Content Area Resources in Social Studies

General

Academic Word Finder - Website sponsored by Achieve the Core, it allows the user to paste in a selection of text to search by grade level for academic vocabulary (Tier 2 vocab) within that text. NOTE: User must have a free account to utilize the website.

AP Central - AP College Board website with several links to teacher and AP Class resources.

American Archive of Public Broadcasting - Website created in a collaboration between the Library of Congress and WGBH, user can search for historic programs from publicly-funded radio and television outlets.

C3 Teachers - Website explains and hosts resources related to the Inquiry Design Model based on the idea of developing inquiry based lessons and activities for students. Also as a part of the website is a IDM Generator to help educators create online-based IDM lessons. (NOTE: Must have a free account to access)

California History-Social Science Project - The California History-Social Science Project strives to teach the highest quality of history instruction with a special focus on English learners, native speakers with low literacy and students from low economic backgrounds. It provides lesson plans, instructional resources for educators, an informational magazine, a blog and more.

Chronicling America - Chronicling America provides information on historic newspapers and digitized newspaper pages.

Digital History - This website includes an interactive timeline of American history, resources sorted out by era and by topic, primary sources, lesson plans and quizzes.

Discovery Education Virtual Field Trips - This website allows you to take your students beyond the classroom walls and see some of the world's most iconic locations through virtual field trips.

EDSITEment - Offers high-quality resources for teachers, students and parents in the subject areas of literature and language arts, foreign languages, art and culture, and history and social studies.

HipHughes History - Over 300 instructional videos for Social Studies students, teachers trying to flip their class and life long learners. Videos topics include history, politics, and current events.

HippoCampus - A free, core academic website that delivers rich multimedia content--videos, animations, and simulations--on general education subjects to middle-school and high-school teachers and college professors, and their students, free of charge.

Knight Lab - Develops prototypes, projects and services that help make meaningful information and promote quality storytelling, journalism, and content on the internet. It provides an open, collaborative environment for interdisciplinary exploration and conversation, where students and professionals learn together and from one another.

Library of Congress - The largest Library in the world, the Library of Congress offers millions of books, recordings, photos, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections.

Library of Congress Teachers - The Library of Congress offers classroom materials and professional development to help teachers effectively use primary sources from the Library's vast digital collections in their teaching. Find lesson plans and more that meet Common Core standards, state content standards and the standards of national organizations.

Matters of Education - Provides links to K-12 curriculum on a variety of social studies topics.

National Archives - Provides the public with the nations records of historical materials.

National Archives Education Resources - Besides their vast records, the National Archives provide educator resources like professional development, lesson plans, worksheets and more.

National History Day - National History Day is a year-long academic program focused on interpretation and creative expression and historical research for 6th to 12th grade students.

National History Day in Iowa - To participate in the National History Day in Iowa, students must chose a topic related to the annual them, conduct research using primary and secondary sources, apply critical thinking skills, analyze sources and create a project to present. There are district, state and national contests.

National Humanities Center - Strives to create new knowledge through their scholarly programs, strengthen teaching through their education programs, engage the public through their public programs, and support the humanities.

National Park Service - Plan a trip to a National Park, learn and explore National Parks through stories and articles, and get involved with the National Park Service to help preserve and maintain the National Parks.

New Visions for Public Schools - Curricular frameworks designed for the Global History, Geography I and II, and U.S. History courses. The curriculum integrates primary and secondary texts, maps, images, videos, and other online sources into materials that meet the New York State K-12 Social Studies Framework’s objectives. It provide students with an opportunity to improve literacy skills by focusing on critical thinking while reading, writing, and speaking like historians.

New York Times - The Learning Network - Provides features for students including Article of the Day and News Quiz. For free, educators can read up to five lesson plans a month.

News Literacy Project - A national education nonprofit offering nonpartisan, independent programs that teach students how to know what to believe in the digital age.

Newsela - Provides numerous articles, text sets, and photo collections based on topic or subject. Narrow your search by choosing grade level, text level, reading skill and language.

OER Commons - Create, explore and collaborate with educators around the world. Open Educational Resources are teaching and learning materials that you may freely use and reuse at no cost, without needing permission.

PBS Frontline - Investigative journalism that questions, explains and changes our world. View films and podcasts of a variety of topics on this website.

PBS Learning Media - Created by IPTV and PBS to have curated free, standards-aligned videos, interactives, lesson plans, and more for educators.

PBS NewsHour Extra - Offers news for students and teachers grades 7-12 through videos, lesson plans and articles on a variety of subjects.

PBS POV - Showcases 14-16 non-fiction film programs every year on PBS. Watch past films, browse lesson plans, discussion guides, and reading lists.

ProCon - A 501(c)(3) nonprofit nonpartisan public charity, provides professionally-researched pro, con, and related information on more than 50 controversial issues from gun control and death penalty to illegal immigration and alternative energy.

Project Look Sharp - A media literacy initiative that develops and provides lesson plans, media materials, training and support for effective integration of media literacy with critical thinking into classrooms at all education levels.

Read Works - Provides free content, curriculum and tools to power teaching and learning from K-12th grade. Assignments, grading, printable content and curriculum guides, and articles within.

Read Write Think - Provides educators, parents, and afterschool professionals with access to the highest quality practices in reading and language arts instruction by offering the very best in free materials.

Reading Like a Historian - Find lesson plans that teaches students how to investigate historical questions by employing reading strategies such as sourcing, contextualizing, corroborating, and close reading.

Smithsonian Learning Lab - A free, interactive platform for discovering millions of authentic digital resources, creating content with online tools, and sharing in the Smithsonian's expansive community of knowledge and learning.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History - Dedicated to K-12 history education and the general public .They promote knowledge and understanding of US history through their educational programs and resources.

ThinkCERCA - A flexible literacy framework that helps students engage in critical thinking by constructing a cohesive argument and strengthen argumentation skills.

Writelike - Learn how to write in any style or genre, teach with Writelike's lesson plans, play interactive games, browse through resources and create your own lesson or course with Writelike.

Founding Documents

Bill of Rights Institute - Exploring the true primary sources of our Nation, this website provides those sources along with lessons and activities connected to each source.

Congress.gov - US Congress website with live links to current legislative actions, proposed bills, calendar of scheduled actions and committees, and roll call votes.

Docs Teach - Sponsored by the National Archive, website includes links to lesson plans and activities connected to countless primary sources collected by the National Archive.

50 Core Documents - Website includes links to 50 Core Documents in American History, as well as educator resources and professional learning opportunities.

Documents of Freedom - This website allows the viewer to create an account and develop an online "textbook" of primary source documents and other related readings. (NOTE: Has free AND paid account options)

Our Documents - Sponsored by organizations like National History Day, the History Channel, and the National Archives and Records Administration, this website contains 100 primary source documents and well as links to educational tools such as connecting the sources to the Standards and how to integrate these documents into your classroom.

Primary Resources

National Archives - The home to thousands of government documents.

Library of Congress - The home to thousands of primary sources in multiple formats. Also links to Congress.gov, the home for legislative information.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute - A private organization that holds thousands of primary sources.

Digital History - Hundreds of primary sources organized by era and topic.

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library - Presidential library of Abraham Lincoln

Herbert Hoover Library and Museum - Presidential library of Herbert Hoover

Franklin Roosevelt Library and Museum - Presidential library of Franklin Roosevelt

Truman Presidential Library and Museum - Presidential library of Harry Truman

Dwight Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum - Presidential library of Dwight D. Eisenhower

Gerald Ford Presidential Library and Museum - Presidential library of Gerald Ford

Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library - Presidential library of Lyndon Johnson

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum - Presidential library of John F. Kennedy

Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum - Presidential library of Richard Nixon

Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum - Presidential library of Jimmy Carter

Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute - Presidential library of Ronald Reagan

George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Center - Presidential library of George H.W. Bush

Bill Clinton Presidential Library and Museum - Presidential library of Bill Clinton

George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum - Presidential library of George W. Bush

The Avalon Project - A project of Yale Law School, the site has thousands of documents organized by historical era.

State Historical Museum of Iowa - Lots of Iowa history primary sources.

New York Library Archives and Manuscripts - Search archives for lots of full-text resources.

Smithsonian - The Smithsonian is the world's largest museum, education, and research complex.

The University of Chicago Special Collections - This library holds rare books, manuscripts, university archives and a special jazz archive.

L. Tom Perry Special Collections at Brigham Young University - This library has manuscripts, lectures, photographs, rare books and more pertaining to Mormonism, world history, literature, and more.

Manuscript Reading Room - LOC's Manuscript Reading Room includes special collections and research tools.

The Library of Trinity College Dublin - This library has the Book of Kells and other books.

The National Library of Ireland - This library has a special collection that features documents and manuscripts going back almost 1,000 years.

American Museum of Natural History - Find research projects and special collections.

A Selection of Web-Accessible Collections at Harvard University - This Harvard collection has daguerreotypes, botanical images from Eastern Asia, Chinese rubbings and more.

Smithsonian Folkways - This collection has archives on American singers, history makers and more.

Behavioral Sciences

Psychology

American Psychology Association (APA)Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools - Includes hundreds of resources for high school psychology teachers.

Resource Manual for New Teachers of High School Psychology - The purpose of this document is to present new high school psychology teachers with some resources and helpful suggestions from teachers with many years of teaching experience.

TOPSS Lesson Plans - TOPSS provides unit lesson plans for high school psychology teachers. These lesson plans are 3-7 day units that include a procedural timeline, a content outline, suggested resources and activities.

Videos for Psychology Teachers - Videos and presentations provided by the American Psychological Association are great for high school psychology teachers who want to expand their knowledge.

American Psychological Association / TOPSS Listserv for Teachers - Join the TOPSS Listserv to be put on numerous different email lists.

TED Talks for Psychology Teachers - Psychology Teacher Network has a collection of Ted talks relating to psychology that take the classroom beyond the textbook.

Psychology Teacher Network Newsletter - The Psychology Teacher Network is a quarterly publication of the APA Education Directorate. PTN welcomes submissions of articles, descriptions of teaching activities and book reviews.

Sociology

For High School Faculty - The American Sociological Association encourages the inclusion of sociology in the secondary school curriculum and supports high school teachers of sociology by providing professional development resources and networking opportunities.

Civics & Government

270 to Win - Provides the opportunity to create your own prediction of the 2020 presidential election through an interactive map.

Annenberg Classroom - Provides resources for excellent civics education including Constitution curriculum and a discussion board.

Bill of Rights Institute - A non-profit educational organization that works to engage, educate, and empower individuals with a passion for the freedom and opportunity that exist in a free society.

Center for Legislative Archives - Preserves and makes available to researchers the historical records of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

Center for Civic Education - A nonpartisan organization that provides curricular programs including We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution & We the People: Project Citizen.

Center for the Study of the American Constitution - A nonpartisan center that involves themselves in outreach activities relating to the Constitution, including professional development opportunities and programs for community groups.

Civic Life Project - Brings civics to life by empowering students to produce and screen short documentary films on community issues they care about. They offer online professional development interactive seminars to train teachers to easily change their civics curriculum into new activities that show students they can change the world.

Civics Renewal Network - Provides teachers with resources searchable by subject, grade, resource type, standard and teaching strategy.

Classroom Law Project - Prepares youth to become active, engaged and informed participants in democratic society by providing professional development opportunities and challenging, fun programs for students.

Eagle Eye Citizen - A free resource designed to help middle and high school students think critically about civic participation, Congress, and American history using primary sources from the Library of Congress.

Edward M. Kennedy Institute - Offers educational programs, public forums, and digital exhibits to debate the issues of the day, learn from each other, and leave empowered to make their own contributions to improving their communities and our nation.

Elections 101 - A curriculum designed for flexibility with an emphasis on social media enhancements to appeal to how students learn today. It's goal is to involve students, parents, and the community in civic engagement while educating them about Iowa's unique role in the political process.

Fact Check - A nonpartisan consumer advocate for voters that strive to decrease the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. Fact Check selects, researches, writes, edits and corrects articles in necessary.

I Side With - Provides political polls, a candidate list, voter guides and a quiz to take to see what political party you affiliate with.

iCivics - Provides free resources that enhance students engagement by meaningful civic learning and quality civic education.

Iowa Bar Association - An organization that enhances professional growth and collegiality among Iowa attorneys.

Justice Case Files - A graphic novel series that was created to educate the public on how judges make decisions, how the courts protect the public and why courts are important in a democracy.

Korematsu Institute - Educates to advance racial equity, social justice and human rights for all by promoting the importance of the most blatant forms of racial profiling in U.S. history, the incarceration of the Japanese Americans during WWII. This institute provides a curriculum kit, programs and student resources.

National Constitution Center - Offers hundreds of engaging theatrical performances, interactive exhibits, and original documents of freedom. They provide constitutional seminars, discussions, course material, and interactive and digital resources for students of all ages.

Oyez Project - View information about cases and Supreme Court Justices, take a virtual tour of the Supreme Court campus and stay informed with news on the Supreme Court with Oyez.

Street Law, Inc. - Advances justice through classroom and community education programs that empower people with the legal and civic knowledge, skills, and confidence to bring about positive change for themselves and others.

Student Governmental Affairs Program - A nationwide program that offers materials that are factual, non-partisan, non-political and content appropriate for teenagers.

Vote Smart - Provides free, factual and unbiased information on candidates and elected officials to all Americans.

Economics & Financial Literacy

America Saves - A campaign that motivates, encourages, and supports low- to moderate- income households to save money, reduce debt, and gain wealth.

Banzai - A free, fun, and interactive financial literacy website for students of all ages.

Council for Economic Education - A non-profit organization that focuses on personal finance and economic education, the Council for Economic Education provides K-12 students the knowledge and tools on money and financial stability.

EconEdLink - Offers a source of classroom-tested, Internet-based economic and personal finance lesson materials for K-12 educators and students.

EVERFI - Offers free digital resources and local implementation support to help elementary, middle and high school teachers equip their students with skills for life.

Federal Reserve Banks - The central bank of the United States which conducts the nation's monetary policy, promotes stability of the financial system, promotes safety of individual financial institutions, fosters payment and settlement system, and promotes consumer protection and community development.

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - Provides free lesson plans, activities, and readings that makes teaching economics and financial literacy easy!

Hands on Banking - An online learning center offers resources for anyone who wants to learn more about money management, including self-directed courses and classroom resources.

Jump$tart - Search, browse, and review hundreds of publications, games, teaching plans, and other resources designed to teach financial responsibility at Jump$tart.

Junior Achievement - Strives to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy through their programs.

My Money.gov - Provides curricula, lesson plans, tip sheets, guidance and helpful tools for teaching financial capability.

National Endowment for Financial Education - Provides practical information and financial education to a wide range of people. This website includes resources, workshops and videos to help facilitate financial education.

Next Gen Personal Finance - A free high-school personal finance curriculum and professional development partner helping teachers deliver essential money understanding in an easy-to-grasp, engaging way.

Stock Market Game - An online simulation of the global capital markets that engages students grades 4-12 in the world of economics, investing and personal finance and that has prepared 16 million students for financially independent futures.

Take Charge Today - Strives to give students financial education for a better future by providing educators with ready-to-teach, activity-based lesson plans free of charge.

TS Institute - Create and implement a comprehensive K-12 program that will serve as an initiative which will be replicated in other school districts.

Geography & Global Studies

100 People: A World Portrait - On a mission to find 100 people that represent the other 7.5 billion of us. They represent our entire global neighborhood through photographs and stories, creating a multimedia traveling exhibition.

9/11 Tribute Museum - Offers visitors the ability to learn factual information about the events, the unprecedented rescue and recovery operations and the rebuilding of both Lower Manhattan and of people’s lives.

Africa Outreach Program - Teaching Africa Library, a multifaceted collection of literature for young and adult readers provides recommended textbooks for various levels of learners, hard-to-find award-winning African films, and material culture kits. Resources available for teachers include curriculum guides and lesson plans; multimedia resources; nonfiction and fiction books about Africa; maps and historic posters; games; speaker referral service; material culture kits.

Asia for Educators - Offers professional development, videos and lectures, resources for both students and teachers, resources by time period, lesson plans, primary sources, teaching modules and helpful links for teaching Asian and World Studies.

Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States - Here you will find a spectacular historical atlas refashioned for the 21st century. Charles O. Paullin and John K. Wright's Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States, is provided here digitally showing all of the atlas's maps.

C-SPAN Classroom Deliberations - Maintained by C-SPAN Classroom Teacher Senior Fellows, provides teachers and students with a carefully selected set of video clips and newspaper articles that pertain to leading current issues in front of Congress.

Choices - The Choices Program develops curriculum on current and historical international and public policy issues and offers professional development for educators.

CNN Student News - View new news articles daily or search by topic.

Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP) - Promotes all areas of Latin American studies nationwide by enhancing global competency, language proficiency, and cultural awareness of Latin America and the Caribbean. They provide free K-12 resources including Americas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature (book recommendations and curriculum resources), curriculum, syllabi, lending libraries, professional development and K-12 Teaching Award.

Core Knowledge History and Geography - A comprehensive program in world and American history and geography, integrating topics in civics and the arts, Core Knowledge History and Geography (CKHG) helps students build knowledge of the diverse civilizations, cultures, and concepts specified in the Core Knowledge Sequence.

CultureGrams - One of the resources available through AEA Digital Resources - A service providing no-cost access to high-quality, vetted digital resources for Iowa students and educators.

Culture Kits - Provided by Carolina Navigators, Culture Kit's offer a description, map, photos, and content and lesson ideas for numerous places.

David Rumsey Map Collection - Focusing on rare 16th through 21st century maps, David Rumsey Map Collection offers atlases, wall maps, globes, school geographies, pocket maps, books of exploration, maritime charts, and a variety of cartographic materials. Free to use, this collection has over 87,000 items online.

ESRI GeoInquiries - Short, standards-based inquiry activities for teaching map-based concepts found in commonly used textbooks.

GeoGuessr - Explore the world through GeoGuessr as you embark on a journey that takes you all over the world through an interactive game.

Global Conflict Tracker - View an interactive map of world conflicts by browsing by impact on U.S. interest and conflict status, and filter by region and types of conflict.

Google Lit Trips - Downloadable files that mark the journeys of characters from famous literature on the surface of Google Earth with pop-ups that include resources.

iEARN-USA - Works with educational, youth service, relief and development organizations to facilitate programs where young people can work together to make a meaningful difference in the world. This website provides various pathways for educators and students a way to connect and learn with their international peers.

IREX - Strives for a more just, prosperous and inclusive world working in more than 100 countries in four essential areas including empowering youth, cultivating leaders, strengthening institutions, and extending access to high quality education and information.

Mapping History - Designed to provide interactive and animated representations of fundamental historical problems and/or illustrations of historical events, developments, and dynamics.

National Geographic Kids - Inspire young adventures to explore the world through award-winning magazines, books, apps, games, toys, videos, events and a website.

National Geographic Education - Offers resources by grade level and subject area, professional development, and student programs like Geography Bee.

Our Spatial Brains - Here you can download materials related to Carol and Phil Gersmehl's teacher workshops in 34 states and five other countries.

Peace Corps - Find resources including lesson plans, activities, articles and more as well as connect your classroom with a volunteer currently serving in the Peace Corps.

Population Education - A program of Population Connection, is the only national program with a strong emphasis on curriculum and professional development for K-12 educators that focuses on human population issues. Browse resources by grade level, subject and topic.

Program for Teaching East Asia - Conducts national, regional, and state projects designed to enhance and expand teaching and learning about East Asia at the elementary and secondary school levels.

Programs in International Education - Find lesson plans pertaining to African studies, East Asian studies, European studies, Latin American studies, and Middle East studies.

Project Look Sharp - Global Studies - A collection of lesson plans has been made from kits such as Global Media Perspectives, Soviet History Through Posters, and more. The collection is for Elementary, Middle and High School studies and represent a diverse representation of geographic location and media forms.

Social Studies Word Generation - Provides teacher and student curriculum on a variety of social studies topics that include word cards for each lesson.

Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) - Serves as a bridge between Stanford University and K-12 schools and community colleges by developing multidisciplinary curriculum materials on international themes.

Teaching Latin America through Literacy - Complies lesson plans, research materials, resources, links to helpful websites, and a educator guide to accompany each book featured in their book group in their blogs.

Teach Mideast - Provides free and accessible, high-quality information and resources to enable K-14 educators to teach about the Middle East in social studies and introductory area studies classes. Find Booklists, lesson plans, teaching tools, professional development opportunities and their digital book.

TED Talks- Global Issues - A collection of TED talks and more on the topic of Global issues.

The Stanley Foundation - Advances multilateral action to create fair, just, and lasting solutions to critical issues of peace and security. In addition, the Stanley Foundation publishes policy briefs, analytical articles and reports on number of international issues.

The True Size Of - It is hard to represent our spherical world on a flat piece of paper, but James Talmage and Damon Maneice created this app to help students better understand how big the world really is.

The World Food Prize - International honor recognizing-- without regard to race, religion, nationality, or political beliefs-- the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world.

United States Census Bureau's Statistics in Schools - Provides resources for teaching and learning including standard-aligned, classroom-ready activities.

U.S. Diplomacy Center Education Program - Connects high school and college students with the world of American diplomacy, increasing their understanding of diplomacy and inspiring them to be involved in foreign affairs.

U.S. Department of State Policy Issues - Find information on numerous policy issues within the United States.

United Nations Global Issues - As the world's only truly universal global organization, the United Nations has become the foremost forum to address issues that transcend national boundaries and cannot be resolved by any one country acting alone. This website offers an overview of issues in depth and links to other resources where you can get additional information.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Learn about the Holocaust, remember the survivors and victims, and combat genocide and antisemitism through the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. They provide an encyclopedia, introduction to the Holocaust and resources.

United States Institute of Peace - An independent national institute, founded by Congress and dedicated to the population that a world without violent conflict is possible, practical, and essential for U.S. and global security. The institute provides training, analysis, and other resources to people, organizations, and governments working to build peace.

Veterans National Education Program Global Awareness Map - A non-profit organization focused on educating students on Modern History by providing historically accurate, relevant educational resources. They provide Modern History documentaries, associated media content and lesson plans teaching students US Modern Military History: WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and now Iraq and Afghanistan.

Visualizing Cultures - Uses technology and hitherto inaccessible visual materials to reconstruct the past as people of the time visualized the world, or imagined it to be. The Visualizing Cultures Curriculum offers a full complement of standards-compliant lessons, providing a pathway for teachers and students to become active historians and knowledgeable readers of images.

We Schools - Provides educators and students with curriculum, educational resources and a full calendar of action campaign ideas to help you live WE at school.

World of 7 Billion - Population Education has created World 7 Billion as a response to our growing world population and its importance. Use this website's resources to help students understand how we reached this milestone, analyze the impact of our choices, and realize that our decisions can and will impact the future.

World Population History - Learn about the impact of population growth and important milestones in human history and view other key data including land use, fertility rates, CO2 emissions, life expectancy and urbanization.

Geographic Alliances, Centers, Councils, or Institutes

Arizona Geographic Alliance - Part of a national network of state geography alliances that's purpose is to strengthen geography education in Arizona.

Geographic Alliance of Iowa - Composed of K-12 teachers, college and university professors, personnel from a variety of other educational endeavors, and citizens, all who are concerned with improving geographic instruction in Iowa. The GAI provides resources and expertise to improve the geographic literacy of Iowa students.

African Studies Center - Staff and programs work to provide the University and the people of North Carolina with a campus hub for interdisciplinary inquiry and communication on Africa, with a focus on the interconnected issues of political change, expressive culture, gender, sustainability, health and Islam.

Carolina Asia Center - Strives to positively transform our understanding of and relationship with Asia and to equip students and others with knowledge of Asia to assume leadership roles. They collaborate with professional schools, departments, centers, and student organizations as well as with regional and international institutions to develop educational programs on Asia.

Center for African Studies - The Outreach Program is an integral part of the Title VI African Studies Center at Howard University that focuses on reading, teaching, and learning about Africa.

Center for Latin American Studies - Inspires new ideas and research by bringing together academics, artists, decision-makers and entrepreneurs from Latin America, the United States, and the world.

Center for Middle Eastern Studies - Offers a wide variety of books, videos, lesson plans and more, all free to check out and use as well as conferences, workshops and other opportunities!

Chicago Council on Global Affairs - An independent, nonpartisan membership organization that provides insight on critical global issues through convening leading global voices, conducting independent research, and engaging the public to explore ideas that will shape the world.

Council on Foreign Relations - An independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and students, civic and religious leaders, and others interested in order to help them better understand the world and foreign policy.

European Studies Center - Develops scholarship, teaching and community events related to Europe and the European Union in cooperation with academic departments, schools, and research units throughout the University of Pittsburgh.

Institute for Global Studies - University of Minnesota Institute - Provides units, lesson plans, websites and resource lists developed by K-12 educators in conjunction with Institute for Global Studies professional development opportunities.

Institute for Middle East Studies - Supports academic work on the Middle east and provides a resource lending library of books, periodicals, and films to K-12 teachers and community college faculty at no cost.

Pulitzer Center - Committed to building global awareness through education and work with elementary schools, high schools, and universities to bring pressing international issues, and the journalist who cover them, into the classroom.

Iowa History

Alexander Clark Story Map - An interactive map describing Alexander Clark's life and timeline as well as additional resources.

Chronicling America - Provides America's historic newspaper pages from 1789-1963 and a U.S. Newspaper Directory for information about American newspapers published between 1690-present.

Discover Iowa History - Created by Dr. Katy Swalwell from Iowa State University as a repository of Iowa history resources.

Freedom Summer Story Map - An interactive map describing the journey to Mississippi the summer of 1964.

Geographic Alliance of Iowa - Composed of K-12 teachers, college and university professors, personnel from a variety of other educational endeavors, and citizens, all who are concerned with improving geographic instruction in Iowa. The GAI provides resources and expertise to improve the geographic literacy of Iowa students.

History of Latinos in Iowa - Migration is Beautiful - A digital humanities project drawn from the holdings of the Mujeres Latinas collections preserved in the Iowa Women's Archives in the University of Iowa Libraries highlighting the journeys Latinas and Latinos made to Iowa and situates the contributions of Latino communities within a broader understanding of Iowa's history of migration and civil rights activism.

Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation - Educates Iowans with a focus on youth regarding the breadth and global significance of agriculture. It serves as a central resource for educators and volunteers who want to teach Iowa's students about agriculture.

Iowa Civil Rights Commission Civil Rights Toolkit - A toolkit makes Iowa's civil rights history more accessible and teachable in Iowa's classrooms.

Iowa Counties Historic Atlases - Provides digital county atlases from the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Iowa Culture App - A mobile app that is a fun and interactive way to discover arts, history and cultural destinations in Iowa by exploring places by category and location, browsing featured tours and saving favorites to create your own Iowa Culture adventure.

Iowa Department of Human Rights - Strives to ensure basic rights, freedoms and opportunities for all by empowering underrepresented Iowans and eliminating economic, social and cultural barriers by educating individuals, businesses and government entities about the needs, rights and responsibilities of all Iowans.

Iowa Digital Libraries - Features more than a million digital objects such as manuscripts, historic maps, fine art, historic newspapers and scholarly works created from the holdings of the University of Iowa libraries.

Iowa Folklife: Our People, Communities, and Traditions - A learning guide for teachers, students and senior citizens for social studies, language arts, music, art and multi-disciplinary and culminating activities.

IAGenWeb Project - A website that holds copyright publications pertaining to all areas of Iowa history.

Iowa Heritage Digital Collections - An online repository of Iowa history and culture which brings together digital resources of Iowa libraries, museums, historical societies and other cultural institutions to enhance access to and preserve long-term accessibility of these valuable materials.

Iowa History Bibliography - A list of hundreds of cited Iowa history books.

Iowa History Journal - Iowa's only popular magazine devoted exclusively to its fascinating history with unique stories about Iowa icons, entertainment, sports, politics, towns and historical attractions that appeal to Iowans of all ages.

Iowa History Online - Provides Iowa history teachers across the state with high quality instructional tools and online access to excellent teaching resources.

Iowa Pathways - Discover the people, places, events and ideas of Iowa history through articles, images, videos and websites on Iowa Pathways.

Iowa Public Television Market to Market - Covers the issues affecting the nearly $800 billion agriculture business such as global trade conflicts, environmental controversies, changing technologies or emerging enterprises.

Iowa Women’s Archives - Holds more than 1200 manuscript collections that chronicle the lives and work of Iowa women, their families, and their communities dating from the nineteenth century to the present.

Iowa’s Progressive Past Story Map - An interactive map that explains Iowa's progressive past including an introduction, abolishing slavery, protecting interracial marriage, desegregation of schools, voting rights for African Americans, and higher education for all.

Living History Farms Learning Fields - A web exhibit is designed to help 3rd-5th grade students and their teachers learn how agriculture affects our lives every day.

Norman Borlaug Story Map - An interactive website that provides you with everything you need to know about Norman Borlaug.

Office of the State Archaeologist - An organized research unit that develops, disseminates, and preserves knowledge of Iowa's human past through Midwestern and Plains archaeological research, scientific discovery, public stewardship, service, and education.

Prairie Voices: Iowa Heritage Curriculum - Provides lesson plans over the land and the built environment, native people, migration and interaction, organization and communities, work, and folklife. Also included is fun facts, resources and a timeline of Iowa history.

Silos and Smokestacks - The National Heritage Area - Offers ag-based lesson plans and primary resources, professional continuing education credits and bus grants for field trips.

Teaching and Learning Iowa History - Represents a unique way for community members, teachers, and university students to join the same learning experience with similar goals and curiosities.

The Annals of Iowa - A quarterly, peer-reviewed journal of history published by the State Historical Society of Iowa.

The Goldfinch: Iowa History for Young People - Was a Iowa history magazine for children ages 8-13 published quarterly by the State Historical Society of Iowa from 1975-2000. Each issue focuses on a theme and include articles, games, photos and fiction.

The World Food Prize - The foremost international honor recognizing-- without regard to race, religion, nationality, or political beliefs-- the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world.

Iowa Museums and History Centers/Societies

African American Museum of Iowa - A statewide museum dedicated to preserving, exhibiting and teaching Iowa's African American history. The Museum offers museum tours, traveling exhibits, research services, youth and adult education programs and community and fundraising events.

Carries Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics - Created to interest, educate and engage citizens in the political process through leadership development, mentoring and educational opportunities through Iowa State University, fostering research on issues related to women and politics, brings prominent women leaders, national and international scholars and political activists and practitioners to ISU's campus and encourages women and men to pursue careers in politics, public administration and public service.

Iowa History Center at Simpson College - Advances the understanding and appreciation of Iowa history among the state's students, scholars and general public by expanding educational opportunities and making Iowa history more widely available and accessible.

Iowa Jewish Historical Society - Inventorying and digitizing its expansive artifact collection and archives and is now online.

Iowa Museum Association - The lead statewide organization providing education, communication, networking opportunities and advocacy for Iowa's museums.

Iowa Rural Schools Museum - A network of refurbished and renewed county school houses that once educated Iowa's new immigrants and their children as they came to settle and till the land. Visit the museum and learn more through the online collection and resources.

Living History Farms - An interactive outdoor history museum which educates, entertains, and connects people of all ages to Midwestern rural life experiences.

Museum of Danish America - Helps learners explore how individuals, families, and groups have expressed their Danish heritage. Learn more about the history of Danish Immigration to America, read Danish-Americans Stories from all across the United States, see the photos and documents that complement those stories in "Viewed Through the Lens", and browse links to other websites that explore different aspects of Danish America.

National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library - Provide informative, engaging, and most importantly fun events to the Cedar Rapids area with events focusing on the history of Czech and Slovak people, hands on workshops, informative history lessons, and exhibit opening receptions.

Norman Borlaug Heritage Foundation - Preserved the birthplace and boyhood farms of Norman Borlaug so that future generations of Normans can walk and learn on the sacred grounds.

State Historical Museum of Iowa - Provides exhibits, tours, collections, and programs and events throughout the year on Iowa's rich heritage.

United States History

American Battle Monuments Commission - Provides activities and resources pertaining to World War I and World War II.

American Experience - An award-winning PBS series that brings to life the incredible characters and epic stories that have shaped America's past and present.

American Historical Association - The largest professional organization that serves historians in all fields and professions. The AHA has developed resources for classroom teaching as well as provides professional development.

C3 Teachers - Strives to empower teachers are they take on big ideas and instructional implications of the C3 Framework. This website is a place to learn more about the process and share your experience with other social studies teachers.

C-SPAN Classroom Deliberations - Provides teachers and students with a carefully selected set of video clips and newspaper articles that concisely present the leading positions related to current issues before Congress.

Civil Rights Movement Veterans - A place to find information from those who experienced the Southen Freedom Movement. Included are history and timeline, photo album, stories, documents and more.

Civil War Trust - A collection of resources on the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and the Civil War at the American Battlefield Trust website to learn about what happened and why it matters.

Congressional Medal of Honor Society - Consists of living recipients of the Medal of Honor is dedicated to educating and inspiring Americans about the values embodied in the Medal of Honor.

Core Knowledge History and Geography - A comprehensive program in world and American history and geography, integrating topics in civics and the arts.

Created Equal - Brings four excellent films on the civil rights movement to United State citizens. Not only does Created equal provide films, they offer scholarly resources and program guides.

Documents of Freedom - Brings a new twist on the traditional textbook by providing a comprehensive digital course on History, Government and Economics.

EDSITEment - Lesson plans by subject and use their interactive activities for students!

George Washington’s Mount Vernon - Teaches people around the world about the life and legacies of George Washington through their educational resources.

Historical Inquiry - Provides numerous resources for teaching U.S. history from an inquiry-based perspective.

Historical Thinking Matters - Teaches students how to critically read primary sources and how to critique and construct historical narratives through student investigations and teacher materials.

Korematsu Institute - Educates to advance racial equity, social justice and human rights for all by promoting the importance of the most blatant forms of racial profiling in U.S. history, the incarceration of the Japanese Americans during WWII.

Library of Congress - Teachers - Offers classroom materials and professional development to help teachers effectively use primary sources from the Library's vast digital collections in their teaching. Find lesson plans and more that meet Common Core standards, state content standards and the standards of national organizations.

Mission US - Engages middle and high school students in the student of transformational moments in U.S. history. Each mission consist of an interactive game and a set of curriculum materials that are aligned with national standards feature document-based activities.

National Park Service - Provides lesson plans and other education materials to help teach about the National Parks.

Native Knowledge 360° - Explore educational resources by subject, language, nation, region, grade, or format with Native Knowledge 360°.

Oklahoma City Memorial Memorial and Museum - At the heart of the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum's mission is to educate about the impact of violence and advocate for violence prevention.

Reading Like a Historian - Find lesson plans that teaches students how to investigate historical questions by employing reading strategies such as sourcing, contextualizing, corroborating, and close reading.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for Teachers - Strives to engage, teach and inspire through the power of rock and roll through their education programs and library and archive materials.

Social Studies Word Generation - Provides teacher and student curriculum on a variety of social studies topics that include word cards for each lesson.

Teaching History - Offers K-12 history teachers access to resources and materials to improve US history in education.

The Choices Program - Non-profit organization that develops curriculum on current and historical international and public policy issues and offers professional development opportunities for educators.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute - Provides teachers, students, and the general public access to unique primary sources.

Think Port Education - Offers inquiry kits for middle and high school student which feature a thinking question, primary and secondary source, and tools to analyze historical material from the Library of Congress.

UMBC History Labs - Research and investigative learning experiences that provide teachers with the necessary information, resources and procedures to teach historical thinking skills to students.

United States Census Bureau's Statistics in Schools - Provides resources for teaching and learning including standard-aligned, classroom-ready activities.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund - Provides education materials to help educators teach students about the Vietnam War, while reinforcing history, writing, civic engagement and other interdisciplinary skills.

World History

9/11 Tribute Museum - Offers visitors the ability to learn factual information about the events, the unprecedented rescue and recovery operations and the rebuilding of both Lower Manhattan and of people’s lives.

American Battle Monuments Commission - Provides activities and resources pertaining to World War I and World War II searchable by grade level, war and subject.

Best of History Websites - Allows you to browse by topic to find helpful websites.

Big History Project - Provides curriculum for middle and high school students over 13.8 billion years of history.

C3 Teachers - Website explains and hosts resources related to the Inquiry Design Model based on the idea of developing inquiry based lessons and activities for students. Also as a part of the website is a IDM Generator to help educators create online-based IDM lessons. (NOTE: Must have a free account to access)

Center for Middle Eastern Studies - Provides a wide range of books, videos, lesson plans and more that are able to check out. CMES also offers conferences, workshops and opportunities for educators.

Core Knowledge History and Geography - A comprehensive program in world and American history and geography, integrating topics in civics and the arts.

Crash Course - Provides high quality educational videos to all through courses ranging from humanities to science.

Echoes and Reflections - Empowers middle and high school teachers with professional development and classroom materials including lesson plans, videos and much more.

Hemispheres: The International Outreach Consortium - Works with educators, school districts, and state officials to "fill in the gaps" between teacher knowledge and the set goals of curricular mandates. Their curriculum units include tools such as background information, primary source readings, detailed maps, worksheets and activities to make it ready to use in the classroom for free.

IEEE Reach - Provides free educational resources that explore the relationship between science, technology and engineering with social studies and the humanities.

Indian Ocean in World History - Helps educators incorporate the Indian Ocean into world studies by providing learning tools, era maps, and lesson plans.

Modern History Sourcebook - Provides educators and students documents on Modern European history, Americans history, Western Civilization and World Cultures to facilitate learning. 

Programs for Teaching East Asia - Strives to enhance and expand teaching and learning about East Asia at the elementary and secondary school levels by providing curriculum, professional development opportunities and other resources.

Reading Like a Historian - Find lesson plans that teaches students how to investigate historical questions by employing reading strategies such as sourcing, contextualizing, corroborating, and close reading.

United States Holocaust Museum - Learn about the Holocaust, remember the survivors and victims, and combat genocide and antisemitism through the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. They provide an encyclopedia, introduction to the Holocaust and resources.

Visualizing Cultures - Uses technology and hitherto inaccessible visual materials to reconstruct the past as people of the time visualized the world, or imagined it to be. The Visualizing Cultures Curriculum offers a full complement of standards-compliant lessons, providing a pathway for teachers and students to become active historians and knowledgeable readers of images.

Wilson Center Digital Archive - Provides once-secret documents from governments and organizations all over the world.

World Digital Library - Contains free of charge and multilingual format primary materials from all countries and cultures that promotes international and intercultural understanding.

World History for Us All - An innovative model curriculum geared towards middle and high school students. They offer teaching units, lesson plans and resources.

World History Matters - Find a portal to numerous world history websites at World History Matters.

World Savvy Classrooms - Aligned with and supports Common Core State standards, the program integrates global competence learning into classrooms with professional development and consulting for teachers and project based learning for K-12 students.

World War I Museum - Dedicated to remembering, understanding and interpreting the war and its impacts. They provide exhibitions and educational programs that engage diverse audiences.

World War II Museum - Offers fun and educational programs, online and distance learning programs, student resources, and innovative exhibits and extensive collection of artifacts.

Content Area & Disciplinary Literacy

Reading Like a Historian - Find lesson plans that teach students how to investigate historical questions by employing reading strategies such as sourcing, contextualizing, corroborating, and close reading.

DBQ Project - Outlines a specific process for argumentative writing in social studies.

Literacy Design Collaborative - Offers social studies lesson plans and modules for middle and high school students that are literacy-rich.

Getting Students to Think Like Historians - Describes how to get students to think like historians and answers the important question of why it is important.

Junior Detectives: Teaching with Primary Sources as a Bridge to Disciplinary Literacy - Discusses a series of inquiry-based activities from "My Place in Time and Space," a 5th grade social studies curriculum. These activities build disciplinary literacy skills through working with primary sources.

Literacy in All Subjects - A resource from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction includes several resources for thinking about disciplinary literacy.

Technology Connections

Breakout EDU - A learning games platform that transforms teaching and learning in classrooms with physical and digital games, and the option to create your own content aligned game for sharing.

Classkick - Founded by teachers and engineers, Classkick eliminates barriers, shows teachers real-time student work and pinpoints the most urgent needs of students.

Classtools.net - Create free quizzes, games, activities and diagrams. 

Formative - Get real-time classroom data with actionable metrics.

Google Expeditions - Bring your classroom to life by taking your students on a virtual field trip to anywhere with Google Expeditions.

Google My Maps - Easily create and share custom maps with Google Maps.

Kahoot - Create, play and share quizzes on Kahoot!, a game-based learning and trivia platform.

Knight Lab Storytelling Tools - Build easy-to-use tools that can help you tell a better story. They offer an innovative suite of open-source, adaptable and lightweight tools for media makers.

Nearpod - Contains ready to teach K-12 lessons accessible through an award-winning interactive learning platform.

Padlet - Collaborate and be productive with Padlet, where you can make boards, documents, and webpages that are easy to read and contribute to.

Pear Deck - Helps teachers engage students with active learning and formative assessment by transforming presentations into classroom conversations.

Plickers - Used by K-12 teachers in over 100 countries, Plickers allows you to use free card activities that students will love.

Powtoon - Create amazing videos and presentations with Powtoon and its free.

Socrative - Provides effective assessments on their app including activities and quizzes. Review student understanding at the class, individual or question level.

Thinglink - Create interactive videos, images, and 360 content in minutes with Thinglink. Build student digital storytelling and ignite creativity.