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Intelligent Design in American Classrooms - NPR
Grades
8 to 12
In the Classroom
If willing to deal with the possible religious discussion, this article would be a great starting point for a class debate on the costs and benefits of teaching intelligent design in the classroom. Based on what the article has written, begin a class discussion as to whether or not some of the actions taken by states have crossed any constitutional boundaries? Where would that boundary lie? (etc) This could lead to a heated discussion, but is a great way to get students discussing the importance of the establishment clause and its' practical application in society.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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History of Thanksgiving - History Channel
Grades
3 to 6tag(s): holidays (292), pilgrims (13), thanksgiving (24)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a way to introduce the Thanksgiving holidays in a way that is both educational and fun for students. Share the site with students on the interactive whiteboard or projector. Use eMargin, reviewed here, with the document to help students understand the meaning in this text. eMargin allows you to add notes, highlight portions of the web page, and more. Have students read the document aloud, in turns or by volunteers. The document will help students understand the actual v. the myth of Thanksgiving. The site can also be saved as a favorite on classroom computers to be used as a learning center if that method is more appropriate for your classroom.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Name That State - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Grades
4 to 6tag(s): game based learning (309), states (127)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a review activity for students at the end of a unit on US geography. Teachers can have the class complete it together on the interactive whiteboard OR as a learning center or station. Include this link on your class website (or wiki) for students to practice both in and out of the classroom.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Rosa Parks - NPR
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): african american (130), civil rights (228), rosa parks (9), segregation (22)
In the Classroom
The most intriguing part of this site are the audio portions where Parks recounts her story. Open the site on the interactive whiteboard or projector and play the portions during and within a lecture on Parks. Hearing Parks tell her story will add a different element than pictures and lecture provide.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): african american (130), civil rights (228), rosa parks (9), segregation (22), women (194), womenchangemaker (85)
In the Classroom
Refer students working on research projects or papers on Rosa Parks to this site. Use eMargin, reviewed here with your weak readers for the very text-heavy biography, but the information is all useful and reliable.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Rosa Parks - Academy of Achievement
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): african american (130), civil rights (228), rosa parks (9), women (194), womenchangemaker (85)
In the Classroom
Within the site is an interview with Parks, in which she accounts segregation in her childhood as well as the bus boycott that made her so famous. Play this for students during a unit on the Civil Rights movement in place of a lecture, or afterwards to review the content.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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History of Halloween - History Channel
Grades
5 to 8In the Classroom
This is a great site to show students how history can impact their everyday! One good project would be to use this site as an introduction to Halloween activities. Introduce the site on the interactive whiteboard or projector. There are several different "histories" on the site, such as the history of the jack o' lantern, or the origins of Halloween, or the origins of several ghost stories. Have students look at the site in pairs, and create a poster of what they thought were the most interesting facts. We recommend a site such as Padlet, reviewed here. Have students display their posters, and then use the free craft ideas offered to celebrate the holiday in your class!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Learning About Research and Writing using the American Revolution - ReadWriteThink
Grades
3 to 5tag(s): creative writing (123), writing (304)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of this free lesson plan as a way to study the American Revolution from an interdisciplinary standpoint. This lesson plan mixes creative writing and poetry with history as a way to relate different concepts concerning the American Revolution.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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State and Regional Folk Tales - S.E. Schlosser
Grades
5 to 7tag(s): states (127)
In the Classroom
Introduce this site on the interactive whiteboard or projector, before allowing students to explore the site independently. Use the stories as a writing prompt - after students have explored for a set amount of time, have them write their own ghost stories about areas in the state. To tie it into history, teachers can make them time-pieces, with the stories required to be related to a certain unit or period of time.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Thomas Edison's Inventive Life - Smithsonian
Grades
3 to 8tag(s): inventors and inventions (87)
In the Classroom
Share this site at the beginning of a unit on inventors and inventions using your whiteboard or projector. Create a Padlet, reviewed here, with columns for students to list and describe Edison's inventions. Enhance learning by asking small groups of students students to look through the tag Legendary inventors to find another inventor to read about and research. Then challenge the groups to choose one of the following tools to create a presentation about what they learned to share with their peers: a multimedia presentation using Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here, a video using FlexClip, reviewed here, a podcast using Buzzsprout, reviewed here, or a blog post using Edublog, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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1492 - An Ongoing Voyage - Library of Congress
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): explorers (65), native americans (169)
In 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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New Sense, Inc. vs. Fish Till U Drop - EconEdLink
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): natural resources (35), resources (79)
In 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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African American Women Writers of the 19th Century - NY Public Library
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): african american (130), authors (116), poetry (194), women (194)
In the Classroom
Use the poems by Phyllis Wheatley to complement a lesson on supporters of the American Revolution. Wheatley is often a studied character in American History, and her poems often confront American Independence and slavery. Share the poems with students at the end of a lesson, and have them analyze as a class what she is trying to say about either subject. Enhance student learning with a digital classroom discussion (where everyone gets a chance to contribute) using YoTeach, reviewed here, or by digital journal writing using Penzu, reviewed here, or edublog, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Records Pertaining to John G. Roberts - National Archives
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): supreme court (37)
In the Classroom
Too often in the upper levels students have extreme problems interpreting and comprehending decisions and memorandums written by Congress of the Supreme Court. Use this site to help students get accustomed and assimilated to the language and writing style commonly used in Judicial writings. And activity such as this would be useful before interpreting important court decisions such as Plessy v. Ferguson or Brown v Board of Education. Open the site on the interactive whiteboard or projector, and open one of the memorandums written by Judge Roberts. Analyze with students each of the seperate sections or paragraph to give them familiarity. Teachers can leave it at this, or have students practice writing their own memorandums after wards, using one of his as an example.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 12tag(s): senate (10), supreme court (37)
In 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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Explore the World - Lonely Planet
Grades
3 to 6tag(s): continents (30), countries (67)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a resource for students working on research projects or papers. Be sure to post the site on your classroom wiki or webpage to allow students to access the information both in and out of the classroom.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Name That State - Primary Games
Grades
2 to 5In the Classroom
Divide students into cooperative learning groups to explore the site. Have them compete in teams to see which can recognize the most states! An excellent site for review, it can also be posted on your class web page or wiki to allow students to access it both in and out of the classroom!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Religion Facts
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): religions (120)
In the Classroom
The fast facts on this site are a great way for students and teachers to quickly review the principles of a religion before learning about it within a history classroom. Often towards high school, the focus veers from a basic explanation of the religion to more of a discussion on the religion's impact on society. For those needing a refresher, this would be a great way to summarize via interactive whiteboard or projector. Providing students with a greater context can only help their understanding.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Back-to-School Scavenger Hunt - Enchanted Learning
Grades
2 to 5tag(s): back to school (57), firstday (27)
In the Classroom
Bookmark this activity for use at the beginning of any school year or semester change. Be sure to print the forms out before class begins, so students can fill them out and walk around finding matches.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Ancient Egypt - National Geographic Society
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): egypt (60)
In the Classroom
Educators can assign reading passages to introduce or review information; vocabulary terms are listed and can be discussed both before and during the assigned reading. An educator's guide with questions can help prompt class discussion or independent writing.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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