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Our Documents - 100 Milestone Documents - National Archives
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): civics (129), history day (38), primary sources (134)
In the Classroom
The use of primary sources in teaching has been greatly increased by our digital access to documents like these. Peruse the list of "milestone" documents and commit to using the photographs on an interactive whiteboard (or projector) when the document comes up in a lesson or discussion. For teachers who are supporting student projects for National History Day, this site also has a link to specific tips, although it appears the site has not been kept up to date with current information on individual competitions. Challenge cooperative learning groups to investigate one of the documents and create a multimedia project of their choice. Looking for some inspiration? How about having groups create a podcast using podOmatic, reviewed here. Or have students create online posters on paper or do it together as a class using a tool such as PicLits, reviewed here. Have students narrate a photo of the document (using a FREE and LEGAL photo) with a too such as Google Drawings, reviewed here. Google Drawings allows you to annotate an image with links to videos, text, websites, and more.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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The National Parks: America's Best Idea - PBS
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): national parks (28)
In the Classroom
Share the film (or clips) on your interactive whiteboard or projector. One section of the site enables you to design a national park postcard to email to a friend. Groups of students might research individual national parks (links to the NPS site appear on this site) and circulate their own postcards to other groups. Students can also "collect" national park badges that can be cut and pasted into personal or class websites. You could also have cooperative learning groups create multimedia projects about various National Parks. Alter student learning by having students create online posters or do it together as a class using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard, or PicLits. If you are near a park, your students could redefine their learning and create an online park tour to share with others far away! Try a tool such as Adobe Spark for Education.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Whyzz - Whyzz LLC
Grades
K to 8Once registered, your Whyzz are kept as a record for review later. Site members can also comment on Whyzz answers which are offered by many professionals. Each answer also features a section called "exploration" where additional learning can take place as well as "related Whyzz." Check the spotlight, browse categories, and look at a featured answer.
tag(s): inquiry (34)
In the Classroom
Teachers may be the experts but the greater gift is helping students find answers. Use this site as a class to receive kid friendly answers to normal and weird kid questions. Whyzz not only give the why, but also the hows and the whats! Have students create interactive projects that share the answers to the "WHY." Have students create online posters on paper or do it together as a class using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard (reviewed here) or PicLits (reviewed here). Share the link with parents of younger elementary students to use at home, as well!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Name that World Flag - Encyclopedia Britannica
Grades
3 to 8In the Classroom
Use the flag quiz as a quick daily bell ringer. Students answer a few questions about flags, then turn and talk about the colors, symbols, or patterns they noticed. After taking the quiz, have students choose one flag they missed, research the meaning of its colors and symbols, and then share one fact with the class. Students can write a short reflection explaining which flags were easiest or hardest to identify and why, connecting visual clues to memory and reasoning skills.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Digital Footlocker: The Home Fires--Montana in WWII - Thinking Through American History
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): 1940s (70), 20th century (168), montana (3), world war 2 (169)
In the Classroom
Use this site to help students "feel" the realities of life during world war II. As you finish studying an era or concept, consider putting together a digital footlocker of your own on a wiki.Want to know more about wikis? See the TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through. You may also want to google 'digital footlocker' to see other online footlockers assembled by teachers.
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The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Non-violent Social Change - The King Center
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): african american (130), black history (131), civil rights (219), martin luther king (42)
In the Classroom
Share the video and/or audio clips on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Have students use this site for research projects. Challenge students to write a blog from King's perspective. Have students pretend that he could write a blog for people to read in the 2000s. What would he say? Has his dream come true?Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The War in Europe - History Place
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): 1930s (40), 1940s (70), 20th century (168), europe (82), world war 2 (169)
In the Classroom
Divide students into cooperative learning groups to explore the site. Have them look at the timeline, and then in groups select 5 events on the timeline that the site failed to go into detail on. Have the students create their own excerpts of those events, including what they think is the most important information. Have students create online posters on paper or do it together as a class using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard (reviewed here) or PicLits (reviewed here).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Trenches on the Web
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): 1910s (26), 20th century (168), world war 1 (87)
In the Classroom
This site has a treasure trove of information about World War I! Use it as a reference point for standards terms, and to find information to supplement the textbook. One activity for the classroom is to access the section on the web site dedicated to displaying the posters from various countries. Assign cooperative learning groups a country and allow them to browse through that nation's war posters on classroom computers. Once students have looked through them all, have them create a contemporary poster for the country based on general trends they observed and using their knowledge about the conflict. We recommend using a site such as Web Poster Wizard (reviewed here) or PicLits (reviewed here). Have students share their end products with the class via interactive whiteboard or projector.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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We Shall Overcome - Historic Places of the Civil Rights Movement - National Park Service
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): 1950s (33), africa (162), african american (130), civil rights (219)
In the Classroom
Divide students into cooperative learning groups to explore the site. Have them explore the site with the intention of picking three to research further. The text portions are challenging, so you should pair weaker readers with a partner as they research on this site. Have students pick the three the think are most significant or symbolic, which will be presented in poster form. Have students create online posters on paper or do it together as a class using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here or PicLits, reviewed here. This activity will teach students about some of the major events of the Civil rights movements in a way that provides relief from lectures.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Americans and the Environment - National Humanities Center
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): conservation (109), ecology (118), environment (253)
In the Classroom
While this site is a little text-heavy, it is truly an excellent site for exploring the way the North American environment has been impacted by recent history. Select the time period that is appropriate to your unit, and introduce the site on the interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students explore the rest of the site on classroom computers. To ensure that they're doing more than skimming the text, Have students create online posters on paper or do it together as a class using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard (reviewed here) or PicLits (reviewed here).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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About Illinois - State of Illinois
Grades
4 to 8In the Classroom
Share the site on your interactive whiteboard with your students to help them find portions useful for research, then allow them to explore on their own. Create a scavenger hunt for students to search the site to find facts about the state.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Fire Prevention Week - National Fire Protection Association
Grades
2 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): fire prevention (16), fire safety (16), homes (4)
In the Classroom
Try pair teaching after introducing the important facts available on this page. Have the first of a pair give the other student the facts and then have the second add to what the first has missed. Have your class make their own posters using this year's campaign logo. Have students replace paper and enhance learning by creating online posters using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here, or PicLits, reviewed here. Have your class create check sheets they can take home and do their own domestic assessment. Ask if they know any members of the population that might be higher at risk for fires, and see if they can think of ways to make contact and help this group.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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3rd World Farmer - Frederik Hermund
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): africa (162), agriculture (54)
In the Classroom
Try this activity as a class on your interactive whiteboard (or projector), discussing choices and events that happen throughout the game. Allow individual students to try this activity and journal their experiences and the effect that events can have on farmers in 3rd world countries. Compare/contrast the effects of events on 3rd World farmers vs the same events in a student's life.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Zoho Show - ZOHO Corporation
Grades
K to 12tag(s): multimedia (62), slides (37)
In the Classroom
To use this site, you will need to create an account. You will need to navigate using onscreen instructions. There is a video tour of the features if you would like to view it, but it is just as fun and easy to play with the tool. Slide themes are limited, but the tools are simple and it is easy to publish to a URL that can be shared with everyone.Use this tool to create presentations when students will need more than class time to finish. Have students make individual presentations. Instead of presenting on projector, have them share to the class wiki or within their zoho group to promote discussion and peer review. Assign a round-robin peer review so everyone gets some feedback.
Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
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Maryland Kids Page - Maryland Secretary of State
Grades
3 to 8tag(s): biographies (96), maryland (7), states (128)
In the Classroom
Challenge your students to go past PowerPoint and make an online presentation using Animoto (reviewed here) or another reviewed presentation tool from the TeachersFirst Edge. Share the page with the bill-creation process on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) with students and have them compare with other states' processes. Create a scavenger hunt including information from the site and have students explore the pages to find answers. Share the site with students as a resource for state research or famous American projects.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Maine Secretary of State Kids' Page - Maine Secretary of State
Grades
3 to 8In the Classroom
Challenge your students to go past PowerPoint and make an online presentation using Animoto (reviewed here) or another reviewed presentation tool from the TeachersFirst Edge. Review the list of books about Maine to use as resources for Guided Reading or class read-alouds. Share the site with students when preparing state research projects. Demonstrate the Tree of Facts and challenge students to create their own Tree of Facts for the state they are researching.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mr. Donn's Social Studies - Mr. Donn
Grades
K to 8This site includes advertising.
tag(s): 1920s (17), africa (162), archeology (26), china (79), civics (129), civil rights (219), civil war (145), colonial america (97), egypt (59), great depression (32), greece (47), holidays (283), immigration (85), india (34), industrial revolution (22), japan (62), mayans (32), mesopotamia (31), native americans (130), psychology (60), religions (120), renaissance (38), resources (80), rome (36), slavery (79), westward expansion (42)
In the Classroom
This is the perfect site for Social Studies and History teachers. Use this site for background information when planning lessons. Place this link on your classroom computers to provide students with safe places to research. Several topics have video clips that are perfect for showing on a projector or interactive whiteboard. If using this site for research, enhance learning by challenging students to create a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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WorksheetWorks - WorksheetWorks.com
Grades
K to 12tag(s): printables (35), puzzles (163), worksheets (70)
In the Classroom
Use this site to differentiate for students of all levels by allowing students to create their own worksheet for practice or review. Make a shortcut to this site on classroom computers and use it as a center - students can then create their own individualized practice.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The International Civil Rights Center & Museum - The International Civil Rights Center & Museum
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): 1960s (54), african american (130), black history (131), civics (129), civil rights (219)
In the Classroom
Have your students use the information about the people of the sit-in movement to write a biography. Add drama to your classroom and have students pretend to be one of the protesters. Have them write a monologue and present it to the class. Have students create public service announcement posters using Piclits (reviewed here). Use the announcements that can be found in the image gallery for examples.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Arizona Kid's Page - State of Arizona
Grades
3 to 8tag(s): national parks (28), native americans (130), natural resources (33), westward expansion (42)
In the Classroom
Share this site with students when working on state research projects. Display photos included on the site with your interactive whiteboard or projector when discussing Arizona, the Grand Canyon, or other areas of the state. Copy and use the coloring pages with the state seal, flag, and other images when learning about the state of Arizona. Rather than having students create a traditional research project, enhance learning by having students create a multimedia presentation using Thinglink. This site allows you to narrate a picture.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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