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Carmen Sandiego
Google Tips and TricksSocial Studies

Explore the World and Catch Carmen Sandiego Using Google Earth

by Diana Benner
written by Diana Benner

If you are wondering “Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?” you can catch her on Google Earth! Google partnered with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to take your students around the world to find clues and solve the mystery of The Crown Jewels Caper.

Do you remember the classic video game Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? If you do, the game functions similarly in Google Earth. You visit different landmarks, talk with local people, and figure out Sandiego’s next destination based on the clues.

Three Carmen Sandiego Games

The Crown Jewels Caper

The Crown Jewels Caper is the first game in the series. The game opens with an explanation of where infamous thief Carmen Sandiego is hiding with stolen jewels. Players are agents for ACME, the detective agency that’s still trying to catch her.

Tutankhamun’s Mask

The second game in the series focuses on recovering Tutankhamun’s Mask. Le Chevre, a master climber and classmate of Carmen Sandiego at VILE Academy, has stolen the priceless artifact. Gumshoes everywhere need to help Carmen find him and recover the mask.

Carmen Sandiego- Pyramids of Giza

The Keys to the Kremlin Caper

In the third and final game in the series, you will need to track down a new VILE operative, Paper Star. Help Carmen Sandiego return this treasure to the people of Moscow.

Carmen in the Classroom

The Carmen in the Classroom program includes a wide variety of resources and activities that can be found on Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Teacher Resource Hub. The hub features more than 100 free downloadable resources, including lesson plans, activities, posters, card games, and more. Students can use their geography knowledge to find Carmen Sandiego on a map, visit some of the most prominent landmarks in the world on Google Earth, and discover and participate in cultural traditions from around the globe.

The games can be played in Google’s Chrome web browser or the Google Earth app on iOS and Android devices. It’s a fun way for students to learn about different cultures and geographic regions of the world as they try to figure out “Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?”

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open geography
Social Studies

Open Geography: Free Curriculum and Resources

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Need free curriculum for teaching that most necessary of subjects, geography? Then you are in luck. A solid knowledge of geography provides an understanding of politics and culture. It grants a sense of perspective to understand the map. In this blog entry, you’ll explore a brand new revamped website that offers free resources.

What’s more, the website’s resources and curriculum are open educational resources (OER). Before we dive into these amazing resources for geography, let’s take a look at what OER is.

Open Educational Resources (OER)

“I’m overwhelmed. There’s no way I can create brand new resources from scratch to use online. What options do I have for finding and organizing materials from other people?” Open educational resources offer one possible answer to that question.

Did You Know?

OER licensed content must be free for any individual to use. What’s more, creators must license it for unlimited distribution. Also, they allow for its adaptation, translation, remixing, and improvement.

You can find a rich variety of images, audio, and video licensed as Creative Commons. You can also find content via Google Image Search. Or use a Chrome extension such as CC Search. You can see how Creative Commons and OER fit together in the chart below (source).

OER vs NOT OER chart, https://libguides.consortiumlibrary.org/OER/isit
Source: https://libguides.consortiumlibrary.org/OER/isit

Some common OER tools and resources appear below:

To this list, allow me to add one more for geography explorers.

Geography is a discipline of explorers. Some geographers explore the world using satellite imagery. Others do so by interviewing members of an indigenous community in an isolated area. What unites geographers everywhere is a desire to dig deeper. It is a desire to better understand why the spatial patterns and unique features we find in the world exist (source: World Regional Geography).

Introducing Open Geography

You can access textbooks that have gone through editing and peer review. Open Geography makes these available at no extra charge. And these are also Creative Commons Attribution licensed. Contributing support to the site includes geography notables, such as:

  • ESRI
  • Lumen
  • GeoTech
  • Salt Lake Community College
  • Utah State Board of Education

So what can you find at the Open Geography website?

open geography
Screenshot by author

eTextbook Resources

You can find eTextbooks that are mobile friendly. The website provides a list of textbooks, including:

  • Geography OER eTextbooks
  • Geography OER Lab Manuals
  • Geospatial Technology OER eTextbooks

There is a total of 15 different resources available for use. But that’s not all.

open geography

Screenshot by author – Image Source

Online Resources

open geography
Source: https://www.populationpyramid.net/hnp/population-growth/2015/

In addition, you can find a rich collection of links organized into several categories. Those categories include:

  • Physical geography
  • Human geography
  • Environmental geography
  • Geographic information systems
  • Remote sensing
  • Global Positioning Systems (GPS)
  • Spatial data and cartography
  • Spatial curriculum and pedagogy

You can also find links to open education topics and to professional organizations.

A Parting Reflection

“The Open Geography project is doing important work to expand the population of students who can access this valuable field,” says Dr. Aida Guhlincozzi, a post-doctoral scholar in Geography and Geographic Information Science (GIS) at the University of Missouri . “The Open Geography project makes  a number of key learning resources with many tools available to those who need it most.” All this can be invaluable content for educators encouraging young learners.

Feature Image Source

Screenshot by author

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Announcements/Important DatesSocial StudiesSocial-Emotional Learning

Five Veterans Day Activities for Your Classroom

by Diana Benner
written by Diana Benner

On November 11, we celebrate Veterans Day. It’s our chance to salute veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces and to show our appreciation for the sacrifices they have made to protect our country. At first, Veterans Day was initially called Armistice Day, and it became an official U.S. federal holiday in 1938. Later, in 1954, the holiday was renamed Veterans Day. At this time, it became an official holiday honoring all U.S. veterans. Help your students connect with veterans and understand how much we owe them with these five meaningful activities.

Write a Thank You Letter to a Veteran

Communicating through letter writing is a great way to say thank you to men and women who have served our country. This is an opportunity to teach students about gratitude and the importance of giving thanks. Also, according to Operation Gratitude, letters are an extremely cherished item among veterans. Students can write a letter online, and Operation Gratitude will print the message on a postcard and send it. In addition, teachers can sign up for a letter-writing toolkit with Operation Gratitude.

Explore the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Every Veterans Day, there is an official wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. For nearly 100 years, the Tomb has stood at the heart of the cemetery where it serves as a site for reflection on service, valor, and sacrifice. The Education Program of the Arlington National Cemetery has materials you can use to help your students explore the Tomb’s history and meaning. It contains lesson plans, teaching materials, and student activities.

Take a Virtual Field Trip

Help students explore our rich history by taking them on a virtual field trip. There are many museums that can connect students to firsthand experiences of our nation’s heroes. Below are a few resources to check out:

  • The National Veterans Memorial Museum will offer a Veterans Day ceremony. The ceremony can be viewed online on Thursday, November 11. Distinguished veterans and guests will share messages of unity in support of our veteran community and ways to promote selfless service in our communities on Veterans Day and every day. More details about the event can be found here.
  • Discovery Education is offering the Voices of the U.S., a virtual field trip series that will help teachers and students around the world learn about the importance of service through a celebration of Veterans Day. Created in partnership with Discovery Inc., the Voices of the U.S. virtual experience premieres on Wednesday, November 10 at 1 p.m. EST here. Be sure to register before the event.
  • For more virtual field trip options, take a look these TechNotes articles.

Record Video Responses to Historical Prompts

veterans day

As mentioned in this blog post by Sharon Hall, one of Flipgrid’s partners is the National WWII Museum. The WWII Museum topic area includes prompts that engage students in learning activities related to World War II and Veterans Day. Some activities include responses to video, analysis of primary documents, and exploratory visits to relevant websites. Furthermore, Flipgrid’s Discovery Library contains many other Veterans Day prompts.

Invite a Veteran to Speak to your Students

Having a veteran speak about their experiences can be a wonderful learning opportunity for your students. I still remember the stories my father would tell me about his time in the Army. Ask your students if they have relatives who are veterans. If so, see if they would be willing to speak to the class. Your local veteran’s organization might be able to help also. You can find your local VFW here. Veterans can visit virtually or in person, and after the visit, have your students write some of their takeaways.

How will your classes celebrate Veterans Day? Share your activities in the comments!

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learn about other countries
Social Studies

How to Learn about Other Countries with YouTube

by Andrew Roush
written by Andrew Roush

Over the years, YouTube, the world’s most popular video-sharing site, has become a hub for more than just prank videos or cuddly creatures. Nowadays, there’s plenty of informative, documentary, and educational content. These videos range from tutorials on how to install a garbage disposal to in-depth history documentaries to primary sources like old films and newsreels.

Of course, any space on the internet that allows anyone to post means users should practice good digital literacy and have a sense of the creator of the video. And naturally, educators will always want to review and vet videos before sharing with their students.

With those considerations in mind, let’s explore how YouTube can help teachers and students understand countries outside of the United States, including daily life, historical information, cultural arts, and more.

Greetings (こんにちは) from Japan

North Americans living overseas can be a great video source, as many of the videos are in English and targeted at sharing foreign cultures with an American or Canadian audience.

The YouTube channel Paolo from Tokyo shares many videos about life and culture in Japan. The popular Day in the Life videos offer brief, entertaining insights on daily life in Japan.

Also from Japan, Life Where I’m From explores how kids and adults live, work, play, and eat, always working to share with the world by posing the question: What’s life like where you’re from?

Kids Teaching Kids

Young people love seeing how other kids experience the world; it’s one of the ways we grow as people. After a bit of digging and review, you can find useful videos on YouTube that feature children sharing their experience and culture with each other.

The Hiho Kids channel features the Show and Tell series, allowing kids to share their traditions and culture with each other. Above, students share their family’s heritage. Below, they share cultural traditions.

You can also look into the How Other Kids Live series from the channel Origins, which digs into questions like “How Easy Is It for Kids to Make Friends?”

Food Facts

Another great way to connect kids with their counterparts overseas? Food! An easy, engaging start would be exploring what school lunch is like in various countries. How does your cafeteria lunch stack up?

In this video from the UK’s Channel 4, kids sit down with a multicultural family for a meal, one of the best ways to connect with people.

What videos, shows, or other multimedia tools do you learn to share world cultures with your students? Let us know in the comments! And then think about how your students can share their culture with the world on You Tube!

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ancient civilizations
Social Studies

Exploring Ancient Civilizations with Interactive Resources

by Andrew Roush
written by Andrew Roush

Looking for resources to make geography or world history classes more accessible and interactive when you return to the classroom? Check out the resources below, which include games, texts, videos, and other digital resources for teaching about ancient civilizations, including the societies of Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley civilization, and ancient China.

The Fertile Crescent: Ancient Mesopotamia

  • You can play like the ancients. The royal game of Ur, an ancient board game, has been studied well enough that we can still play it — even online. Play the game here, and learn more about the royal game in this video from the British Museum.
  • For a modern game designed to teach about the Fertile Crescent, try Excavate! This game lets grade 4–7 students take on the role of an archeologist exploring Sumer, Assyria, and Babylon. 
  • Hone your archeological skills even further with this Pyramids and Ziggurats infographic from National Geographic.
  • For research-based projects and primary sources readings for older students, check out Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Mesopotamia, packed with relevant texts.
  • Learn how you and your students can make your own cylinder seals from the University of Chicago here.
  • Explore this interactive timeline and map with borders, water sources, and climate zones, called The Fertile Crescent – Where Past Meets Present.

The Indus Valley: The Indian Subcontinent

  • Get a sense of life in India’s earliest civilizations and its evolution through history with the interactive photo gallery, timeline, and more in this online companion to PBS’ Story of India.
  • The Asia Society provides this outline of the Indus Valley civilization and early India, providing detail for a place and time about which learning resources are sometimes scant.
  • One hallmark of the Indus Valley civilization, and one major source of understanding, is its art and physical culture. Check out these image-filled artifact timelines for two different eras of the Indus Valley societies here and here, from the Met museum.
  • Step into ancient India and Pakistan by reading about a day in the life of a baker’s son or exploring an interactive map of the Mohenjo-daro site here. 
  • Go in-depth and learn about language and culture, watch videos, explore maps, and much more at Harappa, named for a site in modern Punjab, Pakistan.

Imperial Beginnings: Ancient China

  • Visualize Chinese history from the ancient Shang dynasty onward in this interactive map from TimeMaps.
  • Go all the way back to the foundations of Chinese society in prehistory and the Xia dynasty, alongside images and video, in this interactive timeline from PBS. 
  • Get a great start to understanding the history of China with this resource article from National Geographic, which will scale the reading to various grade levels from 3–12. 
  • Go up close with ancient Chinese art and literature with images, maps, and timelines from the World Digital Library. Learn more about the WDL here.
  • Looking for research aids for secondary students? Check out this extensive list of primary sources on ancient Chinese life, religion, philosophy, and more from Kansas University Libraries. 

More from TechNotes:

Photo by Navneet Shanu from Pexels

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juneteenth
Social Studies

Digital Resources for Juneteenth Day

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

June 19th, is Juneteenth Day, a commemoration of the freeing of slaves in the United States. Signed into law in 2021 and first observed on June 18, 2021, it is now a federal holiday. This holiday reminds all of the Civil War era, when slaves were declared free on June 19, 1867.  Explore a variety of teaching resources for Juneteenth, a portmanteau of the words “June” and “nineteenth.”

For those looking to integrate this national celebration into the classroom, there are a number of great digital resources available. Let’s explore a few.

About the Word

As an ELA teacher, one of the most fascinating aspects (after historical significance) is the word itself. If you are not familiar with the term “portmanteau,” you will recognize many examples. A portmanteau is a word formed when two words are merged together. Consider the combination of “breakfast” and “lunch” to form “brunch.” Even movies can be portmanteaus, “two meanings packed up into one word” (source).

Examples of portmanteaus, like Juneteenth, exist all around us as digital explorers:

  • Email is formed of “electronic” and “mail,” or Gmail is “Google” plus “mail.”
  • Malware is the beginning of “malicious” and the end of “software.”
  • Wi-Fi is “wireless” and “fidelity.”
  • Webinar is “web” and “seminar” together.
  • Netiquette is “internet” plus “etiquette.”
juneteenth

As you can imagine, there are many examples, such as spork, smog, velcro, turducken, madcap, and slacktivism (source. See this Seesaw Library activity for example of a lesson on portmanteau.

Juneteenth Fliphunt

Why not learn more about Juneteenth through a digital scavenger hunt? In this example, you can explore a Wakelet Collection to learn more about Juneteenth. Accompanying each task is an informational website, video, or resource students can view. Students can record their takeaways and reflections with Flipgrid, a free tool available to all educators. You can make a copy of the Wakelet Collection and modify it for your own use.

juneteenth

View it online at https://tinyurl.com/juneteenthfliphunt

Curious about the origin of fliphunts? Kathi Kersznowski decided to create an internet scavenger hunt that relies on Flipgrid. You can find many examples online via the Twitter hashtag, #Fliphunt.

Use this Fliphunt to learn more about Juneteenth (use the join code: b5147640) and celebrate the emancipation of slaves. For each response, use the title hashtag (#freedom for Task 1) as the title of your video. For each task, students have up to 90 seconds to share their response.

juneteenth

Join Code: b5147640

Juneteenth Lesson Plans and Resources

In this Wakelet Collection, you will find a variety of digital resources and activities for Juneteenth. Some of those include the following:

There are ample resources for teaching Juneteenth. Explore them in the Wakelet below.

juneteenth


See it online at https://tinyurl.com/tceajune19r

TCEA Resources

Don’t forget to explore our list of civil rights and civic education resources, “Understanding This Moment through Civic Education.” You can also utilize other TechNotes articles, like “Exploring Civil Rights History with Digital Resources” and “Digital Resources for MLK Day.”

Feature Image Source

Screenshot of Wakelet created by author.

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ancient rome
Social Studies

Exploring Ancient Rome with Free, Interactive Resources

by Andrew Roush
written by Andrew Roush

The history of ancient societies can help us understand our world today. That is, after all, one of the goals of history and social studies education. In particular, the history of ancient Rome, including its evolution from kingdom to republic to empire, can help students understand the past and present realities of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.

Because the history of ancient Rome is a well-explored topic, and includes many of the artifacts and written sources that historians use, there is a huge variety of resources for exploring the ancient Roman world. In this post, we’ve collected more than 20 interactive digital resources to assist you in bringing that world to life, from art and architecture to trade and politics.

Ad Fontes: Primary Sources

These interactive sites include useful ways to interact with ancient primary-source materials, which can be deployed in instruction or for student research.

Terra Cognita: Interactive Maps

Maps are a vital way to understand history, culture, government, and other social studies topics. These interactive maps help you and your students visualize the Roman world. 

Ars Longa, Vita Brevis: Art and Culture

Artistic and cultural artifacts are another way to connect with a long-gone society. These sites use modern technology to give students access to the physical world of the past.

Et Cetera: Other Resources

With a topic as broad and diverse as ancient Rome, there are plenty of other learning resources out there. Here are just a few.

  • LacusCurtius: Into the Roman World: An academic page chock full of Roman documents, history, and resources.
  • Keys to Rome: An interactive exhibit organized by cultural institutions across Europe.
  • Ariadne: A huge trove of information, including timelines, data sets, word clouds, and more.
  • Digital Augustan Rome: A detail-rich interactive map reflecting Rome in the year 14 C.E.
  • Ostia Antica: Harbor City of Ancient Rome: Dedicated to resources for understanding this once-bustling trading hub.
  • Rome Reborn: A suite of VR products that allow you to freely travel the streets of Rome.
  • Virtual Rome: See the ancient city of Rome, complete with 3D views of the Colosseum, and even a free online course. 

More from TechNotes:

Photo by Andrea Albanese from Pexels

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geography awareness week
Social Studies

What We Can Learn During Geography Awareness Week

by Andrew Roush
written by Andrew Roush

Building a robust and useful understanding of the world around us involves understanding people, both as individuals and as groups, topics we uncover through social studies subjects. It also requires an understanding of the physical world and the processes that drive it, ideas we explore through math and science subjects. Often, these understandings of the world come together in geography, a subject that can help transcend subjects and connect them.

Educators can help build understanding of complex systems of people and environment, both locally and globally. But traditionally, students in the U.S. have struggled with geography. That’s one of the reason educators, organizations, and individuals celebrate Geography Awareness Week, observed November 15–21 this year.

Mapping Awareness

The American Association of Geographers works to build geoliteracy, or an understanding of geographic concept. They note that tumultuous times make geoliteracy as vital as ever:

This proliferation of maps, visualizations, and storytelling about space and place in 2020 has informed public policies and personal choices, opening a window on how geoliteracy—the understanding and application of geographic concepts and reasoning—can support complex, relational perspectives and decision making for the Earth’s future.

Geography Awareness Week: November 15-21, 2020. AAG.

Geographic knowledge can help build engaged citizens in many ways. For example, the U.S. Census Bureau compiles many resources, data tools, and maps on related social and economic topics, with key statistics and information on tech topics like geographic information systems or GIS.

Exploring Resources

The National Geographic Society, dedicated to “exploring and protecting our planet,” has a number of resources to build geography awareness:

  • Find planning resources and frequently asked questions about Geography Awareness Week here.
  • Dig into NetGeo’s full Geography Awareness Week library, with tips for films to watch, geo-caching activities, and much, much more, as well as the chance to sign up for the National Geographic education newsletter.

The American Association of Geographers also shares a number of tools:

Other resources from AAG include:

More Resources from TechNotes

Celebrating Around the World

Will you and your students take part in Geography Awareness Week? What tools will you use and what topics will you cover? Let us know in the comments!

Photo by slon_dot_pics from Pexels

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veterans day
Social Studies

Free Resources for Veterans Day

by Andrew Roush
written by Andrew Roush

In the fall of 1914, it was clear to many that the Great War would end by Christmas. But the conflict we now call World War I carried on for four more years as a generation of soldiers toiled in the mud of no man’s land. Finally, an armistice — an end to hostilities — was agreed, and began on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, November 11, 1918.

A Day of Remembrance

Since then, November 11 has been a day of remembrance for nations across Europe and around the world. Alternatively called Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, it has been recognized formally and informally since its first anniversary in 1919, when then-President Woodrow Wilson told his fellow citizens:

To us in America the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service, and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of nations.

“Supplement to the Messages and Papers of the Presidents: Covering the Second Term of Woodrow Wilson, March 4, 1917, to March 4, 1921″. Bureau of National Literature. November 11, 2015.

Modern Memorials

What can we take away from the experience of service members? How do we understand their role in society and the effects of their service on themselves and for all Americans? These questions have guided America’s observance of the November 11 holiday since its inception.

In 1945, in the wake of the second World War, Alabama veteran Raymond Weeks advocated to expand the holiday beyond just a way of honoring those who died in World War I. Eventually, in 1954, then-President Dwight Eisenhower signed a bill altering the existing Armistice celebration into Veterans Day, meant to honor all U.S. veterans.

Memory in the Classroom

Remembering the Veterans Day holiday can raise useful learning questions about civic engagement, government, history, and even personal genealogy and family trees. The frame of Veterans Day can prompt discussions of changing season, holidays, and more. In some places, students, workers, and federal officials may have a day off from work or school, at the very least prompting the question: What’s this holiday about?

For educators looking to use the day as a teaching occasion, there are many tools to select from, including those from official sources and everyday teachers alike.

  • The National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City hosts a full archive of lesson plans for K–12 students on a number of topics from art to sociology, including lessons like “Animals of the Great War” and “Creating WWI Personas and Writing Postcards from the Front.”
  • The museum also shares opportunities for professional development, as well as a large trove of outside educational resources and a complete back catalogue of newsletters for educators, which you can subscribe to or search here. 
  • Check out the Teacher Resource Guide (PDF) from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the veterans-related resources provided by Operation We Are Here, as well as resources for students in grade 1–6 from Scholastic, and more lesson ideas from educators at Share My Lesson and the Hey Teach! blog from WGU. 

More Resources from TechNotes

Photo by Craig Adderley from Pexels

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local history
Social Studies

Exploring Local History During Remote Learning

by Andrew Roush
written by Andrew Roush

Even when much of our time is spent at home, learners and educators can still get out and explore history. We can even do so virtually, and in the process, build deeper connections between students, schools, and local communities. Today we have new digital tools that students can use to learn local history and even explore their genealogy and family history.

In this post, we’ll explore a few tools any educator can use to help learners discover the histories and stories of their own towns, schools, and local areas, even when teaching remotely. 

The Power of Local History

What’s the history of the community you teach or learn in? While we may know the broad strokes of the state or region we live in, local history is often tucked away on historical markers or in collections at the local library. 

Digital tools can bring that hidden history to light, with students as the primary investigators in building the story of where they live. Students may want to work on an oral history project, activities based on local historic buildings or monuments, or even their own family history and genealogy. Growing amounts of Open Educational Resources can also help boost and preserve local history, too.

Writer Coshandra Dillard outlines the vitality of local history in an article from Teaching Tolerance.

It’s hard to find real local history in textbooks, and it takes courage to teach these hidden, hard histories. But it’s not hard to help students uncover this history. They can start with the origins of the names of streets, schools and government buildings in their city. Or they can consider how the hard history of our nation played out in their community. After learning about the slave trade, they might explore the lives of enslaved people who lived in their town. When learning about the courage of youth during Freedom Summer, they can track the fight for voting rights. Or they can learn about their district’s integration story and compare it to the Little Rock Nine and other stories. 

Local history helps students better understand their community, as well as the inequities in education, poverty, health outcomes and other issues that they see around them every day. 

“Recovering and Teaching Local History” Coshandra Dillard. https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/recovering-and-teaching-local-history

As Dillard notes, the history of individual communities can be an effective way to learn about the struggles for civil, political, and economic rights that we are seeing resonating in U.S. society today.

Learning in Our Genes

With the number of genealogy services and products available today, understanding your own personal history is easier than ever, even with tools for the classroom.

One way for students to “do” the past as historians is to research their family’s past. Researching family history helps students create context for studying the past and helps students develop a sense of place in the present. In addition, a family history project can help foster connections with students’ guardians at home and help us, as teachers, better understand our students’ backgrounds. A student genealogy project is certainly not a new idea, but new online tools make it easier than ever to uncover family records and connect distant relatives.

“Joe Jelen on Discovering History Through Student Genealogy Research” Joe Jelen. https://teachinghistory.org/nhec-blog/25372

Educators looking for free, digital resources can check out these activities from the National Archives, or a number of family tree activities from FamilyHistoryDaily.com.

Meet Clio

Inspired by the ancient Greek muse of history, Clio is an interactive online database of local historical information, perfect for students and teachers looking to build local connections and all sort of skills from reading to social studies standards.

Clio allows classrooms, institutions, and individuals to create accounts and add to the vast project of local history. Then they can edit and add entries for historic sites, people, and places, complete with interactive maps, videos, easy-to-use citations, and accessibility features like text to audio. Several entries can even be combined into a tour, allowing users to explore multiple thematically-related sites and events.

Using Clio

The National Endowment for the Humanities’ EDSITEment! page includes tips on how to effectively use Clio in your teaching. Be sure to check out their recommendations.

Below, you can also enjoy step-by-step videos that guide you through the use of the Clio platform.

More Resources

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