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House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College - Dickinson College

Grades
9 to 12
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With the 150th anniversary of the Civil War beginning in 2011, this site provides both a research engine and a Civil War "Today in History" lesson. Dickinson College, located just ...more
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With the 150th anniversary of the Civil War beginning in 2011, this site provides both a research engine and a Civil War "Today in History" lesson. Dickinson College, located just north of Gettysburg in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, serves as a case study for how the Civil War divided families, friends, and institutions. Alma Mater of President James Buchanan and Chief Justice Roger Tanney, author of the Dred Scott decision, Dickinson's staff, students and alumni were of divided loyalties. This site offers documents, biographies and images from the College's archives and can make the events and stories more personal.

tag(s): civil war (133)

In the Classroom

It goes without saying that this is a rich source of research, primary documents, and personal information about those on both sides of the Civil War, from those whose names would otherwise be lost to history to those whose names are familiar to us. Use selections from the digital classroom, which includes video lectures, a digital library, and virtual field trips, to extend your lessons on the Civil War. Consider dividing students into groups to research characters from both sides of the conflict. Challenge students to create a newspaper article, title of article, date, and body of article using the site Newspaper Clipping Generator, to explain who or what they learned about while researching.

Trying using the daily "today in Civil War history" items as a lesson icebreaker. This is an exceptionally deep resource which you can visit over and over for further inspiration. Share the video lectures on your interactive whiteboard or projector.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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Big Huge Labs - Big Huge Labs

Grades
K to 12
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Check Teachers First reviews for specific fun and creative tools from this expansive site. As Big Huge Labs continues to add to their offerings, be sure to check back to ...more
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Check Teachers First reviews for specific fun and creative tools from this expansive site. As Big Huge Labs continues to add to their offerings, be sure to check back to the main page of the site to find what is new. For now check out the Trading Card Maker, reviewed here, the CD Cover Maker, reviewed here, The Big Huge Thesaurus, reviewed here, Mosaic Maker, reviewed here, Magazine Cover Maker, reviewed here, Guess the Title, reviewed here, Captioner, reviewed here, Map Maker, reviewed here, Movie Poster, Badge Maker, Billboard, and Calender. In addition they have many photo editing/photo enchancing tools: Bead Art, Jigsaw, FX, Mat, Wallpaper, Cube, Lolcat Generator, Framer, Color Palette, Pocket Album Hockneyizer, Photobooth, and Pop Art Poster. Some of these tools are more suitable for play, but if you are beginning the process of integrating technology, these will be engaging to your students. Take time to look over some of these tools before sharing the site with students. Big Huge labs also has some other free services you may want to use such as a ranked list of the Top 100 Digital Camera Makers and Models that is updated weekly. There is also Scout to help you find your photos on Flickr Explore, Random Photo Browser, On Black, Sunset, Favorite Surfer, Flicker DNA, Photo Fortune, Profile Widget, and Writer, reviewed here.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): collages (20), editing (91), images (268), maps (208), multimedia (43), photography (131), posters (46), thesaurus (21)

In the Classroom

You can choose images from Flickr, Instagram, Dropbox, your files or provide a URL. This tool is so simple with very few steps for creating. Simply upload your photo, select from a few options, and then create.

Check out the Big Huge Labs educator account. Easily pre-register students to avoid creating logins, view and download their creations; view the site advertisement free. You will find information about the Educator Account here.

Options here are endless. Find out what students understand about a concept by creating a 6 word story. Students find a suitable picture and sum up the concept in 6 words. Students can use the Motivator tool, reviewed here, to create. Place their creation on a blog, wiki, or web site and have students write about how their understandings of the concept have changed throughout the study of it. Create Badges for field trips and other activities. Use the Trading Card Maker, reviewed here, to identify what a student understands about a concept. Create trading cards of the many species that exist in the world or of places to visit, past leaders of nations, or states and other countries. Create vocabulary trading cards. Use social networking in the classroom? Create an Avatar to use on these spaces. Reading a book or viewing documentaries? Create Movie Posters to share information or to inform others about various times in history. Whatever you use this tool for, it is powerful for students to use a great image and word captions to display their knowledge.

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Treasury Direct Kids - U.S. Department of the Treasury

Grades
4 to 8
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At this wonderful site, learn about the history of Treasury securities, U.S. debt, and the importance of saving and investing. You can view an old video featuring an ancient superman...more
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At this wonderful site, learn about the history of Treasury securities, U.S. debt, and the importance of saving and investing. You can view an old video featuring an ancient superman talk about buying U.S. savings bonds, try several money interactives, and do money math. Learn about the important history of U.S. borrowing. Viewing old war bond posters is another way to learn history and learn about old styles of graphic design. Graphs of U.S. debt complete another approach to teaching about basic banking and debt. Many wonderful short videos show TV advertisements for savings bonds. The games on this site require Flash which is no longer supported.

tag(s): advertising (24), financial literacy (91), posters (46)

In the Classroom

After presenting the basic info on this site, view the posters under the tab Art of Debt. Discuss and then have students make online posters parallel to the old ones they see displayed here. Use an online poster creator, such as Padlet, reviewed here. Have them make their own graphs of funds and debts based on their own finances using ChartGizmo, reviewed here. Use this site when teaching percentages; have students do problems figuring the interest on today's debt. Introduce them to the concept of buying a bond today and have them calculate its accrued interest and how many years it will take to gain face value. Have students in a team create modern day videos using a tool like moovly, reviewed here, to advertise and sell savings bonds. Share the videos using a tool such as SchoolTube, reviewed here.

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Teacher's Portal - American Bar Association

Grades
6 to 12
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Each year, teachers are asked to observe Constitution Day with special instruction on one of the United States' founding documents. This site provides sample lesson plans and resources,...more
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Each year, teachers are asked to observe Constitution Day with special instruction on one of the United States' founding documents. This site provides sample lesson plans and resources, for all grade levels, including some flash-enabled interactive lessons and activities on specific aspects of the application of the Constitution.

tag(s): bill of rights (28), constitution (86)

In the Classroom

Use the lesson plan suggestions to meet the mandate for instruction on Constitution Day, but be sure and check out the other resources for lessons on civics, government, current events and the Constitution itself. The section called "Dialogues" provides resources to engage students and community members in discussion of fundamental American legal principles and civic traditions.

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Penzu - Alexander Mimran and Michael Lawlor

Grades
4 to 12
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Penzu offers a FREE service to write journals or diaries online with exceptional privacy options. As an added benefit, you can add images or your own artwork as illustrations. There...more
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Penzu offers a FREE service to write journals or diaries online with exceptional privacy options. As an added benefit, you can add images or your own artwork as illustrations. There is a very short demo video on the home page. On Penzu you can keep everything completely private or share selective posts by email or URL. Perhaps share selections on a class wiki page? Don't have a wiki? See the TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through for practical management and safety tips for a class wiki. Note: Premium service is available, but this review is for the free version.

tag(s): communication (135), DAT device agnostic tool (142), journals (15), writing (314)

In the Classroom

A class journaling program has limitless possibilities. Engage students in discussions using a topic from current events, current social issues, independent reading, literature, and more. Any class using a journal can use Penzu. For example, science lab write ups or the problem of the week in math. Penzu can even be used for homework. Just think, no more lugging heavy boxes full of notebooks around! In language arts have students journal daily and harvest from their musings and ideas to create a short story or a poem. They can even use Penzu to develop their brainstorms and rough draft. For social studies classes, students can write posts and ideas about famous people or daily life in a time period being studied, then create a "diary" for the famous person in Bookemon, reviewed here or a poster using Genially, reviewed here about daily life. For either of these ideas, once they are ready to present a final project have them hare with their peers and others and possibly add other media. See more ideas for student blogging/journaling at TeachersFirst's Blogging Basics for the Classroom. Share journals with parents as appropriate by URL. Be sure to respect student privacy before sharing.

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Economics Guides - Shmoop University Inc

Grades
9 to 12
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Shmoop has added Economics to its series of study guide sites. To call this "just" a study guide, however, would be to underestimate its depth and usefulness. The site includes ...more
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Shmoop has added Economics to its series of study guide sites. To call this "just" a study guide, however, would be to underestimate its depth and usefulness. The site includes content in the major subareas of economics (supply and demand, money and banking, macroeconomics, etc.), and within each area, there are content summaries, questions that require higher order thinking, an interactive to try and test student content mastery, and links to content elsewhere on the web. The layout is intuitive and easy to use, although there are ads on the side.

Students can create accounts on Shmoop to access more features, but the site is very useful even without an account. Creating an account does require an email address. Tip: rather than using your personal or work email, create a free Gmail account to use for memberships. If you plan to have students register individually, you may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service.

tag(s): financial literacy (91), money (119)

In the Classroom

Add this site to your classroom favorites and list it on your class website so students can access it from home or in class at times when they may think they have mastered content ahead of their classmates. Use the interactives as a classroom activity on an interactive whiteboard or projector to test student knowledge or to prep for an exam. Use the summaries yourself to help organize your presentation of the content.

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Longwood Central School District SMART Board Lessons - Longwood Central School District

Grades
K to 12
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This is an extensive collection of ready to go, teacher-made SMART Notebook activities. This collection covers all grade levels and subject areas. Click Elementary, Middle School, Jr....more
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This is an extensive collection of ready to go, teacher-made SMART Notebook activities. This collection covers all grade levels and subject areas. Click Elementary, Middle School, Jr. High, or High School to find the many (MANY) resources). The topics vary greatly and the quantity is impressive. You must have Smart Board software installed on your computer to open these files. Some files will work using the SMART Notebook Express online viewer available here. (Download the notebook file from Longwood's collection to your desktop and then upload to SMART Notebook Express site.)

In the Classroom

These lessons are great for the new SMART Board user or the seasoned pro. Use these if you need a lesson but don't have time to create one from scratch. View the lessons and use them to help you create your own lesson. Click the different tabs to view the different grade levels. Please note that all of these activities require SMART Notebook software (which comes with SMART brand IWBs). Don't have SMART brand IWB's? Some files will work using the SMART Notebook Express online viewer available here. (Download the notebook file from Longwood's collection to your desktop and then upload to SMART Notebook Express site.) If you use a lesson, go to the staff directory under District Information -> Email Directory and send the creator a thank you. Think how great it would be to receive an email from a teacher "out there" thanking YOU for sharing?

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Motivator - Big Huge Labs

Grades
K to 12
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Create your own motivational posters easily and simply. Choose a random picture (one from Flickr or Facebook) or use one already on your computer. Choose colors and other options as...more
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Create your own motivational posters easily and simply. Choose a random picture (one from Flickr or Facebook) or use one already on your computer. Choose colors and other options as well as the type of text to be used. Enter your text and preview the result. Once complete, save to Flickr, your computer, or print. Remember you can use a saved image in PowerPoint shows and on a class wiki, as well as blogs and other sites.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): collages (20), images (268), photography (131), posters (46)

In the Classroom

Make sure students are aware of copyright laws. Use this site to encourage proper use of photographs that students have the authorization to use. Model including appropriate photo credits on the posters. Check out the Big Huge Labs educator account. Easily pre-register students to avoid creating logins, view and download their creations, and view the site advertisement free. You will find information about the Educator Account here.

Younger students can use this tool together as a whole-class activity or simply enjoy the posters their teacher creates. Have students create a picture about a unit topic with a caption using new terms learned. For example, create posters about predators and prey or classifications of animals. Students can create a poster of a study skill or learning activity that helps them learn. Create a caption that explains how the student learns the best. Every subject area can use this resource to create interesting presentation posters for display or as springboards to talk about what was learned. For example, in Biology, students could create a poster about a cell part with a clever caption about the importance of the job. In Literature or History, students can create posters about the perspectives of others in the story or at that time of history. Rather than a traditional research project, have cooperative learning groups use this site to show their knowledge in any subject area. Ask students to apply concepts such as constitutional rights by illustrating them in poster images with captions. Teachers can create bulletin board images, as well. Have a classroom motivation poster competition to start off the school year! Share the winners on your class wiki or in a PowerPoint presentation at back to school night/open house. As special occasions approach, have students bring in or take a digital picture they can make into a poster as a family gift with their own inspirational saying. Create a portfolio of 6 word stories, utilizing a powerful picture and 6 words to demonstrate the concept that was learned. Assign students the task of placing their project on a blog with a larger explanation of their understanding of the concept used in the picture.

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Mission US - Thirteen

Grades
4 to 8
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Mission US is a free online interactive US History adventure. Mission US offers amazing interactives that are set throughout US History. The first activity Mission 1: "For Crown or...more
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Mission US is a free online interactive US History adventure. Mission US offers amazing interactives that are set throughout US History. The first activity Mission 1: "For Crown or Colony?" has players becoming a 1770 14-year-old printer's apprentice named Nat Wheeler. As players move through the activities they meet characters from all walks of life and must choose where their loyalties lie. This site does require a log-in and password, but no email address is required. Use the links to download and play on a Mac or PC, since the online version requires Flash.

tag(s): 1800s (72), abolition (7), american revolution (80), evolution (85), great depression (28), immigrants (33), immigration (64), slavery (75), westward expansion (38), world war 2 (149)

In the Classroom

This is a must for any social studies or US History class. If you are remote or hybrid teaching, besure to read the section for usng Mission US while learning at home. Start by checking out the teachers area so you can follow the progress of your students. Use the demo game on an interactive whiteboard or with a projector to introduce it to your students. Once classes are set up have your students work in cooperative groups and work their way through the activities. There are wonderful teacher resources available including models for instruction, tips, instructions and student handouts. Resources are available in both PDF and Word so you can customize the worksheets for your students. This feature is great for differentiating materials for various student levels. When all students are done with a Mission, enhance student learning and have a class discussion about what side they chose and why? Consider using a backchanneling tool such as Yo!Teach, reviewed here, which allows all students a chance to voice their opinions (even the shyest and quiet ones). If your class is remote learning, for the discussion, extend learning by using Flip, reviewed here; require them to comment (politely) on their peers choices and reflections.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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lino - Infoteria Corporation

Grades
K to 12
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Create online sticky type bulletin boards to view from any online device using lino. Click to try it first without even joining. The "Give it a shot!" button has a ...more
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Create online sticky type bulletin boards to view from any online device using lino. Click to try it first without even joining. The "Give it a shot!" button has a "How to" canvas has stickies explaining how to use lino. Join and create your own canvases to share stickies, reminders, files, and more. Change sticky colors from the menu in the upper right hand corner or use the easy editing tools that appear when the sticky is selected. Use the icons at the bottom of each sticky note to "peel them off," share, edit, and more. Create a group from your lino page to share and collaborate on canvases. You can also share canvases publicly so anyone with the URL can participate. This is a device-agnostic tool, available on the web but also available for free as both an Android and iOS app. Use it from any device or move between several devices and still access your work. App and web versions vary slightly.

tag(s): bulletin boards (14), collaboration (85), collages (20), creative fluency (5), creativity (92), DAT device agnostic tool (142), gamification (74), note taking (34)

In the Classroom

Use this tool easily in your Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) classroom since all students will be able to access it for free, no matter what device they have. Students can use this when researching alone or in groups, sharing files, videos, and pictures quickly from one computer to another. Have students write tasks for each member of the group on a sticky so that everyone has a responsibility. Show them how to copy/paste URLs for sources onto notes, too. Use lino as your virtual word wall for vocabulary development. Use a lino for students to submit and share questions or comments about assignments and tasks they are working on. Use it as a virtual graffiti wall for students to make connections between their world and curriculum content, such as "I wonder what the hall monitor would say finding Lady Macbeth washing her hands in the school restroom... and what Lady M would say back." (Of course, you will want to have a PG-13 policy for student comments!) Encourage students to maintain an idea collection lino for ideas and creative inspirations they may not have used yet but do not want to "lose." They can color code and organize ideas later or send the stickies to a new project board later. In writing or art classes, use lino as a virtual writer's journal or design a notebook to collect ideas, images, and even video clips. In science classes, encourage students to keep a lino board with (classroom appropriate) questions and "aside" thoughts about science concepts being studied and to use these ideas in later projects so their creative ideas are not 'lost" before project time. A lino board can also serve as a final online "display" for students to "show what they know" as the culmination of a research project. Add videos, images, and notes in a carefully arranged display not unlike an electronic bulletin board. This is also a great tool to help you stay "personally" organized. Use this site as a resource to share information with other teachers, parents, or students.

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2010 Census - US Census Bureau

Grades
6 to 12
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Every ten years, the United States participates in a census; the census represents both a raw count of the country's population, but also how that population is distributed demographically....more
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Every ten years, the United States participates in a census; the census represents both a raw count of the country's population, but also how that population is distributed demographically. The US Census Bureau has begun unrolling the data collected during this most recent census. This site will continue to update, so check back often for more. The ability of the Internet and computer data to be distributed widely has changed significantly since the 2000 census, and this site reflects increased transparency and ease of access to this vital information.

tag(s): census (12), demographics (13), population (47)

In the Classroom

First, it's important for students to know that the US Constitution requires a census, and second, that the information gathered is used in a variety of important ways that affect them directly. The first data posted looks at how shifts in population density will change the way various geographic areas of the country are represented in the US government. Consider reading the Director's blog for further analysis of how census data is being used on a local, state, and national level. Of course, the data are perfect for using in math and civics classes for teaching graph reading and creation, and for providing real-life information to use in statistical analysis. A civics or sociology class might download a copy of the census form and consider what the questions tell us about how families live in the 21st century. What questions might students add to a future census form that would reflect how things are changing for their generation?

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State of the Union Address 2011 - guardian.co.uk

Grades
6 to 12
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See a comparison of State of the Union Address language from President Obama, 2011, to past presidents and speeches. These word clouds offer a visual comparison of the most frequent...more
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See a comparison of State of the Union Address language from President Obama, 2011, to past presidents and speeches. These word clouds offer a visual comparison of the most frequent words in different presidential speeches. You can make your own clouds of speech text using WordClouds, reviewed here, and similar word cloud tools to add to the comparison options.

tag(s): presidents (120), speech (66), speeches (18)

In the Classroom

Share these word clouds on interactive whiteboard or projector to analyze the presidential agendas in a civics or government class. Have students make their own clouds of text from other speeches using WordClouds, reviewed here, or similar word cloud tools like WordArt, reviewed here, to add to the comparison options. During political campaigns, share this comparison and invite students to create ones of their own between different candidates. In English/language arts classes, use the word clouds to spark discussion of propaganda techniques, word choice, and effective speech techniques. Share this discussion in debate club, as well, to point out the importance of carefully crafted messages. Have students create and compare clouds of their own speech drafts while studying persuasive writing.

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LFI Spring 2011 Symposium: U.S. and China: What Does the Future Hold? - Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government

Grades
7 to 12
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Today's students and citizens need to know about China. The spring, 2011 installment of the semi-annual Lou Frey Institute Symposia features topics related to China, the U.S., and issues...more
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Today's students and citizens need to know about China. The spring, 2011 installment of the semi-annual Lou Frey Institute Symposia features topics related to China, the U.S., and issues such as cultural understanding, security, working together, and (keynote) "Reasons and Prospects for a Chinese-American Partnership." The sessions were streamed as live video over the web on April 4, 2011, from the University of Central Florida, but can also be viewed in these archived videos. Speakers include "members of the diplomatic corps, policy experts and noted commentators." See officials from the two governments in action as they address hot topics of 2011 and the future for today's students.

tag(s): china (62), chinese (44), cross cultural understanding (156)

In the Classroom

Combine selections from these sessions with TeachersFirst's China and Cross-Cultural Resources and our editor's blog posts from a recent China visit to help students explore the issues and subtleties of U.S.-Chinese relations and globalization. Focus on cross-cultural understanding in a Chinese language or world cultures class or on policy issues in U.S. government. Economics classes can view portions related to macro-economics topics. Challenge student groups to create presentations using Thinglink, reviewed here, focused on one aspect of China or Chinese American relations.

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Gettysburg Address on PBS - Adam Gault

Grades
6 to 12
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Our students are accustomed to having both audio and video content to the information they access. Consequently, just reading something like the Gettysburg Address can seem dry and...more
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Our students are accustomed to having both audio and video content to the information they access. Consequently, just reading something like the Gettysburg Address can seem dry and sterile to them. This video provides both a rich reading of Lincoln's famous speech, but an accompanying video track to illustrate it. Though the prelude is interesting, the actual speech starts at minute 3:29.

tag(s): civil war (133), gettysburg (15), gettysburg address (11), lincoln (59), presidents (120)

In the Classroom

For those who are not strong readers, the audio-video combination provided here may make the concepts in the Gettysburg Address more accessible. For other students, there may be deeper, more complex questions sparked by the video. Did the creator of the video capture the concepts authored by Abraham Lincoln adequately? This video could be the "jumping off place" for a variety of questions the class might consider or project ideas for individual students. How might you do it differently? What about other well-known speeches or documents? How would you illustrate them for a similar video? Challenge students to create their own video using FlexClip, reviewed here to accompany a famous speech and share the video using a site such as SchoolTube, reviewed here.

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PolitiFact: Sorting out the truth in politics - St. Petersburg Times

Grades
6 to 12
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Politicians are legendary for their ability to "spin" or manipulate the facts in their own favor. This site seeks to cut through the jargon and the partisan spin to evaluate ...more
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Politicians are legendary for their ability to "spin" or manipulate the facts in their own favor. This site seeks to cut through the jargon and the partisan spin to evaluate statements made by politicians, using their "Truth-o-Meter." Although the interface is light-hearted (using a scale that runs from True, Barely True, False, and "Pants on Fire"), the facts are well researched and presented.

tag(s): advertising (24), elections (80), politics (113)

In the Classroom

This site is a great resource for students researching politicians and their viewpoints. If you're sponsoring a class debate, keep the site handy for each side to check the assertions of their opponents. When students have questions about the content of political advertising, for example, refer them here to find out more. As an assignment, consider having the class pick a political ad, and using the information on this site, write about how the creator of the ad selected the facts that would best portray the viewpoint of the candidate. They could share their critique on a class wiki or on a classroom bulletin board. Have groups create a "mythbuster" political poster on Genially, reviewed here.

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Congress.org - C-Q Roll Call, Inc

Grades
9 to 12
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Congress.org is a product of the larger group of news publications that include Congressional Quarterly and Roll Call, both long-time sources of news about Washington politics. The...more
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Congress.org is a product of the larger group of news publications that include Congressional Quarterly and Roll Call, both long-time sources of news about Washington politics. The site collects news stories, letters to congress and statements from political advocacy groups in one place for the reader to survey. The site is as non-partisan as possible, and it's possible you will find links to statements from the National Rifle Association next to those from the the Society of Friends. There is also a running accounting of recent votes in Congress for those trying to keep up with current legislation. Be aware, however, that one portion of the site includes letters to Members of Congress written by subscribers; previewing in advance is advised.

tag(s): congress (39), elections (80), house of representatives (8), senate (10)

In the Classroom

Consider placing this site on your class web page for students to use in researching political viewpoints, both in relation to upcoming elections and in ongoing political debate. It's a site for true politics junkies, but will be useful for those who are looking for concise information collected in a readable, easy-to-access format. Use the site during your study of the legislative branch and have groups follow congressional groups of individuals, creating a timeline of their activities using a tool such as Time Graphics Timeline Maker, reviewed here,

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The Supreme Court: Games - PBS

Grades
9 to 12
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Although this site is no longer maintained, most links are working. As a supplement to their series on The Supreme Court, PBS has prepared nine interactive modules on various aspects...more
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Although this site is no longer maintained, most links are working. As a supplement to their series on The Supreme Court, PBS has prepared nine interactive modules on various aspects of the high court. Although they are called "games" most are simply interactive lessons on topics including a quiz on the constitution, information on the symbols used by the court to illustrate its importance to the US system of government, civil rights rulings, specific justices of note, and landmark cases. For reasons not immediately apparent, one of the interactives requires registration with an email address and password. Rather than using your personal or work email, create a free Gmail account to use for memberships. If you plan to have students register individually, you may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service. There are also links to educator resources and lesson plans.

tag(s): civil rights (193), constitution (86), supreme court (27)

In the Classroom

These lessons would be useful on an interactive whiteboard or projector along with a unit on the Supreme Court or the US judicial system. Students might also use them to to extend or enrich the topic on their own time, or when they have completed other classwork. They are well researched and informative, however, most students won't view them as "games" as they are labeled. Have cooperative learning groups investigate one specific topic and share their discoveries with the class. Challenge students to create a video using Powtoon, reviewed here, and it share using a site such as SchoolTube, reviewed here.

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Project Vote Smart - Project Vote Smart

Grades
9 to 12
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Students often are confused about how to choose a candidate to support in an upcoming election. Perhaps they haven't read enough about the candidates and are overly influenced by campaign...more
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Students often are confused about how to choose a candidate to support in an upcoming election. Perhaps they haven't read enough about the candidates and are overly influenced by campaign advertising, or they are just repeating what they have heard at home. This site can help them hone in on a candidate whose views are similar to their own. Enter your zip code, and you have data on each candidate running in your area across 12 different issues. Choose either an issue to explore, or complete a questionnaire to see which candidate's views match your own.

tag(s): elections (80)

In the Classroom

Use this site as the basis of a homework or group assignment: students can write about the candidate they would support in an upcoming election referencing the information found on the site about each candidate's views on specific issues. Take it further and have them create a print ad for their candidate or an online "poster" using Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here. Alternatively, the site could be used on an interactive whiteboard as a springboard for a class-wide discussion. Be aware that the site uses a "grassroots" theme, and has a barely audible--and at times annoying--sound track of chirping birds. Turn down the sound if it bothers you.

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Testmoz - testmoz.com

Grades
K to 12
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Use this very simple site to create a test that's accessible on the Internet. Create an automatically graded test easily and for free! You can even include audio and video ...more
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Use this very simple site to create a test that's accessible on the Internet. Create an automatically graded test easily and for free! You can even include audio and video if you have an HTML embed code. Registration is not required to use or to take the created tests. Simply click "Create a test," enter the test name, and create a password. Note: Be sure to remember the password somewhere because it is not possible to recover it. Read the directions on the Test Control Panel to adjust settings, add questions, and publish the test. Bookmark the URL of the finished test you make so you can find it later. After publishing, copy and paste the URL of the test into a wiki, blog, or site, for student access. View reports when students are done with the test.

tag(s): quiz (67)

In the Classroom

Skills required: Be sure to remember the password for your tests, as well as the unique URL. It would be wise to copy/paste them into a document you keep somewhere for reference. Users are unable to access the tests without the URL. Be sure to not share this ahead of time. Items in Testmoz are not made public.

Use where automatically graded tests are required, such as for formative assessments to check student understanding. Use as a "ticket out the door" to see what students know at the end of class. Be sure that this is the medium you want to use for testing. Be flexible with students who find it difficult to take online testing. Entering all the material ahead of time can be time consuming, so this may not be the best format for long tests. Use this quiz application to create study quizzes for review for students to complete as homework (or during class time). Have students rotate to create daily check quizzes for their peers (earning a grade for test-creation). Learning support students and others who need a little extra review might like to make quizzes to challenge each other or themselves. Have students who are preparing to give oral presentations in any subject prepare a short Testmoz for their peers to take at the end.

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Budget Simulator - Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

Grades
8 to 12
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So often we hear impassioned cries for causes that deserve more governmental funding. At the same time, we know that the government already spends more money than it has. A ...more
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So often we hear impassioned cries for causes that deserve more governmental funding. At the same time, we know that the government already spends more money than it has. A balanced federal budget seems little more than a fantasy. Do students think they can do better? This simulation exercise (it's too important a topic to refer to as a game), guides students through the difficult choices our governments needs to make if it is to balance the federal government. Cut the military? Cut healthcare spending? Cut services for the needy? Once you've made the choices, the simulator will deliver the outcome: were you able to balance the budget by cutting over $1.3 billion in spending?

tag(s): politics (113)

In the Classroom

This would make a wonderful class team competition. Consider dividing the class into groups, or even pitting different sections of the same course against each other. Encourage the students not to breeze through the choices too quickly. The site might be useful for mature younger students if they have the attention span required to make careful and reasoned choices. Another option is to complete this activity as a class on an interactive whiteboard or projector.

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