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This webquest consists of studying original historical documents about WWII. Comparing the teen reader's life to that of various wartime heroes draws the reader into real history. The webquest then proceeds to have users do related extensive reading about WW II and then work as a team. Members of the team each have a different role in the research and project completion project: home-front historian, propagandist, counselor, and omnium gatherum. The ultimate question of what truth is and whether the truth is the same to every person becomes the final focus of those who tackle this challenging and well-done quest.

Use this team approach while studying WW II. If you do not have enough time to do teh full webquest, consider adapting some portion of it. If you teach both Seaparet Peace and research, this is an ideal activity to bridge form one unit to the next, and teach about primary sources in the process.

Time Magazine created this site to commemorate the centennial of powered flight in fall, 2003. Predictably, the site relies heavily on the rich archive of Time-Life photos from the early twentieth century. There are also articles and commentary on many aspects of the growth of commercial and military aviation.

Teachers will find both history and science connections at this site.

This site from the Library of Congress takes a detailed look at the variety of peoples and civilizations that were thriving on the American continents before they were "discovered" by the Europeans. The content includes native peoples of the Caribbean, Mexico, South America, and North America. Try this one as a counterpoint to a traditional explorers unit, or as part of a study of the Maya, Inca, or other native cultures.

Experience the charm, excitement, and innovation of turn-of-the-century America with this delightful trip back through time to the St. Louis World’s Fair. This impressive site pays homage to this monumental event, held to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase. Visitors can take a birds-eye virtual tour of the fair and explore over 20 of the structures, investigate “the Pike”, and check out many of the innovations and oddities found along the way. The historical significant of the fair and its effect on American culture is also discussed. The period photographs, alone, make this a valuable resource for a unit on the Gilded Age or Progressive Era.

This site, based on an exhibit from the American Holocaust Museum, uses the 1936 games as a starting point for a visual synopsis of the evolution of the Nazi regime, with a particular focus on its racial and ethnic policies. The result is a succinct, though stark, introduction that should be useful for many students. The site features an online exhibition with video clips, pictures, and articles of interest.

Use this site to spark a discussion and study of the role of the Olympics in politics and foreign policy (especially during an Olympic year as an extension of your study of current events). You may want to share some of the video clips on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Why not have a class debate about the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

Who better than AARP to present a multimedia overview of 1968 "The Year That Rocked Our World"? Even if some of us don't want to admit it, 1968 is history now, and current students have a fascination for this time period. This site contains a very comprehensive interactive timeline, with an event for nearly every day of that tumultuous year. The "Pop Quiz" is based on the timeline and could be a good follow-up exercise to a small group review of the timeline. In addition, there are audio files and interviews from musical stars from 1968. This site requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

This site would serve as a good introduction to a study of the 1960s, and plays well on an interactive whiteboard or projector. In addition, groups of students could explore the site individually as a resource for research on the time period. Have cooperative learning groups create a multimedia presentation about one of the topics presented at this site or become specialists on this or another decade of the 20th century for whole-class comparisons. How about having students create a podcast using Podomatic (reviewed here). Or create an online book about the topic using Bookemon (tool reviewed here). Another idea: have students narrate an authentic (and legal to use) photo using Voicethread (reviewed here). The possible classroom ideas are endless!

This is a fascinating oral history project, created by Rhode Island high school students and Brown University, which documents individual recollections of the turbulent events of 1968, from the war in Viet Nam to assassinations and political upheaval. Written texts as well as audio files make the information available using any browser. Great discussion starter; can also be used as a reference for more detailed study.

Play these interview within your own classroom to supplement text or lecture material about Vietnam, Civil rights or Women's Rights. Play the interviews over the interactive whiteboard or projector, allowing students to follow along with the transcripts for better comprehension. One way to assess what students are hearing and learning from the interviews is to have students create an online graphic to share using Tabblo reviewed here. This would be an excellent resource for a US history course.

This intriguing site has the user choose an “answer,” and then the computer asks 20 questions trying to determine what your answer is. The answers to the 20 questions aren’t just YES or NO; they also include SOMETIMES, PROBABLY, IRRELEVANT, and others.

When you arrive at the site, click your language (there are MANY languages to choose from). Enter your gender, age, and location (optional). Then choose the “game” you wish to try. Some are more commercial (Disney, The Simpsons, or Star Trek). Others have educational value (Harry Potter, Earth, or Classic, Famous people). This is a fun and challenging activity. There are disclaimers that the "game gets smarter" the more you play because the game compiles facts over time. It is involving and fun to play. The site does include some advertisements.

Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Teachers could have students research a person, place or thing and then use their research to play twenty questions against the computer. It could also be used as review if posted to the class wiki and then completed independently by students at home. Use this as a first day or first week activity, have students try the 20 question game about names and see if the computer can figure out their name. Use the Earth activity for geography practice in cooperative learning groups or as a class activity. In world language classes, choose the appropriate language to practice vocabulary about animals and other categories of information. As a culminating project in any class, have students create their own 20 question activity and quiz the class! You will be teaching HOTS (higher order thinking skills) as students use classification to create their questions.

Use a clickable national map to analyze the 2006 races for governor, senate, and house in all 50 states. See recent polling data, historical trends, and even predict outcomes to see their impact on Congress as a whole. You can save your "scenarios" for future reference. Note: you must join the New York Times online (FREE), a valuable resource for any classroom. You can make one account, and multiple computers can log in at once. Just don't forget your user name and password!

Although this resource was created for the 2006 election, the background information is valuable for teaching about elections in general and for comparing elections as part of U.S. history.

This would be a great site to visit repeatedly throughout the ramp-up to the election. It would be terrific on an interactive whiteboard. You could also assign students to create their own log-ins and generate their own scenarios. based on their own research (encourage ownership!). Then compare their predictions with the actual results. Or role-play groups as they present their scenarios in Republican (or Democratic) National Committee budget meetings and decide strategies.

If it's a college, why doesn't it have a football team? Unfortunately, that's about the level of understanding about the Electoral College among many students. Once student learn that we don't really elect presidents by popular vote, many are also quick to condemn the Electoral College as "stupid" or "unfair." This site might help teachers put the Electoral College and the process we use to determine our president into sharper focus. The interactive map is fairly simple, but can be adapted to show the peculiar way that "all or nothing" Electoral College voting state by state can affect the outcome of an election. We need look no further than the most recent 2004 election to see its impact in real terms. Users can highlight a particular state and get a historical view of electoral votes for the republican or democratic candidate in past presidential elections. Although the site will have usefulness beyond the 2008 election, it is currently featuring the progress of that race through the primaries and beyond with polling data.

Be aware: during election season, this site opens slowly. But it is well worth the wait. There is advertising on the site, but it is fairly unobtrusive. This website requires Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

Use the site on an interactive whiteboard to illustrate the impact of Electoral College voting on the election of the US President, both today and in the past. Perhaps we will finally raise a generation who completely understands the Electoral College and how it works!

Developed by folks in York, PA, which was the nation’s capital during part of the Revolution, this site presents information on the Articles of Confederation, this country’s first constitution. Included are sections on history, people, the text and explanation of the document, and an education section complete with lesson plans. This site is suitable for grades 7-12 and works best with Flash Player and Quick Time.

A site which explores the discoveries of women around the world and long ago. Here's a great starting point for those who may not realize the extent of women's contributions through the ages.

Looking for a simple way to teach note-taking skills? This wiki web site provides a template and simple instructions for taking notes Cornell style. The template contains a 4 section layout that includes a section for demographics such as name and topic, a section for simple, bullet-style notes, a section for review questions based on the notes and lastly, a section for a summary. Simple and easy - a tool every student can benefit from utilizing.

Special Ed teachers will find this system quite helpful for their struggling students. Consider teaming up with content-area teachers to require it of ALL students! Teachers may want to use the template in their own graduate coursework, as well.

Major events in 20th century history are presented in this impressive CNN site. Visitors can select an era, choose an event, and read a brief synopsis. The video gallery offers a collection of riveting clips, including the Oklahoma City bombing, the Great Crash of 1929, and the fall of Saigon. Follow the link to a Time Magazine site to find special reports on life-changing events that have taken place over the course of the past eight decades. This is an outstanding supplement to a 20th century American history class.

This site requires FLASH. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

This collection of first-person accounts, reflections, and musical offerings makes an interesting retrospective on the September 11 attacks, and one that classes can listen and react to together. These recordings could offer a variety of ways in which to focus a discussion of those events.

How has American life changed since September 11, 2001? This collection of short, reflective videos captures the thoughts and reactions of dozens of individuals, from all walks of life, who ponder the effect of "the tragedy that shook the world." Click on the "video synopses" link to learn about the background and content of each clip. A great primer for class discussions.

This American History survey site from the Annenberg Project was created as a companion to the video series of the same name. The chief resource avialable is a collection of transcripts of the programs. There are also timelines, discussion questions, and far fewer images than one would imagine in such a project. This could be a resource for discussion ideas on American history topics or an introductory survey for a student searching for an independent study project.

The possibilities for this site are virtually limitless. Open the site on the interactive whiteboard or projector and select one of the many topics that is applicable to your unit. Teachers can play the video for students to review material, use the map to provide something for visual learners can connect to, or use the time-line to guide student learning. This is really an amazing tool for teachers trying to utilize technology in the classroom!

This site examines the "Cold War" events that led to the construction of the Berlin Wall, life behind the Iron Curtain, stories of escapes, the political changes that brought about the wall's demise, and what life is now like for those who no longer live behind the Curtain. Includes period photographs and a gallery of art work from the East side. Also available in German and French.

The New York City Historical Society offers this retrospective on the growth and development of New York City. First home to thousands of immigrants, the growth of New York was a mirror of American development in the 19th and 20th centuries. Great supplement to any study of American history during these time periods.