Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

View this site about one of the Civil War's two most famous ironclad fighting ships and the effort to find and restore her. The site includes information on the recovery expedition as well as the way in which the ship was used in combat during the war.

tag(s): civil war (139), museums (52), navy (8), virginia (15)

Though part of a larger site about America's historic documents, this collection of biographies of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention will find plenty of use by itself. These delegates wrote our Constitution, but today's students know very little about any of them. Find the details of each man's life here!
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): american revolution (82), constitution (96), evolution (89)

This is the Navy's online tour of the oldest commissioned ship in the fleet - the sailing ship Constitution. Though you can tour the ship in Boston, this site gives online maps and images showing how the ship was constructed and functioned at sea.

tag(s): american revolution (82), boston (10), evolution (89), massachusetts (8), navy (8)

This online exhibition site offers a glimpse of some of the many documents associated with the Lewis and Clark expedition, ranging from maps drawn by the explorers to Thomas Jefferson's secret cipher for sending coded messages. The text includes excerpts from the journals the explorers kept.

tag(s): jefferson (19), lewis and clark (14)

For the fans of Presidential gadgets, Air Force One is the ultimate. Here's a site that really does explain how the president's jet functions and what it looks like on the inside. Warch the video to learn about Air Force One - the plane of the president. The video resides on YouTube.

tag(s): air (102), aircraft (16), flight (34), presidents (135)

This is a collection of downloadable historical images of life in Alaska. Image quality is adequate for either web or most publication use. The search feature - the only way to access images - finds species easily, but doesn't do as well with place names. The images are from several cultural heritage institutions across Alaska. Each institution has it's own policies regarding conditions for the use of its images. Some maybe used freely, and others may have restrictions. Be sure to check with the institute. Each image has an "identifier" number and you will need to contact the particular institute with that number to find out their "use" policies.

tag(s): air (102), alaska (21), copyright (44), states (124)

Designed to both inspire and teach, the Smithsonian's Jazz site offers several online instructional modules that do a nice job of introducing the history and structural elements of jazz. Students can learn about particular composers and performers, and how their work built on the experiences of other jazz musicians.

tag(s): africa (148), african american (115), harlem (9), jazz (16)

This is the companion site to a PBS program of the same name. It offers an introduction to the Jim Crow laws that effectively institutionalized segregation throughout the South. There are also numerous images of African American life in the South during the early 1900s.This looks like a promising resource, especially as a backgrounder for the study of the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

tag(s): 1900s (72), africa (148), african american (115), civil rights (209), segregation (18)

Here's a collection of audio recordings of interviews with "ordinary Americans" conducted by the Library of Congress on December 8, 1941. Users can hear how people reacted to the Japanese attack, and the thoughts that were foremost in their minds as America went to war. This one could be an interesting sidebar to the study of World War II.

tag(s): pearl harbor (14), world war 2 (161)

Created by a university consortium, this site offers a wealth of graphs, charts, and data that students can use to analyze America's demographics. There are a number of prefabricated analyses available, and there is also enough data to create exercises or activities that let students explore on their own. There are a number of possibilities for social studies, math, or statistics in this one.

tag(s): census (13), demographics (13), population (51)

This National Park Service site documents the life of the first First Lady who really had a career of her own. The site covers Mrs. Roosevelt's life before and after her time in the White House, and it has a particularly strong collection of artifacts, memorabilia, and other objects from the First Lady's life.

tag(s): new deal (5), roosevelt (15), women (150)

While it covers all aspects of American involvement with nuclear activities, this site's coverage of the history of atomic investigation will be particularly attractive to students and teachers. There is a timeline on the history of atomic energy, and the teacher's section includes several activities built on the effort to build the first atomic bomb. There's a lot of content in this site that is too advanced for secondary students, but creative teachers will find lots of opportunities here.

tag(s): atomic bomb (8), energy (133), world war 2 (161)

This regularly-updated site strives to provide straightforward information in a "what we do know; what we don't know..." format. The breadth of topics is significant, and there are extensive links to outside sources whose authoritativeness varies. This one is a great starting point for studying the evolving response to terrorism.

tag(s): terrorism (41)

Ansel Adams' images of the Manzanar Japanese internment camp are haunting for both their subject matter and their artistic qualities. This collection from the Library of Congress includes both scenic photographs and images of the camp's occupants during the war.

tag(s): japan (57), japanese (47), world war 2 (161)

This site, designed to accompany the Smithsonian's traveling exhibit by the same name, offers a collection of information on Washington for both students and adults.

tag(s): washington (28)

This extensive site from the Library of Congress explains the details of the drafting of the Declaration of Independence as well as the obstacles the Continental Congress faced in publishing their work. Like many of the LoC sites, the narrative works best for secodary students, but the images will be fascinating to younger classes as well. This is a great addition to American history or government units on American independence.

tag(s): american revolution (82), declaration of independence (16), evolution (89)

This unit from the Library of Congress offers students an exposure to the use of primary resources in the study of history and literature. The Library's collection for this time period is rich, so there are many highly visual ways to expose students to Twain's world. Students will need to spend some time with this one.

tag(s): mark twain (8)

Created at the University of Kansas, this collection of primary sources offers coverage from the 15th century through the present, making it useful for both early and contemporary history. Many of the documents are on third-party sites, so expect some level of change over time.

tag(s): american revolution (82), history day (39)

This site is a collection of the New York Times biographical sketches of those who died in the 9-11 attacks. Poignant, simple, and inspiring, this is a site which invites a response.

tag(s): sept11 (18), terrorism (41), terrorist (12)

This site from the University of Virginia is a welcome addition to the general lack of good Twain material on the web. The site concentrates on Twain's career and the manner in which Sam Clemens turned Twain into an institution. There are also links to critical information and e-texts of Twain's major works, along with illustrations.

tag(s): biographies (94), mark twain (8)