Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Don't shy away from teaching about the elections because of all the nastiness and confusion. Instead get help from NewseumEd's latest Collection: Decoding Elections: Process, Persuasion & Participation. Study the historical conditions and circumstances of controversial political campaigns to gain an understanding of today's campaign tactics and messages. Go back as far as the 1880s to learn about mudslinging and nasty accusations in the election and where and when nasty ads got their start. This NewseumEd Collection approaches understanding by using primary sources and case studies (use the drop down menu for Education Collection). The case studies start at the very beginning of an election and go right through to the end. They all include lesson plans with an issue summary, debate question, tools for organizing evidence for the discussions, election essentials, primary sources, guiding questions, and an extension activity. Optional resources for some of the case studies include NewseumEd's Pinterest pages (links provided with those Case Studies). To get started there are a few helpful interactives to go with this Collection: the Political Personality Quiz, Candidate Match, and Predict the Election. Registration with NewseumEd is necessary to access all sources, but is entirely free.

tag(s): democracy (24), elections (82), presidents (136), primary sources (119)

Students Investigating Primary Sources is a series of lessons designed through a collaboration with the National Archives, Pinellas County Public Schools, and Brevard Public Schools for 2nd grade through High School Students. Choose from topics including separation of power and women's right to vote. Each lesson correlates to National Standards and a PDF link to the original activity including vocabulary, handouts, and other necessary materials.

tag(s): branches of government (65), civil rights (209), constitution (98), primary sources (119), womens suffrage (52)

Military History Now is dedicated to sharing the strange, off-beat, and lesser-known aspects of military history. Scroll through the site to find interesting stories of the military from around the world, both recent and long ago. Recent posts include the story behind the famous "I Want You" poster featuring Uncle Sam and 10 Most Famous Battle Cries. Use the keyword search to find specific information, or click on related links in posts to find more information on a topic.
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tag(s): battles (18), famous people (19), veterans (27)

OpenStax offers free access to high-quality textbooks in core subject areas. View resources by subject, including humanities and AP options. View books online or download in PDF format. The search options in the online viewer allow users to locate content easily in the digital format.

tag(s): advanced placement (26), book lists (167), ebooks (43), STEM (298)

Constitute is a database of all available online constitutions from around the world with several comparisons and research tools built-in. Quickly find passages by tags such as "right to privacy" or "equality regardless of gender." Filter searches by period or geographic region. Compare constitutions side by side, then select comparisons to display highlighted similarities. "Pin" your results to export to Google Docs or as a PDF.

tag(s): civil rights (209), constitution (98), cross cultural understanding (173), cultures (181)

Take charge of Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore and save the fort from the British bombardment with this interactive. After an introduction to the situation, players prepare for battle and manage resources to save the fort. Your goal is to keep the American flag flying at all times. Registration isn't required; however, it allows players to save their game at the end of each round. Total time to complete is 35-45 minutes.

tag(s): battles (18), game based learning (205), war of 1812 (15)

Go behind the scenes for an in-depth video discussion of the art and history of the White House with White House Curator William Allman. The actual discussion begins after the 14-minute mark on the video with an interview led by a high school student.

tag(s): art history (102), presidents (136), video (266), white house (16)

Using hands-on lessons, students work in teams to learn the basics of investing, create $100,000 portfolios, manage an investment portfolio in a real-world scenario of a dynamic marketplace, learn other economic concepts, and compete against teams across the globe while fostering teamwork and decision-making skills. Created in 1977 by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association Foundation, The Stock Market Game (SMG) is an online simulation game for teaching students about the global capital markets and the stock market. Teachers must register for their school and students and then will receive essential information on program requirements and important dates. Adults are welcome to play after completing the online registration.

tag(s): business (52), DAT device agnostic tool (147), game based learning (205), investing (8), money (113), stock market (11)

Make the presidential election process personal. Run for U.S. president by playing this free interactive online game which is best played on a computer using most current browsers. In this lively, colorful simulation, students will experience being part of a campaign, including creating a candidate avatar, selecting either Democratic or Republican issues, participating in debates and developing a media campaign. Choose your level to start: elementary, middle, or high school and complete the easy-to-follow tasks which do involve some reading, especially the debates section. The "Campaign Manager" will lead you through the process ending with your final probability of winning. Loading the game may take a few moments. Sound begins immediately, but may be toggled off. Online assistance is available by clicking the Help button (a ?) in the top right corner at each step of the game. Also, the Back button in the top left corner allows easy do-overs of sections. Students may play without registering, but will access more content, compete with others and earn badges after logging in. You can have separate accounts for students and teachers, but must have email addresses. An automatic username is generated when registering. The easy to use Extension Pack for Teachers provides more activities and assessments. Registered teachers can message students and create classes to give students a virtual class code to join without needing an email. If students register, they can check their My iCivics accounts to see points and message members of their groups which can be controlled by the teacher.

tag(s): elections (82), presidents (136)

This PDF provides a very easy to use chart for providing information found in political candidate's tv commercials. Fill in the blanks to describe what the commercial shows, what you hear, and what you think the producers want you to get from the commercial. The final box provides an opportunity to discuss your thoughts on the effectiveness of the ad.

tag(s): advertising (26), elections (82), presidents (136)

Where do you fit? Take this 11 question quiz to find how your views fit on the political spectrum. When finished, use options to view your beliefs against others of similar age, gender, and religion.

tag(s): elections (82), polls and surveys (49), quiz (67)

Many students (and adults) don't fully understand the role of the Electoral College in presidential elections. Does Your Vote Count? is a YouTube video providing a clear explanation of the Electoral College and how it works as part of the election process. If your district blocks YouTube, then it may not be viewable.

tag(s): elections (82), electoral college (22)

This 5 minute YouTube video explores one of the misunderstood elements of presidential elections - the Electoral College. Using easy to understand language, the moderator explains the role of the Electoral College and how the popular vote translates into votes in the Electoral College. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): elections (82), electoral college (22)

This interactive map includes links to newspaper coverage of civil rights stories from around the nation beginning with 1954 through 1965. Choose any year to view several front pages with coverage of major events. Read each front page by clicking "view larger image." For additional information on similar topics, scroll to the bottom of the page to find links to more artifacts.

tag(s): black history (133), civil rights (209), newspapers (93)

Explore how the First Amendment influenced the Civil Rights Movement through this collection of resources from Newseum. The collection includes three teaching units with topics of Historical Connections, Media Literacy, and Civics & Citizenship. In addition, an interactive timeline beginning in 1791 demonstrates the Civil Rights journey. A Google Civil Rights map includes links to important American newspapers and their coverage of civil rights events and leaders. Be sure to sign up for your free NewseumED account for complete access to all materials.

tag(s): black history (133), civil rights (209), constitution (98), cultures (181), journalism (74), media literacy (109), newspapers (93)

This NewseumED video lesson explores the role of the press in the 1970's Watergate scandal. Activities include watching a video and completing a comprehension worksheet. In addition to the 30-minute lesson, several ideas for extension activities are included. To find related activities on Newseum, scroll to the bottom of the page for additional ideas. Sign up for NewseumED (FREE) to access all materials.

tag(s): 1970s (10), journalism (74), presidents (136)

'The Press and the Civil Rights Movement' video portrays the importance to democracy of having a free press. Using original clips from different television news shows, newspapers, and photographs (all primary sources) of the 1950s and 1960s the video delves into the idea that the civil rights movement may not have gotten very far without a free press. Find a step by step lesson plan including before and after viewing discussion questions, a viewing guide with short answer questions, and a handout with the names of the major figures in the video and what they had to do with the civil rights movement. View the video before showing to students to deem whether the strong language, gestures, and violence may be inappropriate for your class.

tag(s): civil rights (209), constitution (98), freedom of speech (14), martin luther king (45)

This interactive timeline from NewseumED uses primary source news articles and photographs, with explanations, about the events covering America's civil rights from the ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791 through Alexander vs. Holmes in 1969. Use the slider at the top to see all of the articles. Of course there are the usual articles about the assassinations of President Kennedy, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, the March on Washington, The Formation of the Black Panther Party, and Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963. However, there are many other interesting articles that are pertinent to today's news, too many to list here. Some of these are: Poor People's Campaign 1968, Riots Spur National Study 1967, Orangeburg Massacre 1968, Watts Riot and the Bloody Sunday March 1965, Freedom Summer Campaign for Voter Registration (and education for black children) 1964, Baptist Church Bombing 1963, and The Children's Crusade 1963. To access this timeline you must register for a FREE NewseumED account.

tag(s): black history (133), civil rights (209), constitution (98), martin luther king (45)

Freedom in the Balance is a free resource from NewseumED that uses real-life scenarios and historical and contemporary case studies to examine individual rights vs. national security. Click on More Details and use the drop-down menu for Explore the Questions. That is where you will find the essential questions, and the What Happened Then? and What's Happening Now? case studies. Click the button for the interactive Take Our Quiz to find out where you stand on freedom and whom you would "click with" in history. For the quiz, you will read ten scenarios, based on real-life examples, and select one of four responses about how you feel about the issue presented. Then get your profile results and see how you rank among all quiz takers. There is also an option to explore a case study based on the man who landed a gyrocopter on the Capitol lawn to bring attention to the need for campaign finance reform.

tag(s): civil rights (209), constitution (98), freedom of speech (14)

Brought to you by NewseumED, this video is a perfect fit to introduce any unit on the First Amendment and its freedoms. Find a comprehensive lesson plan, watch the video through the NewseumEd site, and download documents in either PDF or Word formats. The documents include a list of historical figures and their involvement with the issues from the period, and a viewing guide worksheet for students to fill in. All of the actors' words, in the video, are direct quotations taken from primary sources. Since the video focuses on the origins of the freedom of the press, it would make a fascinating intro to a media literacy unit, too.

tag(s): civil rights (209), constitution (98), media literacy (109), video (266)