1626 american-history results | sort by:
return to subject listingOldNYC - Mapping Historical Photographs of New York City - New York Public Library's Milstein Collection
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): 1900s (73), 20th century (59), images (271), new york (22), photography (131)
In the Classroom
If you teach about local history, inspire students by sharing this site first, then have them create a wiki about your town! Not comfortable with wikis? Check out TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through. Get your interactive whiteboard or projector ready for this photographic journey. Share photos from different time periods as you study different eras from the 19th and 20th centuries.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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The American Civil War: Then and Now - The Guardian
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): battles (18), civil war (134), photography (131)
In the Classroom
It is tempting to scroll through the photographs quickly, but each deserves time for study and reflection. What is pictured in the original photograph? What is being communicated to the viewer? Challenge students to predict what the modern photo will show (you will need to hold the slider button to keep the photograph from changing automatically). What would Civil War-era soldiers think if they could see the modern photograph? What responsibility do we have to preserve sites like these in their original condition?Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Black History Month Resources - PBS
Grades
K to 12tag(s): black history (123), civil rights (194), cultures (132), martin luther king (43), racism (76), video (257)
In the Classroom
Explore this site for many different lessons and resources to use during Black History Month and with lessons on racism and bias throughout the year. Use lessons found here to differentiate for students of different levels. Be sure to check out the Discrimination - fair or unfair? lesson plan that is designed specifically for students who have difficulty with verbal and written expression.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Preparing For The Oath - Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): immigration (64)
In the Classroom
Share this site on a projector or interactive whiteboard as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson on US history or citizenship. Take advantage of the video lessons on this site to teach and review topics pertaining to the United States. Be sure to share with your school's ESL/ELL teacher as an informative resource for students and parents.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Earliest Voices - Michigan State University
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): biographies (93), inventors and inventions (71), oral history (14), politics (113), sound (74)
In the Classroom
Bringing early voices to life in the classroom can help connect students with these important figures from history. Do their voices sound as you expected? Along with the audio records, you'll find important contextual information about early audio recordings, and about the circumstances surrounding each speech or recording.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project - University of North Carolina Greensboro
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): afghanistan (8), iraq (27), memorial day (12), middle east (43), oral history (14), primary sources (115), terrorism (41), veterans (20), world war 1 (72), world war 2 (149)
In the Classroom
Use this archive for rich, authentic primary source material on the lives of women in the military. Consider having students, individually or in groups, choose a veteran and present her story to classmates. Replace paper reports and enhance learning by using a tool like Slides, reviewed here. Supplement classroom materials associated with a wartime era with the photographs, posters, and diaries provided here. Use these stories as part of a special focus for Veterans Day, Memorial Day, or Women's History Month. The archive would also be a particularly rich resource for students considering National History Day Projects.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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America Goes to War: an Infographic - New England College
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): civil war (134), congress (39), constitution (87), presidents (121), war of 1812 (14), world war 1 (72), world war 2 (149)
In the Classroom
Was the U.S. at war? What powers does the U.S. President have to declare war, and how have Presidents used those powers historically? A powerful, but simple infographic delineates the legal and Constitutional differences among U.S. wars historically. Share the infographic on an interactive whiteboard, or embed on your classroom website for reference.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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George Washington's Mount Vernon - Mount Vernon
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): 1700s (36), presidents (121), virginia (14), virtual field trips (80)
In the Classroom
Ideal for use on an interactive whiteboard or for students to access individually, this virtual tour has many features. You can explore the buildings, zoom in on items in the buildings, access stories and discussions that highlight features of the property and the daily lives of those who lived at Mount Vernon. Enhance learning by having students share their impressions of and questions about Mount Vernon and more with video, using a tool like Flip, reviewed here. Flip provides a means for video responses to a question along with comments from peers. There are additional links to lesson plans and other student resources.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Disability History Museum - Disability History Museum
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): character education (76), disabilities (29), primary sources (115)
In the Classroom
Use the resources here to help students talk about the role and experiences of those living with a disability. How have attitudes changed over time? What has driven those changes? Helping students understand why some people experience physical and emotional challenges, and the importance of honoring their contributions and abilities can be difficult. The resources in this archive may be helpful in sparking discussion.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NationStates - Max Barry
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): foreign policy (12), money (119), politics (113), sociology (22)
In the Classroom
Students can use this interactive individually, making connections to their choice, results, and connections to actual world events, present and past. Additionally, students can join a region and see how their decisions affect other nations. A great lesson is to allow students to run their nation according to their political views and see the results as they unfold through play. Be sure to treat this seriously as the issues presented here are actual issues that governments must deal with daily. Even making a decision within your political viewpoint can lead to results that are not anticipated. Require students to discuss their viewpoint, why they believe they are right, the resulting consequence, and how it has changed what they believe. Following the play, give time for students to research an initiative or action a country made and the resulting consequences that have resulted. Present, discuss, or debate these with the class. Allow every student in class to have a voice by using a student response system such as Infuse Learning, reviewed here, or GoSoapBox, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Wide Angle Window Into Global History - PBS
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): cross cultural understanding (157), cultures (132), maps (209)
In the Classroom
These resources and videos are extremely flexible for classroom use. Use the film clips for current events, and to also highlight events from the past. Use a video segment to get students thinking about past incidents, solutions, and whether today's environment has changed from that of the past. View a variety of clips from one theme and discuss events in the clip or use a writing assignment to provide time to process the events. Discuss in what ways these clips are similar and other societal, economic, and political factors that affected them. Use any of these videos to find any current events that are still dealing with the same issue today. Be sure to brainstorm how different people, in other areas of the world, would view these issues. Research these issues using resources from other areas of the world to see editorials and news clippings that are not American. Note: Use the country code after your search term or use this news search. Were there other people interviewed about any of these issues? Who are they and what did they say? Consider creating videos showcasing a variety of viewpoints using Typito, reviewed here. Besides the viewpoint of each video, what would be a common question that all videos within the theme have in common? How does the bubble of our American culture hamper our understanding of other people both here in the U.S. and abroad? Research the history and culture of the various areas to identify factors responsible for the themes portrayed by this resource.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Zoom In! - Education Development Center
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): american revolution (81), civil war (134), constitution (87), immigrants (33), immigration (64), lincoln (60), slavery (75), vietnam (35), westward expansion (38), world war 2 (149)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of these free lesson plans for use in teaching social studies aligned to Common Core Standards. Even if you cannot use whole lessons, browse through to find resources to add to your current lessons. Create classes and assign different lessons to different groups of students based on ability and interest. After completing a unit, have students make a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools, reviewed here.Edge Features:
Includes an education-only area for teachers and students
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Includes teacher tools for registering and/or monitoring students
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The Roosevelts - PBS
Grades
7 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): 1900s (73), presidents (121), roosevelt (12)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans offered to supplement your current lessons based on the Roosevelt family. Have groups of students complete different Snapshot Lessons then share with the class. Have students make a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Multimedia Edge tools, reviewed here. Have students use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about a member of the Roosevelt family.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Commercial Aviation - Smithsonian Institution
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): 1920s (15), 20th century (59), aircraft (16), aviation (38), flight (31)
In the Classroom
This site will work well in any social studies class. In language arts or social studies classes use a projector or interactive whiteboard and read a few entries from the Stories section with your students. Ask students to write about a flight they remember (or any mode of transportation for a trip) in the same manner as the examples. In addition, language arts or social studies teachers can use this site's nonfiction reading to help satisfy student's reading goals for the Common Core Standards.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Sutori - Thomas Ketchell, Jonathan Ketchell, Yoran Brondsema, Steven Chi
Grades
2 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): american revolution (81), civil war (134), immigration (64), photosynthesis (20), timelines (49), womens suffrage (44), world war 1 (72)
In the Classroom
Use an interactive whiteboard or projector to share timelines about historical events and more. Have students create timelines for research projects. Create author biographies, animal life cycles, or timelines of events and causes of wars. Challenge students to create a timeline of the plot of a novel. If you teach chemistry, have students create illustrated sequences explaining oxidation or reduction (or both). Have elementary students interview grandparents and create a class timeline about their grandparents for Grandparents' Day. In world language classes, have students create a timeline of their family in the language to master using vocabulary about relatives, jobs, and more (and verb tenses!). Students learn about photo selection, detail writing, chronological order, and more while creating the timelines of their choice. Making a timeline is also a good way to review the history of a current event or cultural developments.Edge Features:
Includes an education-only area for teachers and students
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)
Premium version (not free) includes additional features or storage
Includes teacher tools for registering and/or monitoring students
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The Digital Declaration of Independence - David McClure
Grades
7 to 12tag(s): american revolution (81), declaration of independence (15), franklin (10), jefferson (18)
In the Classroom
Challenge students to find other paintings depicting famous events in United States (or another country). Have cooperative learning groups create a multimedia presentation about the paintings. Create fictitious blog entries from one character in a painting to another character within another painting at another famous event. What would John F. Kennedy write to Benjamin Franklin? Assign students different roles, i.e. founding fathers, and have them use the biographies on this site to allow them to research what their role was and what their beliefs were for a debate as to whether or not to sign the Declaration of Independence.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Free Tiiu Pix - Tiiu Roiser
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): images (271), photography (131), slides (45)
In the Classroom
Bookmark Free Tiiu Pix to access images for any presentation. Create multimedia presentations for your subject or any presentation for staff or parents using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here. Be sure to share Free Tiiu Pix with other teachers on your campus.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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From Wood Cabin to White House: An Abe Lincoln Timeline - National Park Service
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): elections (80), lincoln (60), presidents (121)
In the Classroom
Have students brainstorm ideas to create a book about Lincoln's life. Use and online bulletin board like Dotstorming, reviewed here. With Dotstorming students are allowed to vote and make comments. Then challenge younger students create an online book of images and captions about Lincoln's life using Book Creator, reviewed here,. For older students - challenge cooperative learning groups (or partners) to create a similar story about another president using pictures, themes, and other prompts generated by the site My Storybook, reviewed here. To find Creative Commons images for student projects (with credit, of course), try Vecteezy, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A Journey to a New Land - Simon Fraser University Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): archeology (25), native americans (91)
In the Classroom
Include this resource as you teach about Native Americans. These peoples did not divide themselves as "Canadian" or "American," so much of the information here is applicable in a U.S. classroom as well! Differentiate for high or low students easily using the different levels of the site. The primary level requires far less reading so offers a good introduction for weaker readers or ESL/ELL students. Have students write a script and create a video or simply compose a blog post about daily life as one of the people migrating into North America (but be sure to talk about the fact that they probably did not actually know how to write). Extend learning by using a visual blogging tool such as Telegra.ph, reviewed here, for students to share their learning and understanding. With Telegra.ph you just click on an icon to upload images from your computer, add a YouTube or Vimeo, or Twitter links. This blog creator requires no registration.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Global Fund for Women - International Museum of Women
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): sustainability (44), women (137)
In the Classroom
Share stories and podcasts from Global Fund for Women on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Compare and contrast the roles of women in today's society vs. those in previous times. Enhance learning by having students use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about a woman featured on the site or as a woman many years ago. Extend learning by having students create timelines featuring strong women (with photos, text, and more) using Sutori, reviewed here. A suggestion for this project would be to use the campaign on this site titled Black History Month 2023: Celebrating #EverydayFeminists in Philanthropy.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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