- Grades 9-12 - This unit is based on the debate over damming the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, which helped mark the evolution of the conservation movement. The unit has two parts: the first details conservation through the rationales of various historical figures, and the second outlines the case study of Hetch Hetchy. The format of the second part includes a mock hearing where students present their researched ideas. In the course of the unit, students will also compare historical ideas of conservation with current ones.

tag(s): conservation (86), ecology (99), environment (238)

The Library of Congress has created a mini-portal to a large collection of information pages loaded with demographic, cultural, and statistical information on less well-known nations. Nearly all of the information is intended for older audiences. Nonetheless, this is a really rich resource of high quality (though sometimes dated) information for country reports.

tag(s): countries (70)

This site is the homepage for teachers using the Library of Congress, the nation's largest library. Find primary source sets on various topics, professional development opportunities, thematic collections, and extensive materials and lesson plans for TPS (Teaching with Primary Sources) The teacher resources highlight nearly 10 million primary source resources available on line through this site.

tag(s): primary sources (117), Research (83)

The Library of Congress presents this lesson plan based on the decoding of the Zimmerman telegram, one of the key events in the American entry into World War I. Includes lesson outline, sources for activities, and related information.

tag(s): world war 1 (73)

The Library takes an overview of African American experiences over the past 300 years in American history. Emphasis is on selected primary sources and their relationship to overall black and American development.

tag(s): africa (139), african american (111)

This site offers a wonderful list of X (formerly known as Twitter) feeds to consider if you are just starting out or if you are adding to your feed related to history. The list is categorized by General, Media, Eductors and Students, Departments and Publications, Military, Historical Tweets, and includes the X (Twitter) name with a link and a short description. Feeds include the Library of Congress, quotes and sayings from Thomas Jefferson, and HistoryDay (see what happened on this day in history), and many more.

tag(s): congress (39), history day (40), social media (54), social networking (65), twitter (19)

You would never guess by the name of this site that The Exquisite Corpse Adventure opens doors to an engaging way to explore the world of reading and writing a class or group story, book, or even a poem. This project from the Center for the Book and the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance invites students to read, discover, and create fascinating characters, places, and events in a manner that might be as captivating as one of the many trendy, popular reality shows. The story takes on unexpected twists and turns because it is actually pieced together out of many parts created, put together, and expanded upon by the contributors. Anyone and everyone interested in helping kids read more, write better, and reach deeper into their own experiences, imaginations, and resources to create stories and art will become hooked. The actual original online book, Exquisite Corpse Adventure, is a recently completed, year-long project with episodes, (chapters), written by remarkable authors such as Jon Scieszka and Katherine Paterson, illustrated and posted with companion games, discussion questions, and activities every two weeks.

tag(s): stories and storytelling (42), writing (317)