# data[].attributes.body
https://www.history.com/
I have used this site so much when learning about different topics in history.  When teaching middle school or upper elementary notes are necessary and this site offers short and very informational videos to supplement the notes and allow a visual for students to learn.  The videos are informative and don't give too much information.   The information is presented in a easy to process format that students can learn from.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCETRv4jPOWixBWseoeKkQbg
I love this resource! The videos are quick, concise, informative. As a teacher we don't always have time to sit and listen to 20-30 minutes or more to learn something new and these videos give an opportunity to try new assessment tools or teaching tools in a quick and attainable way.

# data[].attributes.body
Scholastic
I have used scholastic to teach many different subject areas in my classroom numerous times. This is a great resource for not only social studies, but for all subject areas. Scholastic does a great job of differentiating their text to meet the need of all learning levels. There are current events, past history events, maps, graphs, etc included in these articles. There are also fun interactive activities for kids to do after they read.

Discovery Ed - Virtual Field Trips
This website would be a great tool for kids to “travel” without having to actually leave their classroom. This allows for kids to explore the world in a virtual field trip and learn about different cultures. This is a remarkable experience for kids to explore. They could go farther to learn about the people, animals and the land. I highly suggest trying this in your classroom because kids love to go on field trips, and this one doesn’t require a permission slip!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Join us for our Virtual Field Trips or watch them on-demand after their premieres. Each no-cost Virtual Field Trip comes with a companion guide packed with standards-aligned, hands-on learning activities! Select one of the options below to register.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Take students beyond the classroom and into some of the world's most iconic locations with virtual field trips. Learn more!

# data[].attributes.body
1. The Library of Congress website is a great place to find primary sources. One way the primary sources on this site could be used is for an anticipatory set. A strategy that comes to mind is the 10 x 10 strategy. Students look at a picture or artifact and are asked to make 10 observations and come up with 10 questions. These observations and questions will get students interested about the topic and ready to learn and find the answers to their questions. There are various primary sources on this site that could be used for 10 x 10 and many other engagement strategies or lessons.

2. Newsela is another great resource for finding non-fiction articles covering a wide range of topics. Using articles found on this site would be a great way to bring current events into the classroom. What I really like is that each article is offered at five different reading levels. Being able to give all students access to the same article, while also meeting them at their level is a wonderful feature!

# data[].attributes.body
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/index.htm

This resources would be very useful when teaching the history of immigration, but also connected with current events. I like that it has personal stories from children about their immigration experience. Students will be able to relate and make connections with these children. The site also includes a virtual field trip to Ellis Island.

https://www.zinnedproject.org/
This site looked interesting as it tells the stories of history in a way that might be new or unfilmilar to the traditional ways history has been taught. According to their website "The goal of the Zinn Education Project is to introduce students to a more accurate, complex, and engaging understanding of United States history than is found in traditional textbooks and curricula. The empowering potential of studying U.S. history is often lost in a textbook-driven trivial pursuit of names and dates. People’s history materials and pedagogy emphasize the role of working people, women, people of color, and organized social movements in shaping history." I love the idea that I could use this site to help teach history through varied perspectives.

# data[].attributes.body
PBS Learning Media- Virtual Field Trips

I love this resource because it can take students to many places that connect to our social studies curriculum.  We all know that time and our school budgets do not allow for more than one field trip per year.  What a great way to think outside of the box.  It would be fun to set up your classroom for the day to match the field trip.

Econedlink

I stumbled upon this awesome resource for economics education.  Economics education is a big part of Michigan social studies standards.  It's easy to search and find a lesson related to economic topics.  The nice part is that you can search by grade level ranges. (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12.)  The lessons seem to be very well developed for the recommended grade levels.  I liked "The Little Red Hen is a Producer and Consumer."  I am for sure using this lesson with my first graders!

# data[].attributes.body
PBS Democracy
This website includes various resources that give students an inside look into what our government does for us. There is a fun video that explains democracy, gives information on our president and previous presidents, and also has a place for students to create their own campaign posters. This would be a fun resource to use around voting days, or also President's day!

U.S. Mint for Kids
U.S. Mint for Kids provides a lot of great information about coins. There is a video that walks kids through how coins are made. There are also resources that show a timeline of how coins have changed, and what coins are currently in circulation. This website is very kids friendly, and they even provide games for students to play. I would use this while I am teaching money in math, to spike my students' interest in coins!

# data[].attributes.body
Depth of Knowledge:

Vocabulary Instruction:

I included both of these resources because I believe they can be used in tandem when deepening vocabulary knowledge. I like how it forces me to think of deepening knowledge and developing vocabulary in a tiered format. This filter will allow the teacher, or the students, to classify the information they are teaching/learning.

Domain Based Education: Children’s Media (NEW) is a great source to introduce children’s books that can drive discussion on moral, personal, or social dilemmas. Plus, this site has provided research that changed my view on education as a whole. The principles of creating a domain based focus in your classroom connects directly to the primary goals of the social studies curriculum.

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving/
The First Thanksgiving

This website includes videos and pictures that tell about the first Thanksgiving. It has information about pilgrims and Native Americans and what life was like for both. I liked how it also had information about the Mayflower and the journey the pilgrims took. I would use this resource in my classroom. I think that it is hard for young students to picture what life was like in those times and the visuals would really help the history come to life for them.

https://education.microsoft.com/skype-in-the-classroom/overview

Skype in the Classroom
This website has virtual field trips and Skype sessions with educators from different educational locations. I think that it would be awesome if my class could meet someone from a location we are not able to visit and be able to interact with them as we were learning. The virtual field trips would also be great since it would help the students experience things far from where we live.

# data[].attributes.body
The first resource that I find especially helpful is PBS learning!

https://wgvu.pbslearningmedia.org

This website is just so full of videos, and articles, that are age appropriate for elementary students, that I think it will be very valuable when planning lessons. In lower elementary students learn about why we have a government, and some of the basics of what they do. Students also learn the significance behind many major holidays. Recently, we celebrated the fourth of July. Even though we are not in school during this holiday, I found a video on the fourth of July and what it means that I think would be a great introduction to the creation of government for lower elementary students, from PBS learning’s website.

Another resource I found when looking for websites for teachers, was www.icivics.org. This website is free and has everything from games to lesson plans, to help teachers present the idea of civic participation to their students. There is also plenty of information on the branches of government and the role of media in our world.

# data[].attributes.body
Immigration: Stories of Yesterday and Today(Scholastic)

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/index.htm

Immigration has been a very big piece of conversation and conflict in the last several years, and students most likely hear of it often in current event studies.  I found this site very interesting and would definitely use it in my classroom.  It had very interesting information about Ellis Island and the process of entering the United States in the past.  It has line and bar graphs sharing the number of immigrants that have entered the US through the years and where they are from.  The virtual tour guides you through the process of entering the US and answers many questions that students may be wondering.  The site shares the stories of 5 children who have immigrated to the US from different countries.  Much of the data and descriptions are from up to 2010, so supplementary material would be needed in order to so the current issues with immigration and continue conversations.

Teaching Tolerance

https://www.tolerance.org/

I am not in a classroom as of yet, so have not had much experience searching for good sites to utilize for instruction.  While looking at the We Are Teachers site, I found a recommended site called Teaching Tolerance that I will spend more time looking at.  The site has eight specific areas: race & ethnicity, religion, ability, class, immigration, gender & sexual identity, bullying & bias, and rights & activism.  Similar to my first suggested site, I looked at immigration and caught myself quite interested in the information that was available.  While my own children and my students will not be able to walk in the shoes of all people, I want them to know of the joys and struggles of others in order to be able to empathize, to a point, with them.  This site seems like a good one for teachers to get information and lessons from in order to assist in positively broadening the understanding of others.