Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Dress the Part is an interactive that teaches about eighteenth-century clothing and its relationship to social status in Virginia. Choose a member from different social statuses such as field slaves up to the gentry. Learn about that place in society and choose the proper clothing. When your member of society is appropriately dressed, read more about their situation and social status.
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tag(s): 1700s (36), slavery (79), virginia (15)

Learn about the life of Andrew Carnegie starting with his humble beginnings all the way through his rise to the richest man in the world with this interactive storytelling tool. Click About on the top menu bar and scroll down to Andrew Carnegie's Story to read about Carnegie's youth and explore the timeline of his business. Continue reading to learn about his philanthropic side, including the founding of over 2,500 libraries across the United States. Use links at the top of the page to view specific portions of the site without having to scroll through all sections. The video at the end is hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the video may not be viewable.

tag(s): 1900s (72), biographies (94), business (52), railroads (14)

This collection of primary sources from the Library of Congress is organized around key topics and themes in American History. View Primary Source Set titles in alphabetical order from Abraham Lincoln through Women's Suffrage. Choose any topic to view Teacher's Guides and analysis tools including graphic organizers for students. Sort information to find materials meeting Common Core Standards, State Standards, or national organization standards.

tag(s): 20th century (62), authors (107), black history (133), civil war (139), constitution (96), evaluating sources (29), hispanic (36), history day (39), immigration (68), jefferson (19), lincoln (66), new deal (5), primary sources (117), Research (87), segregation (18), thanksgiving (24), veterans (27), washington (28), westward expansion (39), womens suffrage (52), wright brothers (16)

Come to the Media History Digital Library to find digitized classic media periodicals available from the public domain. All of the collections pertain to the cinema, broadcasting, and sound. Periodicals such as Business Screen, Pictures and Story Magazine, Motion Picture Classics, and Radio Age have at least a five-year spread of content. Over 100 other periodicals are featured. When selecting a periodical, you may choose to read, download, or go directly to the site. Join the blog to discover recent additions, scholarship opportunities, events, and more.

tag(s): art history (102), media literacy (109), multimedia (53)

Explore nearly 50 maps created over the past 80 years of publication of Canadian Geographic Maps. Browse through themes such as Exploration, Conflict and Borders, People, Wildlife, and more. Choose Cartography 101 to find explanations of mapping techniques and technologies, and learn more about map making. Be sure to explore the Learning section to find several interesting lesson plans based on topics such as natural disasters and wildlife in an urban world. The lessons can be downloaded in Word or PDF formats.

tag(s): animal homes (57), canada (24), disasters (37), explorers (64), maps (220)

The American Civil War was one of the first major conflicts for which we have a photographic record. For the 150th anniversary of the war, photographer David Levene traveled to the sites of 23 iconic Civil War photographs and captured the same view as it exists today. Using a simple slider button, shift watch as the scene transforms from the past to the present. Along with each photograph is a brief narrative, and an audio interview related to the scene with more detail about the changes over the last 150 years. Don't forget to click on the associated article for important background information from Levene about the project and his reflections on what he learned.
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tag(s): battles (18), civil war (139), photography (130)

Commemorate Black History Month with 20 lesson plans and resources covering a variety of topics including racial discrimination, civil rights, and discussions about race in current events. Scroll through the page to view topics and grade level suggestions. Content ranges from a history of discrimination through current events such as debating race through the Trayvon Martin shooting. Some lessons also contain Common Core correlations.

tag(s): black history (133), civil rights (209), cultures (180), martin luther king (45), racism (79), video (266)

We are accustomed to hearing the voices of celebrities and important leaders today, but it has been less than 150 years since the invention of sound recording technology. Earliest Voices is an archive of recordings from the earliest years between 1877 and 1927. Hear Booker T. Washington speak about race relations or William Jennings Bryan's "Cross of Gold" speech. Listen to Thomas Edison (who was the inventor of the technology) speak about advances in technology and electricity. Find a short biography and images along with the recordings.

tag(s): biographies (94), inventors and inventions (80), oral history (13), politics (118), sound (72)

Take a virtual tour of Mount Vernon, the home of the first President of the United States, George Washington. Beautifully executed, and packed with special features, the tour is billed as the "second best way to visit Mount Vernon," and doesn't disappoint. Click on the three dots with a checkmark in lower right corner to find a menu of places to look. Click the video play button in the middle of the page and watch the tutorial so you don't miss any of the many tips and tricks to get the most out of your virtual tour.

tag(s): 1700s (36), presidents (135), virginia (15), virtual field trips (128)

Find an answer to your question or great question starters for any conversation here with this free tool! Featured under the Resource tab, you can access articles, books, case studies, lesson plans, Kahoot, videos, downloads, and events. The site caters to students in preschool through grade 12. When signing up for free, you gain access to more content on the site.

tag(s): animals (294), climate change (99), immigration (68), musical instruments (52), racism (79), timelines (56)

Looking for videos and resources that peer into Global Issues? Start with this resource! Click the Video Bank to view resources by themes: conflict, power, human rights, social structures, migrations, economic systems, factors of production, or political systems. Also, view the video bank by location in the world. Videos in each theme are up to several minutes in length and are clips of larger videos. Click on the video of choice, to view the video on a larger screen, see the guiding questions, read the background essay and transcript, and find related links. Text can easily be printed using the print function along the bottom. Videos are easily downloaded, with directions for both PC and Mac users. View the country and region map along the left side along with the accompanying lesson plan. Additionally, click on Lesson Plans instead to display the following for each global issue: overview, learning objectives and standards, media components (with links), and materials. Be sure to note the Prep for Teachers along the bottom of each lesson plan.
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tag(s): cross cultural understanding (173), cultures (180), maps (220)

PBS offers this series of lessons aligned to their popular mini-series, The Roosevelts. All lessons include alignment to standards, background information, discussion questions, and evaluation rubrics. Choose from full-length Lesson Plans or Snapshot Lessons containing quick, adaptable activities for classroom use.
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tag(s): 1900s (72), presidents (135), roosevelt (15)

Take a deeper look into the Declaration of Independence and the signers with this unique interactive. The interactive has three main parts: a high-resolution scan of The Declaration of Independence with a full transcription of text, an annotated version of John Trumbull's painting of the signing, and an interactive map plotting the signer's hometowns and giving a mini biography. Use buttons on the site to move between the three portions. Be sure to view the instructions for a complete overview of all of the interactive offers.

tag(s): american revolution (82), declaration of independence (16), franklin (12), jefferson (19)

This interactive timeline shows the route Lincoln took to become the President. Use the links to dig deeper into Lincoln's life.
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tag(s): elections (82), lincoln (66), presidents (135)

Venture over 12,000 years into the past to look at the first people to live in the Canadian regions of North America. This site from a B.C. museum offers different levels of information, videos, and interactive media about the first peoples and their migration across the land bridge from Europe. The site is available in both English and French language. Instructor materials support use from primary to post-secondary levels. Watch native video greetings in several languages, learn about settlements, the geography and change of the actual water and land masses, the archaeology and dating of artifacts, and much more. The Site Map offers a good way to see the scope of the offerings.

tag(s): archeology (28), native americans (108)

The 150th anniversary of the Battle of Appomattox commemorates the final battle of the American Civil War and the surrender of General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. You'll find important facts about the battle, maps, videos, and images useful in highlighting this important event. Download the Appomattox Battle App for iOs or Google Play.

tag(s): 1800s (75), civil war (139), DAT device agnostic tool (147)

Learn about the history of house structures in Eastern Canada, with connections to home building in general. See how homes adapt to the settings in the Living in the New World section. See a timeline of homes in Canada (similar to homes history in some portions of the U.S.). Learn about the skilled builder trades on the Youthzone. The architectural Glossary is great for learning the names of all those things that stick out or hold up your house! The Homo Renovus section is all about terms and techniques in home renovation.

tag(s): architecture (75), homes (5), structures (18)

This PDF file offers a traditional (but reliable) look at Cinco de Mayo, beyond the food and fun! Learn about the historical impact of the holiday and its significance to Mexicans (and folks from other countries, as well). This pdf is set up as a study guide. It includes historical information, curriculum links (history, world cultures, and social studies), vocabulary words, discussion questions, extension activities, map challenges, related literature, and websites for additional information.

tag(s): cinco de mayo (10), mexico (37)

In an age where digital maps are ubiquitous and take us down to house-by-house detail, we can forget how difficult it was to create accurate maps before satellite imaging. Historical maps are another tool for understanding the frame of reference of those who lived before us, and are important primary source documents. This collection includes over 50,000 historical maps, with an emphasis on 18th and 19th century maps of North and South America. The collection can be viewed from several platforms. Over 120 of the maps can be accessed using the Google Maps interface. A Georeferencer utility allows you to view a historical map laid over a modern map of the same area. And finally, the site's LUNA browser allows you to view multiple maps together, create embeddable links or Web Widgets that can be used in other applications, create slide shows of collections of maps, and annotate specific maps in the collection.

tag(s): 1700s (36), 1800s (75), map skills (63), maps (220), north america (15), south america (47)

Ducksters is a safe, extensive, educational portal for kids. Find a wide choice of content such as interactives, sports, movies, and music. Begin by choosing a category to explore choices. The study category includes extensive information such as world history, many biographies, science explanations, and information on all continents and many countries. Interactive subjects include math times tables, checkers, and guess the country. There is a TON here to explore.
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tag(s): addition (129), african american (115), american revolution (82), animal homes (57), animals (294), artists (84), biographies (94), china (81), civil rights (209), civil war (139), cold war (30), continents (33), countries (73), data (151), division (98), egypt (56), elements (33), energy (133), environment (252), explorers (64), fractions (160), friction (9), geometric shapes (134), greece (47), habitats (92), human body (93), inventors and inventions (80), keyboarding (28), mean (19), median (16), mode (13), multiplication (122), planets (113), presidents (135), puzzles (149), recycling (45), renaissance (38), rome (37), solar system (110), sound (72), sports (82), subtraction (110), sun (71), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (161)