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Biographies of the Presidents - The White House
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): presidents (135), white house (16)
In the Classroom
This is a good site for a first exploration of American government. Share the short biographies using eMargin, eMargin, reviewed here on your interactive whiteboard or projector to highlight important facts. Use this site for research projects on the U.S. Presidents. This site is a perfect addition to your Presidents' Day celebration!You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Myths, Folktales, & Fairy Tales - Scholastic
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
The possibilities at this site are endless! Take advantage of the grade-appropriate activities, interactives, lesson plans, and printables. Have students work with a partner to try out the Brainstorm Machine. Use this site to create a writing station. After studying the genre, why not have students create illustrated virtual books of their own using a free tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here. Unfortunately, the included activity requires flash, which is not supported on all browsers; however, the lesson plans and activities provide a starting point for many lessons.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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From Prejudice to Pride: An African American Journey - Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum
Grades
5 to 10tag(s): africa (144), black history (130)
In the Classroom
Use this site for research projects about amazing African-Americans. Most of the activity suggestions are more traditional projects and writing assignments. If you want to add some technology touches, why not enhance student learning by replacing pen and paper and have students create a fictitious blog from one of the heroes highlighted at this site, or a cross-time dialog via email or text message between a slave from the 1800s and Barack Obama, or enhance learning by creating an interactive, multimedia infographic resume about the man (or woman) they researched. Use Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonists Index - MSNBC
Grades
6 to 12Teachers should be aware of several cautions however: Preview the cartoons collections for age-appropriateness; understand that the site does contain advertisements; and recognize that the images are copyright protected. Teachers are advised to post links to specific cartoons rather than trying to "cut and paste" the cartoons into websites or other documents.
tag(s): comics and cartoons (55), politics (117)
In the Classroom
Use the political cartoons on this site to introduce a class discussion on current events, civics, or government. Try using a cartoon as a writing prompt either for individual students or for collaborative work. Post a link to a particular cartoon or cartoon series on your classroom blog for discussion. Have students try to create a cartoon (either drawing or using computer generated images) depicting current events in the news.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Veterans History Project - Library of Congress
Grades
9 to 12At the time of this review the "listening" feature was not available on the Chrome browser, however it does work if you use the Edge browser.
tag(s): afghanistan (7), iraq (26), korea (21), resources (83), veterans (27), vietnam (38), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (160)
In the Classroom
Primary documents are a vital link between the students of today and the experiences of real people from the past. Students can access these interviews and accounts through searching by time period (WWI through the present), branch of service, gender, or POW status. As your class studies a particular conflict, assign students different accounts to research and then have them "portray" that person in a panel discussion about the war. Compare the experiences of persons filling similar roles across conflicts. Examine gender differences or the differences between those serving in the Navy and the Army. For a powerful long-term project, download the site's "field kit" and consider gathering new accounts for the project in your community. Use the search bar to find "field kit."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Children and the Great Depression - Digital History
Grades
6 to 9tag(s): franklin (12), great depression (30), new deal (5), roosevelt (15)
In the Classroom
This site might serve as an important resource during a study of the Great Depression. It can be helpful for students to appreciate the individual hardships suffered by families; these stories are more real than the more complex accounts of financial disasters and bank failures. Students might also be encouraged to compare the requests of these children to their own "wish lists," or consider the ways that social service agencies ought to focus their efforts to assist the poor. Because this is a part of a larger site focused on the New Deal (click at the bottom of the Teacher Resources page), the link leads to a photo archive that could be used as part of a presentation on an Interactive Whiteboard or projector.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): civil war (138), lincoln (66), presidents (135)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a starting point for projects about our 16th president. Although most relate to exhibits found at the museum, similar research can be found online. Have students choose one of the several topics to research further.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Civil War@Smithsonian - Smithsonian
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): abolition (7), civil war (138), lincoln (66), slavery (78)
In the Classroom
This site is an excellent addition to a unit on slavery and the Civil War OR an art class! Have students write captions for the pictures. Challenge students to create a blog entry from Lincoln, a slave, Mathew Brady, or someone else shown in pictures. What were they thinking? Why did they do what they did? How would life have been different if the Internet was around during the Civil War?Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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One Life: The Mask of Lincoln - Smithsonian
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): civil war (138), lincoln (66), oil (22), presidents (135)
In the Classroom
Use your interactive whiteboard or projector to take your students on the audio tour of the exhibit which features several podcasts. Art teachers, share the pictures with your students (especially the podcast about the cracked portrait). This site also provides some excellent research information. Have students work in cooperative learning groups to explore this site and then create a project: blog entry, wiki, video, PowerPoint, or something more "traditional."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Shmoop Literature - Ellen Siminoff, et. al.
Grades
9 to 12While actually signing up (which is free) gives you the ability to "clip" files and keep them in a folder, you can access the majority of the information without signing up. Registration 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): literature (220), poetry (192)
In the Classroom
Because the style of writing is informal, this is a great site to use for those difficult to explain qualities such as tone and writing style with students. Visit the site together and discuss some of the "brain snacks," experience some of the short video clips on your interactive whiteboard or projector, or talk about the constructive use of a site like this without plagiarizing.Share one of the slide shows on a projector or interactive whiteboard as you introduce a unit or allow students to use portions of the slide shows as part of their own presentations on a specific author or literature topic.
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TeachersFirst: Lesson Ideas for Lincoln - TeachersFirst
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): civil war (138), debate (42), lincoln (66), presidents (135)
In the Classroom
No matter what subject you teach, you can find something to fit in your plans for Presidents Day or the Lincoln Bicentennial. Use these ideas and adapt at will. You can even email an idea to your teacher colleague to save a friend time!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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I Do Solemnly Swear...Presidential Inaugurations - The Library of Congress
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): inauguration (10), presidents (135), washington (28)
In the Classroom
Why not feature an "inauguration a day" during the week prior to the current inauguration? Use the many images to create a Lino, reviewed here of inauguration information for students to dig though. With older students, have cooperative learning groups create their own Lino. All of the Library of Congress resources are in the public domain, so students can USE these images to create new products, such as a photomontage of an inauguration topic: bands, dress, buzzwords, etc.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Online NewsHour: Inaugural Fashion - PBS
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): fashion (11), inauguration (10)
In the Classroom
Share the pictures of the gowns on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then, enhance student learning by having them research an inaugural ceremony, and using Blogger, reviewed here, either write a blog entry (from the first lady of their choice) discussing the inaugural ceremony (and what they wore) or have your budding journalists write a mock commentary on the political "message" sent by a chosen first lady via her fashion choices.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Presidents of the United States
Grades
3 to 8tag(s): inauguration (10)
In the Classroom
Have students use this site to investigate one aspect of the presidency as an Inauguration Day or Presidents Day project. Cooperative learning groups could choose a topic of interest and then create a wiki page or a book using Bookemon, reviewed here, on their topic.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Inauguration Day Events - Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies
Grades
3 to 10tag(s): inauguration (10)
In the Classroom
Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector on Inauguration Day. Divide your class into nine groups and have each group learn about one of the "events" of the day. Have the groups share their "event" with the class on a PowerPoint.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NewsHour Extra Lesson Plan: What is the Role of Civil Disobedience - PBS
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): civil rights (201)
In the Classroom
Encouraging students to think of disobedience (of any kind) as a positive force for change will delight some students and confuse and trouble others. Depending upon their age and their intellectual and moral development, teachers should be prepared for these varied reactions. Although there is brief mention in the lesson plan of Cindy Sheehan, the anti-war protestor, there is no discussion of other contemporary issues related to terrorism, freedom versus security, or privacy. Teachers should also be prepared to have these topics enter the discussion. The historical quotes would make good bulletin board fodder or discussion (either verbal or written) prompts. Maybe try one on your class blog!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Virtual Freedom Shrine - National Exchange Club
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): bill of rights (31), constitution (93), presidents (135), speech (68), speeches (23)
In the Classroom
Have each student in your class research one of these documents or speeches. Challenge students to create a multi-media presentation: PowerPoint, blog, wiki, or video. Share these documents around Martin Luther King's birthday or President's Day.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Remembering Jim Crow - Minnesota Public Radio
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): africa (144), african american (110), black history (130), civil rights (201), racism (79), segregation (18)
In the Classroom
Try this one along with Martin Luther King, Black History, or American history activities. Share the images and audio on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students write captions for the pictures or a blog entry from the perspective of the individuals in the photos. A good blog tool to use is Telegra.ph, reviewed here. This blog creator requires no registration. With Telegra.ph have students click on an icon to upload related images, add YouTube or Vimeo, or X (formerly Twitter) links.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Martin Luther King Papers Project - Stanford University
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): 1960s (26), african american (110), black history (130), civil rights (201), holidays (185), martin luther king (45)
In the Classroom
Use this site for research about King. Share the videos on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students create their own videos about Martin Luther King, Jr.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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African Americans- Biography, Autobiography, and History - Yale University
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): africa (144), african american (110), civil rights (201), slavery (78)
In the Classroom
Use this site for research projects. Divide your class into cooperative learning groups and have each group research one of the five resources (and people) highlighted.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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