UNORef10

The National Archives' digital classroom for using primary sources. Activities and training for students and teachers. Link to another site for using primary sources, Docs Teach.

The exhibits on this site were awesome! From the Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence to the Deadly Influenza Virus or Electing a President and Democracy; these were just a few among many that met indicators on my specific grade level, so I'm sure others would work for different elementary grades. My favorite part was the Eyewitness exhibit. It has links to all important moments in US History and has video, songs, and voice recordings to bring students into that very moment in time.

This site provided a simple method called SOAP in introducing students to primary sources as well as some explicit and direct instruction examples. (S=What kind of source? O=What's the occasion? A=Who's the audience? P=What's the purpose?) Additionally, it had 10-45 minute lesson plans for implementing primary documents in topics like the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Sugar in the Modern World. It provided a variety of extra resources: children's trade books, websites, standards and skills addressed, as well as how to get students to think critically about history.

This site has links to information on some of the states. Nebraska is one of the states with a link and there is a wide variety of information included about the state.

While I directed my search to Nebraska once on this site, many of the other state sites that I checked out were really cool. I imagine upper elementary would benefit from this site for projects, but I could utilize this site in my Flat Stanley project. Flat Stanley is sent to my student's families in other states (countries) and we compare and contrast the physical geography, natural resources and climate. This site would allow me to do that while showing the students some specific historical/cultural aspects not experienced through typical research.

Over 133 links to sites with primary documents covering a variety of topics including American journeys and exploration (Lewis and Clark), Tracking Buffalo, Salem Witchcraft Trials and even some modern topics like Bob Hope and American Variety, and Immigration Today. About a dozen of these 133 links were directed towards teacher and lesson plans, so I liked that this site had so many others wrapped into one. This site also had primary documents for all subject areas: Art, Music, Math, S.S., Science, Writing, Reading, and even Physical Education. There's something for everyone here!

What a great site to explain energy. My 3rd graders learn about potential energy, kinetic energy, light and sound energy, etc. This site will provide great information and resources when I begin this Energy unit in November. With an outdated textbook, I'll rely more and more on sites like this to explain the possibilities of new energies, especially as our natural resources deplete and we rely on finding new ones or utilizing renewable resources.

What a fun site. The games were great because there were so many applications: SS, Science, Math and more. I loved seeing how the quarter was made and comparing and contrasting it to coins across the world. I've already used this site with my class, because a couple of my students filled out wanting to know more about other country's coins in the KWL for our current SS chapter. They LOVED seeing this!

The space exploration info and visuals are fantastic. Space: the sun and planets as well as daily/yearly patterns in the sky are studied second semester at my grade level and this site will be a frequent visit for my students. The research links will be great for the discovery process and increase student motivation, because they can lead their own investigations. Site works well for Geography as well.

This is a great lesson plan resource for teachers. The plans are for k-12. They range from the great depression to pod casts about Michigan. The lesson plans are printable and yes, there are answer keys for the worksheets.

This site is a wonderful way to get kids questioning about what happened in history. The site provides information to kids about what happened on a specific date. Students can understand what history is when looking up prior events. A great site to get kids questioning and investigating.

Great resources at this site for space study. A list of popular activities to do with your students and many links to follow for more in depth information. Good information given in a variety of different ways; imagines, live debates, games, video, lectures, etc...

This site is chocked full of art activities for the student artist. Examples include the study of American Folk Art then creating landscapes,create a still life like the masters, or try your hand at abstract art.

On a note of local interest for all OPS teachers, the Media Technology Center Library and the Joslyn Art Museum have worked together to provide classroom access to these historical, informational traveling exhibits. From Douglas County History to Native American History, call 557-2500 and have the trunks delivered to your classrooms to use for two full weeks. I work in this department one day a week -- and was totally thrilled to be introduced to these marvelous sets of get-your-hands-on primary sources. They can be used in primary grades through high school.

Site includes maps, pictures, thematic packets for teachers and more. Teachers are able to navagate throughout the site to access all aspects of history. Site also provides sources for professional training and outside resources. Site provides training on how to use primary sources.

Library of Congress Teachers Page, with links to using primary sources, etc. The LOC has created "Themed Resources" that include specific, common topics into easy to use sets. The combined resources include grouped primary source sets, lessson plans, exhibitions, etc. Love IT! Also provides user with pre-made LOC professional development sessions called "Teaching with Primary Sources."

This site is a service of the U.S. Government Printing Office has hundreds of U.S governmental documents sorted into the following categories: cornerstone documents, Congressional, presidential, judicial, regulatory, demographic, economic and miscellaneous. This site would be great for social studies students who are studying U.S. history, or those who are comparing our government to other countries.

This website has a list of the "cornerstone documents" from our government. Many of these documents like the Bill of Rights, Constitution, and declaration of independence are the documents our country's laws were founded on. Very easy for students to access the most important documents.

From the Government Printing office... a fabulous and most interesting collection of links to primary and "Core" government documents -- the Declaration of Independence, Presidential Papers, Supreme Court decisions, and more! Great basic resource to help you "GET TO THE SOURCE!"

This website is a great source to go to find information about Nebraska. It is the Nebraska Historical Society website. The site has many links that will lead to a wealth of information on the state of Nebraska

This internet site provides a variety of resources for learning about the state history of Nebraska. Searching through the wide historical collections online, I discovered a wealth of photographs, maps and even information about individuals and families. The society does provide a specific "Teacher Materials" link. For fourth grade Nebraska social studies standards!

This site is a national history education clearinghouse. It's beautifully designed, well organized and inviting to the user. Divided into three main sections -- teaching materials, history content and best practices. It provides reviews of history websites and collections. One especially cool feature is "Beyond the Textbook," which asks a historical question and looks at how the question is addressed by textbooks vs. historians vs. primary sources.

The Newseum is an actual brick and mortar museum located in Washington, D.C. Its website contains an eye-opening feature called "Today's Front Pages," which publishes front pages from newspapers around the world (see link on the right sidebar). Excellent source for teaching Media Literacy by demonstrating how differences in societies and cultures frame news stories differently. Especially fitting for journalism and social studies classes. Varies from many of my chosen sites because it displays current primary sources.

This website is designed for use in education and features historical documents and images of historical artifacts, mainly from early american history in New England. Super cool tool in the Just 4 Kids section is the Magic Lens -- which "translates" old cursive writing of primary documents into a more easily read font. I also found interesting the images of everyday artifacts. Excellent resource for "Thanksgiving" history.

This Library of Congress site would be fun to use as a bell work activity in upper elementary school. Each day a student could pick one event from "today in history" to share with the class. Informative with pictures!

Today in History is part of the Library of Congress' American Memory project. As the title implies, the site pulls a signicant event in history, reports about it and shows primary sources -- photos and documents -- attached to the event. The writers generally pick one or two topics for the day and elaborate on those. Excellent for upper grades.

The official kid's portal for the U.S. Government. Countless of varieties of sites and links to choose from. Wow! What a tremendous wealth of free, fun and fabulous information. To top it off. a search box is included. This site is definitely one for all kids to use for research of all kinds as well as teachers to search and utilize.

Kids.gov links over 2,000 web pages for kids. There are sites from government agencies, schools, and educational organizations, all geared to the learning level and interest of kids.

The site has separate areas for grades K-5, 6-8 and educators. Links to many school subjects. Fun stuff lists activities on many government web sites-NGA, NASA, NOAA, Smithsonian. Links to state government web sites for kids.