TeachersFirst's National History Day Resources
Other TeachersFirst Special Topics Collections
Whether your students actually compete in National History Day or not, the annual themes and the challenge of hands-on, primary research wrapped into the History Day project format is an engaging way for students to participate in their own learning and produce rigorous, meaningful projects they will never forget. This collection of TeachersFirst resources pulls from our offerings on primary sources -- a requirement in the national history day competition. Check the official National History Day site at the start of each school year for the specific theme of the year. Then search TeachersFirst for more resources related to that year's theme. Explore and share these offerings as you plan a "history day" type event for your school or to assist students participating in National History Day.
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Social Studies Foldables - Susie Orr
Grades
4 to 8
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Find downloadable pdfs and templates to support US History social studies curriculum. An extensive list of offerings includes items from maps to events to documents etc. The site also...more
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Find downloadable pdfs and templates to support US History social studies curriculum. An extensive list of offerings includes items from maps to events to documents etc. The site also includes limited suggestions on how to use the offerings. There are also links to other maps at this carefully documented site. Scroll down to see the letter from the person who created the originals, as the "Read Me First" note suggests.
tag(s): abolition (6), american revolution (36), bill of rights (20), black history (32), colonial america (80), declaration of independence (7), history day (9), inventors and inventions (88), louisiana purchase (7), maps (160), native americans (32), politics (52), presidents (76), slavery (41), states (144), washington (19)
In the Classroom
Even if you do not have time to explore all the offerings, check the list of activities often to enrich your background information on U.S. historical events and people and your lessons. Search for templates or maps that are useful to what you are currently studying.
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The Civics Connection - Lou Frey Institute
Grades
9 to 12
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This series of 16 short videos with former members of Congress includes related teaching materials on topics about "the inner workings of Congress, legislative-executive branch relations,...more
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This series of 16 short videos with former members of Congress includes related teaching materials on topics about "the inner workings of Congress, legislative-executive branch relations, landmark public policies, political parties and interest groups, campaigning for Congress, and the relationships between Congress and the public." Word documents are available for download, including teacher manuals, student handouts, and more. Free teacher registration is required to access some components so the Institute knows how many teachers are using the materials. The topics align easily with high school, AP, and college courses on U.S. government. The streaming video files are .ogv format. They are not on YouTube, however, so should be accessible inside school filters.
tag(s): branches of government (18), congress (16)
In the Classroom
Explore these videos as primary source interviews on government or as entire lessons for your government classes. Have students research and generate their own explanations of some of the tensions in government using video clips and the various primary sources offered with each clip. If they are adept with technology, they can use a tool such as Online Converter, reviewed here, to download a video clip-- with proper credit, of course -- and use an excerpt in their own classroom "newscast" or investigative story on their chosen topic. Downloaded videos should not be used in online projects, since this would be a copyright violation.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Our Documents - National Archives
Grades
6 to 12
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This site, a collaborative effort among the National Archives, National History Day and USA Freedom Corps, highlights the most important documents in US history. Each of these "milestone"...more
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This site, a collaborative effort among the National Archives, National History Day and USA Freedom Corps, highlights the most important documents in US history. Each of these "milestone" documents is detailed and photographed on a separate page; the photo can be enlarged for presentation on an interactive whiteboard. What is most helpful for teachers, however, is the link to tools for educators: a downloadable sourcebook, suggestions for using the documents to meet specific national social studies, economics, English, arts, civics, history, geography and technology standards, and lesson plans. This site was clearly designed with teachers in mind!
tag(s): history day (9), primary sources (44)
In the Classroom
The use of primary sources in teaching has been greatly increased by our digital access to documents like these. Peruse the list of "milestone" documents, and commit to using the photographs on an interactive whiteboard (or projector) when the document comes up in a lesson or discussion. For teachers who are supporting student projects for National History Day, this site also has a link to specific tips, although it appears the site has not been kept up to date with current information on individual competitions. Challenge cooperative learning groups to investigate one of the documents and create a multimedia project of their choice. Looking for some inspiration? How about having groups create a podcast using PodOmatic (reviewed here). Or have students create online posters on paper or do it together as a class using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard (reviewed here) or PicLits (reviewed here). Have students narrate a photo of the document (using a FREE and LEGAL photo) using a site such as Voicethread reviewed here.
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Virtual Jamestown - Virtual Jamestown
Grades
6 to 12
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In commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, this site offers a terrific set of resources on the Jamestown colony. There are lesson plans, videos, animations,...more
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In commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, this site offers a terrific set of resources on the Jamestown colony. There are lesson plans, videos, animations, and searchable documents. A searchable database of indentured servant records brings students closer to the lives of real people who lived in early American colonies. The virtual view of the fort at Jamestown has much greater impact than a picture in a book, and it allows students to feel as though they are really exploring the fort. One section of the site is devoted to the Native American perspective on the settlement of Jamestown.
tag(s): colonial america (80), colonization (7), jamestown (13)
In the Classroom
The zoomable maps and rotating views of Jamestown artifacts would be effective on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Plan a day to explore together or with partners to find out specifics about the colony. The site also contains a large volume of primary source documents that could be used for students doing research on Jamestown, or in History Day projects. Have students use a tool such as Woices (beta) (reviewed here) to share the location of Jamestown and what they learned. Woices allows students to create audio recordings AND choose a location (on a map) where the story takes place.
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Annenberg Classroom - NPR/NY Times
Grades
6 to 12
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This collaborative website focuses on controversial contemporary issues, including juvenile justice, eco-topics, gun control, women's rights, voting rights, civil liberties in war,...more
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This collaborative website focuses on controversial contemporary issues, including juvenile justice, eco-topics, gun control, women's rights, voting rights, civil liberties in war, and affirmative action. Help students understand the role of the news media in a democracy. This website combines the radio broadcast resources of Justice Talking and written articles and features from the NY Times Learning Network. Lesson plans corresponding to each "hot topic" offer social studies, language arts, and science teachers opportunities to connect the real news with topics in their curricula. A glossary of words important to the democratic process and a link to the Constitution with a "what it says, what it means" feature allow students to understand authentic sources as well as historical references. "In Their Own Words" (accessible from the Site Guide) provides primary source documents and statements from each of the three branches of government, from the press, and from schools.
tag(s): civil rights (58), ecology (113), radio (17), women (79)
In the Classroom
Use this site to help students explore the branches of government in action as they address a "hot topic." Have groups of students listen to real broadcasts and analyze the issues as examples of the constitutional concepts you are studying. Make this link available from your teacher web page while studying the Constitution, the branches of government, and many other social studies topics. Use your interactive whiteboard or projection screen to share a video or audio clip to spark discussion on an issue or activate your lesson. Then, divide your class into teams and have a class debate about the issue. Have students prepare a pro/con wiki using links to the primary sources to support their position or create their own podcast commentaries with support for their opinions.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Digital Roman Forum - University of California, Los Angelos
Grades
6 to 12
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Here you will find a digital model of the Roman Forum as it appeared in 400 A.D. Are you ready to travel back in time? Take the virtual tour of ...more
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Here you will find a digital model of the Roman Forum as it appeared in 400 A.D. Are you ready to travel back in time? Take the virtual tour of the Roman Forum! This massive site is part of UCLA's Rome Rebuilt program. Using the Timemap feature, the button above the first paragraph, allows you to view the ruins, and the model at the same time. A very cool aspect of this feature is as you click and rotate the upper picture, which is the virtual model, the lower picture, which is the present day ruin, will rotate, too, and you will see a 360 degree panoramic view of both the old and the new. Clicking on the Timemap also allows you to search by Primary Source (Cicero, Festus, etc.), by Function (Religious Structures, Residential Buildings, etc.), and by Types (columns, arches, etc.).
tag(s): architecture (45), forum (16), latin (19), romans (14)
In the Classroom
You may want to investigate the first feature with the entire class using your interactive whiteboard or projector for annotations to show them how to get around on the site. Then allow the students to play with and study the Roman Forum model and ruins in the Timemap area at a designated station in your classroom, or on laptops with a partner. Once all students have become familiar with the Roman Forum features, have small groups choose one to investigate, starting with one of the primary sources listed on the site When the student or student groups complete their investigations, have them create an online, interactive poster known as a "glog," using GlogsterEDU, reviewed here, to share their findings.
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TeachersFirst Resources for Baseball Season - TeachersFirst
Grades
3 to 12
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Looking for a way to include baseball in your teaching? Whether it is time for Spring Training or the World Series, browse these options for curriculum connections to engage the ...more
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Looking for a way to include baseball in your teaching? Whether it is time for Spring Training or the World Series, browse these options for curriculum connections to engage the sports fans in your classroom.
tag(s): baseball (37), statistics (77)
In the Classroom
As spring or the World Series approaches, look to this collection for connections between your curriculum and baseball. Invite students to create their own baseball-related activities using the concepts you are studying right now: math word problems, scientific analysis of baseball physics, baseball writing ideas, or primary source interviewing about baseball.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Go For Broke National Education Center - Go For Broke National Education Center
Grades
9 to 12
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With the number of World War II veterans dwindling each year, today's students may not have had the opportunity to speak directly to a World War II vet. This site ...more
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With the number of World War II veterans dwindling each year, today's students may not have had the opportunity to speak directly to a World War II vet. This site provides video oral histories from Japanese American World War II veterans. There are some short video clips available for any site visitor, but access to the majority of the archive requires registration. Consider registering under your email address; however, be aware that you must agree not to share your password to the site. The site requires RealPlayer to view the videos. The link to the "learning center" provides additional resources for teachers using the archive.
tag(s): japan (56), japanese (37), oral history (8), veterans (8), world war 2 (117)
In the Classroom
Sharing a video clip from a Japanese American World War II veteran would be useful in a discussion of the lives of Japanese Americans during the war. Share the video clips on your interactive whiteboard or projector. While many were sent to internment camps, others served honorably in the US military. Students who are doing research would also find these archives useful, provided they are able to register and gain access. If you can research and find your own World War II vet, consider connecting with them in person of via Skype reviewed here. Skype allows you to make FREE phone calls from computer to computer anywhere in the world. If you have students working on history day projects, this site can demonstrate the power of primary sources.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Radio Diaries - National Public Radio
Grades
6 to 12
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This site provides a large, indexed database of first person accounts and contemporaneous accounts of important eras and events in history. Primary sources can give the sense of "you...more
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This site provides a large, indexed database of first person accounts and contemporaneous accounts of important eras and events in history. Primary sources can give the sense of "you are there" that can make history come alive. They can also give valuable insight into the context and culture of a time and place remote from our own. Without the interpretation, summarization, and dilution that comes from textbook accounts, these narratives are invaluable to understand history in its purest sense. Search by time period or general topic and get speeches, diaries, and eyewitness accounts. Use the "Voices" tab to access audio recordings (requiring RealPlayer). Use the "History in Motion" tab to view film clips (requiring Flash). SnapShots provides photo montages from recent history. The home page is updated regularly to include "this month in history" features, a photo of the week, and a list of new entries to the database. A collection of the audio essays ("Teenage Diaries")draws on the experiences of a diverse group of teens who describe their lives, what's important, and what they're thinking. It's fun to browse and explore, but there is also a comprehensive index if you're searching for something in particular. One downside is the liberal use of moving advertising that can be distracting. This website requires Flash and RealPlayer.
tag(s): writing (288)
In the Classroom
This is a fabulous resource for augmenting generic textbook accounts of history with primary source material. Whether we like it or not, our students are more visual than we were; they will love the film clips and photo montages from recent events. Use these on an interactive whiteboard or projector for full impact (although the film clips are fairly small to maintain resolution). If you teach social studies, this is a site you'll want to bookmark and visit often. English teachers will want to use the teenage diaries as inspiration for creative writing assignments, or even as a source of ideas for college admissions essays. Challenge students to create their own visual complements to the audio essays using a tool such as GlogsterEDU, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Geography of Slavery in Virginia - University of Virginia
Grades
4 to 12
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The University of Virginia has collected the 19th century ads for runaway and captured slaves and indentured servants covering the period between 1736 and 1803 into a digital archive....more
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The University of Virginia has collected the 19th century ads for runaway and captured slaves and indentured servants covering the period between 1736 and 1803 into a digital archive. This searchable data base reveals a rich archive of information about daily life in Virginia, including geographic detail, the habits, appearance, clothing, and behavior of slaves and indentured servants, and general cultural attitudes of times regarding slavery. The site also offers commentary and resources helpful in understanding the database.
tag(s): primary sources (44), slavery (41), virginia (17)
In the Classroom
Students will certainly gain a more concrete and visceral understanding of attitudes toward slaves when reading these advertisements. The concepts are not necessarily Virginia-specific! Use some of the "personal profiles" to help students get to know one of the runaway slaves or servants more intimately. Have students review the diary entries of slaveowners to cut through our modern interpretations of what plantation owners thought or believed. Use these primary sources to guide a frank discussion on the role of slavery in Virginia and the South prior to the Civil War. The site is also an important resource for students doing research on antebellum Virginia.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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National History Day - National History Day
Grades
6 to 12
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No national social studies competition carries more respect than National History Day. Each year a new theme leads students to delve into primary research on local, regional, or national...more
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No national social studies competition carries more respect than National History Day. Each year a new theme leads students to delve into primary research on local, regional, or national issues and events. This site is the home page for the competition, complete with all materials and information needed to participate. Whether you choose to hold a History Day event within your school or to compete against others, this site will get you started. Use this site in combination with TeachersFirst's collection of History Day Resources.
tag(s): history day (9)
In the Classroom
Whether you choose to hold a History Day event within your school or to compete against others, this site will get you started. Make this a permanent link on your class web page or share it with your gifted enrichment specialist for a curriculum connection to challenge any student.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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American Labor Studies Center - ALSC
Grades
5 to 12
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This site offers a collection of lesson plans, videos, photographs, songs, timelines, and other documents about the history of the labor movement in the U.S. The documents are a compilation...more
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This site offers a collection of lesson plans, videos, photographs, songs, timelines, and other documents about the history of the labor movement in the U.S. The documents are a compilation from many prestigious sources including the Library of Congress, the National Archives, labor history from individual states, and labor museums. Click topics to explore such as Using Songs to Teach Labor History, Black Labor History, Women's Labor History, Religion and Labor, and several others.
tag(s): labor day (3)
In the Classroom
Offer a lesson from this site when planning student projects for National History Day or in conjunction with Labor Day. Use this site to have students compare labor issues in several states. Show students a timeline of labor history from one area and have them create a similar one for their own state or region using a site such as TimeRime reviewed here. Show selected videos (on your interactive whiteboard or projector). Share authentic photographs from this site when discussing employment topics or the history of unions. This site can also provide context when reading literature based in the Great Depression or industrialization era.
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Teachinghistory.org - National History Education Clearinghouse
Grades
6 to 12
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This is another incredibly rich site, so much so that it's difficult to know where to start in describing it. Designed to be a resource to those teaching history, the ...more
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This is another incredibly rich site, so much so that it's difficult to know where to start in describing it. Designed to be a resource to those teaching history, the site is divided into three main areas: teaching materials, history content, and best practices. The teaching materials section includes reviewed lesson plans, teaching guides, and a searchable index of state standards. The history content includes website reviews, multimedia resources, links to museums and historical sites and other resources. The best practices section looks at how one thinks as a historian, advice on using primary sources, and tips for those teaching history. There are brief video introductions to the site focused on different instructional levels (elementary, middle school, and high school). Tucked in the corners is a weekly history quiz, video interviews with historians, and an NHEC blog.
tag(s): history day (9)
In the Classroom
While the "history content" section of this website contains resources that might be directly usable in the classroom, there is much more here for the teacher to use in preparing lessons, learning more about topics of interest and in infusing the teaching of history with more primary documentation and historical thinking that has been past practice in a traditional social studies classroom. There is also a focus on the limitations of mass produced text books, and guidance on helping students begin to question what they find in those text books as historians. Altogether, this is a very rich resource and should be in regular rotation among your "go to" bookmarked favorites.
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A Very Old Place - N Bosch
Grades
6 to 12
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Created by a former elementary gifted education teacher, this is a blog that focuses on primary source documents and websites. Because it's a blog, the site has a series of ...more
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Created by a former elementary gifted education teacher, this is a blog that focuses on primary source documents and websites. Because it's a blog, the site has a series of keywords down the right margin, and features dated entries about various topics. Like other "old places," it's made to explore, noodle around in, and generally lose yourself. While the site might not necessarily be a great resource to students themselves, teachers will find it fascinating and possibly inspiring for teaching ideas and student projects, all using primary sources. Inspire a love of history with the "things" that bring it to life.
tag(s): primary sources (44), resources (69)
In the Classroom
Add this site to your Favorites and use it for an ongoing source of ideas and interesting websites to bring into the classroom and to explore. Challenge students to make a digital collection of "primary source" materials about your school or local community as they come to appreciate the value of such documents and artifacts through a historical eye.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Spy Letters of the American Revolution - Clements Library, University of Michigan
Grades
4 to 12
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This fascinating site is based on an exhibit of American Revolutionary spy letters from the William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Gallery of...more
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This fascinating site is based on an exhibit of American Revolutionary spy letters from the William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Gallery of Letters provides a brief description of each letter and links to more information about the stories of the spies in the letter or the secret methods used to make the letter. This site is rich with primary sources, taking students back in time!
tag(s): evolution (88), primary sources (44)
In the Classroom
The use of spy letters shows students a different perspective of the Revolutionary War. Have your students use the information about the spies and write a biography. Add a little mystery to your classroom and have students write spy letters from the perspective of people on each side of the war. Have students use the images and information from the site and create a poster using Glogster reviewed here. Post the letters on an interactive whiteboard or projector and use the letters in an English class to discuss letter writing, grammar, and sentence structure. The whiteboard tools can be used to highlight and annotate. Several more examples of fun activities including writing with disappearing ink can be found in the Teacher's Lounge.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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PrimaryAccess - Curry School, University of Virginia
Grades
5 to 12
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Primary sources are a must in teaching social studies. How can you get students to dig a little deeper with these sources and use them to tell their own stories? ...more
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Primary sources are a must in teaching social studies. How can you get students to dig a little deeper with these sources and use them to tell their own stories? PrimaryAccess provides a platform for students to use primary sources to construct their own slide show movies, story boards, or rebus stories. The tools provided here are powerful: students can assemble pictures and text, and then assemble the information into comic strips or story boards and add a sound track, movie effects, "thought bubbles" and more. You can upload your own class set of primary source images and more for classes to work with. You can also search the site for projects other teachers have completed and shared. Log in as a guest to see a sample of the work that can be created.
tag(s): movies (51), primary sources (44), slides (20)
In the Classroom
See the various support documents under Documentation. Although many web tools are completely intuitive, this one is unique enough to go more smoothly if you glance at the how-to information long enough to see how the interface works. Try logging in as a guest to see examples of what students will see and try the tools. Be sure to explore the various tabs for Start, Script, Find, Narrate, etc. Then log in as a teacher and explore some of the projects already created by other teachers. Start with one of those and add/delete images and more, then assign the project to a class or individual students. You have the option of including your Flickr collection of photos, so you can easily create a local history project using primary sources right from your community. Plan to have student volunteers demonstrate how to access/use the tools on your interactive whiteboard or a projector before turning the class loose. Finished, published projects can be seen from your teacher menu or by URL.Browse the sample projects created by others for inspiration. Use the site yourself to create "movies" of historical images as you introduce a unit on projector or interactive whiteboard, then assign students to create their own. These summaries or introductions will help differentiate instruction for low-level readers or English language learners. Create class assignments and track them easily using a teacher account. Some possible projects: the story of your town, a civil war history through the eyes of a slave child, an advertisement for a time-travel "trip to the Roaring Twenties," or anything your imagination (and your students' imaginations) can generate. Be sure to share finished projects with parents and others by URL and collect the URLS for published offerings on your class wiki or blog so others can see them and respond.
Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Includes teacher tools for registering and/or monitoring students
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CSI: Cemetery Scene Investigation - Enhanced Learning Center
Grades
6 to 12
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Every town has cemeteries. What can these places tell us about the history of our community, the history of our country, and the cultural customs of different historical eras? All ...more
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Every town has cemeteries. What can these places tell us about the history of our community, the history of our country, and the cultural customs of different historical eras? All these questions are explored in this website. A fabulous example of what a motivated and inspired class of students can accomplish with a great idea. This group of gifted students decided to tackle local cemeteries as primary source material. The website is the story of their exploration, including their journals, the history of cemeteries, the history of burial customs, information about decoding old burial markers, examples of their grave rubbings; everything down to proper etiquette for visiting a cemetery. Included are teacher resources to help inspire you to undertake a similar project. The site serves both as a good resource itself, but is more valuable as an example of how to design a similar exploration for your own students.
In the Classroom
Use this site to create your own class project on cemeteries in your local area. Visit the "Schedule" link to learn how to follow this example in your own class. Visit the "Teacher/General Resources" link to learn more about exploring history cemeteries and more. If your class doesn't have the time to do one of these explorations on your own, take advantage of the information provided at this site. Have cooperative learning groups explore specific areas of this site and create multimedia projects about famous burial sites, weathering, preserving cemeteries, cemetery horticulture, or one of the other many topics provided. Have groups of students narrate a picture using a tool such as Voicethread reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Cuban Missile Crisis - Avalon project
Grades
8 to 12
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Lists of primary sources, spanning the Cuban Missile Crisis. ...more
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Lists of primary sources, spanning the Cuban Missile Crisis.
tag(s): cold war (16)
In the Classroom
Primary sources could be used to teach both the content and historical thinking skills in your classroom. Divide students into 5-6 groups, with each group assigned a different primary source to read and evaluate. (Sources should come from various perspectives to make the game more interesting, but should have the same general topic) Have the groups present quick summaries of their source to the class, making sure to mention who the author is and whether or not there could be bias. After all have presented, have each team pick a representative to argue in front of the class as to why their source is the most reliable and valid. After all have made their argument, have the class vote off the least reliable "survivor style" until you are left with just one!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A Family Farm Album: The Photographs of Frank Sadorus - Illinois State Museum
Grades
3 to 12
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Take a journey through the life of Frank Sadoras. This site has a wonderful collection of photographs and biographical documents that chronicles Frank's life growing up on a farm in...more
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Take a journey through the life of Frank Sadoras. This site has a wonderful collection of photographs and biographical documents that chronicles Frank's life growing up on a farm in Illinois from 1898-1912. By using this site, you and your students will get a view of what life was like growing up on a farm as well as the photographic techniques Frank used to take his photos.
tag(s): agriculture (35), genealogy (3), photography (93), primary sources (44)
In the Classroom
This site is a good site to use if you want to introduce more primary sources into your teaching. There is an extensive activities and resource section that covers the topics of photography, history, farming and genealogy. In addition, the PDF entitled the Turning Point would be a good resource to use in a lesson on narrative writing. Share the photos in art (or photography) class on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Have students create blog entries from the perspective of Frank Sadorus. Use the pictures for creative writing exercises. Why not have a photo of the week and have students write a short piece on the class wiki about what they feel the picture represents, what is happening in the photo, what the animal or person was doing/thinking in the photo, or whatever else is applicable in your class. Do you want to learn more about wikis? Check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.
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Memory Share - BBC
Grades
2 to 12
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On this site, students can see a variety of time lines that partially describe people's memories. Memories show up through the timeline, through a keyword, or through an individual...more
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On this site, students can see a variety of time lines that partially describe people's memories. Memories show up through the timeline, through a keyword, or through an individual url address. The archive of memories begins with 1900. For example, a page on the year 1968 yields information about a radio program popular that day. You can add your own memories to further describe the year 1968. Adding your own memories does require registration. Registration requires a member name and password, no private information is required. If you elect to have students use the site to share memories, we recommend that you follow guidelines on the TeachersFirst Edge Tips about memberships, schools policies, and safety.
The general site describes itself as a "gathering" of viewers' memories. Therefore, many of the events in Memory Share are personal, not global events. To begin, you click on the left side to select a particular year. Then scroll around a circular spiral which contains the memories others have submitted. To read a specific memory, you click on the "blob" on the spiral which represents the memory. The site also allows for storage of video memories. Both the written and the video memories are filed by keyword so they can be compared to other memories containing similar terms.
Since this site has content generated by the public, always preview information before you share it with your students!
The general site describes itself as a "gathering" of viewers' memories. Therefore, many of the events in Memory Share are personal, not global events. To begin, you click on the left side to select a particular year. Then scroll around a circular spiral which contains the memories others have submitted. To read a specific memory, you click on the "blob" on the spiral which represents the memory. The site also allows for storage of video memories. Both the written and the video memories are filed by keyword so they can be compared to other memories containing similar terms.
Since this site has content generated by the public, always preview information before you share it with your students!
tag(s): 20th century (9), timelines (31)
In the Classroom
Explore others' memories to gain a sense of a time period such as the 1920s, asking students what the memory tells then about life during that time. Have students interview an older family member or neighbor and add one of their own significant memories to the Memory Share site. This is also a great site to have students record holiday memories and favorite family holiday rituals. Use the site to explain what a primary source is, as well. Use memory writing as a way to practice sequencing skills and general narrative writing, publishing the final products on a timeline (protect identity, of course!). Have students create a timeline of their own memories concerning major world events such as the election of the first African American U.S. president. Share this link on your class website for students and parents to use together.
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