This is the site that the government has created to provide the average citizen with information regarding the "stimulus plan," which is actually called the Recovery Act. I must warn you that it is NOT an exciting site; however, it is useful if teaching government or making comparisons with other economic crises. For example, there is a ticker that is updated regularly and displays the number of jobs that have been created or saved from the money provided by the stimulus package. One can track awarded funds and used funds by state, project or recipient. For example, in Washington, DC approximately 2300 jobs have been created or saved and American University was awarded and received about 2.5 billion dollars from the recovery act. As I said, it is not exciting but certainly informative.

Ooops. Make the 2.5 MILLION not BILLION.

The New Deal Network is a site that I am using in preparing my curricular unit. The site has an archive with documents such as the Fire Side Chats with President F. Roosevelt, photographs, and audio tapes. I like this site because it really takes you to that place in time so that you can see and hear what was going on in the culture as well as in the government. The site also has lesson plans and resource links for educators.

Alan, that is so funny I just posted and noticed that you too had posted this site. It's great, don't you think? I am actually using a Fire Side Chat from FDR for one of my socratic seminars in my curricular unit. There is also a lesson plan about arts and the depression that I am going to adapt for the unit.

Yesterday I had to prepare and deliver a lesson on archaeology to our grade 7 classes (Ancient World History) for my practicum. I actually used this site in my preparation. Under "Outreach and Education," there is a section called Archaeology 101 where you can get basic information on archaeology. There is also a glossary, a list of books and a list movies. They have an archive of well developed lesson plans too. However, I found another lesson plan that I modified and used that was a smash with the kids……even to toughest, roughest, hardest to reach students were engaged. If anyone wants a copy of it let me know and I can post it on our Wiki. Anyway, since archaeology applies to almost all of history, this site is quite useful.

I discovered this website while looking for information on Chinese and Japanese immigration. This website supports the newspaper Harper's Weekly that was published from 1857 to 1912. The publication reported on the relevant issues of the day such as immigration, slavery and presidential elections. Not only do they have the actual papers in their archive, they also provide summaries of some of the articles. There is a section dedicated to Immigration and Ethnic America. While there is a great deal of information on the site that is fee to all, one must subscribe to gain access to the entire site. The site also provides links to many other websites that support learning such as lessons, activities, and games. Some of their links are oriented around subjects that were relevant during the time the papers were published. There is also a featured "cartoon" of the day that is taken from the period of 1857 to 1912. It is a great resource for teachers!

Densho is an organization that is dedicated to "preserving the testimonies of Japanese Americans who were unjustly incarcerated during WWII before their memories are extinguished." The website does offer a great deal of information and document to support this mission; however, there is much more! There is a huge archive with photographs, newspaper articles from around the country, immigration documents, proof of citizenship documents, photographs of artifacts, and videotapings of interviews with the grandchildren of the first generation of immigrants. Many of these archived documents date back to the late 1800s. There is also a filter with a timeline and a glossary that is useful in understanding the events during the period of immigration through WWII and the period of incarceration. The site is a great resources for teachers and students alike!

This is an awesome sight to use for ancient world studies. By clicking on the "new site" button, you can view a virtual tour of the La Grotte de Lascaux, in France....the site in in English and offers french and spanish as well. The tour is about 6 minutes or so. Anyway, I used this for my 7th grade class yesterday and they really got into it. They had all sorts of questions about the paintings, the lifestyle, etc.

The students were surprised to be able to see something that was written by humans nearly 17,000 years ago and 3000 miles away.

Concept to Classroom is a website sponsored by the Educational Broadcasting Corporation. It is an interactive site desinged for educatotors and provides online workshops featuring a variety of teaching strategies such as cooperative learning, inquiry based learing and teaching to multiple intelligences. Other categories include workshops on constructivism, assessment, curriculum design, and using the internet in the classroom. Clicking on any of these categories, directs one to information about that topic. For example, the inquiry based learning filter will provide a description of the teaching method, benefits for using the method, criticisms of the method, and finally lesson plans using that particular method. In the multiple intelligences section, there is a series of five lesson plans on world religions I may adapt for a 7th grade class. Check it out…it is a great resource for ideas and lesson plans.

This link is a part of a school district website in the state of New York. I found it while searching for information on Socratic seminars. It is really great because it provides all the information one needs to learn about teaching the dialogue method. Informational filters include an overview, elements of a Socratic seminar, frequently asked questions by teachers and students, dialogue and behavior guidelines for using this dialogue method and suggestions for the types of readings or materials that work best with this method. If you like the idea of using the Socratic method in your classroom, you will want to visit this site.

The Center for Civic Education is website designed to educate students in citizenry, the constitution and democratic constitutionalism. The Center offers a full curriculum at all three learning levels: elementary, middle school and high school. Their materials include full lesson plans and textbooks that support their program. The lesson plans include critical thinking exercises, vocabulary lists, problem solving activities and cooperative learning activities. The program is designed so that teachers can use it to supplement an existing curriculum or as the foundation of their curriculum. My cooperating teacher is going to use parts of the program to supplement her curriculum. The lessons focus on life in American, the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, political traditions and institutions, different levels of government (local, state and federal), constitutionalism and the rights and responsibilities of citizens. The center also offers professional development seminars that are often free of charge to DC teachers. For example, on October 27th, there is a free seminar for DC teachers on "We the People Through Primary Sources and Documents" being held at the National Archives….they even provide a free lunch! Here is the direct link to the professional development page: http://www.civiced.org/index.php?page=state_programs&&p=101&&st=DC.

Laura, that is funny....we seem to like the same sites. It is an awesome sight...and the program is awesome too. Do you have a set of the books? Good luck...I hope that works out for you!!

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is significantly more than just a museum and it is arguably the most thorough site on the Holocaust as well as other acts of genocide. Just reviewing the website and all that it offers can take several hours. Through the education filter, teachers can find complete information on how to teach the Holocaust or other acts of genocide. For example, the site offers online lessons, teacher workshops, essential topics, teaching resources, lesson plans, activities, and a list of common student questions. USHMM site suggests 5 guidelines for teaching the Holocaust, which include defining genocide, investigating the context and dynamics that led to genocide, understanding parallels to other genocides and analyzing American and world responses. A function that I find very useful and interesting is the "Mapping Initiative" filter where one can learn how to use Google Earth to view a Darfur Layer file. This file provides comparisons of before and after views of villages impacted by the ongoing events in Darfur. There is also a section of photographs, videos, and testimonies. In addition the USHMM maintains an archive consisting of wide variety of documents including photographs and films. Lastly, if field trips are a possibility, admission is free and there is a special children's exhibit called Remember the Children: Daniel's Story.

The Holocaust History Project is a website dedicated to presenting information about the Holocaust. The site is an archive of primary sources including letters, essays, photographs, and much more. There is an incredibly compelling text and audio presentation of Heinrich Himmler speech to a secret meeting of a group of SS officers in 1943. Himmler's speech tells part of the story of the Holocaust. Any of the material on this site could be used to support a unit or lesson on the Holocaust. The site also has a "Q & A" section listing all the questions they are received and answered over the years. One can also submit a question on the "Question Form." As an activity, students could develop questions based on research and submit those questions. There are also several Youtube entries that could be used along side the information found on the Holocaust History Project Website. While there are many to select from, I found this one to be quite moving….check it out.on www.youtube.com. The title of the movie is 8. The Holocaust History Project. The movie ends with a sign that states "Think about what you saw."

The Valley of the Shadow (also called the Valley Project) website is a part of the Virginia Center for Digital History at the University of Virginia. The material in the site documents the lives of two communities during the Civil War period; one community from the South and one community from the North. The site is an online library or an archive filled with primary resources such as letter, diaries, census records, government records, newspapers, speeches, maps, images and other materials. The site contains thousands of documents. The archive is divided into three sections: The Eve of War (Fall 1859-Spring 1861), The War Years (Spring 1861-Spring 1865), and The Aftermath (Spring 1865-Fall 1870). An example of one such document is a letter written in August, 1864 by a young militiaman to his parents telling them that he is well and that he will be sending home his pay. I have added a few lines because I find it so interesting and compelling. The letter comes from a camp near Petersburg. Dear Parents it is with the Greatest of Pleashure that I seat My self to inform you and My Brothers and Sisters that I like it well and am well feal Hartey like ite beter now than Ever I did I hope that youens Ar all well and all the Rest about [unclear: tomstorm] ile now state to you that I Received your Letter last Knight And was Glad to here from youens And was glad to here that Youenes wasened yet dissturbed By The Johneys Rebes you Stated in your letter that tha Wes moveing every thing out Of Town now if tha wold be men tha wold take In the same document but another page, the young man writes about his pay. Read this letter we ar getting Paid off to day I draw 1.20.10 that is one hundrad 20 dollars 10 cts Ile ex press 1 hundrade 10 dollars and mebbey fifteen dollars I dont want to ceep so mutch money here I cend it to you and if you want to make youse of it whi you may get the Chirldren wat ever tha want that is in the eating line And Close but you must be A littl

I ran out of room in the box above.....anyway, I am not certain what the citation rules are regarding this but I found the letter on the website that I have bookmarked, The Valley of the Shadow. Anyway, it is a great site….there is soooo much more.

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!!!

The Newseum offers a variety of resources for teachers including detailed lesson plans with worksheets, free tours for DC studetns and their chaperone, professional development opportunities for techers and educational classes for students and on topics including the First Amendment, Berlin Wall, Woodstock, and headlines of history. The lesson plans are thorough and easisly adapted. I am going to adapt one of their lesson on the First Ammendment called "You Can't Say That?"

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.

BrainPOP is an interactive instructional tool that uses animated characters, Tim & Moby to introduce and illustrate content material for social studies, math, science, English, arts, health and technology. The interactive resources include quizzes, movies, timelines, and activity pages. Other resources include lesson plans, classroom tools, curriculum calendars, research and much more. Some of what they offer is free. Unfortunately, there is an annual fee for most of their material. My practicum school uses this program extensively. The students really like using this program and actively engage in the material. At the moment, BrainPOP is featuring a segment on "American Indians" and "Digital Citizenship." If you go to this location, you will find a free movie on the civil war. http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/freemovies/civilwar/

This site is sponsored by the U.S. Government, Census Bureau. It is speicfically designed as an educational resource for students, teachers and schools. The Census Bureau will provide lesson plans, maps, worksheets and other educational material free of charge to any teacher.

I observed my cooperating teacher using this site (Census in Schools) for a 6th grade geography class. The students responded positively and were actively engaged in the lesson. The students were able to work with their own individual maps while exploring and answering essential questions. The site also has information and materials appropriate for all other grades. I think that this site could also be used for U.S. History since the first census orginiated for the purpose of creating a representative government.

This site was designed to provide resources for teaching landmark supreme court cases. It is orgnanized by cases or concepts. One can also find a variety of applicable activities for the classroom.

"The Learning Center" is a website developed and sponsored by The New York Times. The site has links for teacher, students and parents and is designed for grades 3-12 . The link for teachers has many tools for classroom use such as lesson plans, conversation starters, daily news quiz, workd of the day, and discussion topics.