Social Studies and History Resources

TeachersFirst has highlighted Social Studies and History sources here.  I really liked exploring the National Park site!

Google for Social Studies Folks

Richard Byrne's blog post from early September focused on Google Tools for social studies teachers. Here are his video highlights.

Gettysburg- Just the numbers

Here’s an interesting infographic with the highlights about Gettysburg. 

This was developed by TeachersFirst.

Social Studies in the Elementary Classrooms

Newsela recently posted a brief article with suggestions on implementation of Social Studies in the elementary classroom.  Maybe one of their suggestions will work for you!

Use their cases or build your own!

Want your students to use primary sources?  Eager for them find and use

evidence as they construct their arguments?  The Case Maker is for you!  

Make civics engaging using theses LIbrary of Congress resources.  

For a complete description, please see Richard Byrne’s blog post here

on Free Technology for Teachers.

It’s as if I were there

While I haven’t been to England, when I watched this CNN produced a virtual tour

of the English Parliament, I now feel I was there!  Complete with 3D images, audio,

and maps you can stroll through the houses and learn its history. Who knew there

were secret doors in the Robing Room?  For additional information, please see

the blog post from Richard Byrne (Free Technology for Teachers) here.

Social Studies. ELA, and Science Templates

Richard Byrne posted this morning on his blog (Free Technology for Teachers) about

the templates and lessons in ReadWriteThink.  Please click here to see his post.  

I have long been a fan of RWT yet sometimes I forget to check their resources.

SOS for Social Studies

In this week’s Discovery Education blog, they highlight the top ten SOS (Spotlight on Strategies) for social studies educators.  Please click the link here to see their suggestions.

Get ready for the Iditarod

Here is a site (reviewed in TeachersFirst here) from PBS Learning on the sled dogs in Alaska.  The Iditarod doesn’t start until early March, so you still have time to get ready!

Pearl Harbor

Looking for resources on Pearl Harbor?  Check out this link from Discovery Education (complete with an SOS suggestion).

Race to Discovery!

So how long did it take Nellie Bly to circle the world? (Remember she left from Hoboken and returned to Jersey City.) And how long would it take today?  Check out A Race to Discovery!  For a complete description, please see Richard Byrne's blog post here.

Longitude and Latitude

This time of the year I often see classes working on longitude and latitude.  Here’s a fun activity form ABCya where you students can practice and maybe find buried treasures.  For the complete review, please see Teachers’ First here.

Civil Rights Oral Histories

The Civil Rights History Project has collected interview from the activists of the time. Each interview also includes a transcript.  This would useful information to develop background on the Civil Rights issues.  This site is geared for grades 6-12 and you will find a complete review here from TeachersFirst.

Hamilton- the lyrics

This site (The Music of Hamilton: The Musical) contains all the lyrics from Hamilton (along with brief clips- you will need Spotify to listen to entire number).  The TeachersFirst post has several ideas on classroom integration. The site also annotates many of the lines.

Art resources for all

The Philadelphia Art Museum is not just for art- they have lesson plans for ELA, Science, Social Studies and Math!  Check out the posting on TeachersFirst.

Looking at history from both sides

I guess I have always been interested in the Egyptians.  So when I saw this TED-Ed about Cleopatra, I was intrigued.  Not only did I learn about her, but I really liked the format of the video.  A “judge” asks the questions while each side presents their view on Cleopatra.  This might be an interesting way to model student projects by looking at both sides.

新年快乐

Looking for more ways to celebrate the Lunar New Year?  Check out the various cultural resources at Google Arts and Culture. Visit Arts of the New Moon for museum trips, artwork, and those red envelopes! These images are just a few of your options.

So why is it the year of the rooster?

Here’s a way to explore the Chinese Zodiac calendar with a TED-Ed lesson (including a review and guided discussion questions).

End of the Year Quiz

In the New York Times Learning Network, they shared a lesson plan for an year end wrap up activity.  You can print out the quiz (which they will continue to update until the end of the month).  This would work best with grades 9-12.

The History Project- tell your story

Want to share someone’s life story?  Check out The History Project.  You can can create a timeline or a slideshow.  Geared for older students ( emails or Google sign in- I would think middle - high school), you can view publically shared stories or create your own.

For the complete post from TeachersFirst, please click here.