1491 american-history results | sort by:

Timeline of Art History - Metropolitan Museum of Art
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): art history (81), medieval (26), renaissance (32)
In the Classroom
Art teachers will find it easy to search for themes. History teachers can access items by date. Any of the "thematic essays" could be projected on an interactive whiteboard (or projection screen) to accompany a lecture in class. Or have students use this excellent resource for independent research or to illustrate their own presentations. Challenge groups to choose a time period and create blogs about the "mood" of the art. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, have students create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Telegra.ph, reviewed here. This blog creator requires no registration! Or have students make a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Interactives: Historical and Cultural Contexts - Annenberg Media
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): primary sources (91)
In the Classroom
The site would work well on an interactive whiteboard (or projector) as a classroom activity. With the teacher leading and clarifying, the class might walk through several simple document analyses to gain an understanding of primary documents and their uses. If you do History Day competition, this activity would be a good starter early in the process. Alternatively, students could be instructed to complete the activity independently as an introduction to a more complex discussion of primary documents or to prepare for the dreaded DBQs ("document-based questions") in AP History classes.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Biographical Dictionary - s9.com
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): critical thinking (116)
In the Classroom
This site could be a terrific way to publish student research projects to the real world. When you assign research projects on a famous scientist, author, famous American, musician, etc., have students create their written projects in a format that will fit into this online dictionary, including providing links and references for their information. Younger students could write an entry together as a class (perhaps on an author whose book you have just read). Challenge middle and high school students to find articles in your research area that contain possible inaccuracies or bias (and the research to prove it) and present both the original and their proposed changes to the class before putting them online. What a critical thinking challenge!Be sure to follow your district's acceptable use policy if you are allowing students to contribute to this site. Make sure you have written parent permission to post student work online.
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The History of Jim Crow - NYLife/PBS
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): segregation (16)
In the Classroom
There are countless ways that secondary teachers could incorporate this website. The lesson plans are ready to go and simple to use (see Teacher Resources). Why not work together with your teaching team to offer an interdisciplinary unit on segregation, relating the history to literature? Use the books, To Kill a Mockingbird, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, or numerous others to help your students visualize the time period and make connections about the history and the literature. This website is also a great opportunity for collaborative work. Have your students read different historical fiction books from this time period, and then share the various similarities that they find. As an extension, have students write fictional blog entries from people they read about.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A People's Journey, A Nation's Story - African American History and Culture - Smithsonian
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): africa (163), african american (106), black history (59)
In the Classroom
This site is a great tool for individual research, add this site to your teacher web page so students can access it from home. Replace paper and pencil and use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here, to compare information from different time periods or locations in the United States. Enhance learning by having cooperative learning groups create podcasts providing information about African-American life throughout the years, or as a newscast from one particular time or event. Use a site such as podOmatic, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Ultimate rollercoasters.com - ultimaterollercoaster.com
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): motion (70), roller coasters (3)
In the Classroom
This website could also be used for various research projects (either researching actual roller coasters - their history, structure, speed, etc..), or even researching different time periods and the types of rides that were available during that time. If you study laws of motion, assign students to find "real world" examples of the laws in action using research on this site. Ignore the annoying pop-ups!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Timeless Ideas for Teaching - Concord Monitor Publishing
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): local history (15), news (258), newspapers (98)
In the Classroom
Whether you use hard-copy papers or electronic editions, many of these ideas will work even better using technology: word processing, wikis, blogs (for editorials), graphic organizer tools, digital cameras, etc. Use today's tools to study this powerful medium as it goes through transition into an electronic world. Consider asking students to compare electronic vs. hard-copy newspapers and their pros/cons, as well.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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National Women's History Museum - National Women's History Museum
Grades
K to 12tag(s): jamestown (10), women (99), womens suffrage (25), world war 2 (141)
In the Classroom
Of course, the site would be useful to students doing research on the women's movement in general, or on the role of women during several important historical eras. In the "educational resources" section, there is a collection of quotations from women that would be great for creating displays for women's history month. Challenge students to create a poster for one of the women quoted using a tool such as Adobe Spark, reviewed here. There is also a group of quizzes that could be adapted for classroom use. The section focused on the women of Jamestown includes the stories of Native American women as well as the role of early European settler women and could supplement the usual Thanksgiving lessons on the new American colonies. There are also free lesson plans and classroom activities that teachers should take advantage of!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Object of History - Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): museums (44)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a mini lesson for yourself in the use of artifacts in the classroom. We are often called to make education more "hands on," and this is a prime example of how to do this effectively with history. Use the specific artifacts featured on this site (and project the 360 views on an interactive white board or screen for maximum punch), but consider how you could also bring artifacts into the classroom using the suggestions provided. They need not be priceless museum pieces; in fact, an academic discussion of the cultural impact of a familiar object like the iPod or the cell phone could be quite effective. Extend the activity by having students in small groups create an artifact collection on a wiki using digital pictures they take themselves. Document a local landmark, an era in your school, or even today's teen lifestyle through artifacts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Search for Monsters of Mystery - National Geographic Kids
Grades
3 to 8In the Classroom
Use this website as a starting point for researching the history of famous monsters. This is a great way to teach about fact vs fiction and the information literacy skill of evaluating web site reliability, using a topic that students will love. After they collect facts, have a monster "trial" in your classroom "courthouse" where two teams try to prove that each monster is FACT or FICTION, using "evidence" from this site and further research. Differentiate the tasks by assigning some of your brighter students to conduct the questioning (and perhaps challenge the web sources). Then have a the class-member "jury" reach a verdict: Fact or Fiction?Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Home Front - Snaith Primary School
Grades
6 to 9tag(s): england (54), world war 2 (141)
In the Classroom
Assign students to navigate the site with a partner on laptops or in a lab, making a list of things that changed for the people at home in Britain during the war. Have them orally share "surprises" they discovered about the experience or write a "blog entry" from the point of view of a Brit during the war.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Way Back: Stand Up For Your Rights - WGBH for PBS
Grades
4 to 8tag(s): civil rights (121), women (99)
In the Classroom
Students will enjoy competition from the interactive games when presented on the whiteboard. This site is a great starting place for reports or in-class investigations on the featured civil rights leaders. Start a "What's Right is Rights" wiki for students to share their new knowledge and connect it to their study of the Constitution.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Way Back: Family Ties - WGBH for PBS
Grades
4 to 8tag(s): family (59)
In the Classroom
Make sure your students use the downloadable family tree maker, since the online version erases data when you click off the site. Check out the Teachers and Parents section for more family ties activities. This site could also be an effective adjunct to literature study of books about family. You might even want to create family trees of characters from books students are reading or famous families from history in a biography unit.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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September 11,2001 documentary project - Library of Congress
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
This site would be most useful to students doing research on the 9/11 attacks, but also could provide teachers with supplemental material for a lesson on the events of that date. Although teachers will remember the day vividly, most students were young enough when it occurred that their memories will be clouded. Another use for this site is as an example of the power and necessity of primary sources in documenting any event. Compare these resources to accounts we have of Pearl Harbor and other major events as you ask student to conduct an interviewing project of their own, perhaps of local history.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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September 11 Digital Archive - Center for History and New Media
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
Preview carefully for younger students. Use the site in your discussions of current events and terrorism-related topics or share it as a resource for high school students doing research projects. As politicians talk about Sept 11, this site can help fill the gaps in your students' background. You can easily demonstrate primary and secondary sources with these engaging examples.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Alphabet Organizer - Read Write Think (Iron Monkey Interactive)
Grades
K to 12tag(s): alphabet (84), vocabulary (314)
In the Classroom
Think outside the 'box' when considering this application. Teachers may opt to teach the elements of the story through entering character traits, setting, plot events, etc., then printing a chart to teach those concepts. Special Ed or ESL/ELL teachers and teachers will love using this organizer to help students organize new words they must learn. If students use a three-ring notebook, new words can be added over time. Mark this tool as a favorite on your classroom computer for students to access as needed.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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firstfind.info - Westchester Library System
Grades
3 to 8In the Classroom
Suggest this site to your students from other countries when they are assigned a research project. Keep this one in Favorites on your teacher web page or classroom computers for ESL students to use the Dictionary or find simplified information on your government, history and health lessons. Special Ed teachers with students of low reading ability can also find adapted resources here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Social Studies for Kids
Grades
1 to 8Note: an annoying audio ad plays when you first enter the site. Turn OFF your sound!
tag(s): holidays (137), maps (292), presidents (124), renaissance (32), timelines (56)
In the Classroom
Use the current events segment as weekly discussion starter or assignment in your social studies class. Share this link on your teacher web page for students to access outside of class. To really build a stronger sense of current events, start a class year-long current events "log" on a wiki and have a differnet student write a "week in review" each week throughout the year, based on the current events provided here or others he/she may know about. Reading teachers may also want to use the articles on this site to teach informational text reading skills on an interactive whiteboard. Reading levels are challenging for grades 1-3. Teachers will need to provide help by reading aloud or partnering readers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Big Apple History - PBS Kids
Grades
5 to 9tag(s): great depression (27), harlem (8), jazz (16), new york (26), stock market (14), timelines (56)
In the Classroom
Get your interactive whiteboards ready for this timeline adventure! Don't forget to utilize the FREE lesson plans. What an excellent way to teach the history of New York City, the stock market, and economics all in one lesson (see "Get Rich Quick")! If you teach about local history, inspire your students by sharing this site first, then have them create a wiki about your town!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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World News - WN Network
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): news (258)
In the Classroom
Share this site with your school's foreign language teachers. Have students do comparisons between English and foreign language versions of the news. If you teach writing, you can find controversial topics as writing prompts for persuasive writing among the articles, as well, and have students find facts to support their positions. Make this site available from your teacher web page for current events assignments. Reading teachers will want to use the articles on an interactive whiteboard to teach main idea and summarizing: highlight key words to use in a main idea or summary sentence you write together below the article.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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