History / Social Studies

  • School Atlas
    Complete database of history online, many levels of detail.
  • Evolution of Black History
    Interactive timeline.
  • School Atlas.com
    Database of web resources for K-12. Covers world geography and U.S. geography.
  • Anne Frank WebQuest
    FANTASTIC webquest on Anne Frank.
  • Museum of Tolerance
    Teachers’ resource materials on the holocaust and teaching it.
  • Anne Frank in the World
    The Anne Frank in the World: 1929-1945 Teacher’s Guide provides educators with information on available resources to aid in teaching about Anne Frank and the Holocaust. You can also find education tools, activities, lesson plans, and curriculum guides.
  • Library of Congress
    Great support for content teachers in all disciplines.
  • CNN Student News
    News for kids, complete with maps, one sheet summaries, lesson plans and project ideas.
  • EconEdLink
    With current economic events, links to macroeconomic data sites and to economics teachers around the country, this site also features fully developed simulation lessons offered by grade levels.
  • Miniature-Earth
    If the world’s population were reduced to 100 people, this would be the breakdown of who has what. Powerful images and simple vocabulary.
  • Smithsonian Education
    The Smithsonian Institute is a treasure trove of just about anyone/anything of importance in American culture. There are specific sites for educators and a new one for students. I explored the one for students and believe ELLs, with careful selection of sites geared to their English proficiency levels, would benefit from it. Gaps in general background knowledge of American culture could be partially filled here.
  • Education World
    National social studies and history standards.
  • Buy Low, Sell High
    This lesson will teach students how to invest in corporate stocks by creating investment “portfolios.” Step-by-step instructions will enable students to develop worksheets that track their portfolio’s performance over a specified time period (six weeks to three months) and report the results to the class.
  • FreeRice
    If you want to help the poor and starving while you improve your spelling, this is the site for you. For every word you spell correctly, you donate 10 grains of rice to the UN to add to others so that starving people can eat. Your kids will get hooked on it and they will be helping those who are less fortunate.
  • Facing History and Ourselves
    This site deals with moral choices that people deal with every day. Teacher resources are extensive and video clips are included on people fighting for social justice. This would be an excellent supplement to any human rights issue.
  • Teaching the ELL in the Social Studies Classroom
    Helping English Language Learners in the Classroom – article on challenges and strategies for social sciences.
  • Growth of a Nation
    Interactive “Growth of a Nation” site on US history. It is geared to upper elementary and middle school, but could be used very effectively in a high school content based social studies English class or can be given to ELLs alone to see how the US grew as a nation. Great resource for teacher to also use with the entire class (computer and LCD projector would be needed).
  • Our Documents
    To help our students think, talk, and learn about the rights and responsibilities of democracy, this site invites all to explore 100 milestone documents of American history.  These documents reflect America’s diversity and unity, America’s past and future, and mostly America’s commitment as a nation to continue to strive to “form and more perfect union.”

  • History.com
    All things historical!
  • World Atlas.com
    Great supplement to any basic geography component to any ELD class or basic geography class.
  • Google Earth
    Google Earth lets you fly anywhere on Earth to view satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings, from galaxies in outer space to the canyons of the ocean. You can explore rich geographical content, save your toured places, and share with others.
  • Eyewitness to History
    This site allows students a view of history through the eyes of those who lived in the period . For 20th century events, audio is available for free.
  • Economic Education Lessons
    Some great online economics lessons–all levels and content areas keyed to the Nebraska Social Studies/Economics Standards. If you know the concept you want to teach, start from the K-5 concepts list or the 6-12 concepts list. Materials from which to create more lessons are available from the Virtual Economics Companion.
  • 2003 Web Tour
    A guided project in economic research on the Federal Reserve Bank from the Foundation for Teaching Economics.
  • SCORE History/Social Science
    Schools of California Online Resources for Education, the site lists resources, lesson plans and literature by grade level and topic. Also featured are links to “this day in history” and “this month in history.”
  • EyeWitness to History
    What did New York look like in 1916? Simply go to the site below and click on the video link that will take you there! Lots of great material there covering many chapters from history-pictures, film clips, speeches, etc.
  • The Open Video Project
    This site offers a collection of documentary films dating back to 1894. Students will enjoy them and for teachers, this site will allow them to make the past more comprehensible for students.
  • edstandards.org
    Social Studies. List of government organizations.
  • RACE
    Race: Are we so different? Darwin said over 150 years ago that there was just ONE human race. Look through this site to see how you would be classified in other cultures. There are also links to history, science, culture, quizzes, etc. Students will enjoy seeing themselves through other eyes.
  • Civics Lessons
    This offers an demanding content on US government, but written in English at a level that ELLs can follow. It would be an excellent supplement to a government class with a few ELLs in it.
  • EL Civics
    LearnEL Civics with great pictures and easy words. Just click on a picture or a link to start a lesson. The following EL Civics units are now available: Statue of Liberty, Washington, D.C., American Bald Eagle, 50 U.S. States, and more. English Language Civics provides an easy way to learn about American history, geography, and culture. New lessons, worksheets, PowerPoint presentations, and videos are added to elcivics.com almost every week. Free lessons for students and teachers – Life Skills Lessons and ESL Lessons. Lessons for January: New Year’s is Saturday, January 1. Martin Luther King Day is Monday, January 17. Our civics videos include one minute videos about civics, holidays, and ESL life skill vocabulary: Civics Video Channel. I am proudly announcing our NEWEST FEATURES: Free ESL eBooks with downloadable short stories. Also, Hidden Picture Puzzles for classroom fun.