1484 american-history results | sort by:
Humor's Edge: Cartoons by Ann Telnaes - Library of Congress
Grades
9 to 12In the Classroom
Use the images on this site to discuss the role political cartoons can play in US government. Select a few of Telnaes's images, displaying them over the projector. Have a class discussion about the images, discussing perspectives, effects and what is being portrayed by the cartoons. This is a great way to discover how humor can affect opinions, and dissect how it is done.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Time and Life Pictures - Getty Images
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): photography (130)
In the Classroom
Use the photos found in this site for writing prompts. Search within the site or browse the subjects offered to find one that corresponds to a unit being studied. A good example would be the images taken of the Great Depression. Pull up a select few of the images and prompt students to tell the story of what is happening in the image, the emotions seen, and what kind of impact this is meant to have of the viewer. An activity like this does require some background knowledge so this might better suited towards the end of a unit as review. This site would benefit teachers of nearly any subject, especially history, language arts, civics and science.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Core Documents of U.S. Democracy - Government Printing Office
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): american revolution (89)
In the Classroom
Use this as a resource for research projects or papers, particularly those debating a specific court decision or amendment. Useful resource for a US government class!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Childe Hassam: American Impressionist - Metropolitan Museum of Art
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): art history (112), artists (93), impressionism (6), painting (55)
In the Classroom
Use this site as an introductory activity to impressionism in the U.S. with an interactive whiteboard or projector. The images on the site are excellent representations of impressionism and can be used as examples to help students characterize it.Divide students into cooperative learning groups to explore the site. Have them compare and contrast what they note about impressionism to other styles that have been studied before in class. Use an online tool such as the Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here. Have students print out their diagrams OR display their findings on the interactive whiteboard to their peers.
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Famous Moments in Early American History - Varsity Tutors
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): colonial america (97), declaration of independence (17), franklin (12)
In the Classroom
Use these quick videos as a way to either review or introduce the American Revolution in your classroom. There is a lot of material in here, so we recommend creating some kind of graphic organizer or follow-along to help students digest and remember what's important.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Death of the Dream - KTCA
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): agriculture (53)
In the Classroom
Use the "virtual farmhouse" as a learning center or station during a unit on Westward expansion or while establishing background for the Dustbowl. If using to provide context for the Great Depression, have students compare the prairie of the site to what the prairie turned into during the great drought of the 30's. Use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram (reviewed here). Using the tool, students can create their own in groups or do it as a class on the interactive whiteboard.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Gettysburg National Military Park Virtual Tour - National Park Service
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): civil war (141), gettysburg (14)
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Purdue OWL - Avoiding Plagiarism - Purdue University
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): copyright (39), plagiarism (31)
In the Classroom
Share this site on the interactive whiteboard to establish a set of rules before beginning a research project or paper with your class. Teachers can even post the site on their teacher webpage, emphasizing it's importance and allowing students to reference it both in and out of the classroom.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Vietnam Project - Texas Tech University
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
Access the section entitled "Teachers Resource Web," and take advantage of the free lesson plans and collection resources. some links broke but majority seem to be available.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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War Letters - PBS
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): holidays (228), memorial day (19)
In the Classroom
History, Civics, Economics and Geography teachers will love the free lesson plans and activities offered in the "Teacher Guide" section. Beyond that the site also offers games and movie clips that would help make the site a useful lecture supplement or learning center.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Separate is Not Equal - National Museum of American History
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): africa (172), african american (128), segregation (20)
In the Classroom
Access the section on the homesite entitled "resources." On that page there is a section entitled "Teacher Guide," which has an abundance of free lesson plans that range topics of segregation, racism, and the civil rights movement. Take advantage of the guides and use them to address the more difficult subjects of race in recent American History.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Powers of Persuasion - National Archives
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): posters (42), propaganda (9)
In the Classroom
Use these images on this site to create a visual discovery activity. Select 3-5 of the more powerful images and put them on a PowerPoint, with each image showing for 1-2 minutes over the interactive whiteboard. Have students fill out a graphic organizer concerning each image, focusing on what students observe, infer and can predict. (To create the graphic organizer, try using Graphic Organizer Maker. After the class has reviewed all of the images, have a class discussion based on their findings. Teachers will be surprised how much content is discussed. This activity works best as a review.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students - Holocaust Memorial Museum
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): 1940s (70), 20th century (131), holocaust (43), jews (54), nazis (8), world war 2 (168)
In the Classroom
Use the images on this site to design a picture walk in your classroom about the holocaust. Select 10-15 of the more powerful images, choosing a variety of subjects. Assign students to begin at specific numbers, before allowing the class to rotate around the classroom every 30-45 seconds. At each image, students should quickly write down what they observe, infer and predict about each image. At the end of the picture walk, have a class discussion based on the notes students took during the walk. This would be a very interesting way to introduce the topic in a non-lecture format. For help creating the graphic organizers, we recommend using Graphic Organizer Maker reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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U.S. Capitol Tour - U.S. Senate
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): house of representatives (8), senate (12)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a learning center or station during a unit on the branches and houses of government. Students will be able to connect the visual images with the content, and also gain more insight from the text. To highlight whats more important from the site, have students complete a follow-along guide of questions. For help creating one, we recommend using Graphic Organizer Maker, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Living Room Candidate - American Museum of the Moving Image
Grades
8 to 12In the Classroom
Use the information at this site to compare past campaign commercials with current ads for the 2008 presidential election. Search the Internet for recent commercials (using whatever video websites are permitted at your school). Share a sample of commercials from the 1950s - the present. Have students discuss the similarities and differences. Have students create their own ad commercials about a presidential candidate that they support or a "mock" candidate that they created. To upload the students' commercials, use a tool such as TeacherTube (explained here). Be sure to obtain parental permission before videotaping any students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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White House Historical Association
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): 1800s (76), 1900s (79), presidents (146), virtual field trips (133), white house (16)
In the Classroom
Use this site to provide background information for a unit on 19th and 20th century American history, to form the basis of a lesson or unit on the American presidency, or as a stand-alone enrichment activity for your history classroom. Lesson plans in printable PDF formats are available for all grade levelsAdd your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Graphic Witness
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): cold war (36), world war 2 (168)
In the Classroom
Use the images to create a visual discovery activity in your classroom - for example, use the collection of drawings to teach the events of WWII to your students. Share the images on the interactive whiteboard or projector, with students filling out reflections about each image. Reflections should focus on what they observe, infer and predict about each image. After showing a few of the more powerful images, have a class discussion as to what students wrote in their reflections. Going back to each image - what did we learn? What can we assume? What does this picture tell us about this event? You would be surprised about the emotional impact students learn, in addition to the content. This would be a good activity to do as a review, when students are able to use the information from class to project about the images. A great resource for a US history course.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Cuban Missile Crisis - National Security Archive at George Washington University
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): 1960s (54), cold war (36), kennedy (22), russia (35)
In the Classroom
Use the images on this site to create a visual discovery activity for a unit on the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Choose 3-5 images, and place them in a PowerPoint Online, reviewed here. Create an interactive worksheet follow-along using Wizer.me, reviewed here, for the images, and use the images to teach about the event in a student-centered activity. Focus on observe, infer and predict prompts on the worksheet and students can use the worksheet answers in a subsequent classroom discussion.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Lost Liners - PBS
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
Click on the section entitled "teacher resources" and take advantage of the free lesson plans and activities offered. Most require a basic knowledge of the 5 major liners that sank, so the day before activities have students explore the site on the interactive whiteboard or individual computers. To assess what students are learning, put them in groups and have groups select a liner that they will be researching. Groups will go through the information offered by the site and possibly other sites in an effort to attain images and information about their lost ship. Have groups create an online graphic telling the story of their liner and its immediate impact. Have students use a tool such as Zeemaps, reviewed here. Zeemaps allows students to create audio recordings AND choose a location (on a map) where the story takes place.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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eHistory - Ohio State University
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
The great resources offered by this site include the primary sources collection and the vast amount of multi-media presentations offered. Search this site for resources you can use in your own classroom - the video collection would be particularly helpful to supplement information from the previous and current century.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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