United+States+History

In regards to teaching 8th grade history, North Carolina history in the context of US and local history, the main focus of the course will be the critical events, personalities, issues, and developments in the state and nation from the Revolutionary Era to contemporary times. Inherent in this study is an analysis of the relationship of geography, events and people to the political, economic, technological, and cultural developments that shaped our existence in North Carolina and the United States over time. The design of the course should be in alignment with [|concept-based teaching]. This page is dedicated to the US history content of the 8th grade course.

‍Primary Resources
 * [|18th Century America]
 * [|1900's] - America's news and lifestyle headlines from 1900 to 1999 ...plus a century of sound, including songs, speeches, and radio/television broadcasts.
 * American Colonist's Library - A Treasury of Primary Documents - Primary Source Documents Pertaining to Early American History - An invaluable collection of historical works which contributed to the formation of American politics, culture, and ideals.
 * American Memory - The Library of Congress' Historical Collections for the National Digital Library.
 * American Museum of Photography - The face of slavery and other early images of African Americans.
 * Authentic History Center - A collection of authentic primary history sources from American culture, from colonial days through to the 1990s. Included are text and audio documents such as: letters, diaries, political cartoons, and speeches speeches.
 * Avalon Project at the Yale Law School- Documents in law, history and diplomacy.
 * Civil War information from the Washington Post is doing a series to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the war. There is an impressive list of contributors.
 * Data Base of Civic Resources - The NC Civic Education Consortium’s Database of Civic Resources. This searchable database currently includes lessons, activities, guides, and model programs to help prepare young people for active, responsible citizenship.
 * [|Dr. Seuss went to war]
 * Duke: Voices of American Law This Project is an initiative of the Duke University School of Law to provide high-quality educational materials to assist in studying the Supreme Court and its role in American society. Duke prepared detailed 20-minute case documentaries focusing on interviews with the parties themselves, their lawyers, and the judges who shaped the case. These videos tell the stories of the real people behind the Court's opinions, and they present an exceptional opportunity to bring the cases alive to students in the classroom.
 * Ellis Island and Immigration, ca 18880-1920 - Images from the Library of Congress' Prints and Photographs Division.
 * Historical Recipes of Different Cultures - Included are Medieval and Anglo Saxon recipes, Medieval European recipes and Antique Roman dishes from an old Roman cookbook.
 * History Place - Child Labor in America 1908-1912 - Photographs, and the original photo captions, of Lewis W. Hine.
 * National Archives Experience - Digital Vaults - Build your own online collection; keep a running list of things you have seen; take a Pathways Challange; search for records; create your own movie or poster.
 * Ourdocuments.gov - Explore 100 milestone documents of American History. Also links to teacher tools and tips for integrating the site into the classroom.
 * Science Service Historical Image Collection - A Smithsonian collection that represents twentieth-century scientific research consisting of images and original captions as they appeared in period publications. A 40 year random sample of innovation and invention is provided; which is specific to the subject of electricity.
 * Selected Images of Ellis Island and Immigration, ca 18880-1920 - Images from the Library of Congress'Prints and Photographs Division.
 * Spy Letters of the American Revolution - From the Collections of the Clements Library - Letters, stories about the spies and links to more information
 * TeachersFirst.com - Original Documents - Key documents and collections of original text documents dealing with American History.
 * Texts - Primary source documents and transcripts from the Magna Carta to Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I have a dream' speech.
 * The National Archives Experience - Digital Vaults - Build your own online collection; keep a running list of things you have seen; take a Pathways Challange; search for records; create your own movie or poster.
 * Qumran Library - Fragments and translations of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
 * United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Collections & Archives- The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives’ online catalog provides a means for searching and retrieving information for collections in its current holdings.
 * Voices of the Twentieth Century - Sound clips include Robert E. Peary describes planting the American flag at the North Pole and a radio reporter giving an eyewitness account of the the Allied invasion of Europe.
 * WW1 Memoirs & Rembrances - Links to letters, articles, interviews and books from the period of the first world war.
 * World & US History Your ringside seat to history - from the Ancient World to the present. History through the eyes of those who lived it.
 * World War I Document Archive - Links to treaties, official papers, personal reminiscences and images categorized by topic and by year.

‍‍‍Secondary Resources

 * AwesomeStories.com is free, non-commercial educational web site for educators (as the basis for lesson plans) and students. Stories link to organized primary and secondary source materials found principally at U.S. and other worldwide national archives, museums, libraries, universities, news organizations and government websites. The purpose of the site (including its eight separate, stand-alone channels) is to take visitors on a virtual guided tour of relevant on-line source materials. Be sure to check out Click2History.
 * BlackPast.org - an online encyclopedia of hundreds of famous and lesser known figures in African American history, Global African history and specifically the history of African Americans in the West. BlackPast.org also has full text primary documents and major speeches of black activists and leaders from the 18th Century to the present.
 * Conversations With History In this UC Berkeley site distinguished men and women from all over the world talk about their lives and their work. They reminisce about their participation in great events, and they share their perspectives on the past and reflect on what the future may hold. Guests include diplomats, statesmen, and soldiers; economists and political analysts; scientists and historians; writers and foreign correspondents; activists and artists
 * Digital History A great new site that includes: a U.S. history e-textbook; over 400 annotated documents, primary sources on slavery, Mexican American and Native American history, and U.S. political, social, and legal history; short essays on the history of film, ethnicity, private life, and technology; multimedia exhibitions; reference resources that include a searchable database of 1,500 annotated links, classroom handouts, chronologies, glossaries, an audio archive including speeches and book talks by historians, and a visual archive with hundreds of historical maps and images. The site's Ask the HyperHistorian feature allows users to pose questions to professional historians.
 * EaseHistory.org - Michigan State brings us all kinds of primary resources including photos & political ads
 * History Buff Produced by the Newspaper Collector's Society of America, this site includes press coverage of notable events in American history. It also showcases a President's Library and an Historic Voices Library featuring 12 audio recordings
 * History News Network Created in June 2001 and features articles by historians on both the left and the right who provide historical perspective on current events. HNN exists to provide historians and other experts a national forum in which to educate Americans about important and timely issues, and the only web site on the Internet wholly devoted to this task . HNN is a nonprofit publication run by George Mason University, is updated daily, and averages roughly 1.5 million hits a month. Those of you who have visited the U.S. History landing page in Best of History Web Sites may have noticed that I link to HNN articles in the U.S. History in the Classroom section.
 * National Archives of Great Britain
 * Medieval Mediterranean Coins and Islamic Coins
 * John Horse and the Black Seminoles
 * History Faculty - Vidcasts by professional historians
 * Historical Atlas of the Mediterranean
 * Geocurrents.info
 * Timelines.com
 * [|Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Rome]
 * North Carolina History: A Digital Textbook
 * PBS Online PBS has a great source for information on a myriad of historical events and personalities. PBS's assorted and diverse web exhibits supplement specific individual television series and generally include a resume of each episode, interviews (often with sound bites), a timeline, a glossary, photos, and links to relevant sites. Categories include American History, World History, History on Television, and Biographies. Go to the PBS Teacher Source for lessons and activities.
 * PINKY SPOTS! Funny, animated video spots show how our system of democracy works. Topics include: Compromise, Special Interests, We Don't All Agree, and You Have a Voice. (link updated 2011/7/18)