A Colonial Tour from TeachersFirst: Boston
Boston was the largest of the colonial New England cities, and it became a focal point for opposition to English policy toward the colonies. Paul Revere, the Boston Tea Party, and the Boston Massacre have all become famous as elements leading up to the break from English rule.
Boston is still a major city with many historical and cultural attractions. There are all sorts of things to see. The links below will help you find the places that were important during the colonial period.
Photo Credit: Image: 'Paul Revere at Old North Church'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36935554@N00/25381092
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Young Ben Franklin - Gen-Z Media
Grades
4 to 12
tag(s): colonial america (95), constitution (87), declaration of independence (15), franklin (10), inventors and inventions (71), podcasts (73)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the many free materials available on this site to engage students when learning about Benjamin Franklin, American History, or inventors. Adapt the choice and explore boards to fit your student's interests and abilities. For example, replace the timeline on the choice board with one created using MyLens, reviewed here. If time isn't available to complete the entire listening guide, copy individual slides to use as part of a listening or writing center. As a culminating activity, extend learning by asking students to use the podcast as a model for researching and learning about other famous Americans. Have them share their learning as part of a multimedia presentation created using Canva Docs, reviewed here or by creating a comic strip presentation using Canva's Comic Strip Templates, reviewed here.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Africa in the K-16 Classroom Online Resources - Boston University African Studies Center
Grades
K to 12tag(s): africa (137), continents (32), countries (69)
In the Classroom
Add this excellent site to your other resources for teaching about the continent of Africa. Consider using a curation tool such as Milanote, reviewed here, to organize your ideas and projects into one location. Add links, notes, images, and more onto one Milanote vision board to make it easy to find and view your resources and ideas. As you implement and teach lessons found on the site, ask students to share their learning using multimedia presentation tools such as Sway, reviewed here, and Adobe Express for Education, reviewed here. Find culturally appropriate images for student use at Fresh Folk, reviewed here, and Unsplash, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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CurriConnects Booklist: Award Winning Books - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): authors (103), book lists (161), independent reading (85)
In the Classroom
Develop your students' love of reading using these fabulous books. This collection could accompany a unit about famous authors and texts. These books provide experience with both fiction and nonfiction informational texts. This list is ideal for book reports or projects. Allow students (or partners) to choose their own book. Challenge students to create presentations or small group projects to share their story. Share this list with your school library/media specialist or public library, as well, for them to "pull" books in support of your units.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Rootbook - Rootbook
Grades
2 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): creative writing (122), digital storytelling (141), interactive stories (21), narrative (15), writing (315)
In the Classroom
To use Rootbook and save work, students will need an email account. If students cannot have their own email accounts, consider using a "class set" of Gmail sub-accounts, explained here. This will provide anonymous interaction within your class, and you (as the Gmail account holder) will be able to go into each Rootbook account to check progress. Begin by choosing a story and reading it as a class. Give the students scratch paper to create storyboards and have them continue the story. Then collect the papers and have them write their continuation again on someone else's paper. Next, ask students to end the story and switch again, and write their ending on this new paper. Doing this will help younger students understand the "branching" story line. If students are sitting in groups of four, they can just rotate the papers around for this activity. When students want to create their story on Rootbook, be sure to have them upload an image for the cover first and plan the story using a graphic organizer! As subject matter for stories in any curriculum area, tell a science story, such as the life of a butterfly or a history story such as what happened (and could have happened) at the Boston Tea Party.Comments
Offers skill development for teachers after not teaching language for yearsEllen, VA, Grades: 0 - 12
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Mighty Book - Mighty Book
Grades
K to 3This site includes advertising.
tag(s): alphabet (51), independent reading (85), preK (254), sight words (23), songs (44), video (257)
In the Classroom
Use this site for learning as a whole group, learning centers, or individual laptops for reinforcement or enrichment. First, introduce Mighty Book on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Since there are extensive ads, you may want to bookmark or create shortcuts directly to the activity you want children to use and avoid having them get "lost" in the many links that take you off the site. Share the songs and discuss the lyrics and what they are teaching. Use this site in art class to introduce famous artists to even the youngest of learners. After listening to the jokes, have students make up their own jokes. Poems with activities offer a kinesthetic approach to poetry. Songs about colors and the days of the week catch your auditory learners. Share this link on your class website for students to explore (and enjoy) both in and out of the classroom.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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50th Anniversary of JFK Assassination - Associated Press
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): kennedy (19), presidents (121)
In the Classroom
This site represents a good "quick access" point for photos related to the JFK assassination. Use them to illustrate a discussion of the event, or consider asking students to analyze the perspective presented in the photos. What is the photo communicating? How have these photos influenced the way we remember this important event? Students might be asked to compare the photographic "evidence" that was part of the investigation of this crime with the resources that are available today when a similar incident occurs. For example, how is this documentation different from that which was used to identify the Boston Marathon bombing suspects? In English class, use the photos as prompts for students to write informational texts about the Kennedy Assassination in journalistic or historic styles. Since there is such fascination with the Kennedy assassination, you could use this as a chance to discuss purpose and audience, writing to spin the same information several ways.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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History for Kids - history-for-kids.com
Grades
K to 6This site includes advertising.
tag(s): boston (10), california (16), dinosaurs (39), england (50), gold rush (15), greece (26), landmarks (18), myths and legends (21), olympics (40), romans (33), vikings (10)
In the Classroom
Make history (and mythology) come alive in your classroom with a little rhythm and rhyme! Use the poems to supplement your instruction while even adding tambourines, clapping, tapping, or toe tapping reaching all learners. Share the actual poem on your projector or interactive whiteboard. If you want students to have a hard copy of the poem (to use as a study guide), print it out. Otherwise, save paper and share the link on your class website. If you can't find the history or mythology topic you are studying, it is time for your students to make their own rhymes. Enhance learning by having students use the formate for one of the History for Kids poems and create their own poems with photos and images using Elementari, reviewed here. This tool allows adding audio and text to a picture. To find Creative Commons images for student poems (with credit, of course), try Pikwizard, reviewed here. Have a poetry day featuring what you have studied in history. Be sure to add your students' projects to your class website or blog. Gifted students will enjoy the challenge while struggling learners will enjoy the reinforcement of the main ideas.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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H.S.I. - Historical Scene Investigation - College of William & Mary School of Education
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): american revolution (81), atomic bomb (9), civil rights (194), civil war (134), constitution (87), jamestown (7), mysteries (19), primary sources (115), slavery (75)
In the Classroom
You might want to do the first investigation as a class using your projector or interactive whiteboard. Have students help analyze and annotate the information they are learning from the primary sources, using Fiskkit, reviewed here. This way you can also point out different points of view on the topic so students will know to look for this in other investigations. In your blended or flipped classroom, have students complete investigations before beginning any complementary unit. You, your gifted, or more technology inclined students could use these investigations as a model to enhance learning and create inquiries into any unit of study. Use a tool like Site123, reviewed here, a free and easy web maker, to share a project such as this. Have students "become one of the people" in the historical event and put together a online poster or another mutimedia tool of their choice using a site such as Genially, reviewed here, portraying that person and justifying their point of view. This could be done in small groups where each student, or partners, portrays a different (or opposing) character in the event and tells the story from their point of view, citing the evidence to justify that point of view.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Primary Research: Bring History Closer to Home - Primary Research
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): history day (40), local history (14)
In the Classroom
Provide this site to students who are considering group History Day projects, and it will surely encourage creative ideas. Consider adapting one of the projects to your local area for an entire class, or for a group of students looking for additional challenge. Why not make the projects even more interactive, by having students create multimedia projects. Have students narrate a photo using a site such as ThingLink, reviewed here. Have students create online books using a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here. Challenge students create using a site such as Powtoon, reviewed here, and share them SchoolTube, reviewed here. "Map out" your local history using a tool such as MapHub, reviewed here. The project possibilities are endless!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Baseball Physics Fun Stuff - bostonbaseball.com
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): baseball (33), temperature (35)
In the Classroom
Excite your students about physics using this simple site!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Freedom Trail Map - TeachersFirst
Grades
3 to 8tag(s): boston (10), colonial america (95), map skills (56)
In the Classroom
Share this and other sections of the TeachersFirst Colonial America tour as part of your study of the colonies so students can see what these historic locations look like today. Project the map on an interactive whiteboard, and use the tools to highlight interrelationships between important Colonial Boston sites.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Paul Revere Biography - Paul Revere Memorial Association
Grades
3 to 8tag(s): boston (10), colonial america (95)
In the Classroom
If you teach Johnny Tremain, you should include this site as a resource connected to the historical novel. Or share this as one of several sites for student reports on colonial times. Share this and other sections of the TeachersFirst Colonial America tour as part of your study of the colonies so students can see what these historic locations look like today.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Midnight Ride - Paul Revere Memorial Association
Grades
3 to 8tag(s): boston (10), colonial america (95)
In the Classroom
Share this and other sections of the TeachersFirst Colonial America tour as part of your study of the colonies so students can see what these historic locations look like today. Get an interactive whiteboard and treat your class to the informative interactive "ride."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Freedom Trail - Boston National Historical Park
Grades
3 to 8tag(s): boston (10), colonial america (95)
In the Classroom
Share this and other sections of the TeachersFirst Colonial America tour as part of your study of the colonies so students can see what these historic locations look like today.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The U.S.S. Constitution Museum - U.S.S. Constitution Museum
Grades
3 to 8tag(s): boston (10), colonial america (95), constitution (87)
In the Classroom
Share this and other sections of the TeachersFirst Colonial America tour as part of your study of the colonies so students can see what these historic locations look like today. Share this as one of several sites for student reports on colonial times.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Charlestown Navy Yard - Boston National Historical Park
Grades
3 to 8tag(s): boston (10), colonial america (95)
In the Classroom
Share this and other sections of the TeachersFirst Colonial America tour as part of your study of the colonies so students can see what these historic locations look like today.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Character & Social Responsibility Curriculum Resources - Boston University
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): character education (76), ethics (23), social skills (22)
In the Classroom
Teachers will want to explore the lesson themes in detail; each introduces many possibilities.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Center for Character & Social Responsibility - Boston University
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): behavior (43), character education (76), ethics (23), social skills (22)
In the Classroom
Find several lesson plans for stories such as Charlotte's Web, The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe, among others in PDF format.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Paul Revere's House
Grades
3 to 6tag(s): american revolution (81), boston (10), evolution (85), massachusetts (8)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a way to provide more information about one important character in history, Paul Revere. Take advantage of the free activities in the "Just for Kids" section. There is also a biography offered that could easily be read aloud by students from the interactive whiteboard or projector. This would definitely be a great resource for a US history class studying colonial America.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Tour the Ship Constitution - U.S. Navy
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): american revolution (81), boston (10), evolution (85), massachusetts (8), navy (8)
In the Classroom
This one would be great for a study of the American Reovolution, the navy, or the role of the sea in the formation of the nation.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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