Resources

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Native Land Digital interactive map shows which Indigenous lands you live on in the Americas and in other parts of the world. Users can click on labels or enter their city, state or zip code and see which Indigenous peoples lived in that specific area. Accompanying the interactive map is a useful teacher's guide that provide suggestions on how to use the map in the classroom and a number of lessons that utilize the map and cover other topics related to the Indigenous peoples.

MCEE offers free economic and financial literacy resources at the K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 grade levels. All of the free lessons meet the Minnesota meet the Minnesota state academic standards in economics and many of their curriculum materials provide teachers with materials to incorporate economics into history, geography, and mathematics. In addition to their leveled lessons, MCEE provides resources for distance learning, for teaching multi-language students, and links to free online finance games. If you are new to teaching economics, or need additional teaching strategies and resources, MCEE offers professional development sessions on a variety of economics-related topics.

Although originally published in 2008, this PDF-version of The Change Agent's "Democracy in Acton" edition has many readings and activities related to civic participation that still relevant for current times. The Change Agent is a publication that helps teachers incorporate social justice content into their curriculum. There are even articles written by adult leaners. It does require a subscription and is appropriate for intermediate and above ELL students and for learners at the Pre-GED/GED levels. In this edition, readers are first introduced to different types of civic participation and problem solving strategies. The next sections include topics related to politics, the history of voting, and the connection between money and politics. The final readings discuss political parties and the democratic system of government.

COABE has compiled an extensive online library of voter resources. There are links to help people register to vote, either online or by mail, and a link on where to get more information about their local polling place. In addition, the site includes a very comprehensive list of free voter resources for all levels of ABE students. Resources from Voice of America, StoryCorps, TED-ED, and US Citizenship Podcast, just to name a few, can be easily accessed.

The Social Studies: Integrating Reading & Writing Curriculum Framework is a free resource that incorporates social studies content with various reading and writing skills. The curriculum is designed for HSE teachers but lessons and activities could be adapted for other levels. Units 1-3 all include lesson plans and supporting materials and cover the colonial period, the Constitution, and westward expansion. Each provides topical social studies content and then uses it to reinforce reading, writing, and vocabulary skills. For Units 4-12, while there are no lessons or materials, there is a curriculum map with guidelines. Also included is a comprehensive resource guide for HSE social studies.

The Smithsonian offers a wealth of free educator resources from their museums and other facilities including the African American Museum, American Indian Museum, American History museum, and many others. Generally, each museum's educator resource section has curriculum guides and a wide range of standards-based, multi-level lessons and activities in both print and digital forms. The site also provides links to many professional development opportunities (online and in-person) to help teachers incorporate museum learning into their instructional planning and delivery.

The Minnesota Historical Society's education site offers free classroom-ready resources along with other supplemental curriculum materials on topics of Minnesota and American history. Many of the secondary and elementary ready-to-go classroom activities engage students in primary source analysis, while others focus on students' reading, writing, and research skills. In addition to classroom lessons, the site provides ideas for teaching Native American history and culture, guidance on taking field trips to historic sites and museums around the state of Minnesota, and a regularly updated list of teacher professional development opportunities.

The Civics Renewal Network is a consortium of nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations that is committed to providing free high-quality learning materials. In their repository, teachers have access to a wide-range of civics and government resources along with others related to history, citizenship, and media literacy. Based on the number of items, teachers can narrow their search by subject, grade level, resource type, standard, or by a specific teaching strategy such as debate, whole class, project-based learning or role play.

The Digital Civics Toolkit is a free collection of resources and activities that encourage learners to recognize the connection between their digital presence life and their civic life. The curriculum is designed for high school level learners but can definitely be adapted for students at other levels. The five modules provide students with the opportunity to identify civics issues that matter to them, analyze civics issues online, navigate diverse perspectives, consider what content they share online, and think about strategies to enact on civics issues. Each module contains a sentence starter, several activities, and a closing reflection. In addition, the site provides a teacher background information section to provide further support through other resources.

PBS Learning Media includes an extensive collection of free, leveled teacher resources for all subject areas. The lessons represent diverse perspectives, are aligned to national and state standards, and are designed to supplement classroom instruction by incorporating video segments and interactive resources. Users can filter by grade level and/or by the many resource types such as lesson plans, interactive lessons, or just video. In addition, many lessons highlight current events and can be shared to Google Classroom or directly shared with students.

The goal of the Bill of Rights Institute is to provide a better understanding of the Constitution and Bill of Rights through 4000 resources that are free and generally leveled for the middle/high school classroom. Educators can access primary source-based lessons and and current event articles that are frequently updated. There is also an extensive collection of videos and podcasts to introduce and engage students on a variety relevant topics. Moreover, teachers can pull individual lessons from ready-made curricula that are generally based on America's founding principles. For professional development, the site provides eLearning for teachers to support their planning and delivery on topics related to U.S. Government.

National Geographic's education resources offer numerous, free, leveled materials on a variety of topics related to geography, the environment, and human migration. The searchable content includes articles, interactives, infographics, maps, and videos. Teachers can customize, print and/or share black line maps and there is also a feature where students can create and view interactive maps. In addition, educators from all over the world can can connect and share with each other through National Geographic's free online courses for educators.

Voices for Suffrage is a free, interactive resource that tells the story of women's suffrage from the Seneca Falls Convention to the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. The resource is computer/tablet-based on can be projected as a whole class activity or worked on individually or in small groups. Students interact with primary documents, videos and other sources to explore the suffrage movement, nationally and by state, through time lines and guided tours. Students can also become part of the suffrage movement by determining what they would do in certain situations. Other supplemental resources are available to make this resource easy to adapt.

The Youth Leadership Initiative (YLI) offers free education resources for teachers along with other materials to encourage students to participate in the political process. Teachers can download K-12 and adult leveled lessons on topics such as the political process, foundations of American government, the presidency, and political beliefs and behaviors. Teachers can sign-up for YLI’s E-Congress program that allows students to learn about Congress by writing original legislation. YLI’s online mock election activity uses electronic ballots tailored to each student’s home legislative district.

Based on the "Inquiry Design Model" that emphasizes student inquiry in social studies instruction - including U.S. history. These free lessons, or “inquiries,” are K-12 leveled and also cover all other sub-disciplines of social studies (Ancient/European/World history, Civics/U.S. government, geography, economics), as well as state history, local history, and human rights. Each instructional inquiry is framed around a compelling question, and all related formative/summative performance tasks, subject matter-specific texts, and suggestions for extending the inquiry are included.

Based on the "Inquiry Design Model" that emphasizes student inquiry in social studies instruction - including world history. These free lessons, or “inquiries,” are K-12 leveled and also cover all other sub-disciplines of social studies (Ancient/European/U.S. history, Civics/U.S. government, geography, economics), as well as state history, local history, and human rights. Each instructional inquiry is framed around a compelling question, and all related formative/summative performance tasks, subject matter-specific texts, and suggestions for extending the inquiry are included.