Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Created at Montana State University, this site offers archival photos, descriptions, and related information organized around the tribes of the northern great plains. These photos show tribal customs and activities, and may sometimes be a more accurate portrayal of native American cultures than that commonly available.

tag(s): native americans (109)

Here's a site that offers concise summaries of several dozen Native American tribes. Each of these in turn links to a far more detailed history of that tribe. This makes the site suitable for students at many levels, and for many purposes. We wish there were more historical or thematic indexing, but this is still a great resource.

tag(s): native americans (109)

The University of Washington has created this site to document cultural and historic materials dealing with northwest Native peoples. Segmented by tribal groups, the collection includes images and text, as well as search capabilities.

tag(s): native americans (109)

Through the study of paintings, books, photography, and poetry, students will learn about the history of Black dance. With an emphasis on the evolution of Black dance from the African period through the Harlem Renaissance and beyond, this unit emphasizes research as a tool for meaningful choreography. The culminating activity is a video production that chronicles a living history through movement.

tag(s): africa (148), african american (116), dance (31)

This site has three levels of quizzes made to be fun and educational. After taking the quiz, you receive a score, but not the correct answers. You must read the profiles on these historical African American figures to find the answers. Profiles are brief, to the point, and have pictures.

tag(s): africa (148), african american (116)

CNN has updated its collection of black history resources, many of which can be useful year-'round for the study of black history.

tag(s): africa (148), african american (116)

The Library of Congress offers this nine-part introduction to the history of African Americans. The site relies on primary sources - images, letters, speeches - to illustrate contemporary views and chronicle their evolution from the Revolution through the civil rights movement. There are hundreds of ways to adapt this material to the classroom, and the site offers numerous suggestions and starting points. This one's a must!

tag(s): africa (148), african american (116), black history (133)

Help students learn about the Harlem Renaissance and about themselves through this investigation of the blues.

tag(s): blues (22), harlem (9)

This site offers a wealth of holocaust information. Although the design and layout are a bit confusing, the information is there. Take advantage of the free lesson plans and classroom activities on this site! Save this site as a favorite on your classroom desktop to allow for easy access and retrieval in a search for new activities during a unit on the Holocaust. This would be a great site for a World or US history class. ADULT SUPERVISION SUGGESTED

tag(s): holocaust (42), world war 2 (161)

The Southern Poverty Law Center is a large, multifaceted organization working for racial justice in the south and beyond. The site uses a three-pronged approach to dealing with racial and social injustice. The three methods include monitoring hate groups and extremists, using the court system to advance reform, and education provided through it's Learning for Justice program.

tag(s): civil rights (209), courts (20), elections (82), immigrants (34), immigration (68), racism (79), sexuality (15), tolerance (8)

The Library of Congress has produced this collection of historic maps in half a dozen categories ranging from convervation to cities to military campaigns. Users can view maps online or download them for inclass use.

tag(s): explorers (64), maps (220)

Don't let the cartoon style fool you! This site is a very complete resource for students to study Greek mythology, stories, characters, and more. It presents the content is small, visually appealing doses, and includes links to lesson plans and other related information. Well worth a look if you want a site that students can use on their own.

tag(s): greek (47)

Located in the Library of Congress collection is a variety of primary source accounts of pioneers who travelled across the Wild West.

tag(s): primary sources (117), westward expansion (39)

This site chronicles the airlift that kept West Berlin alive during the period immediately after World War II. Though written from an American perspective, there is coverage of the broader European involvement in one of the first cold war crises.

tag(s): cold war (30)

A study of the trials of O.J. Simpson and Bernhard Goetz addresses the question, "When is race an important factor in the American justice system?" and goes beyond the individual trials to look at race in our criminal system and lessons we have learned from the trials.

tag(s): civil rights (209)

The Education section of this site offers a collection of topical lesson plans and discussion themes on issues with constitutional implications. Topics include Voting Rights, Civil Rights, National Elections and the Electoral College, and more. Each presentation presents Big Questions, Videos, Worksheets, and Lesson Plans, Along with the relevant constitutional issues.

tag(s): constitution (96)

This unit uses five legal cases to probe issues of gender and race-based schooling and their relationship to the fourteenth amendment.

tag(s): cross cultural understanding (173), segregation (18)

This unit centers on the civil rights movement of the nineteen sixties and uses this as the foundation for understanding Constitutional rights and the history of legal cases that clarified rights as we know them today.

tag(s): civil rights (209), segregation (18)

By enacting mock-trials and other role-play on the direct conflict with the U.S. legal system and immigrants from the Hmong of Southeast Asia, Samoans, Japanese, Cuban, African and Vietnamese because of cultural and/or religious practices, students face the "growing pains that result from our great diversity" in this unit originally designed for gifted students.

tag(s): civil rights (209), cultures (180)

The "Teach Democracy" website, formerly known as the Constitutional Rights Foundation, provides educators with free, high-quality resources to teach students about democracy, civic engagement, and the foundations of government. The site features a wide range of lesson plans, activities, and multimedia materials tailored for grades K-12, covering topics like constitutional principles, the role of government, and active citizenship. With an emphasis on critical thinking and student participation, resources include simulations, discussion prompts, and case studies that help students connect democratic principles to real-world issues. The videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): bill of rights (33), constitution (96), democracy (24), multimedia (53)