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What Is "Religion"? - Well, it’s hard to "say exactly" - by Gerald A. Larue Emeritus, Professor of Biblical History and Archaeology, University of Southern California
Cultures - Identify cultures that contributed to the development of the United States (i.e., Native American, African, British, Scottish, Irish, and German). 8.1.2
USP2
Africans in America - America's journey through slavery - a major collection of images, documents, stories, biographies, and commentaries
Building Bridges - a Peace Corps Classroom Guide to Cross-Cultural Understanding
Culture Quest World Tour - Join Parsifal Penguin and Ophelia Owl as they learn about many of the world's cultures
Native Americans - Many different Native American groups lived in North America. Click on an area of the map to learn about life in that region.
Western Hemisphere Test Practice - strategies for tackling many of the items you will find on a test - Note: Only the Strategies section works, but there are some great suggestions there.]
Science and Technology - Recognize the influence of science and technology on the development of early American colonial cultures (i.e., compass, shipbuilding, food storage, printing press, financial markets, weaponry, and transportation). 8.1.3
USP1
America on the Move - explores the role of transportation in America’s history (drag the timeline to see different time periods)
Science Timeline - steps in the evolution of Western thinking about nature
Major Religions - Compare and contrast the tenets of America’s early major religions (i.e., Olmec beliefs, Native American Earth/Mother spirit, African Traditional Religion, Puritanism, and Quakerism). 8.1.4
USP1
Contributions of Religion - Identify how religion contributed to early American society (e.g., impact on government, education, social norms, slavery, and tolerance). 8.1.5
USP1, 2
Puritanism and Predestination - Puritans in both Britain and British North America sought to cleanse the culture of what they regarded as corrupt, sinful practices.
Religion and the American Revolution - It's only by understanding the religious situation of colonials that we can fully account for how many ordinary Americans were drawn into the resistance to Britain
Immigration - Recognize how immigration and cultural diffusion have influenced the character of a place (i.e., religion within certain colonies, African songs in the American south, and British vs. French influences). 8.1.7
G
Culture in the Cupboard - Consumer products provide evidence of cultural diffusion in many households. Analyzing the items that are found in a home's cupboards and closets can tell us much about the residents' cultural heritage and what cultural influences affect their lives.
Marco Polo - Retrace the steps of Marco Polo and discover what you can learn from the cultures you encounter along the way and what you might take home to share with your friends and family.
Timeline - Interpret a timeline of technological innovations. 8.1.9
USP1, 2
Science Timeline - steps in the evolution of Western thinking about nature
Seeing Time - using timelines as a resource - gives students a chance to refine and extend their ability to construct, read, analyze, and draw conclusions from timelines (Author - Richard Johnson)
Manufacturing - Interpret a diagram showing the steps of changing a resource into a product. 8.2.2
E
The Roots of Trash - identify the various natural resources used to produce common items - use this page to help your students understand how people use science and technology to produce those items
Credit and Debt - Differentiate between credit and debt. 8.2.3
E
I want a credit card--or do I? - Credit cards seem like a great way to pay for things. It only takes a small payment each month to buy whatever your heart desires. You can charge $1000.00 for the paltry sum of $25.00 per month. But, will you still be paying when the thrill is gone?
Card Calculator - enter balance, rate, and minimum payment to calculate how long it will take to pay off the bill (a useful tool to accompany the lesson above)
Graphs and Charts - Interpret a variety of economic graphs and charts with topics (e.g., the Columbian exchange, numbers of slaves, population of colonies, and population diversity). 8.2.6
E
Oil Production in 42 Countries - Dig into some really heavy economic data regarding the petroleum life cycle in the major oil producing countries.
Commercial and Subsistence - Differentiate between a commercial and subsistence economy. 8.2.7
E
Urbanization and Industrialization - Recognize the factors that led to urbanization and industrialization in Early America (i.e., religious freedom, land ownership, and thriving market). 8.2.8
E
Slavery - Analyze in economic terms (i.e., climate, triangle trade, infrastructure, and topography) why slavery flourished in the South as opposed to the North. 8.2.9
USP1, 2
Economic Markets - Distinguish among various economic markets found in Early America (i.e., traditional, monopoly, oligopoly, and free competition). 8.2.10
E
Migration and Immigration - Recognize the causes and examples of migration and immigration in early America (i.e., land, religion, money, pioneer spirit, indentured servitude, displacement, and slavery). 8.3.1
USP1, 2
European Immigration - Description of reasons for emigration and changes they made in America.
Natives and Immigrants - Welcome to the Natives and Immigrants view of the Gold Rush. Follow the pathway of one of these cultures: As you move through the exhibitions, look for the Native and Immigrant labels at the top of the page to learn more about how these cultures experienced the Gold Rush
Map Elements - Identify and use the key geographic elements on maps (i.e., island, flood plain, swamp, delta, marsh, harbor, cape, sea level, bay, prairie, desert, oasis, mesa, mountain, valley, glacier, canyon, cliff, and plateau). 8.3.2 G
What’s On a Map? - eight questions about using various parts of a map
Environment - Interpret examples which illustrate how cultures adapt to or change the environment (i.e., deforestation, subsistence farming, cash crop, and dam and road building). 8.3.3 G
Great Wall against the Yangtze - The Three Gorges Dam project hopes to control devastating natural floods that have affected millions of people. At the same time, the project threatens rare wildlife, ancient monuments and the natural environment it tries to reshape.
Geographic Data - Use various geographic data from maps and globes to determine longitude, latitude, distance, and direction. 8.3.4
G
Are We There Yet? - students answer ten questions by reading information from maps
Land Formations - Choose any of the features on this page to begin your journey, and discover all of the fascinating features that mother nature has created on the surface of the Earth.
Geographic Map - Interpret a geographic map of the early United States. 8.3.5
G
Growth of a Nation - This ten minute presentation illustrates the growth of the United States from the original thirteen states in 1789. You can play the entire ten minutes or play one part at a time.
Topography - Recognize how topographical features such as mountain and river systems influenced the settlement and expansion of the United States (i.e., Cumberland Gap, Wilderness Road, and Ohio and Tennessee river systems). 8.3.6
G
Find your spot - Use criteria to relocate to a new area.
Population Data - Interpret a chart or map of population characteristics of the early United States (i.e., density, distribution, and regional growth). 8.3.7
G
Citizenship - Identify the rights, responsibilities, and privileges of a member of the United States of America (i.e., Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Constitution, and Bill of Rights). 8.4.1
GC
Rights and responsibilities of a citizen - Quia activities based on vocabulary words to help students understand terms that relate to the rights and responsibilities of a citizen in the United States
Systems of Governance - Identify the purposes and structures of various systems of governance (i.e., Federalism, Confederation, Republic, Democracy, Executive, Legislative, and Judicial). 8.4.2
GC
Federalism - a text-only introduction to the concept
History of Supreme Court - tracks the court from February 2, 1790, when the Supreme Court was unveiled with six justices sharing the bench
Judicial Branch - Thinkquest activity with information about the court system
We the People - from a site named We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution - their stated goal is to promote civic competence and responsibility among the nation’s elementary and secondary students
Who's the Boss - separation of powers and the intiative process
Rights and Responsibilities - Recognize the rights and responsibilities of individuals throughout the development of the United States. 8.4.4
GC
Conflict and Cooperation - Identify how conditions, actions, and motivations contributed to conflict and cooperation between states, regions, and nations. 8.4.5
GC
Causes of Conflict - from The History Guy - Pick a war and scroll down to see causes of conflict.
Bill of Rights - Recognize the rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. 8.4.6
GC
Bill of Rights - four pages about the purpose of our Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights - WebQuest thesis: Congressional Committee has met and decided to eliminate the Bill of Rights within the next two weeks. Get involved now because we may only have the Bill of Rights for two more weeks
Bill of Rights Redux - congress is deciding to revise the Bill of Rights; leaving us with the five most appropriate amendments
Bill of Rights WebQuest - the stated goal of this WebQuest is the student production of ten videos (TV shows) one about each amendment
Save the Bill of Rights - the national computer has crashed, your job is to help find the lost amendments
Court Decisions - Recognize the impact of major court decisions have had on American life, (i.e., Marbury vs. Madison, McCulloch vs. Maryland, and Dred Scott vs. Sandford). 8.4.7
GC
1803 - Marbury vs Madison - the decision that established the Supreme Court as the final arbiter of law
Landmark Supreme Court Cases - Dred Scott v. Sandford - this page provides a link to the complete case in .pdf format
Marbury vs Madison - a landmark case in United States law which formed the basis for the exercise of judicial review
Rights - Recognize how a right must be interpreted to balance individual rights with the need for order (i.e., freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and trial by jury). 8.4.8
GC
Tennessee Leaders - Analyze the contributions of Tennessee political leaders on the national scene (e.g., Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, James K. Polk, Sequoyah, and Sam Houston). 8.4.9
USP2
Andrew Johnson - biography of our 17th president, a self-taught reader
Growth of a Nation - This ten minute presentation illustrates the growth of the United States from the original thirteen states in 1789. You can play the entire ten minutes or play one part at a time.
The Time Machine - This U.S. Mint site has twelve hyperlinked dates, each one tells a story. Fantastic!
Primary and Secondary - Differentiate between a primary and secondary source. 8.5.3 USP1, 2
"Been Here So Long" - three lesson plans using selections from the WPA American Slave Narratives - use these to reinforce understanding the nature of a primary source
Conflict - Recognize causes and consequences of conflict, (i.e., French and Indian War, Revolutionary War, and War of 1812). 8.5.4
USP1, 2
Causes for Revolution - this lesson has a nice table near the bottom summarizing the causes
Causes of the American Revolution (a document based question) - Using given documents, students are to write a factual essay that describes the events that lead up to the Revolutionary War. (this lesson is labeled 4th grade, but is quite advanced)
The Shot Heard Round the World - On April 19, 1775, an incident occurred on the village green in Lexington, MA that marked the beginning of the Revolutionary War. A short film of this incident is presented.
Westward Expansion - Recognize consequences of the westward expansion of the United States. 8.5.5
USP2
Historic Events - Classify the characteristics of major historic events into causes and effects (i.e., exploration, colonization, revolution, expansion, and Civil War). 8.5.6
USP1, 2
European Settlement - Recognize the historical impacts of European settlement in North America. 8.5.7
USP1
Slavery - Determine the social, political, and economic factors that contribute to the institution of slavery in America. 8.5.8
USP2
Africans in America (from PBS) - America's journey through slavery is presented in four parts. For each era, you'll find a historical Narrative, a Resource Bank of images, documents, stories, biographies, and commentaries, and a Teacher's Guide for using the content of the Web site and television series in U.S. history courses.
Understanding Slavery - Explore the ways that slavery has been woven into the fabric of societies in America and around the world. (from Discovery School)
USA History: Slavery in the United States - links to a variety of topics - Slave Accounts, The Slave System, Slave Life, Events and Issues, and Campaigners Against Slavery
Political Parties - Interpret a timeline, detailing the development of political parties in the United States to the Civil War. 8.5.9
USP2
The Parties - a timeline which starts with the Federalists and Republicans of the 1790s and tracks their transformation into today's parties
Maps and Charts - Interpret maps, timelines, and charts that illustrate key elements of history (i.e., expansion, economics, politics, and society). 8.5.10
USP2
American Memory Timeline - This resource was developed to help teachers and students use the vast online collections of the Library of Congress. The links will lead you to sets of selected primary sources on a variety of topics in United States History. The sets are arranged by chronological period.
Interactive Historical Timelines - from WhoWhatWhen - This site contains a database of people and events from 1000 A.D. to the present. With this site you can create graphic timelines of periods in history and of the lives of individuals.
Use Primary and Secondary - Identify conclusions about historical events using primary and secondary sources. 8.5.11
USP1, 2
"Been Here So Long" - three lesson plans using selections from the WPA American Slave Narratives - use these to reinforce understanding the nature of a primary source
'I' Witness to History - students read a first-hand account of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as a springboard for researching a significant historic event and writing a set of diary entries from the perspective of a person involved in that event
"Pressing" Issues in Zimbabwe - a lesson which allows students to explore the nature of freedom of the press through examining a news story about the capture and torture of journalists in Zimbabwe
Demographic Changes - Examine the demographic changes brought about by westward movement (i.e., slavery, industrialization, and Native American relocation). 8.5.13
USP2
Revolutionary War - Recognize the course of conflicts including major battles, alliances, strategy, leadership, resources, or technology using a diagram for the Revolutionary War. 8.5.14
USP2
Eye in the Sky - "Aerial photography and satellites show in vivid detail the results of laying waste to vast areas of forest and the harm done by poisons that humans have been pumping into the water and air during the century and a half since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution."
Stereotyping - Recognize examples of stereotyping, prejudice, conformity, and altruism in Early American history. 8.6.3 USP2
American Indian Stereotypes - stereotypes in early western literature and the lasting influence on American culture [a 101 page scholarly document with a small number of illustrations]
Institutions - Identify the role of institutions in furthering both continuity and change (i.e., governments, churches, families, schools, and communities). 8.6.4 GC
Community in History - lesson plan - "guides students in understanding the nature of European colonization in the Americas and how it compares to the inception of their community"
Common Needs - Recognize how groups and institutions work together to meet common needs. 8.6.5 GC
History of Cooperatives - "Since early man cooperated with others to help kill large animals for survival, people have been cooperating to achieve objectives that they could not reach if they acted individually" -
Eighth Grade Social Studies - Read each question and choose the best answer. Then mark the circle next to the letter for the answer you have chosen. (from Texas)
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