Curriculum Materials Center
Livingston Lord Library

Carol Sibley, Curriculum Librarian

Social Studies

• Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids—Ben Franklin guides K-12 students as they learn about the U.S. government.  The "Site Map" provides an alphabetical list of topics and grade levels.  (http://bensguide.gpo.gov/index.html)
  
  
• Best of History Web Sites—Includes K-12 lesson plans and activities, maps, and many other history sites for teachers and students.  (http://www.besthistorysites.net/index.shtml)
  
  
• Biographical Dictionary—Contains brief biographical information on some 27,000 people from ancient times to the present.  Also includes some ideas for teachers and links to other biographical-related sites.  Search by name, keyword, or date.   (http://www.s9.com/biography)
  

• Biography Maker—Provides detailed steps to assist you in writing an exciting biography.  (http://fno.org/bio/biomak2.htm)

• Chronology of US Historical Documents—Provides full-text to important historical documents and speeches from the Magna Carta to the 21st century.  Created by the University of Oklahoma College of Law.  (http://www.law.ou.edu/hist)

• Earth Calendar—Celebrate every day by finding holidays by date, country, or religion.  (http://www.earthcalendar.net/index.php)  

• EcEdWeb: Economic Education Web—Provides lesson plans and activities about economics for teachers of grades K-12.  Also includes ideas for integrating the Internet into the teaching of economics.  Sponsored by University of Nebraska at Omaha Center for Economic Education.   (http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/teach.htm#dir)
   
• Emuseum@Minnesota State University, Makato—Visit a 63-room virtual natural history museum to find information on anthropology, archaeology, and ancient history. Includes information on Minnesota history. For lesson plans and teacher resources, go to 3rd floor. Designed by students in the Anthropology Department at Minnesota State University, Mankato. (http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/index.shtml)

• Explore the Constitution—Provides the text with explanations of the U.S. Constitution, plus facts, basic governing principles, and more.  (http://www.constitutioncenter.org/explore/Welcome/index.shtml)

• 50 States—Provides information on all fifty states of the U.S., as well as commonwealths and territories. (http://www.50states.com)
   
• Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History: For Teachers and Students—Includes modules, primary documents, images, speeches, quizzes and much more.  (http://www.gilderlehrman.org/teachers/index.html)
  
  
• Go West Across America with Lewis & Clark—Join Lewis and Clark on this interactive expedition.  (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/west)
  
  
• Grolier Online: The American Presidency—Click on "The American Presidency" section for background on the presidency and up-to-date articles on the 2004 presidential race.  (http://go.grolier.com)
  

• The History Channel—Provides a vast amount of historical information mostly related to the programs on the History Channel. Includes a section on "This Day in History," famous speeches, and a section on classroom projects. An "Exhibits" section includes text and photographs on special topics, such as the history of skyscrapers. (http://www.historychannel.com/index.html)

• Historical Maps of the United States—Numerous maps provided by the University of Texas Libraries at Austin. (http://www.lib/utexas.edu/maps/histus.html)

• Justice Learning: Teaching Materials—An innovative, issue-based approach for engaging high school students in informed political discourse.  Uses audio from the Justice Talking radio show and articles from The New York Times.  Lesson plans start with contemporary issues and then relate them to historical context.  (http://www.justicelearning.org/teachingmaterials.asp)

• Learning Page of the Library of Congress—Includes historical collections of documents, motion pictures, photographs, and sound recordings of events, people, places, decades and eras, and topics in the history of the United States. Also includes some lesson plans and activities. (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/index.html)

• Lesson Plans and Resources for Social Studies Teachers—Dr. Marty Levine, Professor of Secondary Education, California State University, Northridge (CSUN), has gathered lesson plans and resources from the Internet which social studies teachers will find useful. Includes lesson plans and resources at both elementary and secondary levels. (http://www.csun.edu/~hcedu013/index.html)

• Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery—This PBS site provides photographs, timelines, maps, journals, and other documents to integrate into units on Lewis and Clark.  Also includes a "Classroom Resources" section with lesson plans and activities.  (http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark)
  
  
• The Library of Congress Presents America's Story from America's Library—Provides young people with information on the U.S., including biographical information, history, sports, pastimes, and entries for each state.  Includes letters, diaries, maps, photos, digital materials, and much more.  (http://www.americaslibrary.gov/)
  
  
• Minnesota Historical Society: Visual Resources Database—Searchable database of 180,000 visuals about Minnesota history.  Includes photos, artwork, and posters.  (http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources)
  
  
• National Archives: Educators and Students—Provides primary source material related to U.S. History, including both test and images.  Includes activities and lesson plans to integrate primary sources into the social studies classroom.  (http://www.archives.gov/education)

• National Geographic—Includes a vast amount of information for science and social studies, including simulations, interactive lessons, and a special site for young students entitled "Kids—Features and Fun." (http://www.nationalgeographic.com)

• NCSS (National Council for the Social Studies) Online—The mission of the National Council for the Social Studies is to provide leadership, service, and support for all social studies educators. The site includes the curriculum standards for social studies, lesson plans, and Internet links and resources categorized by the ten themes of the curriculum standards.  (http://www.ncss.org)

• National Women’s Hall of Fame—Includes short biographical entries on women and their contributions to the United States.  (http://www.greatwomen.org)

• Newshour Extra—PBS nightly news show site for students.  Includes lesson plans.

  (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra)
   
• Social Studies Sources—Maintained by Professor Red Risenger of Indiana University to provide information useful to K-12 social studies teachers. Includes easily searchable categories, including general history, government/politics, geography/culture, world history, news sources, global/international studies, cultural diversity, and U.S. history. (http://education.indiana.edu/~socialst/)

• Teaching African and African American History and Culture in the 21st Century—Provides both elementary and secondary level lesson plans on African and African American history and culture. To access the lesson plans, scroll down to the bottom of the page. (http://www.phila.k12.pa.us/ll/curriculumsupport/aastudies/afr-lessons.html)

• Teaching with Historic Places—Uses properties listed in the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places to enliven history, social studies, geography, civics, and other subjects. Provides lesson plans and virtual field trips to historical sights. (http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/)

• Thompson Gale Free Resources—Provides biographical information, timelines, and activities for teachers in on the following topics: Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Women’s History Month, and poetry.  (http://www.gale.com/free_resources)

• UNICEF Voices of Youth—Provides a meeting place for children around the world to learn about global issues and share in electronic discussions. (http://www.unicef.org/voy)

• University Archives/Northwest Minnesota Historical Center—Provides a guide to collections in the Moorhead State University Archives and Northwest Minnesota Historical Center.  Also includes a bibliography of materials, including web sites, on Minnesota history and an on-line exhibit of the 1997 Red River Valley flood.   (http://www.mnstate.edu/archives/)
  
  
• US Cities—Play games (matching, concentration, word-search) to help remember the capitals of each state.  (http://www.quia.com/jg/297.html)
  
  
• Using Primary Sources on the Web—Helps students locate and evaluate primary sources on the web.  The site includes practical information as well as links to many primary source sites.  (http:/www.lib.washington.edu/subject/History/RUSA)
  
  
• Virtual Renaissance: A Journey through Time—Travel back in time virtually to experience the Renaissance period. Includes text, maps, images, chronologies, lists of references, and teaching units.   (http://www.twingroves.district96.k12.il.us/Renaissance/VirtualRen.html)

• Weekly Reader Galaxy—Provides sections for kids, teachers, and parents. Includes updates to articles published in Weekly Reader as well as related Internet links. Also contains games and activities. (http://www.weeklyreader.com/)

• Welcome to the White House for Kids—Learn about the current U.S. president and his family, as well as presidents and vice-presidents of the past. Includes a virtual tour of the White House and a virtual library of documents. Also available is a quarterly newsletter geared toward elementary age students. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/index.html)
  
  
• What Was It Really Like to Live in the Middle Ages?—An exhibit with much detail about life in the Middle Ages.  (http://www.learner.org/exhibits/middleages/)
  
  
• World FactbookProvides detailed facts and maps for the countries of the world.  (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook)
  
  
• Xpeditions Atlas: Maps Made for Printing and Copying—Provides over 1800 printable black-and-white maps.  Also includes lesson plans and activities along with the U.S. National Geography Standards.  (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas)
  
  
• Zillions: Consumer Reports for Kids—Helps young people make informed consumer decisions and develop consumer literacy.  Includes archives of tested products.  (http://www.zillions.org/)

Last modified 07/2/08 by selzler@mnstate.edu                         
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