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Statista
Statista is the perfect site if you are looking for a chart/graph that relates to a particular lesson/classroom topic or if students are in need of more chart and graph practice in preparation for the GED social studies test. After creating an account, Statista's free plan allows access to an extensive collection of statistics ranging from the economy to the environment, and even stats related to celebrities, personality, and behavior. Read More
Ford’s Theater Education Resources
Ford's Theater provides free lessons and resources for students at multiple levels (grades 3-12). While Lincoln's life and legacy is the theme of the materials, there are also lessons that are related to many well-known plays that have appeared at the theater. For the U.S.'s 250th birthday, the site has new classroom resources for elementary, middle and high school students that explore how American leaders across eras understood the ideals of freedom and equality. The site also offers opportunities for teacher professional development, strategies for teaching oratory, and ideas for presenting Lincoln's assassination and legacy. Read More
Facing History & Ourselves – World
Facing History & Ourselves includes a civics education curriculum collection that helps students build historical analysis and media literacy skills, and a U.S. History curriculum collection that includes flexible resources about the themes of democracy and freedom. In addition to social studies materials, the site includes ELA resources that integrate literacy skills development with civic education practices. The site also has numerous resources and lessons addressing the Holocaust and antisemitism. Registration for the site is required but the materials are free and are leveled for grades 6-12. Read More
Facing History & Ourselves – U.S.
Facing History & Ourselves includes a civics education curriculum collection that helps students build historical analysis and media literacy skills, and a U.S. History curriculum collection that includes flexible resources about the themes of democracy and freedom. In addition to social studies materials, the site includes ELA resources that integrate literacy skills development with civic education practices. The site also has numerous resources and lessons addressing the Holocaust and antisemitism. Registration for the site is required but the materials are free and are leveled for grades 6-12. Read More
CILIA-T Curriculum: U.S. History & Civics
CILIA-T stands for Content-Integrated Language Instruction for Adults with Technology Support. It’s an open-access, 16-module, CCRS/ELP/Northstar-aligned curriculum that integrates knowledge-building in civics, U.S. history, and government with academic English language and digital skills instruction and critical thinking. CILIA-T cultivates a classroom environment where adult learners can share and build on their immense personal experience as global citizens in partnership with their classmates. The target audience includes intermediate-advanced ELLs, pre-GED, and GED learners. Read More
CILIA-T Curriculum: U.S. Civics & History
CILIA-T stands for Content-Integrated Language Instruction for Adults with Technology Support. It’s an open-access, 16-module, CCRS/ELP/Northstar-aligned curriculum that integrates knowledge-building in civics, U.S. history, and government with academic English language and digital skills instruction and critical thinking. CILIA-T cultivates a classroom environment where adult learners can share and build on their immense personal experience as global citizens in partnership with their classmates. The target audience includes intermediate-advanced ELLs, pre-GED, and GED learners. Read More
Cartoons for the Classroom
Students are often asked to analyze an editorial cartoon on the GED or other high school equivalency test. The free materials from Cartoons for the Classroom will help students with this challenging task. Cartoons for the Classroom provides a weekly lesson that includes editorial cartoons related to a current event and a number of guiding questions for discussion or writing. In other materials, students have to draw conclusions by writing their own caption for a cartoon; there is also a cartoon evaluation worksheet that can be used with cartoons found in other publications. In addition to current event cartoons, the site provides resources to help study editorial cartoons from different eras. Read More
National Council for Geographic Education
The National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) is a professional organization for geography teachers and provides free and classroom-ready materials for both members and non-members. By navigating to the NCGE resource library, users can type in geography-related search term such as maps, climate, migration and be provided with lessons and other resources. While some of the materials are aligned to AP geography, there are many others that can be used in the elementary and secondary grade level classrooms. Read More
NewseumED
NewseumED provides a wide range of resources related to the First Amendment and media/information literacy. Along with an extensive lesson plan library, the site has created "EDcollections," which brings together archival materials, primary sources, interactives, and standards-based lesson plans for all levels of students. Activities related to free speech, media literacy, women's suffrage, the First Amendment, the Civil Rights Movement, and decoding elections are found in these EDcollections. Other useful resources include an artifact library where users can download and view impactful images from history. In addition, the site also has a number of videos related to media literacy topics such as bias and objectivity, and each one is accompanied by a related lesson plan. Read More
Council for Economic Education
The CEE's mission is to provide students at all levels with the tools and knowledge of economics and personal finance in order to make better decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities. The CEE offers an extensive collection of free, leveled, and standards-aligned lessons, activities, and videos that cover a wide range of economics and personal finance topics. Teachers can also sign up to download free, ready-made K-12 economics and personal finance quizzes and tests. If you are new to teaching economics, or need additional teaching strategies and resources, CEE offers professional development sessions and webinars on a variety of economics related topics. Read More