Instructional Links

School Connections

Engaging Students with Foldables for U.S. History to 1877 Engaging Students with Foldables was created by Susie Orr, an elementary social studies specialist for Fairfax County Public Schools. It contains instructional activities using foldable templates that were modeled after the folding techniques of Dinah Zike. These models correlate to specific Virginia SOL objectives and essential knowledge for U.S. History to 1877. Click here for a list of resources.

http://socialstudies.cayennepaper.com/6thgrade.htm
This is a United States History to 1877 student review Web site created and maintained by Katie Tardiff, CCC-SLP Speech-Language Clinician Deer Park Elementary School, Fairfax County Public Schools. Review material is presented in graphic organizers.

http://chnm.gmu.edu/vcsssce/camp.html
Camping Out with the SOL, a collection of review activities for United States History to 1877, was created and shared by Sue Austen and AJ Phillips of Prince William County Public Schools at the fall 2004 United States History Academy.

Vocabulary for United States History to 1877 and Vocabulary for United States History: 1877 to the Present
These vocabulary lists were compiled by Agnes Dunn, Stafford County Public Schools, and Rebecca Mills, Spotsylvania County Public Schools.

http://www.rockingham.k12.va.us/RCPS_SS/ssbenchmarks5.html
Rockingham County Public Schools, Fifth Grade U S History I Benchmarks,
A Guide for Parent Involvement

http://www.rockingham.k12.va.us/RCPS_SS/ssbenchmarks6.html
Rockingham County Public Schools, Sixth Grade U S History II Benchmarks,
A Guide for Parent Involvement

http://fc.rockingham.k12.va.us/~ohostetter/STudyguide.rtf
US History to 1877 Study Guide from Rockingham County Public Schools

http://chesterfield.k12.va.us/htm/parents_pages/instruction/middlehistory.htm
Chesterfield County Curricular Planning Resources and Pacing Guides for Middle School History

http://www.quia.com/pages/hostetterhistory.html
US History Games & Sample Tests from Mountain View Elementary School in Harrisonburg, VA

http://chnm.gmu.edu/acpstah/
Creating a More Perfect Community is a Teaching American History grant awarded to Alexandria City Public Schools and funded by the United States Department of Education. Resources and units are available on this site.

http://chnm.gmu.edu/fairfaxtah/lessons.php?browse=topics
Defining US: The American Experience is a three-year program of professional development funded by a Teaching American History grant awarded to Fairfax County Public Schools in Fairfax, Virginia, by the United States Department of Education. Browse lesson plans by categories.

http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/TAH/
The Foundations Project is a three-year program of professional development funded by a Teaching American History grant awarded to the Russell and Scott Counties by the United States Department of Education. Lesson plans are available at this site.

http://www.wjcc.k12.va.us/tahg/index.html
Weaving the Fabric of American History is a consortium established by the Williamsburg-James City County School district with the following: Norfolk City Public Schools, Westmoreland County Public Schools, and Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools.

Instructional Links

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html
American Memory provides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience. It is a digital record of American history and creativity.

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/coredocs.html
This Web site containing core documents of American history provides American citizens direct online access to the basic federal government documents that define our democratic society, a core group of current and historical government publications is available for free, permanent, public access via GPO Access.

http://www.americastory.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi
This Web site is brought to you from the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., the largest library in the world and the nation's library.

http://www.edsitement.neh.gov/tab_lesson.asp?subjectArea=3
EDSITEment contains a variety of links to other Web sites and references to resources available through government, nonprofit, and commercial entities. These links and references are provided solely for informational purposes and the convenience of the user. Their inclusion does not constitute an endorsement.

http://www.besthistorysites.net/USHistory.shtml
Best of History Web Sites aims to provide quick, convenient, and reliable access to the best history-oriented resources online in a wide range of categories.

http://www.kids.gov/k_history.htm
FirstGov for Kids is a gateway to history information resources. This government portal organizes history topics and within each subject the sites are divided into the categories of Government, Organizations, Education, and Commercial.

http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/education.html
The Virginia Center for Digital History (VCDH) is an independent center within the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Virginia. VCDH is home to a number of digital projects spanning the range of American history, from the Jamestown settlement, to the Civil War, to the Civil Rights movement.

http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/
TeachingAmericanHistory.org is a project of the Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs at Ashland University. The document library contains a list of letters, speeches, documents, Web sites, books, and articles on significant people and events in American political thought and history. Rather than being a comprehensive list of available resources, it is meant to be a list of the best resources available on the given subject.

http://www.gbbattlefield-waterways.com
The Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways History Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and presentation of the historical significance of the Battle of Great Bridge, the Albemarle& Chesapeake Canal and the Dismal Swamp Canal.

http://www.kidsclick.org/
KidsClick! Topics in American History is a project of the Ramapo Catskill library system.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus/tools/games.html
This Web site from PBS, Freedom: A History of US, integrates photos, animation, and important historical facts. Games on the Web site will instigate a better understanding and appreciation of the material while assessing the students' progress.

http://teacherresourcecatalog.pwnet.org/docs/Reading.pdf
http://www.graphic.org/index.html
Both these Web sites contain graphic organizers, mind maps, and concept maps. These tools provide a pictorial or graphical way to organize information and thoughts for understanding, remembering, or keeping notes for later writing. Graphic organizers, mind maps, and concept maps are powerful tools that can be used to enhance learning and create a foundation for learning.

http://www.educationoasis.com/curriculum/graphic_organizers.htm
The Oasis is a teacher-created, independent, not-for-profit site that includes graphic organizers.

Civics Education Instructional Resources

http://www.civnet.org/
CIVNET is an online resource and service for civic education practitioners (teachers, teacher trainers, curriculum designers), as well as scholars, policymakers, civic-minded journalists, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) promoting civic education all over the world.

http://www.civiced.org/index.php?page=lesson_plans
The mission of the Center for Civic Education is to promote an enlightened and responsible citizenry committed to democratic principles and actively engaged in the practice of democracy in the United States and other countries. Selected curricular materials available from the Center for Civic Education are available at this site. Materials may be printed or downloaded.

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/pt/index.html
Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids is the educational component of GPO Access, the Government Printing Office's (GPO) free online service of official Government information from all three branches of the U.S. Government. Ben's Guide provides information and activities specifically tailored for educators, parents, and students in K-12.

http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/cfapps/free/displaysubject.cfm?sid=9
Civics lessons from the U.S. Department of Education (ED), on behalf of the FREE Working Group, to support federal agencies that would partner with teachers to develop online learning materials and learning communities around agency resources.

http://www.kidsvotingusa.org/
Kids Voting USA combines dynamic, hands-on civics activities with an authentic voting experience to get students involved and ready to be active citizens.

http://www.youthleadership.net
Youth Leadership Initiative develops free K-12 civic education resources designed to encourage student interest and participation in the American political process.

http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/civics.htm
Teaching with Historic Places lesson plans have activities that promote civic action by getting students involved in their own community. Many lessons take participation in public service, advocacy for participation in the political process, interest in social issues, civil discourse, and other activities as the focus of the lesson.

http://www.constitutioncenter.org/education/ForEducators/LessonPlans/index.shtml
The National Constitution Center created this section to help teachers teach the Constitution and other civic-related topics to students of all ages. Each month this page will feature a new lesson plan highlighting recent Constitutional issues as well as historical events such as the Constitutional Convention.

http://servicelearning.org/resources/lesson_plans/index.php?popup_id=615
Lesson Plan Library - Civics from Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)

http://www1.va.gov/opa/feature/celebrate/index.htm
From the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Celebrating America 's Freedoms is a collection of stories about some of America 's most beloved customs and national symbols.

http://eduref.org/cgi-bin/lessons.cgi/Social_Studies/Civics
A collection of civics lesson plans from the Educator's Reference Desk (Information Institute of Syracuse).

Jamestown 2007 Teaching Resources

http://www.jamestownjourney.org
Welcome to the official education curriculum Web site of "America's 400th Anniversary" marking the founding of the first permanent English settlement in America at Jamestown in Virginia in 1607! The lessons provided on this Web site will help teachers and students explore those vital legacies - connecting students with the past, encouraging and informing their civic involvement, and illuminating how the earliest experiences in America helped shape contemporary issues and institutions. Registration is free and will provide teachers full access to all educational resources.

http://www.JohnSmithTrail.org
Captain John Smith's Trail on the James River
This resource is a boating and driving tour that chronicles Smith's explorations of the waterway between 1607 and 1609. The route includes historic sites, nature parks and museums. Learn the real story of Smith's exploits: his trading missions to help Jamestown escape starvation, his capture and release by Powhatan, and his struggle to instill order among the quarrelsome colonists. Teachers may request a free classroom copy of the poster by e-mailing: Lane.Guilliams@dcr.virginia.gov. Please include a contact and mailing address where you wish the map to be sent.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/resources/ngo/education/chesapeake/
Exploring the Chesapeake Bay THEN and NOW. Visit this Interactive Web site that explores the Chesapeake of Captain John Smith, Powhatan, Pocahontas, and the Jamestown colonists and the Chesapeake Bay today to discover reflections of its past and clues to its future.