Group items tagged

History Channel interactive "place-the-state" game.

This site is, overall, a little boring but it does what it's supposed to do. Sometimes getting students interested in geography is tricky but this game could increase student interest. Students will select a level, then drag and drop the states to their correct location on the map. There could be a little more information about each state (just to increase the amount of learning) but this is generally a good, basic, online learning game.

Ok so this is not as ridiculous as the last video I posted I swear (but it's still a little ridiculous). This guy performs a rap about Alexander Hamilton in the character of Aaron Burr. Definitely a way to make learning about an important man a little more fun. Probably only for high school students though as there's some minor language in it.

This is the awesomest thing I've ever seen. Ever. I s just too good.

As another tough topic to tackle in the high school social studies classroom, this multimedia-based PBS lesson plan aims to help students grades 9-12 understand the difficulties encountered by US soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Television, internet, and many other factors have changed the way we view war and receive our veterans. The lesson plan examines the conditions faced by troops returning from not just Iraq and Afghanistan today, but also from Vietnam and World War II. Like the other collection of lesson plans I posted earlier, this is material that can be a little bit emotional, especially for students who have a family or friend connection to veterans.

Say what you will about Harry Truman, but his library website has a vast cache of social studies links and resources, organized by topic. Some of the items go beyond social studies and into the realm of homework help and other teaching strategies. You may need to a dig a little bit to find exactly what you are looking for, but you can probably somehow get to it from here.

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.

Abraham Lincoln's Bicentennial! This year is the year of Lincoln and Lincoln has hundreds of books written about him. What is very interesting about this thesis, however, it takes on a global history perspective. I bet you never thought Lincoln mattered that much outside of the United States? In honor of the bicentennial, I couldn't resist posting at least one resource on the man. I also enjoy the fact that it is a podcast. Podcasts are the future and teachers need to embrace the possibilities. Enjoy.

This is a bit of a comical website but I think it could be a fun way to seem cool to the students, while actually teaching them, covert learning. If your kids are into twitter, you can post these on the board or pass out copies in the beginning of class for a warm-up. I wouldn't have them view the actual site because the comments get a little inappropriate. You would certainly need to use discretion. Sometimes teachers need to seem like real people and if I was in high school, I would think a teacher that used this was cool.

NYT's Celia Dugger examines the quality of education for South Africa's majority black population. 15 years after the election of Nelson Mandela and the official end to apartheid, the nation's school system remains a bastion of inequality.

FBI's youth website. Probably designed to entice kids to want to be in, support and trust the FBI. Some very cool stuff (no lesson plans). Check out the super rad "History" link!

Article from the Washington Post that discusses the downward turn in applicants to schools like St. John's College where the emphasis is on a broad liberal education. Students at St John's don't choose a major and receive a broad education with very little in the way of job training. It raises an interesting debate about learning for the sake of learning, rather than learning with an objective (job placement, test scores, etc).

Mental Floss is a magazine that gives a very...quirky view of the world. It introduces little known facts and information that we might not have sought to find in addition to providing us well known facts and information in a new and usually very different perspective. This link is to the "Geography Challenge" an online quiz that extensively tests ones knowledge of the world and could serve as a fun way to present the world.

I will probably spend hours at a time playing map games. Save me from myself........

This website has a lot of Russian history resources - I know I didn't cover a lot of Russian history in school, and it's a topic that I could use a little help in. Primary resources are also available.

One more interesting website with lots of resources on the history of Ireland and its people; this specific site I've tagged is yet again regarding the potato blight. It some more images that could be used in the classroom.

The History Place is a privately-run website that provides content to educators on a wide variety of historical subject. I have included this section on the Irish Potato Famine, as it was one of the more compelling narratives I found on the internet.

GREAT introduction to water as a scarce resource.

This is a two-part posting relating to Rosh Hashana, which starts at sundown today (September 18th). It began as an attempt to find out which school districts officially recognize the holiday. Unfortunately in most searches I come up with a variety of disturbing, virulent comments about having to recognize "minority" holidays, etc.