TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Sep 10, 2017
Here are this week's features. Clicking the tags in the description area of each listing will present a list of other resources with this topic. | Click here to return to the Featured Sites Archive
OneHistory - Hilary Mac Austin and Kathleen Thompson
Grades
6 to 12
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OneHistory uses stories, images, biographies, editorials, and essays to tell the history of America through the diversity of its people. Use links on the site to view information through...more
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OneHistory uses stories, images, biographies, editorials, and essays to tell the history of America through the diversity of its people. Use links on the site to view information through reading history and visual history. Be sure to check out the teacher feature index containing tips for teaching through photographs and links to great speeches and documents.
tag(s): 1800s (72), 1900s (73), african american (109), biographies (93), cross cultural understanding (157), essays (20), great depression (28), primary sources (115), speeches (18)
In the Classroom
Bookmark OneHistory as a resource for primary sources when teaching American History and as an excellent tool for finding information featuring diversity throughout the years. Have students create a multimedia presentation using Google Drawings, reviewed here. Google Drawings allows you to annotate an image with links to videos, text, websites, and more. Not familiar with Google Drawings? Watch an archived OK2Ask session to learn how to use: OK2Ask Google Drawings, here. Challenge students to find a photo (legally permitted to be reproduced), and then narrate the photo as if it is a news report. Take advantage of the high interest, low readability level stories on the site to differentiate for the variety of reading levels in your classroom and to include informational (nonfiction) reading standards.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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9/11 Memorial & Museum - Learn - National September 11 Memorial and Museum
Grades
K to 12
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Learn about September 11 using interactives, timelines, lesson plans, and more from the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York. Learn all about the history of the World Trade Center, explore...more
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Learn about September 11 using interactives, timelines, lesson plans, and more from the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York. Learn all about the history of the World Trade Center, explore primary sources about 9/11, and much more. Do not miss the 9/11 Primer with six modules, all of which have lesson plans and many other resources. In a special section under Learn is Youth and Families, you'll find ideas for talking with children about 9/11. In addition, the site includes many media files: interviews, videos, and more to help understand September 11.
In the Classroom
Check the teacher lesson plans for ideas. The plans range from kindergarten to grade 12. Incorporate some of the interactives as part of your class commemoration of September 11. Have students record their own video or audio interviews. Try Spreaker, reviewed here, with adults who recall the day and add them to a class or school wiki memorial. Add a Speakpipe widget, reviewed here, to your wiki page so visitors can add their own recollections. If you do not have time to spend more than one class period on 9/11, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum will provide rich experiences and material for discussion. Be sure to allow your students time to talk and ask questions about this disturbing day in history.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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CurriConnects Booklist: By the People - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12
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Find books about how our U.S. government works and how to take part in that process. These books include topics such as what it means to be a citizen, how ...more
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Find books about how our U.S. government works and how to take part in that process. These books include topics such as what it means to be a citizen, how our government works, and the tough decisions that people make -- both citizens and those who work in government. Discover civics-related topics such as voting, creating laws, enforcing laws, and the underlying principles of democracy. The collection includes both true and fictional tales about communities and government and books for all grade levels. CurriConnects thematic book lists include ISBN numbers for ordering or searching, interest grade levels, ESL levels and Lexiles''''® to match student independent reading levels to challenge, not frustrate. For more on text complexity and Lexiles''''®, see this information from the Lexile Framework. Don't miss other CurriConnects themes being added regularly. If your library does not have the books, try interlibrary loan!
tag(s): book lists (161), branches of government (62), congress (39), constitution (87), presidents (121)
In the Classroom
Encourage students to select independent reading from this list as part of a citizenship unit, as a focus for Constitution Day, or in a civics/government class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Constitution Day - ConstitutionDay.com
Grades
5 to 12
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Learn about the U.S. Constitution and the amendments. See the documents and short biographies of each of the founding fathers. Click links to images of the Constitution on the right...more
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Learn about the U.S. Constitution and the amendments. See the documents and short biographies of each of the founding fathers. Click links to images of the Constitution on the right side of the home page. Although this site is short on original content, the founding father biographies make it a worthwhile visit when studying the Constitution and figures in American History.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): bill of rights (28), biographies (93), colonial america (95), constitution (87), history day (40), philadelphia (10)
In the Classroom
Share this site with students as a resource for reading and viewing the Constitution. Use Read Ahead, reviewed here with these articles as a guided reading activity for younger students. Read Ahead is perfect for introducing any reading passage to struggling readers, special education students, and ENL/ESL learners. Along with Read Ahead you may want to use Wordsift, reviewed here to help students identify the most important words used in the text. Challenge students to develop a fake social media presence about one of the founding fathers using Fakebook, reviewed here. This is a great resource for Constitution Day!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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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 (194), constitution (87), 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.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Remembering 9/11 - CBS News
Grades
7 to 12
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This collection of stories from CBS has information about the effects of 9/11 that range from 2011 to 2021. They also host information about the victims, coverage about the opening...more
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This collection of stories from CBS has information about the effects of 9/11 that range from 2011 to 2021. They also host information about the victims, coverage about the opening of the new Trade Center, and information about the results of the re-building efforts on ground zero. To see a montage of the events that led up to 9/11, check out While America Slept, at here.
In the Classroom
Use this site as a cooperative learning activity during a lesson or unit on the events of September 11th or as part of a broader discussion on international relations, terrorism, or the role of government in balancing personal liberties and national security. Create a graphic organizer to guide students through the site (or have them create their own in small groups), highlighting what's most important and the important facts and details. For help creating easy graphic organizers, try using Holt Interactive Graphic Organizer, reviewed here, or bubbl.us, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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September 11 Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
2 to 12
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This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help students understand the events of September 11, 2001, and to plan lessons or discussions so students can...more
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This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help students understand the events of September 11, 2001, and to plan lessons or discussions so students can see the events of September 11 in connection with history, current events, and the challenges and balances of national security. Whether you stop to observe September 11 separately from your regular curriculum or include it through curricular connections to writing and social studies topics, these resources can help today's students imagine the events of a day before their memory but ever present in the American consciousness.
In the Classroom
Include one or more of these sites as your observe September 11 in your classroom or make the link available on your class web site for students who ask about the events of this pivotal day. You will find many specific project or class activity ideas within the reviews themselves.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Argument Wars - iCivics Inc.
Grades
5 to 10
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This site offers a creative way to teach landmark Supreme Court cases. The site provides nine historical court cases for students to argue. Each case is a separate interactive. In ...more
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This site offers a creative way to teach landmark Supreme Court cases. The site provides nine historical court cases for students to argue. Each case is a separate interactive. In each activity, students play a lawyer representing one side of the case. Using supporting documents, students must choose the best argument for the side they are representing. After signing in, click Download the Teacher Resources, and a box will pop up. From the box, you can select SCOTUS PATH.pdf, ArgumentWars20_Guide.pdf, Game Extension Pack ELL_Guide.pdf, and Arguement Wars Extension Pack.pdf. The Extension Packs add relevance for students through PowerPoint slides. Students "win" the game and case if they score more points than their computer-generated opponent.
tag(s): constitution (87), game based learning (171), supreme court (27)
In the Classroom
This site is a great way to review the amendments to the US Constitution. Using an interactive whiteboard or projector, complete one case as a whole group so students can see how the interactive should work. Use the provided handouts so students can take notes as they are working through the case. When it is time for students to work independently, make a shortcut to this site on classroom computers and use it as a center. Divide students into cooperative learning groups to explore the site. Afterward, have a discussion or have students journal using the provided discussion questions. This site does not have a save feature, so students must complete the entire activity to see if they've won. For students who need more of a challenge, assign them to Gideon v. Wainwright. Students have to examine two arguments which makes it more challenging.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
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Constitution Day Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12
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This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help teachers and students learn about the United States Constitution and to plan projects and classroom activities...more
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This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help teachers and students learn about the United States Constitution and to plan projects and classroom activities so students can experience the Constitution as a "living document." Whether you spend one class in celebration of Constitution Day or an entire unit on the Constitution, the ideas included in the "In the Classroom" portion of reviews will launch discussions and projects your students will not forget.
tag(s): american revolution (81), bill of rights (28), branches of government (62), constitution (87)
In the Classroom
Use the resources in this collection to supplement a unit on the American Constitution. The resources on this site could be used for webquests, learning centers, lesson plans & the like. American History teachers will love this one!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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