2707 social-studies results | sort by:
return to subject listingMission US - Thirteen
Grades
4 to 8tag(s): 1800s (72), abolition (7), american revolution (81), evolution (85), great depression (28), immigrants (33), immigration (64), slavery (75), westward expansion (38), world war 2 (149)
In the Classroom
This is a must for any social studies or US History class. If you are remote or hybrid teaching, besure to read the section for usng Mission US while learning at home. Start by checking out the teachers area so you can follow the progress of your students. Use the demo game on an interactive whiteboard or with a projector to introduce it to your students. Once classes are set up have your students work in cooperative groups and work their way through the activities. There are wonderful teacher resources available including models for instruction, tips, instructions and student handouts. Resources are available in both PDF and Word so you can customize the worksheets for your students. This feature is great for differentiating materials for various student levels. When all students are done with a Mission, enhance student learning and have a class discussion about what side they chose and why? Consider using a backchanneling tool such as Yo!Teach, reviewed here, which allows all students a chance to voice their opinions (even the shyest and quiet ones). If your class is remote learning, for the discussion, extend learning by using Flip, reviewed here; require them to comment (politely) on their peers choices and reflections.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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ImageBase - davidniblack.com
Grades
K to 12tag(s): images (270), photography (131)
In the Classroom
ImageBase provides a great place for students to find pictures that can be used to communicate information. Find pictures about a particular topic. Keep this site as a reference on your class web page for any time students are creating wikis, blogs, or electronic projects where they need images. Create collages, projects, and more with these high quality pictures. Use images as blog prompts or illustrations in student projects. Have your students create an online "scrapbook" using Smilebox, reviewed here. Find images of locations you are studying in world cultures or geography class. Find images to use in student online projects using Bookemon, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Vector Kids - Rick Larson
Grades
1 to 6tag(s): addition (128), capitals (15), division (98), flash cards (42), fractions (159), money (119), multiplication (122), subtraction (109), vision (45)
In the Classroom
Introduce the site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then allow students to explore on their own. Share a link to the site on your class website or blog for students to practice at home. Practice with the flashcards as an alternative to traditional hand-held cards. Use this fabulous practice site in your math and social studies lessons.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Global Education Collaborative Ning - Global Education Collaborative/ Lucy Gray
Grades
K to 12As an FYI, TeachersFirst/The Source for Learning is a partner in the Global Education Conference effort -- another free, non-profit effort to support teachers and students using technology effectively for THINKING and learning.
tag(s): cross cultural understanding (157)
In the Classroom
Mark this one in your favorites to use for inspiration and connection as you plan upcoming units. You can join for free -- requires email. Just click "Sign up" in the upper right. Then tiptoe in or take a plunge. If you have been looking for ways to connect your classroom with others across the country or around the world, this is a great place to start. If you have never participated in a Ning, just click on the various headings to find your way around.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Jackie Robinson-Breaking Barriers in Sports and in Life - Scholastic & Major League Baseball
Grades
4 to 8Every year, people across the country pause on April 15 to celebrate the historic event that marks the anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball in 1947. Use this educational unit (in PDf format) to bring the significance of Jackie Robinson's legacy to your classrooms. Although Breaking Barriers centers around an essay contest, you may choose to simply use the ideas to offer and assist your students in learning opportunities to teach them values that will enable them to face their own barriers and express themselves in written form. There are lessons, printables, book lists, videos, and more that align with language arts, math, and social studies national standards. The link to the videos is at the top of the second page.
tag(s): baseball (33), civil rights (194), sports (77)
In the Classroom
Share the video of Jackie Robinson's daughter, Sharon Robinson, on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Listen to her personal story of her famous baseball player Dad's courage, determination, integrity, and persistence to break the color barrier on and off the playing field. Use an online tool like bubble.us, reviewed here, to replace paper and pencil and engage students in whole class brainstorming of some of the real life barriers that students face today, and then lead into a blog writing activity for students to think about how to use Jackie Robinson's values to face and overcome barriers in their own lives. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, again, exchange paper and pen and have students create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Site123, reviewed here. If you are teaching younger students and looking for an easy way to integrate technology and check for understanding, again, change out paper and pencil and challenge your students to create a blog using Edublog, reviewed here. Whether you are celebrating the anniversary of Jackie Robinson Day, Black History month, a unit on courage and heroes, or introducing these concepts anytime during the year, the downloadable and whiteboard ready materials will increase the richness of your class discussions and broaden students' understanding of how to make a difference in their own lives and the lives of others.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Great Inventions, Great Inventors - edinformatics.com
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): inventors and inventions (71)
In the Classroom
Find information for science and technology reports on this site. Allow students to view the dates of many of the inventions to determine what scientific principle was just known to push technological thinking. For younger students, create a timeline of inventions to enhance learning and determine the impact of science, economy, and society on inventions. Use a site such as Sutori, reviewed here, that can include images, text, and collaboration. Ask older students to choose an invention and research other forms of that model, alternatives before and after, and what we are using today. Discuss environmental impacts, how the invention changed society, and other impacts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Cool Earth - Mark Ellingham
Grades
K to 12tag(s): carbon (15), climate (80), ecology (100), environment (240), sustainability (44)
In the Classroom
Introduce this site by sharing photos on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students explore this site independently or in small groups. Include this site on a list of hotlinks for students to access when researching the Rainforest, climate change, sustainability, or carbon footprints. Save this site in your favorites on classroom computers for students to view rainforest maps, ask questions, or read magazine articles. Enhance learning by asking students to visit the site and create an interactive multimedia presentation from the information they learn there using Sway, reviewed here. Register your school with Cool Earth and take advantage of the free lesson plans and resources they offer. The ultimate experience would be to personalize student learning and sponsor a tree or organize a fundraiser to purchase an acre of land. Ask students to research their tree, or the biome biodiversity characteristic of their acre. Include a link to this site on your class web page for students to access both in and out of class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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lino - Infoteria Corporation
Grades
K to 12tag(s): bulletin boards (14), collaboration (87), collages (20), creative fluency (5), creativity (92), DAT device agnostic tool (143), gamification (74), note taking (34)
In the Classroom
Use this tool easily in your Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) classroom since all students will be able to access it for free, no matter what device they have. Students can use this when researching alone or in groups, sharing files, videos, and pictures quickly from one computer to another. Have students write tasks for each member of the group on a sticky so that everyone has a responsibility. Show them how to copy/paste URLs for sources onto notes, too. Use lino as your virtual word wall for vocabulary development. Use a lino for students to submit and share questions or comments about assignments and tasks they are working on. Use it as a virtual graffiti wall for students to make connections between their world and curriculum content, such as "I wonder what the hall monitor would say finding Lady Macbeth washing her hands in the school restroom... and what Lady M would say back." (Of course, you will want to have a PG-13 policy for student comments!) Encourage students to maintain an idea collection lino for ideas and creative inspirations they may not have used yet but do not want to "lose." They can color code and organize ideas later or send the stickies to a new project board later. In writing or art classes, use lino as a virtual writer's journal or design a notebook to collect ideas, images, and even video clips. In science classes, encourage students to keep a lino board with (classroom appropriate) questions and "aside" thoughts about science concepts being studied and to use these ideas in later projects so their creative ideas are not 'lost" before project time. A lino board can also serve as a final online "display" for students to "show what they know" as the culmination of a research project. Add videos, images, and notes in a carefully arranged display not unlike an electronic bulletin board. This is also a great tool to help you stay "personally" organized. Use this site as a resource to share information with other teachers, parents, or students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Online Egg Timer - SengaServ UG
Grades
K to 12tag(s): classroom management (128), experiments (52), preK (254)
In the Classroom
This site will be great to use with a projector or whiteboard to have a visual time reminder for students. Use the three timers to track science experiments. It is a great way to track intervals. Use the timers for clean up time, students have to be cleaned up by the time the third bell rings. Use for games or group work. Set all the timers to the same time, divide your class into three groups and give them a challenge problem. See who finishes in the fastest time. If you often use the same times, set the timers and add the page to your favorites. Now you have timers set up ready to go. Your students will probably have some creative ideas for using the timers, as well. Primary grade teachers introducing concepts of time and clocks can challenge students operate the timers themselves as a center, maybe timing how long it takes to tie a shoe or read a page, then reading the timer or writing the words for the time.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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No Name-Calling Week - GLSEN and Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Grades
K to 12tag(s): bullying (49), character education (76), sports (77), tolerance (9)
In the Classroom
Use the resources from this web site to plan and implement lessons that students will relate to, and help to bring an end to harmful name-calling and "dissing." Select some of the many safe Web 2.0 tools reviewed by TeachersFirst Edge, such as DesignCap Poster Creator, reviewed here, for extending learning and designing digital posters that can be printed, or SlideShare, reviewed here, for creating a digital slideshow that includes music, captions, and more. Alternatively, create comic strips: First have students create a rough draft of their comic using Printable Comic Strip Templates, reviewed here. then use the online comic creator Make Beliefs Comix, reviewed here, to drive home the message that bullying is never a laughing matter.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Webquest Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Mark this in your professional favorites for planning and finding webquests. The webquest format has been around for years and can be adapted many ways. Start from this collection and consider designing a webquest "Task" that uses a collaborative, web 2.0 tool such as those reviewed in the TeachersFirst Edge listings. Today's students will love the authentic, creative tasks and collaboration made possible by today's tools. TeachersFirst Edge reviews include ways to use the tools safely and within school policies, for a learning "win-win." You might even want to have student groups design their own webquests for classmates to try as a new twist on "jigsaw" learning.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Hebrew Alef-Bet - Jacob Richman
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): alphabet (51), hebrew (16), holidays (162), israel (14)
In the Classroom
Keep this site in mind as a reference for students who are studying Israel, learning Hebrew, or using the Hebrew alphabet. Share the video clip on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Use Google's translation tool to learn more about the meaning of Hebrew words while studying Israel, the Holocaust, or Jewish subculture within the U.S. and other countries. Have students create an annotated, narrated image including text boxes and related links using a tool such as Google Drawings, reviewed here. Google Drawings allows you to annotate an image with links to videos, text, websites, and more. Not familiar with Google Drawings? Watch an archived OK2Ask session to learn how to use: OK2Ask Google Drawings, here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Rosa Parks: How I Fought for Civil Rights - Scholastic
Grades
4 to 8tag(s): african american (109), black history (123), civil rights (194), cultures (132), martin luther king (43), rosa parks (9), tolerance (9), women (137)
In the Classroom
Spark your students' interest in how one brave individual changed history by not giving up her bus seat to a white passenger. Whether you are doing a unit on people who make a difference, civil rights, tolerance, or studying women and events in history, this self-contained website provides resources and materials that you can display on your classroom whiteboard (or with a projector). Involve students in using the interactive links to enhance learning and springboard discussions on what still needs to be done in regards to acceptance and embracing racial, ethnic, and cultural differences. Use an online tool like The Interactive Three-Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here, to compare and contrast discrimination in our country then with similar challenges we face today, and what still needs to be accomplished for a better tomorrow. Broaden the concepts to include that even when we are brave and have courage, change doesn't come about immediately; it takes time and continued perseverance. Culminate the unit with a writing prompt for students to reflect on and explain: Have you ever faced something that you thought you couldn't stand up to? Instead of using paper and pencil, integrate technology by having students create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Telegra.ph, reviewed here. This blog creator requires no registration. With Telegra.ph have students click on an icon to upload related images, add YouTube or Vimeo, or Twitter links.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Show my street - showmystreet.com
Grades
2 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): maps (209)
In the Classroom
Have students choose any place, then post the link to it on a blog, wiki, or website, and write a description of it. Describe what they would see out of their window, create a story about what they hear or see, or describe their family and what's inside of the house. Research the history of the area to determine how it may have been different in the past. Of course you will went to avoid posting personal information on the web, but students could write fictional stories or keep personal information out of their writings. Describe the wildlife (plant or animal) that exists in their area. Describe the community of people in the area or an important neighbor and why they are important. Create a persuasive essay why their house (or school) is the best, friendliest, etc. in the area. Use tools to determine the distance between houses or to local historical places, places of interest, etc. Use the image as a powerful tool for writing.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mr Nussbaum's Language Arts - Greg Nussbaum
Grades
K to 8tag(s): alphabet (51), alphabetical order (8), presidents (121), spelling (95)
In the Classroom
This site will work well for classrooms with individual spelling lists as students can input their own list to create printables and online activities for spelling practice. Watch the animated biographies on your interactive whiteboard as part of your President's Day activities. Make a shortcut to this site on classroom computers and use it as a center. Share the link to the site on your classroom website or blog for students to access from home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Play - Kids CBC - Kids CBC
Grades
K to 1tag(s): game based learning (171), preK (254)
In the Classroom
These interactives will be a nice addition to any preschool, kindergarten, or first grade classroom. The interactive, Blooming Bubbles, will help your students count while they learn about what is needed to grow a garden. In "Busytown," young children can learn about the different parts of a town. Use the interactives on a whiteboard or in a computer lab. These are also good to use for center work. Be sure to turn up speakers to hear audio for whole class use or use headphones if using this site at a center. Why not list this link on your class website for families to explore at home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Google Sites - Google
Grades
K to 12tag(s): wikis (15)
In the Classroom
Users must have a Google account or sign up for an account. View the controls in Google sites before creating to get an idea of usable features. Find great hints and tips about using Google sites here.Click "Create a new site" to name your site and begin the process. Choose from a variety of templates and begin building your pages. Click "Edit" on your page to bring up the editing options. Use the buttons on the editor bar to change font sizes, color, etc. Click "Insert" to view a drop down menu of a variety of content that can be included on the page. Use the other tabs such as "Format," "Table," and "Layout" to change other aspects of the page. Be sure to click the "Save" button when finished editing a page. Create a new page within the site by clicking "Create a page." Choose from a variety of pages that have different formats suited for a web page, announcements page, file cabinet, or list. Be sure to select where the page will be found such as the top level menu or as a subpage under a different page in the site. Click on "More actions" to bring up other menu items such as "Manage Site," changing page settings, moving or deleting a page, and more. Share your site with others and invite users who can also make changes on the site.
Use a Google Site to create a simple web page for communication with students and their families at any grade level. In middle and high school, use student-created site(s) as a way for students to collaborate and share with many of the same features as a wiki.
Comments
Very versatile for portfolios. Does take some work, not particularly well-documented.Frances, CT, Grades: 6 - 8
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Mapcrunch - MapCrunch
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): maps (209)
In the Classroom
Assign students various countries, regions, or continents to make comparisons. Identify the biological, geographical, cultural, and social issues that exist in the world, based on what the pictures show and what their research uncovers. Bring a greater understanding to current economic and environmental issues in many countries. World language (or World Cultures) classes can help students understand the cultures of the countries where the language is spoken. Compare specific attributes of two countries using an online Venn Diagram, such as the one reviewed here. Another idea: have cooperative learning groups use this resource to create online books about the country of their tour using a resource such as Bookemon,Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Embed Plus - EmbedPlus
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
If using student created video, please check with district policy about sharing student work on the Internet. If using with students, be sure to discuss what is considered appropriate/inappropriate annotations to make on videos. These videos may not play in districts where You Tube videos are blocked. As EmbedPlus uses its own wrapper around the You Tube video, it may be viewable in your district depending upon the filter being used. Be sure to test this before using with students. Note: The "real time reactions" option pulls in and displays public comments when you click it. Use the "enhanced embed" wizard and be sure to click the checkbox that deactivates this feature. You may wish to monitor these for possible inappropriate content.Use the controls to add annotations or student thoughts to sections of the videos. Students can make these comments on their own videos or on a different groups contribution. Use this just to add playback controls that allow for greater viewing of You Tube videos. Have students find a video (or assign one) and annotate it with curriculum related discussion, criticism, vocabulary, etc. Students can then embed this product in his/her blog or a class wiki or site. Don't have one of those? Consider using WebNode, reviewed here. Make an annotated video with question prompts in annotations and embed in wiki to share with your classes. Playback using the slow motion and zoom would be a great item to show on a whiteboard or projector.
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Jewish - Holidays - Chanukah - Jacob Richman
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Make this treasury a starting point for multicultural study of holidays around the world or for a more in depth study of Jewish traditions. Assign student groups to learn about specific aspects of the holiday and share their findings on a class wiki holiday guide. Not familar with wikis? Check out the TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through. With younger students, share specific links on a projector or interactive whiteboard and give students a chance to share and compare their own holiday traditions with the ones mentioned. Use a tool like Padlet, reviewed here, to keep track of the comparisons. You could even use some of these resources in upper elementary or middle school as reading comprehension exercises during the holiday season: write a summary or formulate a statement of a text-based site's main idea.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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