Book Resources for D-11 Middle Schools

Back to Basics: Reclaiming Social Studies

Is there any subject as disheveled, distorted and dysfunctional as social studies? As part of our continuing effort to revitalize the subject of social studies, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute offers Effective State Standards for U.S. History: A 2003 Report Card. This groundbreaking and comprehensive state-by-state analysis of K-12 education standards in U.S. history was prepared by Sheldon Stern, historian at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston for more than 20 years. It evaluates U.S. history standards in 48 states and the District of Columbia on comprehensive historical content, sequential development, and balance.

Terrorists, Despots, and Democracy: What Our Children Need to Know
by John Agresto, Lamar Alexander, William J. Bennett, William Damon, Lucien Ellington, Chester E. Finn, Jr., William Galston, Victor Davis Hanson, E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Kay Hymowitz, Amy Kass, Craig Kennedy, Katherine Kersten, Mary Beth Klee, Stanley Kurtz, Erich Martel, et al
8/1/2003
    This new report from the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation includes the voices of 29 political leaders, education practitioners, and cultural analysts who discuss what schools should teach about U.S. history, American ideals, and American civic life in the wake of 9/11, the war on terror, and the liberation of Iraq.

Where Did Social Studies Go Wrong?
by James Leming, Lucien Ellington, Kathleen Porter
8/1/2003
    This new report from the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation consists of penetrating critiques by renegade social studies educators who fault the regnant teaching methods and curricular ideas of their field and suggest how it can be reformed. While nearly everyone recognizes that American students don't know much about history and civics, these analysts probe the causes of this ignorance-and lay primary responsibility at the feet of the social studies "establishment" to which they belong.

Back to Teacher Resources page

Social Studies Web sites for D-11 Middle Schools

(For Book Resources, click here)

http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/readquest/strat/ strategies for reading comprehension
http://history.cc.ukans.edu/history/VL/  WWWVL The World Wide Virtual Library History: Central Catalogue
http://ladb.unm.edu/retanet/about.php3 Welcome to the Latin America Data Base (LADB) web site for secondary educators, Resources for Teaching about the Americas (RetaNet). This site is the result of an educational project funded by the U.S. Department of Education
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/today/today.html  The Library of Congress’ “Today In History” site
http://mail.bcpl.net/~ccicone/ss/start.htm  Carroll Co MD curriculum related sites for all grade levels
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/ The main body of this hypertext project, which was started in 1994, comes from a number of USIA-publications: An Outline of American History, An Outline of the American Economy, An Outline of American Government, and An Outline of American Literature. The text of these Outlines has not been changed, but they have been enriched with hypertext-links to relevant documents, original essays, other Internet sites, and to other Outlines
http://reg.loc.gov/wpaintro/wpahome.html These life histories were written by the staff of the Folklore Project of the Federal Writers' Project for the U.S. Works Progress (later Work Projects) Administration (WPA) from 1936-1940. The Library of Congress collection includes 2,900 documents representing the work of over 300 writers from 24 states.
http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/6-8.html  Discovery channel lessons for  6-8 http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/history/histg.html  Kathy Schrock’s guide to American History sites and World/Ancient History sites.

http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/teaching_with_documents.html  contains reproducible copies of primary documents from the holdings of the National Archives of the United States, teaching activities correlated to the National History Standards and National Standards for Civics and Government, and cross-curricular connections
http://www.authentichistory.com/ Comprised of images of artifacts sounds and written letters and diaries, beginning with the pre-Civil War era. 
http://www.besthistorysites.net/   Best of History Web Sites now features links to K-12 history lesson plans, teacher guides, activities, games, quizzes, and more throughout its pages!
http://www.cdpheritage.org  Colorado's Cultural Collections, Tools for Teachers, Resources for Cultural Heritage Institutions, and more. 
http://www.census.gov  United States Census Bureau.
http://www.cnn.com/  Current news
 http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/factsheets.html
http://www.coe.ohio-state.edu/mmerryfield/global_resources/default.htm  online modules for Africa, Asia, Latin America, Middle East, Slavic and Eastern Europe
http://www.edexcellence.net/foundation/global/index.cfm
http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/  Outline maps
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/  Your ringside seat to history - from the Ancient World to the present. History through the eyes of those who lived it, presented by Ibis Communications, Inc. a digital publisher of educational programming.
http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/labyrinth-home.html Resources for Medieval Studies Sponsored by Georgetown University 
http://www.gilderlehrman.org/collection/docs_current.html.    Newly Discovered Documents includes introductions by prominent scholars, as well as transcripts and downloadable facsimiles. http://www.gwu.edu/~action/P2004.html  Complete coverage of the 2004 presidential race with links to every candidate’s web site, as well as media coverage of candidates and issues.
http://www.historychannel.com/  The history channel
http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/browse/owd5710/   Resources on Canada
http://www.ipl.org/kidspace/browse/owd0000  Learn about religions, languages, geography and culture around the world.
http://www.justicelearning.org/home.asp  The award-winning Justice Learning website engages visitors in high-quality, balanced discussions on timely topics related to law and justice. The site offers a wealth of learning materials for students and easy-to-incorporate lesson plans for teachers. This sample navigation demonstrates how the site works.
http://www.landmarkcases.org This site was developed to provide teachers with a full range of resources and activities to support the teaching of landmark Supreme Court cases, helping students explore the key issues of each case.
http://www.lawforkids.org/index.cfm  Law for kids.  LawForKids.org is America's first stand alone web site dedicated to teaching children about the law, including documents .
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/intro.html  A Library of Congress Resource Guide for the Study of Black History & Culture
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/MarcoGrams/Nov2003.html celebrates American Indian and Alaskan Native Heritage Month with resources about the rich traditions of this thriving culture.
http://www.marcopolosearch.org/mpsearch/basic_search.asp Seven content Web sites with lesson plans, student interactive content, downloadable worksheets, links to panel-reviewed Web sites and additional resources created by the nation’s leading education organizations
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/education/ideas.html The National Geographic Society’s Geography Education Program works with educators all over the country to produce lessons, units, and activities designed to bring good geography into the classroom.
http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/bridges/index.html Short, adaptable lesson plans and activities that build cross-cultural awareness, respect, and communication in your classroom. Lessons are flexible, easy to use, and standards-based.
http://www.phschool.com/social_studies/  Infoplease® Suite of Resources-- Almanacs, Atlas, Dictionary, Encyclopedia, and Current Events updated daily. Prentice Hall NewsTracker--For more than just headlines, go to Prentice Hall NewsTracker. Select a country or topic of global importance and get in-depth reports, viewpoints, and analysis from FT.com journalists around the world. more… DK Online World Desk ReferenceThrough an association with Dorling Kindersley, Prentice Hall provides instant access to up-to-date country data and maps. more…
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=178  helps you select e-pals for your students and develop real-life writing and learning experiences for them. Students learn the format of a friendly letter and the parts of an e-mail message. With careful selection of an e-pal group, students can also learn about other cultures, languages, and geographic areas that align with the curriculum in your school.
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Home_Page/AFR_GIDE.html   The aim of this guide is to assist K-12 teachers, librarians, and students in locating on-line resources on Africa that can be used in the classroom, for research and studies. This guide summarizes some relevant materials for K-12 uses available on the African Studies WWW.
http://www.si.edu/kids/  Smithsonian site for kids
http://www.socialstudies.com/c/@Xt6pZnOzK40YU/Pages/article.html?article@ronvideos  Ideas for using videos in the classroom.
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/avalon.htm  The Avalon Project:  Documents in Law, history, and diplomacy
http://www.gilderlehrman.org/collection/docs_current.html.    Newly Discovered Documents includes introductions by prominent scholars, as well as transcripts and downloadable facsimiles.

Back to Teacher Resources page