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U.S. Capitol Tour - U.S. Senate
Grades
6 to 12
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If taking your students to Washington, D.C., just isn't a possibility, this site is the next best thing to being there. The interactive and viewer friendly tour provides panoramic photos,...more
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If taking your students to Washington, D.C., just isn't a possibility, this site is the next best thing to being there. The interactive and viewer friendly tour provides panoramic photos, fascinating historical information, and interesting details about many of the objects encountered along the way. This is an extensive tour, so a teacher-created plan with explicit directions is strongly suggested before students embark on the field trip.
tag(s): house of representatives (7), senate (11)
In 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.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Living Room Candidate - American Museum of the Moving Image
Grades
8 to 12
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How does this year's presidential race differ from those of the past? Are there significant similarities or differences? This collection of 183 campaign commercials from 1952 through...more
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How does this year's presidential race differ from those of the past? Are there significant similarities or differences? This collection of 183 campaign commercials from 1952 through 2000 provides a revealing and thought-provoking glimpse of the art of politics over the decades. An analysis of partisan advertising campaigns is included for each election year, along with a map showing election results. Click on "Highlights and Themes" to explore attack ads, the multiple roles expected of a president (family man, commander in chief, "regular guy," and leader), and biographical information. The Desktop Candidate section discusses the impact of the Internet on the voting public. Be sure to check out the link to Educational Materials, which includes a teacher's guide and suggested activities. Some of the older video clips require Flash but can also be viewed as a PDF. There is plenty of information to learn from that doesn't require Flash.
In 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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Stories from a Small Planet - PBS Frontline
Grades
9 to 12
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Bring current events to life in your classroom with this resource that connects students with international events. Lesson plans (aligned with national standards) address politics,...more
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Bring current events to life in your classroom with this resource that connects students with international events. Lesson plans (aligned with national standards) address politics, economics, geography, and culture and challenge students to think deeply about global issues. Articles are written at a relatively high reading level, and problems are complex. This is definitely a high-powered resource for concentrated analysis and serious discussion.
tag(s): civics (128), cross cultural understanding (177), cultures (290), politics (123)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans and readings to help connect students to the content being taught in your social studies class. Be sure to save this site as a favorite for easy retrieval later.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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American Rhetoric
Grades
9 to 12
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Rhetoric can be a difficult concept for students to grasp in isolation. This collection of full-text speeches and audio/video clips from political speeches, legal proceedings, interviews,...more
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Rhetoric can be a difficult concept for students to grasp in isolation. This collection of full-text speeches and audio/video clips from political speeches, legal proceedings, interviews, debates, news broadcasts, and movies can really get the discussion going in speech and composition class! Definitions/interpretations of rhetoric are provided, along with a few interactive activities that make students think. A great resource for analyzing how wordsmiths use language to elicit a desired response from the audience. Created for American Rhetoric by Michael Eidenmuller. MP3 player required.
tag(s): debate (38), politics (123), speech (66), speeches (22)
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Brown v. Board of Education - University of Michigan
Grades
9 to 12
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The University of Michigan chronicles the landmark Supreme Court case in this on-line archive. Historical events related to this case are documented through articles and images from...more
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The University of Michigan chronicles the landmark Supreme Court case in this on-line archive. Historical events related to this case are documented through articles and images from 1896 (Plessy v. Ferguson) to the present. Main areas of interest on the site include Supreme Court cases, school integration efforts, and recent re-segregation trends in American schools. Use as a springboard for a discussion on Civil Rights or the American Justice System.
tag(s): 1950s (33), civil rights (220), segregation (20), supreme court (33)
In the Classroom
Recommend this site to students working on a research project or paper about the monumental case. There is a wealth of information here - teachers can also take advantage of the court case information, the primary sources and the images.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Election 2004: Hot-button Campaign Issues - NPR
Grades
9 to 12
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Although this resource was created for the 2004 Presidential Election, the background information is valuable for teaching about elections in general and for comparing elections as...more
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Although this resource was created for the 2004 Presidential Election, the background information is valuable for teaching about elections in general and for comparing elections as part of U.S. history. Encourage your students to examine and discuss the key issues that are driving candidates in the 2004 Presidential Election. This site includes National Public Radio audio files, links to NPR stories, and overviews of many topics from health care and the economy to the occupation of Iraq. An excellent resource for a high school "mock election" activity.
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Presidency in Action - American Presidents - University of Virginia
Grades
6 to 12
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This is a thematic look at the conduct and evolution of the American presidency since the founding of the republic. It examines the executive structures that manage domestic, economic,...more
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This is a thematic look at the conduct and evolution of the American presidency since the founding of the republic. It examines the executive structures that manage domestic, economic, foreign, and legislative activities in more than enough detail for secondary students. Even a quick tour will demonstrate the current complexity of the executive branch. Be sure to check out Issues and Policy form the menu in the upper left corner.
tag(s): presidents (151)
In the Classroom
This site has a variety of uses within a US government or history classroom. To begin with, teachers can use this site as a resource for research projects; a source for speeches and writings, as well as a learning center during a unit on a particular president or time period. A very useful and flexible source that can easily be worked into your curriculum!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Declare Yourself
Grades
9 to 12
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Founded by television producer Norman Lear, Declare Yourself is a non-profit, nonpartisan effort to register young adults to vote in the 2004 elections. The site offers a variety of...more
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Founded by television producer Norman Lear, Declare Yourself is a non-profit, nonpartisan effort to register young adults to vote in the 2004 elections. The site offers a variety of voter registration strategies, information, and schedules for a "Declaration of Independence" voting registration tour.
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Frontline Teachers Guides - PBS Frontline
Grades
8 to 12
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The PBS Frontline series regularly challenges viewers' assumptions about controversial issues. This teacher portal for the series offers direct access to supplementary materials for...more
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The PBS Frontline series regularly challenges viewers' assumptions about controversial issues. This teacher portal for the series offers direct access to supplementary materials for many current and past programs, all sorted by subject area. If your field is government or social studies and you enjoy letting students wrestle with ideas, you will find lots of possibilities in this one.
tag(s): politics (123)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans hosted on this site! Be sure to save this one as a favorite to allow for easy retrieval later on.
This resource requires Adobe Flash.
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Rulers
Grades
6 to 12
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Deceptively simple and not at all pretty, this site offers a wealth of information on the historical governance of scores of countries. (Where else could you find a chronological list...more
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Deceptively simple and not at all pretty, this site offers a wealth of information on the historical governance of scores of countries. (Where else could you find a chronological list of the prime ministers of Spain?) It doesn't offer complete histories, but secondary students studying the history of other countries may find its synopsis-by-ruler an interesting starting point.
tag(s): countries (70), presidents (151)
In 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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Founders' Constitution - University of Chicago
Grades
9 to 12
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This site from the University of Chicago offers links to the philosophical and political source documents on which the Constitution is based. Click the Contents link in the upper right...more
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This site from the University of Chicago offers links to the philosophical and political source documents on which the Constitution is based. Click the Contents link in the upper right corner and find a wealth of content in this one. Faculty who want to explore the origins of American government will find this site useful both for its thematic organizational structure and its wealth of resources. Secondary students will likely need some guidance in working with these materials.
In 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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Project Vote Smart
Grades
6 to 12
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One of the more complete election sites, Vote Smart offers a wide array of campaign information at federal, state, and local levels. There are also backgrounders on the election process,...more
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One of the more complete election sites, Vote Smart offers a wide array of campaign information at federal, state, and local levels. There are also backgrounders on the election process, the Electoral College, and election laws and voting.
tag(s): civics (128), college (41), elections (87), electoral college (24)
In the Classroom
Use this site on a projector or interactive whiteboard to discuss and informally assess prior knowledge as you start your study of representative democracy. Select a few choice politicians from your state through the "Issue Positions" section. This activity would work even better if politicians selected were representative of your local area or hometown. Seperate students into groups and have them research the politicians based on certain issues. We recommend using issues such as crime, guns, and immigration. Have students compare and contrast the politicians stance to voting records in their area, or teachers can have students vote on the issues just in their classroom to determine their own "public opinions." Have the groups compare the public opinion to the voting record of the politician via venn diagram. Use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram. Have students use their results in a class discussion of the pros and cons of a representative government. Where are potential problems? What are the benefits? This would be extremely useful in a AP Government or Civics course.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Indian Parliament - Government of India
Grades
6 to 12
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The Constitution of India page on the Government of India portal is a valuable resource for teachers seeking to introduce students to the foundations of India's government and democracy....more
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The Constitution of India page on the Government of India portal is a valuable resource for teachers seeking to introduce students to the foundations of India's government and democracy. The site provides access to the full text of the Constitution, including the Preamble, Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties, Directive Principles of State Policy, and the structure of the Indian government. Teachers can use this resource to help students explore citizenship, government systems, constitutional principles, and citizens' rights and responsibilities. The website serves as an authoritative primary source for studying one of the world's longest written constitutions and understanding how democratic governments are organized and governed.
In the Classroom
A World History or government class could use this site to compare and contrast India's government structure with that of the United States. Share the site on the interactive whiteboard or projector and use an online Venn diagram to compare what they're reading about India to what they already know about the US. Use an online tool such as the 2 and 3 Interactive Venn Diagrams by ClassTools, reviewed here. This would be a great segue into a discussion of the effects of globalization, the influence of diverse cultures, or even a dialogue on how India came to have the government it does.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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American Leaders Speak - Library of Congress
Grades
6 to 12
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Here is an interactive glimpse of political speeches delivered between 1918 and 1920. These fifty-nine speeches discuss topics such as World War I and the election of 1920. ...more
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Here is an interactive glimpse of political speeches delivered between 1918 and 1920. These fifty-nine speeches discuss topics such as World War I and the election of 1920.
tag(s): 1910s (26), 1920s (17), 20th century (169), elections (87), politics (123), world war 1 (86)
In the Classroom
Beyond the audio files themselves, there is also a "collections connections" section that provides teachers with helpful advice for integrating the speeches into American History, critical thinking, and humanities lessons. Hearing the actual voices can be a powerful experience for students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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First Amendment Center - Vanderbilt University
Grades
9 to 12
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Whether as a comprehensive research source or as a primer for studies on the First Amendment's guaranteed freedoms of speech, press, religious liberty, assembly, and petition, this...more
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Whether as a comprehensive research source or as a primer for studies on the First Amendment's guaranteed freedoms of speech, press, religious liberty, assembly, and petition, this site offers excellent resources for civics and government courses. The site also provides a variety of print and web resources for further study of First Amendment issues, including links to Supreme Court documents.
tag(s): bill of rights (39), civics (128), constitution (104)
In the Classroom
Lesson plans are linked to NewseumEd for teachers planning a basic look at First Amendment issues.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Proceedings of the Old Bailey London
Grades
9 to 12
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Visit Old Bailey Online to discover a massive, searchable digital archive of nearly 200,000 trial accounts from London's central criminal court between 1674 and 1913. This free resource...more
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Visit Old Bailey Online to discover a massive, searchable digital archive of nearly 200,000 trial accounts from London's central criminal court between 1674 and 1913. This free resource is ideal for high school and university students exploring social history, law, or digital humanities. The site features a powerful, advanced search tool that allows for filtering by crime type, verdict, punishment, and even the gender or occupation of those involved. Beyond reading individual trial transcripts, the platform includes a "Statistics" tool to generate charts and tables, helping visualize long-term trends in criminal justice. Detailed project guides and historical background pages offer essential context on life in London, making complex primary sources accessible to student researchers.
tag(s): britain (24), courts (25), england (49), great britain (14)
In the Classroom
History students can investigate the evolution of justice by comparing trial outcomes for specific crimes across different centuries. After selecting a series of related trials, students can organize their primary source evidence and collaborative notes within Google Keep, reviewed here to build a comprehensive research bank. To deepen the analysis, students can use the "Doing Statistics" feature to identify patterns in sentencing, such as the decline of the "Bloody Code," and then transform their findings into an interactive, multimedia chronology using History in Motion, reviewed here. This process engages students in authentic historical inquiry, enhances their ability to interpret fragmented primary sources, and extends their learning by connecting individual stories to broader societal changesAdd your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Debates in the Federal Convention
Grades
9 to 12
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Cmprising the period from May through October, 1787, this site contains the daily journals of James Madison in which he discusses the progress of the Constitutional Convention. Students...more
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Cmprising the period from May through October, 1787, this site contains the daily journals of James Madison in which he discusses the progress of the Constitutional Convention. Students interested in first-hand accounts of the forming of the American Government will find these journals great reading. High ideals notwithstanding, they show that the art of compromise was alive and well at the birth of the federal government.
tag(s): constitution (104)
In the Classroom
Use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson on a projector. Fit to compliment a lesson on the Continental Congress, select a few debates in the site to exhibit how detailed some of the issues faced were. Use the examples as a writing prompt - if in the Continental Congress, what would be the most important issues the Students would raise? If the federal government ceased to exist today, what laws would they create? Would they change anything? This is a great way for students to connect the past lessons of the Revolution to the present!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Supreme Court Historical Society
Grades
6 to 12
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This site offers one-stop shopping for a history of the Supreme Court and the ways in which it operates. There are additional links from this site to more complete anthologies ...more
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This site offers one-stop shopping for a history of the Supreme Court and the ways in which it operates. There are additional links from this site to more complete anthologies of court decisions and their interpretation. Middle schoolers could use elements of this one for basic research about the separation of powers and branches of government; high school students should find many uses for the additional materials.
tag(s): civics (128), constitution (104), supreme court (33)
In the Classroom
This would be a great resource in a civics or government class. Open the site on the interactive whiteboard and tour students through the make-up of the court today. Each Judge has his own separate biography that can also be explored to demonstrate the political alliances of the court. Assign cooperative learning groups different judges to research, with the intent of presenting the material to the class. Try something new, like a podcast! Use a site such as PodOmatic.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Landmark Supreme Court Cases
Grades
9 to 12
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Here's a site that offers the core body of essential Supreme Court decisions in a single presentation that includes lots of supporting context. In addition to the decisions themselves,...more
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Here's a site that offers the core body of essential Supreme Court decisions in a single presentation that includes lots of supporting context. In addition to the decisions themselves, there are supplementary resources, activities, and interpretive documents. There's also a thematic organization that makes identification of specific cases easier.
tag(s): constitution (104), supreme court (33)
In the Classroom
Government teachers will love this one.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Folding the Flag
Grades
1 to 5
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This site offers instructions for proper flag folding, along with a discussion of the symbolism contained in the flag folding ceremony. ...more
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This site offers instructions for proper flag folding, along with a discussion of the symbolism contained in the flag folding ceremony.
tag(s): flags (18)
In 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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