Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities

1. The Basics of Business History-Top 100 events at a glance
2. History Central-The major events in world history
3. 1750-1939 timeline-highlights major events in United States history
4. World History-A collection of all timelines on the site—categories include World History, US, Countries, Entertainment, Sports, War, Health & Science.
5. Interactive Timeline-Insert events into timeline
6. Interactive Timeline of Events

1. Explore the Amazing World of Early America
   Using the media of the day including newspapers, maps, magazines, autobiographies, and art, discover how the people in colonial times saw the world. There are wonderful primary source materials here to explore
2. Misfortune of Indentured Servants
   This copy of Gottlieb Mittelberger's 1754 description of the voyage to America will make you glad you live in the 20th century.
3. Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Slavery During the Colonial Period
   This online lesson has students study slave laws, read runaway slave ads, and fill out focus questions
4. Mayflower on the Web
   This is a complete site with history of the Mayflower, and inventory, passenger lists, and primary documents such as the Mayflower Compact and Thanksgiving Proclamation
5. Scholastic Research Starter: Plymouth Colony
   This is an excellent collection on articles on everything related to the Plymouth Colony, such as reasons for colonization, impact on the Indians, daily life in the colony, important people, and more. There is also a large list of links to other web sites with more information.
6. Understanding Slavery
   This web site has lots of great info on slavery including a comparison of slavery around the world, a personal account of a slave's life through his own writings, teaching suggestions, additional resources, and a reenactment of a slave auction with detailed info on the views held by different members of society.
7. Indians Wars-This content resource describes the historical perspective of Indian Wars from the period of exploration and settlement to the Native American Removal Policy and Wars West of the Mississippi.
8. Racial Slavery-This is an essay on racial slavery, and the roots of its institutionalization in the colonies. The article begins with an explanation of the African as an indentured servitude, and then gives reasons why this arrangement was not working. In addition the essay will explain how and why race became the determining factor in the identification of slaves.
9. Explorations: Indentured servitude and slavery-This website is a fantastic resource for the 8th grade teacher instructing about indentured servitude and slavery in the colonies. The site begins with a 6 minute video history of the two subjects playable in Windows Media Player.
10. The roots of religious freedom-This website prepared by the US Department of Education is about the rights of the people granted by the Bill of Rights. It is well written and students should gain valuable insight into how the seed of religious freedom and tolerance was developed in the United States.
11. Motivations For English Colonization-This site is a link from Digital History. Provided is a set of primary documents, including statistics, that students can analyze for the purpose of making conclusion.
12. San Antonio Missions-This lesson provides an overview of the Spanish settlement of what is now the southwest portion of the United States. There is a pre activity included which would draw upon student's knowledge of European architecture during the time period and several appropriate post activities which teachers could choose to incorporate.

1. Politics in Colonial Virginia
   Here is historical background with primary material on the causes of the American Revolution from the Stamp Act to the declaration of war. Included is a summary of the 1765 Stamp Act , the Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions, William Pitt's speech against the Stamp Act , and print images of the repeal (Funeral of Miss Ame-Stamp) and of the Alternative of Williamsburg. Also included are the words to the song "The Glorious Seventy Four," a summary of the Rights of British America, the Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress, Henry's "Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death" speech, the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the Declaration of Independence and the names of the Virginia signers of the Declaration of Independence.
2. LIBERTY! The American Revolution
   This web site from PBS covers headlines, timelines, resource material and related topics on the American Revolution, Daily Life in the Colonies, the Global Village, a Military point-of-view, and an online Revolutionary quiz.
3. Causes for the Revolution
   This site teaches about the many causes for the Revolution and includes a vocabulary matching game with the related terms.
4. The Shot Heard Round the World -This website has the student watch a short online video that explains the beginning of the Revolutionary War. After the video, they can take a seven question quiz to check their understanding.
5. The prelude to the Revolution – A timeline of events 
6. The road to independence-This resource provides information on all of the events leading up to the American Revolution. By clicking the title of an event the user is given a concise, easy to understand, overview of that event and its impact on the beginning of the American Revolution.
7. Why did the American Revolution take place?-This resource is short a short and well written summary of various perspectives, both Colonial and British, of the Revolutionary War.
8. Colonial Broadsides and the American Revolution-This lesson is about the impact of broadsides in colonial America. Broadsides are "notices written on disposable, single sheets of paper printed on one side only, intended to have an immediate impact on readers.
9. Smart Board Lesson  Created by:  Katie Sivula  SB

1. YOU join the signers of the Declaration of Independence.  This website will allow your name to be printed right next to those leaders of this country.  Make sure you want to do this!  The colonist knew that if they lost the war for Independence they would be hunted down, imprisoned or worse.  It was Benjamin Franklin who said of their dire situation, “If we do not hang together we will for surly hang separately”.
2. User's Guide to the Declaration of Independence
   This site brings the Declaration of Independence to life. Not only is there information about its writing and the Founders but there are discussion of topics from today and from critical periods of American history during which the ideas of the Declaration were tested.
3. LIBERTY! The American Revolution
   This web site from PBS covers headlines, timelines, resource material and related topics on the American Revolution, Daily Life in the Colonies, the Global Village, a Military point-of-view, and an online Revolutionary quiz.
4. Women of the American Revolution-This resource is directly aligned with the Ohio Content Standard listed. It emphasizes specific knowledge within the Indicator. This is an overview of 25 women and what each woman contributed to the American Revolution.
5. The Revolution’s Black Soldiers-On this site provided by American Revolution.org Robert Selig, professor of history, writes an in-depth article on the Black Soldiers' role in the American Revolution.
6. The Declaration and Beyond-This lesson unit requires students to create a persuasive writing report based on Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" and the Declaration of Independence. The objective of this lesson is to engage students in understanding that the colonists were determined to separate from England and create their own country.

1. Project History Links  This site has many useful links that a teacher can explore to meet the enormous challenge laid out in the listed standard. This direct link does not provide content, but content can be explored through this collected bank. This site could cut down on the research time of a teacher. Of specific use is the link the National Archives and the Library of Congress.
2. Drafting the Constitution (compares with Articles)  Students will examine the draft of the United States Constitution submitted by the Committee of Detail to the Constitutional Convention. Background information of the failures of the Articles of Confederation is reviewed in a preliminary activity. Students are then asked to compare the Committee's draft with the ratified U.S. Constitution, especially the Preamble and Article IX. To conclude the lesson extension activities analyzing perspectives written in letters of the Framers of the Constitution and the Veto Power are studied. Teachers should be aware that the reading passages are lengthy and may need to be modified for some learners, and that there is no post assessment or culminating questions attached to this lesson.
3. Project History Links-This site has many useful links that a teacher can explore to meet the enormous challenge laid out in the listed standard. This direct link does not provide content, but content can be explored through this collected bank.

1. A Great Compromise    This resource is taken directly from the U.S. Senate's official site. This particular resource is a short history of the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The reading begins with an explanation of what the Constitutional Convention had already accomplished - how the houses would be organized, minimum ages and so forth. The conclusion is a short paragraph about the Great Compromise itself. 8th grade teachers could easily use this resource while teaching about the Constitution. There are a lot of other links connected to this website based upon the years the particular event took place. 8th grade teachers could make active use of this site throughout their school year when teaching everything from the beginnings of our Constitution through secessions and reconstruction.
2. The Constitutional Convention: What the Founding Fathers Said   This is a lesson on the debates of the Constitutional Convention. Students will analyze the debates after participating in a reenactment of one of the debates in the form of a Readers Theatre activity. Depending on the approach a teacher wants to take, students might do one of a variety of extension/assessment activities that are suggested. This lesson will probably take 2-3 class periods to complete, but could easily go longer with some of the suggestions provided. This lesson provides an overview, plenty of suggestions for differentiation, and a variety of extension activities to challenge students at any level. It also provides a very large number of links to sites that can be used to teacher this indicator and a variety of others.
3. A Great Compromise-This particular resource is a short history of the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The reading begins with an explanation of what the Constitutional Convention had already accomplished - how the houses would be organized, minimum ages and so forth.
4. The Constitutional Convention: What the Founding Fathers Said-This is a lesson on the debates of the Constitutional Convention. Students will analyze the debates after participating in a reenactment of one of the debates in the form of a Readers Theatre activity.

1. Before and Beyond the Constitution: What Should a President Do?   This is a well-written lesson that will lead students through studying the Articles of Confederation to George Washington’s experience as the first President serving under the Constitution. The lessons contain some blackline masters and worksheets that teachers can print or have students complete online, in the form of a webquest. These lessons could be completed in 4-5 class periods. The wide variety of activity and skill reinforcement needed to complete this activity provides teachers with a resource that encourages active participation from all students, regardless of their skill level. If all connected lessons were used, the time expected to complete these assignments would be around 12 class periods. This unit teaches a wealth of information about the period that began with the American Revolution and ends with Washington’s tenure as President. Attached to this site is the possibility for teachers to access equally good lessons focused on the founding father’s views about monarchy and to the American government formed under the Articles of Confederation.
2. Before and Beyond the Constitution: What Should a President Do?-This is a well-written lesson that will lead students through studying the Articles of Confederation to George Washington’s experience as the first President serving under the Constitution. The lessons contain some blackline masters and worksheets that teachers can print or have students complete online, in the form of a webquest.

1. The Mexican-American War
   This web site presents a historical overview of the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), as well as primary documents and images related to the conflict, and lesson plans on teaching the Mexican-American War.
2. Lewis and Clark
   This is an interactive site that deals with a wide variety of areas that deal with the Lewis and Clark expedition. There is also an interactive game that students can play. A good site for elementary and middle school level students.
3. Part I, Lesson 4: Values and Beliefs of Manifest Destiny   This lesson focuses on the topic of Manifest Destiny and its influence on the California gold rush. A focusing question begins this lesson that recommends 1-2 class periods to complete. Students will examine the beliefs of Manifest Destiny and its role in the California Gold Rush and analyze a painting to gather information about Manifest Destiny. Background information and student resource worksheets are easily accessible for the teacher. Students are in cooperative groups to analyze and discuss selected works of art; however, students individually complete analysis worksheets. Other assessment options are suggested.
4. Corps of Discovery: Voyaging with Lewis and Clark   This site provides an excellent lesson that asks students to work through different elements of the Louisiana Purchase expedition, including the political, social, and scientific problems that occurred. This site uses primary sources as well as encyclopedias and textbooks to enhance student’s background knowledge. The activity outlined allows students to experience the adventure that was ahead of Louis and Clark. The rubrics provided for the assessment of this project are well written and provide students with the ability to self-assess their work. This lesson could easily be adapted for other grade levels and learning styles.
5. Part I, Lesson 4: Values and Beliefs of Manifest Destiny-This lesson focuses on the topic of Manifest Destiny and its influence on the California gold rush. A focusing question begins this lesson that recommends 1-2 class periods to complete. Students will examine the beliefs of Manifest Destiny and its role in the California Gold Rush and analyze a painting to gather information about Manifest Destiny.
6. Corps of Discovery: Voyaging with Lewis and Clark-This site provides an excellent lesson that asks students to work through different elements of the Louisiana Purchase expedition, including the political, social, and scientific problems that occurred.

1. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
   This site provides information on the Lincoln-Douglas Debates including text of the debates, newspaper commentaries on the debates, maps, images, and lesson plans
2. Africans in America
   America's journey through slavery is presented in four parts. For each era, you'll find a historical Narrative, a Resource Bank of images, documents, stories, biographies, and commentaries, and a Teacher's Guide for using the content of the Web site in U.S. history courses.
3. Causes of Civil War-An archive of informative period documents on the secession and causes for the war.
4. The American Civil War-brief look at slavery, States Rights, and sectional issues that led to the American Civil War.
5. President Lincoln-Picture and Sound Clip
6. Civil War Vocabulary-Interactive website includes flash cards about Civil War
7. The Struggle to preserve the Union    This site gives a comprehension overview of the American Civil War from the causes through the battles. Included is information about northern and southern leaders, the nature of battle and primary documents. Other benefits of this website are that it provides maps and photographs to aide visual learning in the classroom. The website is a great resource because it gives background knowledge and provides internet resources to route the teacher or student to additional resources on the web. This is beneficial because the content on this page only partially covers the indicator assigned to this resource.
8. Before Brother Fought Brother: Factory vs. Plantation in the North and South   This lesson unit has some very interesting sites, including maps, pictures and authentic papers from the 1700 and 1800's. The lesson unit was good; except for a few areas the lesson unit does not give enough detail for other teachers to develop the unit clearly. There were three different ways to achieve an assessment, but I feel that there would be better ways to assess students. Overall, the unit does have really good possibilities.
   
    

1. The American Civil War Homepage
   This site has a very large collection on Civil War links, nicely divided into categories
2. The Battle of Gettysburg-Includes battle overviews, the Order of Battle for both the Union and Confederate armies at Gettysburg.
3. Gettysburg.com-the Battle Information Center
4. Day 1,2,&3-Video clip
5. US Civil War   This resource would support a unit on the Civil War. Created on this page is a pictorial timeline of the Civil War beginning November 6, 1860 and ending on December 6, 1865. The timeline includes various links for important people and difficult vocabulary. Pictures and diagrams are included with the text to aid in student comprehension. The text is easy to read, yet thorough and accessible for a variety of learners. A teacher could easily convert this information into an interactive lecture or slideshow. This source frames the content in a context that is meaningful to students or significant to the world at large.
6. Emancipation Proclamation through different eyes   Students will analyze the Emancipation Proclamation and view it from the different perspectives of population groups living at the time it was passed. Cooperative group jigsaws will ask the students to investigate positions and then reconfigure to share the assigned perspectives with other students. Analysis worksheets and internet links are provided. At the conclusion of this 2-3 day lesson, students will determine if the Emancipation Proclamation should be considered one of the greatest documents in history.
7. Civil War Overview     This web resource is great. It gives an overview of different battles and important events that took place during the Civil War. It is a good site to use when students need to select an area to research on the Civil War, but are not sure what battle or event they would like to research

   
    

1. Exploring Constitutional Conflicts-The Powers of Congress to Enforce the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments
2. United States History-Great site for teachers!    A great lesson to learn about the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments.
3. The History of Jim Crow   This resource contains quality background information about the discrimination of Negros and the history of Jim Crow Laws. The site provides lesson plans, maps, literature connections and reference material. This is an excellent resource for teachers. I especially liked the state by state list of Jim Crow laws that students can find by clicking on an interactive map. I also liked the cross-curricular unit plans provided that will help teachers use literature such as "Beloved" and "To kill a Mockingbird" in their classroom. The resource would be interesting to most students in this age range and requires the active participation and reflection of student in their own learning.
4. Equal Protection    This is an essay dealing with issues of equal protection and civil rights brought about by the Civil War amendments. The author gives some background on the Bill of Rights and the issue of equal protection, and then takes the reader through the Civil War amendments and Civil Rights acts, as well as other historical events related to these topics. It provides a quick overview of this time period, Reconstruction, and identifies congressional acts, amendments and court cases that are of use for this topic. The resource is cited and reflects research that is widely known and generally accepted, and can be adapted to a variety of learning settings.
5. The Role of President Lincoln in Reconstruction 1863-65: A Simulation Activity    This link is to a series of lessons focusing upon Abraham Lincoln and his presidency. The first two activities ask students to take a look at all of the roles that the president of the United States is asked to perform. This is done by examining photographs and written documents written by and to Lincoln. The final two activities focus upon the reconstruction era. This series of lesson provides a great way to compare what may have happened during reconstruction had Lincoln not been assassinated to what really happened. There are a variety of activities for students to complete that will cause them to think while maintaining their interest. All skill levels should be able to complete these activities to some degree, though some will take some adaptation. I believe that these four lessons could be completed in 5-6 class periods. The only problem with the site is that it is difficult to find the needed documents through the National Archives site, because it has been updated since this lesson was published. I would suggest that the teacher find the documents ahead of time and print them for students. Hyperlinks to the documents and photos expire and thus are unusable 30 minutes after they have been accessed. The lesson is both fun and very informative.
6. A history of the Ku Klux Klan   Upon examination, I have found the historicaldocuments.com website to be one of the best content resources that I have run across. In dealing with the Ku Klux Klan, the website provides detailed information about its founding including links to the 14th Amendment and the history of African Americans. The entire history of the Klan is presented, from its founding in the 1860's through the 1960's and beyond. The history of the Klan is well written and would be easily understood by most 8th grade students. In addition to the information on the Klan, the site provides similar links to historical documents from the Magna Carta to the US Constitution. Furthermore, it includes links to State of the Union Addresses and Supreme Court Decisions (i.e. the Dred Scott case). Also included is a discussion forum on which students can discuss topics such as those topics mentioned above. The wealth of information included on this site would provide constant assistance for 8th Grade teacher throughout the school year. Furthermore, 6th and 7th grade social studies teachers could follow the links to find information on their assigned teaching periods. For example, the site provides assistance in teaching important documents such as, the Code of Hammurabi, the Magna Carta, and letters from Christopher Columbus .

1. Religious Freedom In the US
2. Religion in Colonial America-Learn about religious diversity during colonial life.
3. The Religious Freedom Page-Issues of religious freedom in the United States.
4. Status of Religious Freedom in U.S.-In the United States, The US Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and freedom of worship.
5. The search for Religious and Political Freedom-From Revolution to Reconstruction
6. Religious Rights-what is meant by religious rights
7. Teaching American history Learning about religion in the colonies-This site developed by the Teaching American History Institute provides a list of on-line resources solely related to the history of religion in the United States. Using this site a user can be directed information that will allow them to trace the development of religious diversity in the colonies, and analyze how the concept of religious freedom has evolved in the United States, as states in the indicator.
8. Middle colonies-This resource is an essay titled, "The Middle Colonies as the birthplace of American Religious Pluralism." The essay begins with historical accounts of the various religious groups that settled the Middle Colonies. It then pursues the idea that the wide variety of religions that gathered in this region led to America's characteristic of religious toleration.
9. The Joseph Bellamy House: The Great Awakening in Puritan New England-This website provided a wealth of activities, pictures, paintings and primary source readings to greatly deepen students' understanding of Puritanism and the Great Awakening. Students and teachers can easily navigate throughout the lesson via the table of contents located to the side of each page.

1. Hidden Bias-The effects of stereotypes and prejudices.
2. Planet Tolerance-Historical and modern day images often contain hidden messages about us, about others and about our world.
3. Who is the Other-an article about stereotyping
4. Challenging Racism and Discrimination-A  unit  about the origins of ethnic and cultural diversity.  Great for teachers!
5. Institutional Racism-What is institutional racism?
6. Stereotypes of Native Americans-This site provides an extensive overview of stereotyping and prejudices. It directly applies to 8th grade standards. More importantly the activity would hold the attention of all students and test their current beliefs about society.
7. Discovery School Understanding stereotypes and prejudice-This lesson may be an excellent way for teachers to generate thinking about stereotyping and prejudice; racism and prejudice; institutionalized racism and institutionalized discrimination.

1. Indian removal
2. The Effects of Indian Removal-An Interactive Curriculum Enrichment Service for Teachers
3. Andrew Jackson Speaks- Transcripts of Jackson's speeches concerning the 19th century Indian Removal Act
4. Treaty of Greenville-The original site gives a brief explanation, and then there are links on the side to a manuscript of the actual treaty, key individuals, and events.
5. Indian treaties and the removal act-The resource begins with a very short summary of Indian relations with the United States and then leads into the act itself.
6. Native people-The information will assist students while researching or while comparing and contrasting. Some sounds and pictures are provided to accompany the reading.
7. Little Turtle-It has a good overview on the life of Little Turtle, and provides links to many other Ohio historical events and figures. A teacher could use this information to exemplify the relationship between early American settlers and the American Indians.
    

1. Africans in America
   America's journey through slavery is presented in four parts. For each era, you'll find a historical Narrative, a Resource Bank of images, documents, stories, biographies, and commentaries, and a Teacher's Guide for using the content of the Web site in U.S. history courses.
2. Understanding Slavery
   This web site has lots of great info on slavery including a comparison of slavery around the world, a personal account of a slave's life through his own writings, teaching suggestions, additional resources, and a reenactment of a slave auction with detailed info on the views held by different members of society.
3. Black Resistance to Slavery in the United States-Included in this website are four major sections: slaves coming to America, slave resistance, female slave resistance, and slave revolts. This resource is linked to its main page, Afro.com, which is a site providing further information for, about, and by black Americans.
4. Following the slave route-Images, maps, and in-depth background information of the slave trade's history is provided along with student analysis worksheets.

1. Ohio Women This site uses pages of information, pictures, and primary sources to explain the struggles, accomplishments, and daily life of Ohio women and their influence both locally and nationally.
2. Protecting Human Rights-Challenges women still face.
3. Women's Rights History-We've come a long way.
4. Links on Women’s rights-This resource would be useful for a lesson on Women's Rights and Suffrage.
5. The early suffragists-This website has wonderful primary resources and a great activity for students to complete to learn more about the women's suffrage movement, this activity is written using clear and organized directions that students should easily follow. However, the site also states that students will need to learn how to navigate throughout the archives. There are practice sheets provided to help students locate items of interest. Unfortunately it may take several class periods for students to learn this process.

1. A Developing Identity-How Hispanics are being  both impacting and being influenced by American society.
2. Made in America-Using these resource students will gain background knowledge of cultural diffusion by comparing items made in the U.S.A. with those made in other world regions. Students will use maps and atlases to locate places of items described in a reading passage scenario.
3. An introduction to cultural diversity-This lesson explores the concepts of culture and diversity by encouraging students to think outside of the box. Many resources and teaching techniques are displayed in this lesson to meet the needs of diverse learners. The author uses stations to allow the students to move and explore.

1. Slavery  This is a Power point showing slavery prior to 1877
2. Muddy Waters- students will explore the impact that human activities have had on water quality in Pennsylvania over time. Through the analysis of photo images, students will review Pennsylvania's historical patterns in regard to population density, changes in technology and tools and general land use patterns. Students will analyze these changes and determine their impact upon water quality. Students will read about the Honey Hollow Watershed project as a case study for the conservation movement. This is one of the many primary resources that this lesson is linked to. The lesson outlines activities that will take at least three days to conduct. Teachers should be warned that no formal assessment is provided, though one can easily be adapted

1. Native Americans - Many different Native American groups lived in North America. Click on an area of the map to learn about life in that region.
2. The Peopling Of America-This site uses primary resources, both literature and statistics, to explore how the environment effected the population distribution of the first European settlers. There is a direct cross-curricular connection made with reading. This website could be used by teacher to lead class discussion or to create stations or to jigsaw with the class.

1. America on the Move
   At this excellent site you can read about how transportation shaped the lives, landscapes, culture, and communities of America. You can examine the changes brought by transportation networks, play some cool games, and check out lots of other resources from the National Museum of American History. There are also excellent teacher guides available for each section.

1. Why Did the North Win the Civil War?  This resource is a website containing a chart comparing the Union and Confederate advantages and disadvantages during the Civil War. 8th Grade Social Studies teachers could choose to use this chart as written or adapt it on their own. The items mentioned are mostly factual but there is some room for opinion which teachers could adjust as desired. The true value of this site is the wealth of lessons and resources it is connected to by choosing "Return to Syllabus." One of the best of these resources is entitled, "What Caused the Civil War." This resource contains a pair of statements taken and asks students to analyze them. It also contains a map of the vote of the election of 1860. This is a fantastic resource for 8th grade social studies teachers.
2. Historical Background   This resource, "Historical Background" is about the Civil War and is part of an extensive website, americancivilwar.com. This particular resource gives the advantages and disadvantages of each side as well as the strategies each used during the war, and woven within this explanation are economic reasons. This is a concise narrative of information about the civil war and would be good for use with students.
3. MSN Encarta – the US Civil War    MSN Encarta outlines causes of the American Civil War focusing upon economic, social and political factors. The website gives clear and concise explanations that students can easily understand for research purposes.
4. The Valley of the Shadow-The site encourages viewers to explore differences between the north and south during this time period, through the representation of two diverse counties in America. Students have many opportunities to explore through this accessible web site. The site is full of visuals such as maps and photographs that students will enjoy learning from. The teacher resource center has many lessons and assessment ideas that will serve multiple learning levels. This site is filled with interesting information.

1. Mercantilism
   This essay explains the origins, key components of mercantilism and compares European applications of this concept focusing on the English, French and Spanish.

1. Limiting Trade-This lesson addresses the economic concepts of free trade and trade barriers. A debate structure (with detailed directions) is used to analyze a real world trade situation. Students are required to apply concepts learned in cooperative groups to participate in the debate. This lesson recommends 1-2 class periods; however, depending upon the class size, 2-3 class periods may be required. AA pre-assessment is not provided, but a closure activity and multiple assessments are available. This is an excellent resource provided by the National Council on Economic Education!
2. Don't Fence Me Out-These activities are simple developed to        encourage students to think and draw conclusions. Unfortunately, this site does not provide the teacher with details and content to use in the process of teaching the benchmark. It only includes the three activities. If you are looking for creative ways to introduce the concept of trade barriers or show how trade barriers are relevant to live today this website will be useful.

1. The Rights of the Colonist-Some of the first principles of natural law and justice.
2. The Declaration and Natural Rights-Read about Natural Rights and answer background questions.
3. Life, Liberty , & the Pursuit of Happiness-Essay shows how the constitution gave rise to a free society.
4. US's History of the Declaration of Independence-
   On this site students will analyze the success of the goals established in the Declaration of Independence. By reading to find the main idea in the primary source passages, students in cooperative groups will complete analysis worksheets to determine the successes and failures of the new nation meeting the principles of self-government. Students will explain historical examples within the 1789 and 1810 time frame. A performance assessment criteria rubric is provided for the constructed response used to evaluate each student's understanding. Answer sheets are also provided for the teacher in this two day lesson.
5. Did the new nation meet the goals stated in the Declaration of Independence-On this site students will analyze the success of the goals established in the Declaration of Independence. By reading to find the main idea in the primary source passages, students in cooperative groups will complete analysis worksheets to determine the successes and failures of the new nation meeting the principles of self-government. Students will explain historical examples within the 1789 and 1810 time frame. A performance assessment criteria rubric is provided for the constructed response used to evaluate each student's understanding. Answer sheets are also provided for the teacher in this two day lesson.
    

1. The James Madison Center-Debate on the National Establishment of a bank.
2. Federalist vs. Republicans
3. Origins of the Political Parties-This is an interesting lesson unit that matches our state standards to explore the origins of American political party. The websites are accurate and there are a variety of websites for students to explore that could also be used for other subject areas on American government. Two websites were showing "page cannot be found”: www,geocities.com.CapitalHill/7970/index.htm on Jefferson Perspectives www.history.sfasu.edu/history/134_Unit6A.html on Progressive Era - 1900 election. This lesson would be interesting to most eighth grade students and requires active participation and reflection by students. The resource is adaptable to a variety of learning s strategies and reflects high standards.

1. Shays's Rebellion-find out more on Wikipedia.
2. Social Studies for Kids-Explains two things Shays's Rebellion illustrated.
3. Articles vs. Constitution-This is content resource is a chart showing point-by-point characteristics of the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution on eleven issues. It would be very useful as a handout for students or a quick review for teachers.
4. Smart Board Lessons by: Katie Sivula  SB

1. U.S. Constitution Power Grab Game
   The highest law of the land in the United States is the Constitution. This is why you spend so much time learning about it in school. This activity will increase your knowledge of the Constitution and it's fundamental ideas: checks and balances, separation of powers, Bill of Rights and amendments.
2. Constitution Online-Separation of Powers-This website is great for studying the Constitution's provisions of separation of power. It also provides detailed descriptions of the British, French, Canadian and Mexican interpretations of separation of powers that gives students a way to compare and better understand each country's political system. A teacher can use this information in a variety of ways, but no suggests are offered on the site. Therefore, this information will compliment a teacher’s lesson plan.
3. Constitution Online-Checks and Balances-Explains the checks and balances system by outlining the power each branch of the national government has to challenge the other branches. This is a good resource for teachers; however the resource is much like reading a textbook and will not engage students. A teacher may want to add this information to a graphic organizer or use for their notes when presenting a lesson on checks and balances.
4. The Bill of Rights-On this site the amendments are provided using visuals that make the language understandable to the reader. In addition, this resource provides great activities for the teacher or student to complete. The activities will be both interesting and engaging to students.
5. Constitution Online-Federalism-Definitions and examples of specific powers for both the states and the federal government are provided. Students may also find this resource useful when completing research.
6. Smart Board Lesson by:  Katie Sivula

1. History of The Bill of Rights-There are a variety of interesting questions included for involvement in the Jeopardy-type game as well as some basic, but well done reviews of the Bill of Rights, including the people and actions involved in its ratification. The lesson is definitely age level appropriate and most 8th grade students would have an enjoyable time competing in the game. Because it is a team activity, students would not necessarily need to feel personally responsible for the points, which could encourage lower level students’ participation and enjoyment. A very nice summary of the Bill of Rights is included as a handout to give to students.

1. Forming a more perfect union   This is a power point explaining why we have a constitution.
2. Constitution   Power point explaining the outline of the United States constitution.
3. Constitution Online-Constitution and Religion-On this particular page the authors are exploring the Constitution and religion. The information does align to the government standards noted. This site creates an excellent opportunity for teachers to use primary documents to explore the content. However, the text is lengthy and may not be suitable for all reading levels. A benefit of this site is it provides plenty of help with vocabulary through author commentary and has different menus to meet the different interest of your students. This site is good for gathering basic information; it could be used as a resource for teachers or students.

1. Northwest Ordinance-explanation of the Northwest Ordinance
2. Lesson 1-A simple introduction to the Northwest Ordinance
3. Milestone Historic Documents

1. How A Bill becomes a law-A diagram of how a bill becomes a law.
2. How Laws are Made-Ben's guide to U.S. government for kids.

1. The Sons of Liberty
2. SOL Flag-Flag of the early colonist
3. The Underground Railroad-Learn what challenges slaves faced in National Geographic's Underground Railroad adventure.
4. Aboard the Underground Railroad-historic places along the Underground Railroad.
5. Moving Towards Independence-The resource is an 11 page document with a few portraits of historical figures during the country's founding. The resource could be used to enhance student’s background knowledge about the fight for independence.
6. Sons of Liberty:  Patriots or Terrorists?-If assigned to a student it would give them information to think about in retrospect of today's terrorist activities. This site asks a student to decide if the Sons of Liberty were terrorist or patriots. I highly recommend this site as a resource site.

1. History of voting rights-This website has numerous links to a wide variety of sources from which to learn about the history of voting, the beginnings of our government, the voting process, and running for office. The links easily allow students to navigate through the site from which they can easily gather their needed information from short and well written summaries of each entry.
2. A brief history of voting-This is an excellent summary of voting rights throughout America history, focusing upon African American and women suffragist. Linked to this site are numerous content appropriate websites, including 7 primary sources.
3. On the road to political conventions-This site provides excellent information on political campaigns and conventions. Links are provides to address the following topics: How Political Conventions Work, Functions of Conventions, Nuts and Bolts of Political Conventions, Historic Conventions and the History of Political Conventions.
4. Republic and Democratic Convention History-Teaches Citizenship, Rights and Responsibilities, it also supports the teaching of a variety of government standards. I found plenty of content to fill several days with information or to do a jigsaw activity with several groups of students.

1. Indian Removal-This resource provided by “Digital History” provides several primary sources for students to analyze concerning the forced removal of the Cherokee Indians by President Andrew Jackson. The resource offers primary resources written by Jackson in defense of the removal policy, by Chief Justice John Marshall, and by the Governor of Georgia, Wilson Lumpkin.
2. Famous People-This site offers 13 resource links on Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton and contains printer friendly versions for students to print. Many links contain activities and quizzes, while others lead to biographies and documentaries.

There are currently no resources for this indicator at the selected grade level.

There are currently no resources for this indicator at the selected grade level.

There are currently no resources for this indicator at the selected grade level.

There are currently no resources for this indicator at the selected grade level.

1. Managing Conflict  Leadership Development Within Groups
2. Basics of Conflict Management  This website helps explain basic conflicts.

3. Managing Conflict1    Every one of us experiences differences of opinion every day. Almost as common are the varying levels of disagreement we encounter