Primary Sources at the Library of Congress
Primary Documents - Web Sites
- DocsTeach | National Archives & Records AdministrationCreate your own interactive history lesson plan, or use the NARA's lesson plans.
- Images | Smithsonian InstitutionIncludes photographs, folk art, postcards, stereographs, slides, sculptures, and paintings from the Smithsonian's collections.
- American Memory | Library of CongressPrimary documents related to U.S. history. Some documents are gathered into thematic units (e.g. Hispanic Americans). The site also has lesson plans to use with the documents.
- World Digital LibraryLink to primary documents for Asia, Oceania, Africa, the Americas, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and the Caribbean.
- EuroDocs: Online Sources for European HistoryClick on the desired country. Selected Transcriptions, Facsimiles and Translations.
Timeline Tools
Timetoast: create your own historical timeline or browse the site's timelines. Share your timeline on the web.
Award-Winning Children's Literature
- The Once Upon a World Children's Book AwardHonors children's books, aimed at young readers (ages 6-10) and young adults (ages 11+), which deal with issues of tolerance, diversity, human understanding and social justice, thus inspiring readers to promote positive change in the world.
- Coretta Scott King AwardGiven to African American authors and illustrator for outstanding inspirational and educational contributions.
- Jane Addams Children's Book AwardAward is given to the children's books published the preceding year that effectively promote the cause of peace, social justice, world community, and the equality of the sexes and all races as well as meeting conventional standards for excellence.
- Carter G. Woodson Book AwardNCSS gives this award to the most distinguished social science books appropriate for young readers that depict ethnicity in the United States
- The Pura Belpre AwardPresented to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.
Children's Literature for Global Connections
NCSS Social Studies Trade Books for Young People: literature for grades K-8 that "emphasize human relations, represent a diversity of groups and are senstivie to a broad range of cultural experiences" and are "easily readable and of high literary quality" (NCSS web site)
ReadWriteThink: Lesson plans from the International Reading Association that include "before reading," "during reading," and "after reading" stages; and ideas for assessment, links to standards, extension ideas, and a section that relates reading instruction theory to practice.
Children's & Young Adult Literature Resources: click on "diverse reads," and select a culture to see the books listed. The site's mission is to "to serve young readers, teachers, librarians, child caregivers, undergraduate and graduate students, university professors, writers, and literature enthusiasts of all stripes"
Cooperative Children's Book Center: covers all grade levels and subject areas; booklists include books about family, social justice, peace, justice, and multiculturalism.
Children's Book Reviews & Recommended Reading Levels
These subscription databases link to information about children's books, reviews of the books, and the grade/interest/reading levels for the book. Sometimes lesson plans are also included.
Children's Literature Comprehensive Database: information about fiction and non-fiction children's literature.
Novelist K-8: information about fiction for primary years through adolescence, including age levels, lesson plans, & book reviews.
Novelist: book reviews, age levels, and additional information about fiction and nonfiction.
Education Research Complete: articles from education magazines and journals, including lesson plans, author bios, and lengthy articles about themes in children's literature.
Lesson Plans for Social Studies
I have carefully selected these lesson plan web sites using the following criteria:
- They are free.
- They are tied to national standards, and sometimes state standards.
- An assessment or evaluation component is included.
- Suggested resources, handouts, or links are present.
- PBS Teachers: Social StudiesPBS lesson plans use video clips and have everything you might want: procedures, standards alignment, extension ideas, and assessment ideas.
- New York Times Learning NetworkLesson plans for grades 3-12 that include interdisciplinary connections, extension activities, discussion questions, and lengthy standards alignment.
- EDSITEment | National Endowment for the HumanitiesEach lesson plan is amazingly thorough, including activities, assessment ideas, standards alignment, and learning objejcts.
- Smithsonian EducationComprehensive units include multiple lesson plans, standards alignment, content info., maps, and photos.
- ADL Curriculum ConnectionsLesson plans and resources created by the Anti-Defamation League that integrate multicultural, anti-bias, and social justice themes into the curriculum.
- Thinkfinity (formerly Marco Polo)Lesson plans, worksheets, maps, and rubrics, from organizations such as the International Reading Association, NCTE, and the Smithsonian.
- Best of History Web Sites1,200+ history-related web sites that link to K-12 history lesson plans, teacher guides, activities, games, quizzes, and more.
- History MattersA carefully selected list of U.S. history web sites for teaching history and social studies; includes lesson plans, syllabi, quizzes, and teaching strategies.
- Discovery Lesson Plans LibraryThis great website contains lesson plans based on grade and subject.
- Mid-Continent Research for Education & LearningLesson plans for K-12 full of teacher's notes, activities, and purpose
- Columbia Education CenterHundreds of lesson plans for all grade levels, with overviews, objectives, and activities for each plan.
- Teachers NetworkTeachers network has lesson plans, classroom specials, and teacher designed activities.
- Education PlanetHas over 34,000 lesson plans, 1,000 worksheets, 9 ID State Standards, and 16 Common Core Standards.
Web Sites
- Holocaust ResourcesIf your topic is the Holocaust, consider starting with these recommended web sites.
- The ABCs: Children’s Books with Social Studies ThemesRecommended children's books for teaching civics, economics, democratic values, history, and geography.
POGIL Become a Subject Expert!
Big 6
- The Big6 SkillsThe Big 6 is a process model of how people of all ages solve an information problem.
- Big6 Skills Outline (PDF)This is the handout used in the ED-CIFS 330 workshop.
Evaluation Exercise
Step 1: Now that you've generated a list of questions you'd like to explore, it's time to begin finding relevant information. Read the following explanation of the CRAAP criteria for evaluating information resources. Follow this link to a website that outlines CRAAP.
Step 2: Using the worksheet provided, apply the CRAAP criteria to each of the following websites in order to evaluate them for academic use:
Do you know what a scholarly journal is? View this video.
Databases to Help You Build Social Studies Content Knowledge
LiLI Databases: Portal to articles and eBooks, accessible to all Idaho citizens. Type your keywords in the text box, e.g. holocaust danish resistance.
JSTOR: The Scholarly Journal Archive: Articles from journals in history, anthropology, arts, science, education, business, and much more; most journals are indexed back several decades.
America: History & Life: Articles from journals covering North American history; full-text available for most of the articles indexed.
Historical Abstracts: Articles about history in regions outside of North America; full-text available for most of the articles indexed.
E-encyclopedias
- LiLI: Libraries Linking IdahoChoose "Reference," then select Gale Virtual Reference Library.
- Oxford Reference OnlineType your keywords and search!
eVideos
Civil Rights Digital Library: Online films, texts, images, and audio from direct 1950s and 1960s sources.
Folkstreams: Online documentary films featuring American folk culture; includes essays, transcriptions, and teaching & study guides.
Geography Teaching Resources
- CIA World FactbookOutstanding source for students looking for info on the history, people, gov, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 266 world entities
- Google EarthMapping web site: digital mapping and aerial photography for the classroom
- National GeographicResources for teaching geography, including articles, lesson plans, photos, and a mapmaker
Financial Literacy for Educators
- Council for Economic Education (CEE)K-12 financial education programs, including teaching resources, assessment instruments, videos, state standards correlations, online teacher training, etc.. Some access in Spanish.
- Jump$tart coalition for Personal Financial LiteracyCoalition of 150+ national organizations working together on personal financial literacy for the PK-College population; includes teacher and student resources. Some access in Spanish.
- Money SmartSet of customizable, instructor-led training modules for adults in seven languages. Teenage modules also available. Self-paced, online instruction, too. Site is also available in Spanish.
- National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE)Financial education partners providing a collection of collaborative financial literacy projects and teacher/student/parent resources. Financial workshop kits for adult audience. Some access in Spanish.
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