363 history-culture-americas results | sort by:
return to subject listing50th Anniversary of JFK Assassination - Associated Press
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): kennedy (20), presidents (133)
In the Classroom
This site represents a good "quick access" point for photos related to the JFK assassination. Use them to illustrate a discussion of the event, or consider asking students to analyze the perspective presented in the photos. What is the photo communicating? How have these photos influenced the way we remember this important event? Students might be asked to compare the photographic "evidence" that was part of the investigation of this crime with the resources that are available today when a similar incident occurs. For example, how is this documentation different from that which was used to identify the Boston Marathon bombing suspects? In English class, use the photos as prompts for students to write informational texts about the Kennedy Assassination in journalistic or historic styles. Since there is such fascination with the Kennedy assassination, you could use this as a chance to discuss purpose and audience, writing to spin the same information several ways.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Engaging Students With Primary Sources - Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): primary sources (119)
In the Classroom
Bookmark and save this site for use throughout the year as a guide for using primary sources. Use some of the lesson strategies with other primary source collectionsAdd your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Beyond The Bubble - Stanford History Education Group
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): 1920s (15), assessment (148), civil rights (200), civil war (136), cold war (30), colonial america (94), immigrants (34), immigration (68), racism (79), rubrics (35), slavery (78), thanksgiving (22), war of 1812 (15), womens suffrage (46)
In the Classroom
Bookmark and save this excellent site as a resource for Common Core social studies literacy assessments. Many of these activities (and videos) are ideal for your interactive whiteboard or projector. Share the interactive rubric BEFORE the lesson, so students are aware of exactly what is expected. Use activities and materials provided on the site to teach lessons in character education, bias, and racism. Create your own similiar activities. Explore this site during professional development sessions for ideas for rubrics and lesson planning. Click on tags for "same assessment type" to find additional assessments not in the main list.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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White House Tapes - The President Calling - American Radio Works
Grades
8 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): kennedy (20), presidents (133), vietnam (38)
In the Classroom
Include the tapes and transcripts as part of any unit involving the 1960's, Vietnam, presidents, and more. Have students create timelines with music, photos, videos, and more using Timeline JS, reviewed here, and include information gathered on the audio tapes. Have students use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about characters involved in the audio tapes.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Artifacts & Analysis - Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): 1930s (20), 1960s (26), 20th century (62), cultures (145), decades (7)
In the Classroom
Start off with a visit to the Teaching Guide to find some great ideas to incorporate in your class. Use materials from this site to enhance and bring historical teaching to life. Print the student guide for writing effective essays for students to include with history notebooks. Use questions from the teaching materials here to add to your current teaching plans or as discussion topics. Create a link on your class website for students to view this site at home. Have students research and find documents and artifacts in your own community or online to share in the classroom. Have them create curated collections in digital form with accompanying writings to explain them. Students could create annotated images including text boxes and related links using a tool such as Thinglink, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Pulitzer Center Lesson Plans - Pulitzer Center
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): africa (142), careers (140), china (62), debate (40), earthquakes (45), ethics (21), food chains (17), hiv/aids (15), india (25), journalism (72), media literacy (106), water (102), women (142)
In the Classroom
Use the lesson plans on the site as a resource for discussing and debating global issues. If there is no time to complete a full unit, explore resources from each topic for ideas to use in your classroom. For example, try the ideas on interviewing individuals who migrated to the United States offered in the How Did I Become the Person That I Am unit. Share this site with students interested in journalism careers as a resource for learning more about the profession and some of its members.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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History Labs - A Guided Approach to Historical Inquiry in the K-12 Classroom - UMBC Center for History Education
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): african american (110), american revolution (82), civil rights (200), civil war (136), colonial america (94), colonization (21), great depression (30), iran (8), jefferson (19), kennedy (20), native americans (95), roosevelt (15), slavery (78), washington (28), womens suffrage (46), world war 2 (161)
In the Classroom
Bookmark and save this site for use with any American History topic as a complete lesson or to offer another angle on current lessons. Enhance learning by having students create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Venngage reviewed here. Before beginning a unit, have students brainstorm or collect ideas on a collaborative bulletin board like Scrumblr, reviewed here (quick start- no membership required!).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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New Bedford Whaling Museum - New Bedford Whaling Museum
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): 1700s (36), 1800s (75), colonial america (94), marine biology (27), whales (11)
In the Classroom
The museum's exhibits focused on the Arctic and on the migrations and habitats of whales are useful from a historical perspective. Consider using early maps and photographs from the exploration of Arctic regions to compare with current maps for a discussion on global climate change. Use information about current and past whale habitats to illustrate the impact of ocean changes on the largest of its inhabitants. Students doing independent research will find the individual images of the museum's extensive collection useful as well. Have students act as curators for an imaginary special exhibit, perhaps creating a map using MapHub, reviewed here, to add points of interest with display markers featuring text, photos, and videos. to show the artifact locations and tell the stories of their "artifacts." (Simplify adding images by inserting them using the online URLs of the artifact images from the museum catalog. To find and copy the URL for an online image, RIGHT click on it to "Copy Image URL" or "Get Info," depending on your browser and computer type.)Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Documentary Tube - DocumentaryTube.com
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): video (262)
In the Classroom
Discover the power of documentaries while studying point of view, primary and secondary resources, and debate skills. Examine the aspects shown in documentaries and help students find structure to provide an unbiased research project. Challenge existing knowledge in many areas. Help students become active thinkers and become involved in current events. Sharpen your own understandings.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Lantern - Media History Digital Library
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): cultures (145), decades (7), journalism (72), media literacy (106), movies (53), radio (20)
In the Classroom
Sometimes it's easier to "set the tone" for a particular moment in time by including images from popular culture. Students can see what regular people were interested in: what movies they watched, what they listened to on the radio, what TV shows they enjoyed (and the fact that they WATCHED TV, not YouTube!). Using some of these images, stories, and other material from this archive to supplement the study of a time period or an event in history can flesh out what life was like "back in the day."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Ultimate Titanic - UltimateTitanic.com
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): 1910s (7), 20th century (62), disasters (37)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a resource for information and ideas for teaching the Titanic as part of an early 20th century history lesson or as enrichment when reading any novel about the Titanic. Use the materials available here to talk about the difference between primary and secondary sources. Use the site's timeline as a starting point and then redefine learning by challenging students create their own multimedia Titanic timeline (with music, photos, videos, and more) using Timeline JS, reviewed here. Create a newspaper using a site such as Printing Press, reviewed here, extending learning and telling the details of events of the Titanic.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Battle of Gettysburg - Esri.com
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): civil war (136), gettysburg (15)
In the Classroom
Explore the map and timeline on your interactive whiteboard with your class. Use the sources PDF and this page from TeachersFirst's Gettysburg by the Numbers to find additional Civil War and Gettysburg information. Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students explore the map independently or in small groups. Have students create an annotated image including text boxes and related links using a tool such as Thinglink, reviewed here. Use information from this site and have students create their own battle timelines (with music, photos, videos, and more) using Timeline JS, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Saylor - Free Online Courses Built by Professors - Michael J Saylor
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): professional development (407)
In the Classroom
Allow gifted students to enroll in courses that interest them or that provide enrichment beyond classroom content. Share with others in your building as a resource for professional development. Explore the topics yourself for some new, engaging topics to round out your own expertise. Allow students to enroll in a course that would fit into their career goals as an exploratory opportunity in that field.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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World Digital Library - Unesco
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): 1600s (20), 1700s (36), 1800s (75), 1900s (73), 20th century (62), africa (142), asia (72), australia (29), china (62), cross cultural understanding (167), europe (77), images (260), north america (14), south america (39)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a resource for viewing and learning about the many cultural treasures around the world. Display the site on your interactive whiteboard or projector to view images and documents from American and World History. Have students choose an item of interest to research further and then share using a tool like Slides, reviewed here. World language teachers can underscore culture lessons using these resources or have students explore and share their findings.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Manifest Destiny - The Story of the US Told in 141 Maps - Michael Porath
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): 1800s (75), 1900s (73), 20th century (62), civil war (136), colonization (21), maps (207)
In the Classroom
Use Manifest Destiny as a resource for any American History unit. Share the maps on your projector or interactive whiteboard. The many maps are an excellent visual demonstration of the growth of the US. Use information from the site to have students create timelines (with music, photos, videos, and more) using Timeline JS, reviewed here. Include this site in lessons about information literacy and evaluating sources in your history course. Challenge students to verify the accuracy of the information depicted. Was Wikipedia right?Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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3D Toad - TechTol Imaging
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): 1700s (36), body systems (41), chemicals (41), civil war (136), coral (10), dance (28), dissection (6), elements (34), fossils (41), rocks (35)
In the Classroom
Use 3D Toad as a visual glossary on classroom computers. Have students visit this "visual glossary" center to explore objects and new vocabulary that they are learning. View and examine objects together on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Choose an area/topic that relates to what you are learning about in class. Have each student choose an object from that area to observe and explore to heighten observation skills. Challenge students to create an annotated image including text boxes and related links using a tool such as Thinglink, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Revolutionary War Animated Maps - American Battlefield Trust
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): 1700s (36), american revolution (82), map skills (56), maps (207)
In the Classroom
Illustrate Revolutionary War battles on an interactive whiteboard or projector during a lecture or class discussion. This site might also be useful as a link students can explore from home as part of a homework assignment or enrichment activity. Have students research this site and other information about their "battle" and create a multimedia project. How about enhancing learning with a "talking map" indicating where a battle took place with audio recordings? Use a tool such as Zeemaps, reviewed here, to create a map of local landforms (with audio stories and pictures included)! Extend learning for your group of talented future animators by challenging them to envision similar animations for battles that are not already included, and use Animatron, reviewed here, to create and share them with you and their peers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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History and Politics Out Loud - WyzAnt Tutoring
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): churchill (8), declaration of independence (15), inauguration (6), kennedy (20), martin luther king (45), persuasive writing (57), presidents (133), roosevelt (15)
In the Classroom
Share speeches from this site on your class webpage or blog for students to view at home. Share them with your class using your projector or interactive whiteboard. Have students use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about a president, famous scientist, or nearly any other real or fictitious person after viewing and listening to speeches on this site. Use the text of speeches to create a word cloud; try WordClouds, reviewed here, to analyze a leader's priorities and emphasis. Use these examples as students prepare their own persuasive (or propaganda) speeches in English or civics classes. Teachers or ENL students can offer speeches with accompanying texts to help build vocabulary and listening skills.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Digital Public Library of America - Digital Public Library of America
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): 1910s (7), 1920s (15), 1930s (20), 1940s (14), 1950s (8), 1960s (26), 1970s (10), 1980s (7), 20th century (62), data (147), museums (47), primary sources (119), Research (84)
In the Classroom
Adding the DPLA to your classroom bookmarks or introducing students to this resource will put a wealth of information into students' hands, aggregated into one place. Consider this a museum/archive/library specific search engine. Because each search links to an artifact or document which may actually be the property of any of dozens of different entities, students will need to understand that copyright and the ability to download material may vary depending upon where the original item "lives." Be sure to demonstrate how to FIND the rights information. Challenge students to explore basics on an artist, an author, or a social studies topic such as "civil rights" or "Martin Luther King" to see an overview in many media using the timeline display. Be sure to test the searches in advance to know which terms yield reasonable results.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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What So Proudly We Hail: Making American Citizens Through Literature - Amy and Leon Kass
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): democracy (20), guided reading (33), holidays (178), literacy (116), literature (218)
In the Classroom
This comprehensive program can be a bit overwhelming at first look. You might want to pick just one, high interest short story lesson, perhaps Jack London's "To Build a Fire." This lesson and many others lends itself to small group discussion and work. The introduction makes observations and asks questions to encourage active reading and deep discussions that you may want to use as a class. Whether you and your students complete the lesson as a class or in small groups, you may want to use a program like Today's Meet reviewed here to enable all students to have a voice. If using small groups, have students post what the group decided are the answers on Today's Meet so everyone can see all answers. Where answers differ, have students go back into the reading and cite evidence to support their answer on Today's Meet for all to see. Teachers of gifted and music can choose selected ideas from this site, as well. A teaching team could make this site the focus of a year-long effort with so much material available. Upper elementary teachers and higher can make holidays and patriotic songs far more meaningful through close reading and class discussionsAdd your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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