TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of Oct 30, 2022
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
Close Up - Close Up Foundation
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): elections (148), civil rights (273), constitution (138), congress (55), environment (462),
In the Classroom
Use materials from Close Up to supplement your current civics lessons. Assign groups of students different articles or podcasts to analyze and share with peers. Enhance learning using Edpuzzle, reviewed here, to add comments and questions to videos for student consideration. Use Wakelet, reviewed here, to curate resources including articles and podcasts to share with students. Upon completing your teaching unit, ask students to use Wakelet as a multimedia presentation tool to create and share their learning by including written work, images, and links to reference materials.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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US Presidential Elections and Activities - GrowingVoters. org
Grades
K to 12tag(s): politics (170), journalism (113), electoral college (30), elections (148),
In the Classroom
Be sure to see the many free lessons and activities shared on this site for use as a complete civics and election unit or as a supplement to your current curriculum. For polling activities, consider the use of online polling tools such as Dotstorming, reviewed here, or Poll Everywhere, reviewed here, as quick polling options. Select activities from the site to use with other learning tools such as videos, online articles, and documents to create a blended learning activity using ActivelyLearn, reviewed here. Have students create campaign posters and flyers using PhotoCollage, reviewed here, or Canva Edu, reviewed here, using the templates provided or created from scratch. Engage students in the electoral experience by providing options for them to promote a personal platform or a fictionalized candidate using Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here. Adobe Express allows inclusion of student-created videos and artwork along with student persuasive writing examples.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Reading Treks: Around America to Win the Vote: Two Suffragists, a Kitten, and 10,000 Miles - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 4tag(s): 1900s (90), 20th century (85), womens suffrage (53), elections (148), virtual field trips (127),
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the many suggested classroom uses for this resource found on the Instructional Guide (PDF). Consider using the book as a starting point to locate primary sources to teach about voting in the United States along with life during the early 1900s. Using the map and locales, trace and then calculate distances for some of Alice Burke and Neil Richardson's travels across the country. Use Google My Maps, reviewed here to create and share custom maps.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Case Maker - Bean Creative
Grades
6 to 8tag(s): racism (90), Research (88), immigrants (43), immigration (110), civil rights (273), black history (174), constitution (138), freedom of speech (16), world war 2 (244), politics (170), media literacy (136), elections (148), democracy (30), inquiry (56),
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free materials on this site to encourage debate and discussion within your current civics lessons and lessons on civil rights and racism. Introduce Case Maker by showing the class the student introductory video. Each lesson includes primary sources to use when responding to prompts; ask students to find and share additional primary sources to include in their response to each question. Instead of just creating a list of additional resources, engage students and augment classroom technology use by sharing additional resources using Padlet, reviewed here. Padlet offers features for adding comments; ask students to use this feature to indicate important information found on the document. Enhance learning by finding and sharing videos that support the topic being discussed. Use Edpuzzle, reviewed here, to add comments and question prompts for students. Upon completing student projects, extend learning by having stidents share their thoughts through a podcast featuring students' challenge solutions. Be sure to include a group of students in each podcast featuring various points of view and their backup documentation. Try using Acast, reviewed here, to create student podcasts.Comments
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Eagle Eye Citizen - Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): primary sources (155), inquiry (56), Research (88), congress (55), immigrants (43), womens suffrage (53), civil rights (273), branches of government (83), presidents (201), elections (148),
In the Classroom
Share activities from this site to introduce civics and government lessons; be sure to point out links with additional resources included after problem-solving activities. Share a link to this site on your class website for students to use at home. Replace written notes and help students organize information using a mind mapping tool like Coggle, reviewed here. Use Coggle to create and share colorful diagrams with included text and images. As students continue through the unit, have them enhance their learning by including their diagram on a website sharing their knowledge of civics concepts or discussing the historical event studied. Webnode, reviewed here, is a free website creator offering premade templates and easy to use tools. Transform student learning at the next level and ask them to create a book for younger students to teach them about the event studied using Book Creator, reviewed here. For example, when learning about the three branches of government ask students to create a digital book explaining the functions of the three branches. Book Creator allows you to include videos, images, audio recordings, and more.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Decoding Elections: Process, Persuasion & Participation - NewseumEd
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): democracy (30), primary sources (155), elections (148), presidents (201),
In the Classroom
Whether the nation or your local government is going through an unpleasant, combative election campaign, or even during a yearly unit on the elections this collection from Newseum will help students understand our political system. Pique student interest by having them take the Political Personality Quiz. In small groups have students discuss whether or not they agree with the results. Next, you may want to use the Candidate Match to refine their political profile further, and then discuss how they feel about the candidate they matched up with and why they feel that way. While using any or all of the case studies with your students, don't forget to download the Activity, Handout, and Worksheet. All of the case studies have discussion topics.All students need to have a voice during discussions, whether discussing as a class or in small groups, allow everyone to share their opinions and concerns using a backchannel tool for the class such as GoSoapBox, reviewed here, or with older students, in small groups, using a tool like Slack, reviewed here. Extension activities encompass making charts, lists, (use tools like 25 Language Arts Graphic Organizers, reviewed here, or Holt Interactive Graphic Organizers, reviewed here), researching a candidate creating a slogan and explaining why the slogan fits that candidate, and creating a campaign event. For the latter two extension suggestions use a tool such as Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here.
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Does Your Vote Count? The Electoral College Explained - Christina Greer
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): electoral college (30), elections (148),
In the Classroom
Share this video on an interactive whiteboard (or projector) as part of any election unit. Have students research the number of electoral votes available in your state. Use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here, to compare the democratic process in the United States to that of another country. Have students create maps using Zeemaps, reviewed here, to identify the number of electoral votes available in each state. Zeemaps allows students to create audio recordings AND choose various locations on a map, and additional information such as how the electoral votes were cast in previous elections. You could use Edpuzzle, reviewed here, to share the video with students. Use Edpuzzle to add comments, questions, and point out highlights within the videos. YouTube videos are viewable in Edpuzzle, even if your school blocks YouTube! Use Edpuzzle to add comments, questions, and point out highlights within the videos.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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iCivics, Win the White House - iCivics
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): elections (148), presidents (201),
In the Classroom
Start out using this site with your projector or interactive whiteboard with the whole class. Walk through the beginning of the game and demonstrate the built-in help which is useful for students who might need additional guidance. Have individuals play or create small group teams of campaign staff to guide the candidates. Students or groups may play multiple times. After registering, the site will save games and students can send messages. Use the Achievements badges and points for student assessments. Have students research the debate topics and compare the different aspects of the game to real-life examples in the news. An easy to use Extension Pack for Teachers provides more activities and assessments.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Rock the Vote - Jeff Ayeroff
Grades
8 to 12In the Classroom
Include a link to Rock the Vote on your class web page for eligible students to access voter registration and other information. Include Rock the Vote as part of any election unit. Have students learn about the latest voting news, explore requirements for voter registration, and discover reasons why it is important to be part of the voting process. Have students create an annotated image including related links describing the voter registration process for your state using a tool such as Image Annotator, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Election Collection - PBS Learning Media
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): elections (148), electoral college (30), presidents (201), speech (150), debate (66),
In the Classroom
Include The Election Collection as part of any election unit. Have students research candidate information and compare and contrast points of view. Use an online tool such as the Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here, or the Interactive Three Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here. Pose a controversial question about an election issue and have students answer as one of the candidates. Use a tool such as Dotstorming, reviewed here, for that exercise. Or, challenge students to use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about a candidate's journey through the election process. Or, using Fakebook, have two candidates debate an issue. Be sure to take advantage of the free lesson plans offered on this site correlated to National History Standards.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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I Side With - Taylor Peck and Nick Boutelier
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): polls and surveys (91), elections (148), politics (170),
In the Classroom
I Side With is an excellent resource for use during an election unit. Have students research candidate information and compare and contrast points of view. Use an online tool such as the Interactive 2 or 3 Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here. Have students explore this site independently or in small groups. Ask your students to visit the site and create an infographic with the information they learn. Use Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here, for creating the infographic. Create a link to the News portion of the site on classroom computers and your class website to use as part of your current events resources.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Hip Hughes History - Keith Hughes
Grades
8 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): constitution (138), elections (148), russia (52), china (114), politics (170), foreign policy (19), presidents (201), classroom management (238),
In the Classroom
Show videos on an interactive whiteboard or projector to your class as an introduction to a new unit or class discussion. Flip your lesson and assign videos for students to view at home or in the computer lab and discuss questions at the next class meeting. Prep for this and engage students by asking questions during the video using Moocnote, reviewed here. Use the videos as a springboard for engaging writing prompts or to spark a discussion connected with a unit of study. Enhance learning by having students create a simple infographic with information learned from videos using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here. Be sure to check out some of the classroom management tips and advice for new teachers for some fresh ideas to use in your classroom!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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U.S. Political Conventions and Campaigns - Northeastern University
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): electoral college (30), elections (148),
In the Classroom
Although lesson plans are geared to high school, this site is also useful for students in lower grades. Go directly to the quiz portion of each section, display on your interactive whiteboard, and take the quiz as a class as an overview of what students know about the election process. View sections on your interactive whiteboard to help students understand the different facets of a campaign. Assign students (or groups) different sections; then have them present information learned to their classmates. Create posters about the American political process using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Election Resources - Teachersfirst
Grades
K to 12If you wish to choose from a more extensive list election-related resources or to narrow your list for a specific topic and grade level, try entering your topic and elections as search terms in the TeachersFirst keyword search (under Search menu), setting the grade level you seek, as well.
tag(s): elections (148),
In the Classroom
Use this handy "spcial topics" collection to find just the right student activity or reference information when you are studying elections. You can also share it on your teacher web page as an "approved" list of election resources for home and school study.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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