Editor’s note: When he’s not writing and editing for education non-profits, our consultant John Norton likes to work on his favorite personal project: spotting and sharing web-based teacher resources through vehicles like his MiddleWeb site and biweekly newsletter. As a summer treat, John has agreed to compile 5 blog posts highlighting some of what he thinks are the best resources in key content areas. Last time it was mathematics, this week it’s history and social studies.
Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE)
The Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE) website has long been a terrific repository of teacher resources and tools on many topics, and none more so than history and social studies. Recently FREE has added a Twitter feed with regular tweets highlighting new content and some of the best from the past. FREE draws on materials developed by federal museums and archive collections, educational materials developed by federal agencies, and selected resources from sites like Scholastic Inc. The History/SS collection is divided into three super-topics: U.S. History, U.S. Timelines and World Studies, with many categories under each. As an example, when you click on “U.S. History,” the site’s simple indexing system reveals collections like Government, Famous People, Ethnic Groups, Movements, Wars, Business & Work — with literally hundreds of resources under each, tagged for easy browsing.
For some years the New York Times Learning Network has offered standards-based lesson plans linked to NYT news and feature stories. Many, not surprisingly, have a social studies or history focus. The Times recently converted its Learning Network postings to a blog format, which offers several advantages. It’s now easier to view entries by subjects (just click), and you can also leave comments, perhaps requesting a lesson idea that matches your teaching plan or adding fresh ideas of your own. There’s also a daily news quiz, ongoing student opinion polls, Word of the Day, and other features. The NYTLN’s June 25 blog entry is a great one to sample; it describes how to easily access a Teaching Topics page highlighting recent offerings in major content areas, including Social Studies and History. If you want to go straight to the lesson plans collections, there’s a list in the right margin. Visit American History and see what you think.
Awesome Stories (and primary sources)
I’m a huge fan of the Awesome Stories website, where students and teachers can access hundreds of engagingly written narratives from history and current events, all peppered with links to print and visual primary resource material. The site is the passion of Carole Bos, a successful lawyer in Michigan, whose intellectual hobby has turned into a most amazing educational tool. The site is available at no cost to schools, teachers and students and a free subscription gains you access to extra features and a regular newsletter matching famous events and annual celebations that take place during the current month to timely historical materials on the site (here’s June 2010). One of the most interesting aspects of Awesome Stories (and there are plenty) is its “Flicks” section, where Bos and her colleagues illuminate current movies by providing historical and current events perspectives. I challenge you to explore this site. It is unique and difficult to describe in full. But you can probably tell I’m crazy about it!
Next time: Science
