Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

The Seminole Tribe of Florida's Ah-TAh-Thi-Ki is a place to learn about Seminoles and a place to remember. The museum showcases over 30,000 unique artifacts. Even though the website includes information about visiting the actual museum, there is much to explore without ever going there. Find a Virtual Tour, Online Exhibits, and Podcasts of oral history about alligator wrestling, patchwork, beadwork, dolls, Civil Rights, Brighton Day School, and tribal leaders. To find the Podcasts, click Collections from the top menu and then Oral History. The Online Connections Collection features 2,500 books and periodicals. Besure to check out the Education tab at the top to find even more resources, curriculum, reading lists and fied trips.
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Find news features on current events, politics, space, weather, sports, and more. This would be useful in any classroom where a "knowledge of the now" is a focus. At the time of this review some of the specific topics included What's New on the Climate Crisis, remembering Children's Author Beverly Clearly, Huge Container Ship Blocks Suez Canal, the discovery of new planets, and much more. Of course, as the news changes so will the features on this front page. Subscribe to their newsletter to receive updates on new articles.

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The Presidential Classroom offers resources for students and teachers that provide insight into historic events, the presidency, and U.S. government. Contents include lesson plans, presidential profiles, video clips, and teachable exhibits. Click either Presidency or Educational Resources in the upper left corner to find these. Explore exhibits by historical event or sort by administration. Exhibits provide a look at specific moments during a presidential administration including transcripts, videos, and audio of events. Choose the presidents link to get a look at each of the US presidents including quick facts, personal information, and cabinet members. Lesson plans include topics such as Space, Vietnam, and Cuba and include correlations to Virginia state standards.

tag(s): jefferson (19), kennedy (20), lincoln (66), presidents (135), space (222), vietnam (38), washington (28), white house (16)

Letters of Note is a blog that shares letters from a book of the same name, but you never have to buy the book! The collection includes over 900 interesting letters from many different sources such as Leonardo da Vinci's 's job application, a letter from Steve Albini to the band Nirvana, and Virginia Woolf's suicide letter. Start from the archives to find over 900 more examples sorted in different ways such as typed/handwritten, by date, name, or correspondence type. Or click in the sidebar to access most popular or even view a random letter. Most letters include an image along with a short description of the context of the correspondence included. Letters include the original language so be sure to read for yourself before sharing with students.
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tag(s): acting (19), authors (107), europe (84), letter writing (19), politics (118), primary sources (117)

Where are migrants coming from and where have migrants left? Find answers using Migrations Map's interactive map. Click on any country to view a short overview of population, gross domestic product per capita, child mortality, disease rate, and more. Choose arrivals or departures to view the number of immigrants to and emigrants from the country and percentages on where they come from or go. Simply click on the country of your choice to begin. Note that much of the data displayed is from 2007, so is better for longer term trends than for recent times. Read "About" for more about the data sources.

tag(s): immigration (68), maps (220), population (51)

The Smithsonian invites amateur historians to contribute to the massive task of transcribing their collection of written documents to make them available in digitized, searchable form. Finding authentic projects for students can be a challenge. Here, students can create an account, choose a project, and contribute their transcriptions of historic documents. Current projects include diaries, field notes, and other primary sources.

tag(s): local history (14), primary sources (117)

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), in partnership with the Khan Academy, offers several tutorials exploring the world of contemporary and modern art. View information in categories such as Printmaking, Behind the scenes at MoMA, and Performance Art. Each section contains several short videos exploring the topic. The videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): art history (102), artists (84)

Discover book titles to use with elementary level Social Studies content. Choose from grade level bands and the topics of Civics, History, Geography, and Economics. Each link leads to a list of book titles including author, subject, and a brief description. Some titles also include a "more" link leading to a short article referring to use of the book. This site includes a great mix of genres. Don't miss the nonfiction/informative text, perfect for meeting your Common Core standards.

tag(s): book lists (167), branches of government (65), guided reading (33), independent reading (81), literature (221)

Learn about George Washington's early military career through this interactive that takes him on a mission to bring peace to the Ohio Valley. Along the way, stop to brainstorm items that he may have brought with him. Use the maps to find details, learn about clothing of the time, and meet other people involved with the mission.

tag(s): american revolution (82), native americans (108), presidents (135), washington (28)

As its name implies, Nixon Tapes and Transcripts is dedicated to the collection of the tapes secretly recorded by Richard Nixon during his presidency. The collection contains over 700 audio files containing 2300 hours of conversation. There are various file formats: mp3, pdf, and others.The site is searchable. Choose audio & transcripts to find conversations by primary participants or selected themes. Each conversation includes information on date and time as well as links to download audio or a transcript.

tag(s): 1960s (26), presidents (135)

The Cuban Missile Crisis offers a great resource for learning and teaching about the 1962 missile crisis. Explore the site to find many primary documents, an excellent timeline, and lessons. The Educators section of the site includes many tools such as lesson plans, reading lists, and videos. If your district blocks YouTube, then the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): 1960s (26), kennedy (20), presidents (135)

Find a thorough lesson plan guide aligned with the Common Core standards and so much more. Through this guide, middle school students will learn about the U.S. court system and the anatomy of a criminal trial. They will also learn about the rights of the accused, the jury system, and career opportunities. The materials support the book by providing more accurate and state-specific information on the legal process. There are plenty of interactive activities suggested so students are not just passive readers.
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tag(s): careers (156), civil rights (209), courts (20), critical thinking (127), guided reading (33), reading comprehension (149)

This site offers curricular resources to teach about John F Kennedy for all grade levels. Choose from resources: elementary, middle, or high school. Each level includes several lesson plans as well as links to biographical resources. Lesson plans link to a PDF version for easy download and printing. Check out the full details including objectives and connections to national history standards. The elementary resources include a downloadable pdf "picture book" about Kennedy that would work well on tablets or on a projector or interactive whiteboard.

tag(s): civil rights (209), cold war (30), kennedy (20), presidents (135), vietnam (38)

Find several short activities related to John F. Kennedy. Read a short article about his presidency. Complete a fill in the gap or correct the spelling on an activity. Several writing prompts are included as well as homework extensions.
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tag(s): 1960s (26), kennedy (20), presidents (135)

Explore John F. Kennedy's desk interactively, examining treasured mementos and important documents. Don't miss the comprehensive resource guide for classroom use. Click on highlighted areas of the desk to view videos, read documents, and explore important events from John F Kennedy's history. Download the PDF resource guidefor lessons, transcripts, and copies of included documents.

tag(s): 1960s (26), civil rights (209), kennedy (20), presidents (135), vietnam (38)

This site accompanies an episode of the PBS series Frontline which examines the life of Lee Harvey Oswald, the presumed killer of John F. Kennedy. Because Oswald himself was assassinated before a full examination of the crime could be completed, mystery surrounds the man and his possible motivations for killing the President. Did he act alone? Here you will find a summary of the major conspiracy theories, a timeline of Oswald's life (including a psychiatric report from his teenage years), and an overview of the events surrounding the assassination. You can search YouTube and find Frontlines' video for free, if your district doesn't block YouTube.
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tag(s): kennedy (20), presidents (135)

It's said that a picture is worth a thousand words. This site from the Associated Press brings together a large collection of photographs related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The photos are copyrighted, and therefore carry a watermark, but they do represent a good cross section of the photos taken by journalists of the events surrounding the assassination.

tag(s): kennedy (20), presidents (135)

The Smithsonian Institution offers a printable guide to using primary sources in any classroom. View examples of how to do it and suggestion! Explore each of the main sections including documents, photographs, oral histories, and objects for ideas and tips. Each activity is aligned to National Center for History in the Schools standards. The guide is in PDF format for easy printing and use.

tag(s): primary sources (117)

Beyond the Bubble offers a new generation of history assessments that work hand in hand with Common Core Standards to provide a window into student thinking and promote academic literacy. Refered to as "HATS" (History Assessment of Thinking), assessments go beyond recall to applying facts in context. Choose the assessment link to explore topics such as "Civil Rights Movement in Context" or "Edison and a Kansas Housewife." Lessons also include an interactive rubric and sample student responses. Don't miss the going deeper activities, such as videos. Click links to download materials available in PDF format.

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The White House Tapes takes a look at the secret tapes recorded by three American presidents and how each president used one on one politics to shape history. Listen to conversations recorded by John F. Kennedy, Richard M. Nixon, and Lyndon B. Johnson. Read an introduction to each president, then go in-depth to explore particular events such as the Vietnam Dilemna and Watergate. Note: Although the transcripts are available on the site, the option to play the actual audio files requires Real Player. Check your computer to be sure you have this plugin.
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tag(s): kennedy (20), presidents (135), vietnam (38)