2011Reference

The Library of Congress website is an outstanding resource for anyone looking for any kind of imformation. Its outstanding in giving you numerous engines to use without having to leave the comfort of your home or classroom. It's important for all educators to be aware of the amount of useful primary sources and information that can befound throughout the website.

I know it may seems like a wild card, but believe Wikipedia has a place in the education world. I think it is a great jumping off point for finding topics and small snip bits of information. Would I tell my students to completely rely on what Wikipedia says? No, but its a good starting place.

The National Archives is the collection of U.S. Government documents and records that are important to preserve for generations to come. There is a great section for teachers that include everything from lesson plans and activities, primary source research and resources, and state and regional resources. 

"The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the nation's record keeper. Of all documents and materials created in the course of business conducted by the United States Federal government, only 1%-3% are so important for legal or historical reasons that they are kept by us forever. Those valuable records are preserved and are available to you, whether you want to see if they contain clues about your family's history, need to prove a veteran's military service, or are researching an historical topic that interests you." http://www.archives.gov

The National Archives website is information just waiting for you to look for it. It's a quick and easily manouvered website to help you find any kind of historical informaiton you may need. I'mportant to any scholar or educator.

Not only is this website important to current librarians, but it is also a great resource for future librarians. Anything and everything you might want to know about how a library works to where there are job openings.

Worldpress is imporant because I believe that its healthy to look outside of our own news and see a different take on the world. Its an important resource that I think is under used when students are looking for good articles to write about.

As an Nebraskan its important to use the information given by the state historical society. It is a direct resource for all things Nebraska.

This page is put on by the US Census Bureau. This would be a great resource for children doing research on their own state, or any other state. Students can also learn about why the census is done every ten years as well as take quizzes about the census information found. Fun site for kids!

The U.S. Census Bureau has given students a great resource to learn about why we take a census, and facts about individual states.

Brain Pop is an amazing website, I enjoy going through each of the different sections checking out the infromation given. I think K-8 would get the most good out of the information and layout given.

Great site for government class at all levels. The text and history of the documents make it an in depth study of whatever topic is picked. Our American Government teachers could make use of this site for serious sources and for preparing trivia follow up. Lots of possibilities with this site.

This website can be used for students of all ages. Information is grouped by grade levels, and aligns with many standards. Students can learn about citizenship, our rights, branches of government, historical documents, among many other government related topics.

This site provides a huge database to access art.  It can be searched by artist, specific topics, or curriculum based.  It also has many different lesson plans to accompany the art.

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.

This site archives early American documents, including the Declaration, Constitution, the first annual almanac, and maps. The part I like the best is a section called "How to Read a 200 Year Document." It has all kinds of frequently asked questions, such as why "s" looks like "f" in old documents. These could be really helpful for not only teachers, but students who are not used to the 17th century language.

Nebraska Legislature site is the official resource for the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature. Resources include transcripts and photos along with the Nebraska Blue Book. This would be appropriate for students in the fourth grade through high school for social studies and local government/historical information. The students and teachers section is divided nicely for easy access.

3rd graders in the Millard School District are required to learn about the Omaha Indians.  This site shows photographs, artifacts, and gives first hand information about the local tribe.

This site is a collection of songs from early American History, including the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and westward expansion after the war. This would be useful for a unit on any of those eras, especially for a music teacher, however it could be used by a classroom teacher or school librarian as well. I think listening to music from the past really helps students get a better feel for what it was like then. They may be able to picture that time and place in their mind a little clearer while listening to music they would have heard then.

This website focuses on the 1930s and the New Deal which was passed under the F.D.R.'s administration. Using a collection of letters, newspaper articles, photos, and documents, it has autobiographical stories and interviews about living during that time period. For grades 7-12, lesson plans and discussion panels are included in this resource, making it great for an American History class.

The New Deal Network is a website that focuses on the history of The Great Depression. Documents, photos, speeches, and articles can be found for teachers and students to use when researching this era of American History.

This is a great resource for kids to explore the different ecosystems and animals that live there.

This site includes numerous science lesson plans, homework resources, and interactive games to assist students and teachers.

The Louisiana Digital Library features digital collections of maps, manuscripts (letters, diaries, etc.), images/photos, video/audio recordings, newspapers and more. Collections can be accessed by topic, institution, media format, geographic focus, and time period. The time period collection includes a great visual time line with prominent historical events featured for easy acquisition. This would be useful for student/educator historical research; jazz music and New Orleans culture as well as state hurricane information. Many collections would be beneficial in establishing of geographic/cultural context for several literature connections.

This site provides recordings from important figures in American history. Most are from 1899-1945, and deal mainly with World War II. This would be a wonderful resource for anyone studying this era of history, especially for auditory learners. Other parts of the site share written primary source documents and photographs as well.