1728 american-history results | sort by:
1492 - An Ongoing Voyage - Library of Congress
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): explorers (66), native americans (116)
In the Classroom
Use the images on this site to create a picture walk activity in your classroom. Select 10-15 of the more descriptive images, preferably with different subjects. Assign students to stand at specific images, rotating every 30-45 seconds. In that time, students should quickly jot down what they observe, infer and predict about each. After the walk is done, have a class discussion based on the notes that students have taken. This is a great way to introduce the beginnings of the New World in a non-lecture format.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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African American Women Writers of the 19th Century - NY Public Library
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): africa (172), african american (128), authors (108), poetry (196), women (177)
In the Classroom
Use the poems by Phyllis Wheatley to complement a lesson on supporters of the American Revolution. Wheatley is often a studied character in American History, and her poems often confront American Independence and slavery. Share the poems with students at the end of a lesson, and have them analyze as a class what she is trying to say about either subject. Enhance student learning with a digital classroom discussion (where everyone gets a chance to contribute) using YoTeach, reviewed here, or by digital journal writing using Penzu, reviewed here, or edublog, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Benjamin Franklin: An Extaordinary Life, An Electric Mind - PBS
Grades
7 to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans and activities hosted on this site! This would be a great resource for an early American history class, be sure to save it as a favorite on your computer!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Google Maps - Google
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (124), directions (10), maps (220)
In the Classroom
If you teach geography, this one's a must. It is also helpful for showing students WHERE a story or news event takes place. In lower grades, use it to show students the basics of their community. Teach map skills by showing students their own community. Zoom in on their street or on the school. This site and its more sophisticated cousin, Google Earth, are great on an interactive whiteboard. Set up a class Google account (or use student accounts if permitted). Have students create their own custom route plans to tour historic sites. Challenge math students to plan the most economical route to visit several vacation destinations, including gas mileage and gas prices. Have students create placemark files of the important places in the life of a famous person or the route traveled by a particular unit during the Civil War. Have student groups create placemarker files to show environmental sites, habitats, landforms, or anything you can place on a map. Embed projects in a class wiki using the handy embed code offered as a sharing option. Not comfortable with wikis? Check out TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Distant Cousins - EDSITEment
Grades
3 to 5tag(s): colonial america (97), massachusetts (8)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plan offered by EDSITEment! This would be a great lesson for an American HIstory course - there are even options to extend the lesson.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The First Amendment: What's Fair in a Free Country? - National Endowment for the Humanities
Grades
3 to 6tag(s): bill of rights (36), freedom of speech (14), speech (66)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of this free lesson plan about the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights! To help ELL students, consider using a guided reading activity and vocabulary tools found at Read Ahead, reviewed here, share the vocabulary with them beforehand, OR make and print out easy to understand definitions of words that these students may have trouble with. Be sure to save this site as a favorite to allow for easy retrieval later on.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Where Did All the Money Go? - National Council on Economic Education
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): business (54)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of this free lesson plan in your classroom on a unit about the Great Depression. Not only would this be great in an economics class, but try using it in history or math - it has an interdisciplinary approach that shows the practical application of the math.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Decisive Day is Come - Massachusetts Historical Society
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): colonial america (97), massachusetts (8)
In the Classroom
Use the maps and timeline on the interactive projector as supplement to text during an introduction to the American Revolution. The images can be incorporated into a slide show and can help guide students along the events of Bunker Hill. This is a great resource for a US history class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Watergate Revisited - Washington Post
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): 1970s (30), politics (121), presidents (146)
In the Classroom
Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students explore this site independently or in small groups. Have students explore the site with the intentions of creating a summary of the most important events. Have cooperative learning groups create online books using a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here. Students can write the book from the perspective of Nixon or Deep throat...a great way to introduce the topic in a non-lecture format.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Monticello Explorer - Thomas Jefferson Foundation
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): american revolution (89), evolution (87), jefferson (20), virginia (15), virtual field trips (133)
In the Classroom
Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or with a projector to the class. Then have students break into small groups and use the Jigsaw strategy to divide up the task of exploring the site. Need a refresher for the Jigsaw approach? See Jigsaw Classroom, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Encyclopedia of Chicago - Chicago Historical Society
Grades
8 to 12In the Classroom
Use the images on this site to create a visual discovery activity in your classroom. The images span the decades, and can be easily searched to find one that matches a particular unit in your classroom. Open the image on the interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students discuss or write what they observe, infer and predict happening in the photograph. This is a great way to review activity in place of a practice assessment, as it requires to use what the have learned and apply it to the circumstances in the photo in order to interpret it.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Discovering Lewis and Clark - VIAs Inc.
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): jefferson (20), lewis and clark (13), louisiana (6), louisiana purchase (6)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a learning center or station during a unit on the two explorers and western expansion. Based on what they read, have students create a multi-media presentation summarizing the main points. Have students create a presentation using PowerPoint Online, reviewed here. This site allows users to narrate a picture. Challenge students to find a photo (legally permitted to be reproduced), and then narrate the photo as if it is a news report. To find Creative Commons images for student projects (with credit, of course), try Pikwizard, reviewed here. Have students report the exploration as though it were a current event, using images from the site or other approved sources.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Memorial Day Activities - David Merchant
Grades
3 to 10tag(s): holidays (228), memorial day (19), puzzles (148)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans and activities on this site! There are also some practice quizzes and puzzles that would be fun ways to assess students, or have them use the tools to help review the content.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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History Explorer - Smithsonian
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): agriculture (53), american revolution (89), famous people (31), japan (63), japanese (52), jazz (17), lincoln (66), politics (121)
In the Classroom
Use this site as the starting point for individual or group projects. There is enough information in "exhibit" details to provide a starting point for students trying to decide what to base a research project on. Recommend the site to students who are having difficulty picking a project subject.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Child Labor in America - Library of Congress
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): evolution (87), industrial revolution (20)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plan hosted on this site! Save this one as a favorite on your classroom computer, to allow for easy retrieval later on.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Do History - Harvard University
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): colonial america (97), england (50)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans and activities offered on this site! The "Doing History" section would make an excellent webquest or classroom activity if teachers are willing to print out the resources. If doing it as a class, introduce the site on the interactive whiteboard or projector before dispersing materials and having students work on the activity in groups. The activity is a great way for students to understand bias, validity and differences that historians find among primary sources. This would also be an interesting way to reflect on the roles of women in society and how they may have changes.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Wright Brothers and the Invention of the Aerial Age - Smithsonian
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): wright brothers (16)
In the Classroom
Use the images on this site to create a visual discovery activity in your classroom to introduce the topic of the Wright brothers. Select 3-5 of the more powerful images, placing them on separate slides in a Powerpoint, to be displayed over the projector. Have students write down what they observe, predict and infer about each image jotting them down on a graphic organizer. (For help making graphic organizers, try: Graphic Organizer Maker, (reviewed here).) Once the class has gone through all of the images, have a class discussion based on the notes that students took during the process. This activity can be used to introduce or review, in a non-lecture format.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Stories of the Wrights' Flight - Smithsonian
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): flight (33), wright brothers (16)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plan that's offered on this site! There is even a pre-prepared graphic organizer that is available to help students catalog the information.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Salem - National Geographic
Grades
7 to 9tag(s): massachusetts (8), salem (5)
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Interactive Tour of Ellis Island - Scholastic
Grades
6 to 8tag(s): ellis island (5), immigration (80), migration (46)
In the Classroom
On its surface, this site appears to be simply a "virtual tour" of Ellis Island. However, the Teacher's section contains a good deal of information on how to create an on-site, interdisciplinary immigration experience for students. There are tips on content, involving parents, and other aspects of the project. Well worth a look if you're studying this time period or immigration in general.Use this site as a learning center or station. Open the site on the interactive whiteboard or projector to introduce it to students, before allowing them to explore the site in groups. Note: portions of this site have audio, so be sure to include headphones.
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