Dowagiac Union Schools
The Best of ... Social Studies Websites — Check 'em out!
R http://mtn.merit.edu/social.html
(Mich.TeacherNetwork, 1000 excellent weblinks!)R http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/history/histg.html
(hundreds of excellent updated sites) www.gp.k12.mi.us/ci/ss/home.htm (the best sites, organized by strand and grade level) (Michigan Council for Social Studies official site, conferences, weblinks, CDV’s, Olympiad) (The MI CLIMB project—new site, clarifies benchmarks, standards, gives lessons, assessments) (national site, conferences, weblinks, teacher resources)R www.pbs.org *(check out PBS Teacher Source for great links to lesson plans. pbskids.org)
(go to Sharp Links, then Social Studies and watch out!)History
(excellent easily searchable lessons)R www.loc.gov (Library of Congress--'primary source heaven', fabulous American Memory collection, Today in History)
R www.michiganepic.org *(History Themes information, examples/topics)
R www.sos.state.mi.us/history/history.html
(Michigan History galore! Check out MI History for kids)Economics
(super econ lessons for every grade—easy to use) (award winning lessons, excellent teacher and student programs and incentives) (state headquarters for economics resources, links and programs) (National Center on Education & Economy, great publications, lessons and links)Geography
(what is geography without maps?)R www.nationalgeographic.com/education/
(don’t miss Blue Ribbon links or lesson plans)Civics
(symbols of government, documents, citizenship, games, glossary, branches, laws, federalism, elections, great links) (13 Supreme Court cases, most often taught lessons—excellent!) (comprehensive NCSS clearinghouse with links—major league!) (all kinds of resources on the Constitution, funded by Congress) (Constitutional Rights Foundation: latest civics, publications, links, etc.) (premier site—just click on Teacher resources and have at it!) (Civitas International, loads of good lesson plans) (MSU created site—very comprehensive, tailored lessons to CDV’s and concepts by grade level) (excellent for K-6 Core Democratic Value lessons, activities) (one stop shopping for Michigan government info, links to education)R www.miciviced.org *(Center for Civic Education through Law, We the People, Project Citizen, conferences, resources)
R http://www.oakland.k12.mi.us/climbproject.htm
(clarifies the language in Michigan's benchmarks)Voting and Responsible Citizenship, Public Discourse, Decision Making
(lesson plans, ideas to bring democracy to life, supplement to free videos) (lessons, publications, teacher/student programs; plus, First Vote voter registration program, free video & guides) (Character Education, Free Resources for teachers)R
www.learningtogive.com
*(400+ field tested, standards-based lessons focus on voluntary
action for the good. Downloadable, with assessments, rubrics, etc.—click on "Teaching Materials")
Top
Current Events and Editorial Cartoons
(interactive, latest news based information, backgrounders, resources, daily guides and lessons) (excellent current events, lesson plans, resources) (hundreds to choose from, by topic, and print; also lessons for teaching with cartoons)
*Core Democratic Values Notebook