviations or acronyms. Share with students on your website or blog as a resource at home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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History and Politics Out Loud - WyzAnt Tutoring
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): churchill (8), declaration of independence (15), inauguration (10), kennedy (20), martin luther king (45), persuasive writing (58), presidents (135), roosevelt (15)
In the Classroom
Share speeches from this site on your class webpage or blog for students to view at home. Share them with your class using your projector or interactive whiteboard. Have students use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about a president, famous scientist, or nearly any other real or fictitious person after viewing and listening to speeches on this site. Use the text of speeches to create a word cloud; try WordClouds, reviewed here, to analyze a leader's priorities and emphasis. Use these examples as students prepare their own persuasive (or propaganda) speeches in English or civics classes. Teachers or ENL students can offer speeches with accompanying texts to help build vocabulary and listening skills.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Digital Public Library of America - Digital Public Library of America
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): 1910s (6), 1920s (15), 1930s (20), 1940s (14), 1950s (8), 1960s (26), 1970s (10), 1980s (7), 20th century (62), data (151), museums (51), primary sources (116), Research (84)
In the Classroom
Adding the DPLA to your classroom bookmarks or introducing students to this resource will put a wealth of information into students' hands, aggregated into one place. Consider this a museum/archive/library specific search engine. Because each search links to an artifact or document which may actually be the property of any of dozens of different entities, students will need to understand that copyright and the ability to download material may vary depending upon where the original item "lives." Be sure to demonstrate how to FIND the rights information. Challenge students to explore basics on an artist, an author, or a social studies topic such as "civil rights" or "Martin Luther King" to see an overview in many media using the timeline display. Be sure to test the searches in advance to know which terms yield reasonable results.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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