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A database of several trials in key points of American and world history are found here. High school students can explore transcripts, photos, indictments, and other documents of several famous trials. Instead of just reading about a famous trial, students can explore several angles of a trial.

Students who are working their 4th grade research standard- Inventions unit would be able to find excellent primary sources in the links connected with famous inventors. Some famous inventors featured on this site are Alexander Graham Bell, Emiline Berliner, and Wilbur and Orville Wright.

5th graders learn about explorers in social studies and we do a research unit in media.  This site is very cool because it has actual documents that contain personal accounts by American explorers, Indians, missionaries, traders and settlers.  I love reading the actual words from these famous pioneers from long ago.  I think it gives kids something "real" to relate to when studying history.

This search page can help you find all of the Smithsonian Institution's primary sources for your topic. Whether your topic is a culture, place or person, this search page with pull up photos, documents, paintings, and photographs of objects, such as jewelry, flags, musical instruments, tools, clothing, etc. Easy enough for even 3rd graders to use to find primary sources for research on historical sites, cultures, like Native Americans, & famous people.

Ellis Island is an extremely important part of American History because our nation is founded on immigrants.  This site allows users to search the Ellis Island records for people who entered the country and discover more information about our own families.  Genealogy is something that isn't discussed much with students, but it is imperative for students to know our history.  Because we are a nation if immigrants, we all have relations to other countries and making that connection can be very important.  I would love to see high schoolers use this site to help investigate family origins.  Even if there were no connections to Ellis Island, they could choose from the list of more famous people to arrive.  The original documents that are captured on this site are a definite piece of our history that is worth investigating and sharing with others.

This section of America's Story focuses on the Amazing Americans who have helped shape American History.  The people are categorized by their profession or what made them famous.  The biographical information for each person provides an great summary of why they were important, links to more stories, photos, and even a timeline of their life in relation to what was happening in America.  Students begin to learn about specific people in our nation's history in 3rd and 4th grade.  This site would lend itself to exploring more information about these people from the trusted source of the Library of Congress.

This is a great resource for teachers from the Federal Government. There are topics in every field from arts and music to U.S. time periods. There are animations, photos, primary documents, and videos. Students could take a tour of a cell in animation, make comparisons using photos, read letters and journals of famous Americans, and watch videos about lava. There are lots of resources available for free.

This site is interactive with options to research famous Americans, learn about events in the past, learn about the different states, and even listen to old songs and video clips. I watched a video of a gymnastic routine in 1894. They called it "Early Break Dancing". This site has appealing visuals and is easy to maneuver. There are also questions that engage the learner. I think this would be a fun site for students.

The Library of Congress: America's Story from America's Library is designed to allow students to have fun with history while learning at the same time. The site provides five specific categories that allow the user to search by people, era, American pastimes and celebrations, and music and entertainment. The site promotes learning through games, trivia questions, true/false quizzes, and links that spark curiosity. It is easy to navigate and designed for all level of learners in elementary school.

I LOVE this website for my younger students - and older kids can have fun with it also. It is bright and active - but has tons of information on American history that is a little off the beaten path.

This website is FULL of primary sources related completely to Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement. You can listen to his famous "I have a dream" speech as well as find bibliographical information about MLK, Jr.

This would be a great site for more elementary aged students, there's a lot of good information but not enough to overwhelm younger kids. You can look at profiles of different famous people, get information on the states, look at different time periods and also look at games, hobbies and music, which would probably appeal to kids. One feature I thought was unique was where you could enter your birthday and it would bring up information for that date.

A great website to introduce young students to the world of non-fiction and primary source material. The website is colorful and easy to navigate. Students can learn about a variety of people, places and events in American history.