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This website is provided by PBS for teachers to use to help with different classroom applications. It offers teachers the ability get classroom resources, start discussion boards with other educators, and professional development tools. 

This is an article on the challenges that can occur in teachings classrooms of diverse children.

This web site has information on an online teaching resource for teachers. The program allows teachers and students to work from anywhere via the internet.

This site educates teachers in issues surrounding discrimination and prejudice, gives them tips to avoid prejudicial behavior in the classroom. and offers resources surrounding these issues.

This website is a great reference page for finding resources based on historical periods.

Smithsonian's History Explorer provides a multitute of resources for teachers including lessons, activities, interactive activities, examples of artifacts, and professional development opportunities for educators. One can easily search for desired resources by selecting the grade level, type of resource desired, and the time period. A variety of American History related subjects are displayed and from that list, one can select the desired resource.

This section of the National Council for the Social Studies website appears to be a little bit dated, but the materials that are presented seem to be a useful resource. It must be difficult for social studies teachers to tackle the tough subjects of current global conflict, terrorism, Afghanistan, Iraq, and September 11, 2001. I am sure many school districts are still using textbooks that were printed prior to 2001 or 2002, and just don't cover this relevant information. Some of the items listed on this page are basic and practical (maps, etc.) and others are a bit more engaging and dynamic, aiming to help students develop an emotional connection to the subject matter.

How might teachers use what's there, even if it is dated?

Global issues classes in high schools will probably cover this subject matter; mine did in-depth. Some of the resources could be useful as hand outs, especially the maps. As an example, maybe over the course of a week or so of instruction, a teacher using this site as a resource could put together a lesson that stretches over the 5 class meetings, chronologically examining the roots of the second War in Iraq, stemming from the Persian-Gulf war, through Clinton's involvement, to 9/11, terrorism, Al-Qaeda being used as a pretext for war, concluding with an examination of the anti-war movement and the short course of the "traditional" war against the Iraqi military. The following week could move in to the insurgency or another related topic. Basically, I see this website as a place where a teacher looking to present the outlined events can find some extra resources that won't be in most textbooks.

A geography unit resource for teachers in middle school teaching the mandated coursework.

The National Portrait Gallery is one of the Smithsonian Museums in the DC area. The great thing about NPG is that it has resources available online for teachers. There are a variety of school programs and teacher programs but the best offerings are the online exhibitions. It is like having the gallery right there in your classroom. Some of those exhibits include George Washington: A national Treasure, Presidents in Waiting, and A Brush with History. The online exhibits are usable in the classroom directly from a computer or lap top. For example, the George Washington online exhibit begins with a famous portrait accompanied by an audio explanation of the portrait and the symbolic and historical items found within the portrait. Using the portrait as a starting point provides students with a visual association of that person and the historical events surrounding that person. There is also a link to biographical information about Washington and his role in our country's history. The Teacher's Guide associated with the George Washington exhibit includes lesson plans, activities and other teaching ideas; all printable and useable in class. NPG also offers two publications both of which are available on line. "The Patriot Papers," designed for students, features various historical events in an interesting and engaging fashion. For example, there is a "Special Edition on Slavery" featuring information on slavery and the key players involved. One of the articles in this publication is "A Chat with Harried: 1869" and also includes her portrait. The second publication, NPG in your Classroom, provides information to teachers on how to integrate NPG into classroom lessons. There are many more valuable tools on this site such as a "Reading Portraiture Guide for Educators." Check out the site….it is awesome!!!

This site is RAD! Current and Recent Events resource From the website: "Students can read the day's top stories using Knowledge Tools, take a news quiz about today's world, and play special crossword puzzles. . . . Teachers can access a daily lesson plan for grades 6-12, written in partnership with The Bank Street College of Education in New York City. Each lesson plan and the article it references can be printed out for classroom use. Previous lessons are available in the archive and in thematic lesson plan units. . . The site additionally provides teachers with the latest education news from the newspaper. "

So there aren't a whole lot of floating sticky notes on the page but this site is really cool. It's you tube...for teachers! It allows you to upload your own video's and use other teachers for your classroom. It's got educational videos, how to videos, audio files and a lot more. I think this could be a really valuable resource.

A Global Peace Studies Online Curriculum created by AU alum and adjunct Daryn Cambridge. Contains links to documents, lesson plan ideas, activities and resources. A great beginner's guide to peace education

A Global Peace Studies Online Curriculum created by AU alum and adjunct Daryn Cambridge. Contains links to documents, lesson plan ideas, activities and resources. A great beginner's guide to peace education AND offers links to news articles and a Peace Educators discussion site!

This website deals with the History of Jim Crow and has many valuable resources for teachers. The History and Geography sections of this website are quite rich in information and I think well-organized and easy to use. The website provides the in-depth essays and/or other materials to be used in the lessons. The American Literature section provides some interesting unit and lesson plans for well-known books such as A Raisin in the Sun and To Kill a Mockingbird. The Teacher Resources section provides a variety of lessons… some involve images, music, literature, simulations, etc. Quite a few seem to incorporate the PBS series The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow. Overall, I am very impressed with this website. My favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird and I think the Unit on this book is interesting in the way they link it to an integrated literature/social studies unit on the case of the Scottsboro Boys and life in the 1930s.

From the website: History Matters is "a project of the American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning of the City University of New York and the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Visible Knowledge Project. . . . Designed for high school and college teachers and students of U.S. history survey courses, this site serves as a gateway to web resources and offers unique teaching materials, first-person primary documents, and guides to analyzing historical evidence. We emphasize materials that focus on the lives of ordinary Americans and actively involve students in analyzing and interpreting evidence."

Well, it looks like a student in this group shared this in the past, but what a great website! I'll put up some more sticky notes. This website features a large number of primary source material of different media and is strong in its content. Beyond that, this site features information about the methods historians use (interesting to high school students, applicable to college students), a database of reviewed websites, lesson plans, syllabi, and teaching tips. A pretty comprehensive resource.

SO RAD! A New York Times publication for teens. SWEET! From the website: "The New York Times Upfront is published by Scholastic in partnership with The New York Times."

"The United Nations Cyberschoolbus was created in 1996 as the online education component of the Global Teaching and Learning Project, whose mission is to promote education about international issues and the United Nations. The Global Teaching and Learning Project produces high quality teaching materials and activities designed for educational use (at primary, intermediate and secondary school levels) and for training teachers. The vision of this Project is to provide exceptional educational resources (both online and in print) to students growing up in a world undergoing increased globalization." \n\n "Within the Cyberschoolbus site there are a number of activities and projects that teach students about global issues in an interactive, engaging and fun way."

Following off of my lesson plan from last week, I wanted to see what kind of resources there are for the social studies teacher to introduce the discipline of anthropology in the classroom. This website, produced by the American Anthropological Association, is a treasure trove of links to other sites regarding anthropology. You could literally search for hours on this site for potential resources, divided by both region and sub-discipline.

We might be able to use this in 542 next semester when we get into the epistemologies of each social studies discipline.

The Discovery Education website provides some really great resources for students and teachers. It can provide a nice jumping off point for one's own lessons and activities.

I love all the lesson plans. You're totally right that the plans may need some tweaking, but it's a great place to get ideas.

The Newseum site provides lesson plans for elementary, middle, and high school teachers.  The lessons focus on first amendment rights and the role of media in society.  Links to other online resources allow teachers to find supplemental materials for other lesson plans and units. The site also contains a number of primary sources.

This website has many resources for teachers that range from curriculums, to lesson plans, to videos. It is free to become a member and many of the teaching resources are aligned with state and national standards.

This website uses resources from current and returned Peace Corps Volunteers to create lesson plans to help teachers educate their students about the world. Most of the lesson plans center around stories written by Volunteers but there are some videos as well. Teachers can also request that a Volunteer visit their classroom to talk with their students.