Links

Social Studies Resources

• Poll Everywhere will have class polls periodically at Pollev.com/garritson.
• Izzit offers Current Event stories and resources related to economic liberty. Use this access code: order967452.
• Sketchnotes shares great examples how to use this type of note-taking to better recall information.
• CA 8th Grade Social Studies Standards displays all text in a clear and accessible format.
• History Social Science Framework for California Public Schools contains a PDF of the 8th Grade Framework.
• Common Core State Standards Initiative provides a reference to the newly established standards for all content areas and grade levels.
• California History-Social Science Project provides numerous resources related to the California Framework.
• California History-Social Science Standards Test or CST Released Questions contains a 40 page PDF of 109 questions released by the state of California for review purposes.
• Creating America - A History of the United States has all chapters posted as PDFs.
• Stossel in the Classroom has numerous streaming videos covering numerous topics in the social sciences.
• CST California Standards Test Released Questions contains PDF versions of all officially released questions from previous CST tests for all grade levels and subjects.
• Classzone offers supplemental activities that include flipcards, puzzles, and quizzes of chapters within the eighth grade Creating America textbook.
• Learn.Civiced.org contains samples of the textbook, We the People.
• Index of Economic Freedom World Rankings attempts to rank the countries of the world based on economic liberty. The Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal research and publish this information each year.
• U.S. National Debt Clock publishes in real time the current public and private date in America and all 50 States.
• Library of Congress has numerous digital collections of all items related to American and world cultures. This site is an excellent resource for pictures, sound recordings, maps, newspaper articles, and books.
• National Archives offers documents, primary sources, lesson plans, and other student activities.
• Constitutional Rights Foundation archives an excellent quarterly publication called Bill of Rights in Action that explore a variety of topics related to social studies.
• U.S. Census Bureau provides updated information about the population of the States, counties, and cities in America.
• County of San Diego Gubernational General Election shows current national, state, and local results for recent elections.
• Historical Thinking Matters contains an outstanding resource for teachers and students because it contains numerous primary sources.
• Reading Like a Historian has numerous lessons categorized into historical periods, centering around historical questions, reading documents, and whole class discussion.
• American Heritage archives a rich assortment of historical magazine articles and stories from 1954 to present day America.
• Smithsonian Teachers has numerous articles dealing with history, innovation, science, arts, culture, and travel.
• The Making of America is an electronic library maintained by Cornell University of almost 1,000,000 pages of information about American history and culture.
• Primary Documents in American History provides links to many of the most important documents located in the Library of Congress. The digitized collection serves to supplement and enhance the study of crucial documents.
• DocsTeach has thousands of primary sources that include letters, photographs, speeches, posters, maps, videos, and other document types, from the National Archives.
• Documenting the American South or DocSouth contains digitized texts, images, and audio files related to southern history, literature, and culture. DocSouth includes fourteen thematic collections of books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews, and songs.
• United States Capitol has multiple pictures, timelines, historical facts, interactive tours, and links to additional resources about this nation's capitol.
• Architect of the US Capitol has over one thousand pictures posted on their Flickr account.
• NAVA is an organization that analyzes vexillology (the study of flags) of North American State, local, and international flags in an effort to showcase good and bad flag design. It publishes the Five Basic Principles of Good Flag Design to encourage organizations and governments to improve or create better flags.

American History

• Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History promotes the knowledge and understanding of American history through educational programs and resources in K-12 history education, while also serving the general public.
• Center for Teaching the Rule of Law has a number of educational resources that effectively teach the rule of law, beginning with a simple definition of what it is, will strengthen communities, build nations and make the world a more just and safe place.
• APUSH Cartoons has a number of illustrations that help better explain historical events.
• Bill of Rights Institute has a number of resources to help engage, educate, and empower young people to learn about the Constitution.
• Statutes at Large is the official source for all laws and resolutions passed by Congress.
• George Washington Digital Encyclopedia has numerous articles about the life and time of the first POTUS.
• Adventure Tales has a free online illustrated textbook that will help students of all ages better understand the history of America by reading cartoons and interesting stories. The Bill of Rights is illustrated by clicking here and typing page 197 and 198.
• The History Carper has archives of early American documents, essays, histories, letters, and other historical information.
• The Dunlap Broadside shares information about the first Declaration of Independence.
• Mayflower Compact is a document written by William Bradford to establish a basic government for the Plymouth Colony.
• The Project Gutenberg eBook, Bradford's History of 'Plimoth Plantation', by William Bradford is a primary source that details the history of the Plymouth Plantation, Mayflower, and Pilgrims.
• Indians and Alcohol provides information about problems Native Americans faced from the alcohol trade.
• Mayflower Passengers is a Wikipedia page that provides background information about the people who were aboard this ship.
• Mayflower Passenger List has information about many of the individuals who came to America aboard the ship.
• Biographical sketches of the signers of the Declaration of American independence is a book printed in that share vast information about the signers, the historical context of the document, and examines both the Articles of Confederation and the Federal Constitution.
• Shay's Rebellion and the Making of the Nation has numerous resources that show the significance of this event.
• List of Demonyms for the United States of America provides official, traditional, and informal terms used to designate residents of specific States.
• United States state contains a good overview of basic information about the 50 republics that make up America.
• Flags of the States of America shows examples of all current and historic flags for all 50 States.
• TeachingAmericanHistory.org teaches about the founding through the 20th century and beyond of America by presenting the original source documents.
• Immigration Stories of Yesterday and Today offers a virtual trip to Ellis Island, immigration data, and stories from young immigrants.
• Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations is no longer maintained, but provides a general overview of numerous events from the perspective of the Department of State.