These are other people's web sites that are good references, sources of information about specific topics, and the like. They are sorted by general category. If you find one that looks especially useful to you, you should bookmark it or add it to your list of favorites. Please let me know if you find a "dead" link on this page but not on the pages that you go to from here. (Let's keep it simple.) And if you find one that you think should be here, please let me know about that, too. Thanks!You might find the information and links here helpful, too --- Using the Internet for Schoolwork
A note to parents and teachers: I have not explored fully the content of any of these sites or all of their links or all of their links' links. I think the best way to ensure that students are safe from inappropriate content on the web is (1) for the students to know what the boundaries are and to adhere to them, and (2) for adults to keep in close contact with where their children are going online and why. If you find that one of these sites is carrying offensive content and/or offensive advertising, please let me know, and I'll investigate it further.CONTENTS
Reference and General Information
Geography
History
Language Arts
Science and Technology
Mathematics
Using Computers and the Internet
Especially for Parents and Teachers
Reference and general informationElectronic Reference Shelf comes to us from Princeton University, and it's just amazing. It is a collection of links to almost everything informational that you might need to find out almost anything you might want to know. A middle-school student might find it a bit daunting, but it's well organized and easy to drill through to the stuff you actually want. The only problem is that it is so distractingly rich that you might never get around to finding the thing you went there for in the first place because of being drawn away to explore so many other nifty sites.
CLN Theme Pages What a treasure trove! This site, part of a larger Canadian effort, contains links to information and lesson plans for K-12 on an amazing list of topics: bubbles, Antarctica, human digestion, pirates, math history, Shakespeare, whales . . . it just goes on and on. It's well-organized through an index, and you could spend an entire day just browsing your favorite topics. Useful for students as well as teachers and parents.
The Probert Encyclopedia is a fast-loading online reference source with well-organized subtopic headings that encourage browsing as well as quick research. Not deep or comprehensive, it's a good place to start looking for the answer to a basic question.
FactMonster is a multi-topic resource center for students from Information Please. Great! Ads are minimal and appropriate. The "Homework Center" includes advice on how to use it effectively.
The Canadian Encyclopedia contains detailed and interesting information about most things Canadian. Available in English and in French.
LetsFindOut.Com is a "knowledge adventure" website for kids. It's well organized, and the first page offers a search box. Type in a keyword (such as "California") and get a list of 163 possible links! The search will accept Boolean operators OR and NOT. Alternatively, you can go to the SUBJECTS menu and have a choice of 16 major topics, from AMERICA to UNDERSEA. Looks very useful for elementary and middle school kids, including curious kindergarteners. Sponsored, and carries ads, but they are not intrusive and are age-appropriate.
The Virtual Library is an exciting site developed by the public schools in Greenwich, CT. It's a mix of information on the site and links to places off-site. Covers many subject areas. Looks really useful. It seems to be updated fairly often, so the disappointment of dead links is less likely to happen.
How Stuff Works is another astonishingly rich site. This is not a list of links but a huge archive of information about technology, nature, economics, and world affairs ... everything from lasers and chewing gum to terrorists and spiders. If you're trying to find out about something, check here. Is it bad to "pop" your knuckles? How does a curve ball work? Why do leaves change color in the fall? It's all here along with some nifty experiments you can try with your new knowledge. Highly recommended.
Ask Jeeves for Kids is part of the larger Ask Jeeves! question-answering database of links to what you'd like to know. Fun to visit, even if you don't have a question.
Encyclopedia Britannica Online is now free (used to be a subscription service) and is rich with not only its own content but also excellent links to other Web resources. Some multimedia, printable maps, and more. Might be faster than digging out your Encarta CD, although not as many bells and whistles in the content.
Scholastic. com Previously available only by subscription, Scholastic's full website is now free and open to everyone. This site is rich in ideas for using the Internet, features live interviews with authors, and contains a lot of useful information in many subject areas for parents, students, and teachers. Check it out!
Time For Kids is the name of a current events magazine we receive in the classroom and also a site for students, teachers, and parents. It covers news of all kinds and includes some games and activities. There are often links to this site in the magazine, which your child should have in his/her notebook or cubby. Today as I checked the site (August 6, 2008) I found an article on the recent discovery of the world's smallest snake, news about the Olympics, a large section about China, information on the Presidential race, a trivia challenge on world-famous places, a "homework helper" that looks very useful, an article about the recent NASA confirmation of ice on Mars, and much more. One thing this site does well is finds ways to connect large and confusing issues (the attack on the World Trade Center or the creation of a new cabinet post) with things that middle-grade students can understand. Highly recommended.
ABC Central is a good site with a very uninteresting front page. But click on the first item in the list, and you'll find a gateway to a lot of stuff about a LOT of stuff. Last time I checked, most of the links were good and it was updated recently. The quality of the links is uneven, but some are truly worthwhile.
The United States Census Bureau contains lots of information about the people of the United States, and the 2000 Census figures are included. Your tax dollars have paid for this site, so you ought to take an owner's tour around it! Maps, statistics, all kinds of stuff are buried here. It has amazing bits of trivial information. Did you know that in 1990 "Lynn" was the 166th most common first name for females in the census data? "Mary" was #1, by the way, while "James" led the male list.
StudyWeb is a well-organized collection of links to almost anything you may be studying. Highly recommended.
Geography
Climate Zone tells about -- yes -- climate all around the world. Excellent source of information for regions, countries and states.
Historical Atlas of the 20th Century describes itself as "always under construction." Great source with clickable maps in deepening layers of detail. Appears to be very accurate, current.
Graphic Maps.com offers free clip art of maps and flags as well as tons of facts about places in the world.
WorldAtlas.com has maps and much more. If you want to find out about world geography and get printable maps, this is the place.
Cartographic Maps is a wonderful collection of JPEG images of maps classified as Ancient, Late Medieval, and Renaissance.
Exploring the West Maps comes from an exhibit at the University of Virginia in 1995. Lots of Lewis and Clark.
National Geographic seems like a logical addition to this list. Interesting basic information, special features, maps, more.
Color Landform Atlas of the United States is a collection of printable state maps in several styles, including ones from a US map made in 1895. Great for
reports, websites, etc.Countries of the World tells you lots and lots of things about (you guessed it) the countries of the world.
HistoryGeneral history and related information resourcesGeneral Europe USA Biography Online is loaded with ads, but you can find a brief biography of an amazing assortment of people, both living and dead.
History on the Net is a site created for students and their teachers. It has brief information and activities for a wide range of topics, many of which connect with Britain because that is where the site is based. A few low-key ads, including related books from Amazon, but not overwhelming. Worth investigating!
History Central contains information about places and events from the distant past to modern times. Themed history sections include railroads, aviation, wars, U.S. elections, and biographies of major historical figures.
Horus' Web Links to History Resources is just what it says -- an extensive list of links organized in several ways. A great starting point for almost anything historical but there are, unfortunately, also quite a few dead links among their listings.
Spartacus Educational is a UK-based site with many sections on history, including child labor, slavery, the American Civil War, British history, the Vietnam war, and much more. Well organized and quite readable by middle schoolers or older students.
Mr. Dowd's Electronic Passport is a very well-done site with information about a wide range of topics in history.
History for Kids is a new site with wonderful information about many ancient cultures: Romans, Greeks, Egypt, the Middle Ages, and also cross-cultural topics such as games, clothing, and the like. Highly recommended!
Mr. Donn's Ancient History includes Greeks, Romans, Celts, Vikings, and more plus a number of non-European peoples. Lesson plans, activities, links to other K-8 appropriate sites, and more are part of this excellent resource. Keep scrolling -- there's a LOT on the opening page.
Ancient Historyis a major project from a 6th grade class at the International School in Amsterdam. It's in English, and it's extremely well done. Greeks, Vikings, Romans, Celts, Chinese, Maori, Maya, and more are presented through student work and good Internet resource links. Recommended!
World Flag Database is just that: a massive collection of flags from around the world, including historical flags no longer in use. (Did you know that vexillology is the word that means the study of flags?)
Collapse: Why Do Civilizations Fail? is a part of the Annenberg project. This section looks at several cultures that came apart at various times in the past, including the Maya and the people of Mali/Songhai. It also suggests what a culture or society needs to thrive. A thought-provoking site with implications for understanding the rise and fall of cultures other than those presented.
Flags of the World includes clickable maps of continents, countries, and more as well as flags (of course) and interesting links. Among its flags are printable black-and-white outlines so you can color them yourself. A deep and varied site. You can also buy flags from their homepage.
Millennial Madness is the page where you can find out why January 1, 2001 is really the start of the new millennium and also why it isn't (by an error of several years). Dionysus Exiguus (known to his friends as Dennis the Short) is the man to hold accountable. Learn about the history of our common calendar here.
HistoryNet "where history lives on the Web" is a site that offers basic information along with special features that are frequently changed and updated. Famous and obscure personalities are presented along with eyewitness accounts of past events, maps, technology, and far more. A good browsing site and also useful for focused research.
The Inflation Calculator I found this site while trying to translate 1851 prices into modern dollars. Obviously, any such mathematical conversion is approximate, but it's great fun. What should that ten-cent ice cream cone of my childhood cost today? According to these folks, about 60 cents! (Bought ice cream lately?) On the other hand, the 30-cent per gallon gas that I put in my Renault Dauphine in 1963 would cost about $1.60 today, and we aren't quite there yet.
Current Value of Old Money This site is a set of links to other specific sites, including one about the cost of crossing the Atlantic in 1843. The one on medieval prices is mostly about Britain, and it seems to consist of collected messages from a forum or listserver. Most messages seem to quote or refer to primary sources or scholarly writing, so it's probably as reliable as it needs to be "for all normal purposes" as Thornton Wilder said in an entirely different context.
European historySome sites will appear more than once on this list if they apply to two or more categories.
- general information
- prehistory
- Celts and Ireland
- Romans
- The Muslim World
- Anglo-Saxons
- Vikings and Normans
- Medieval Life
The Museum of @ntiquities is a collection of information about Britain, from the Late Stone Age (Neolithic period) through Roman times. Based at the University of Newcastle, it has links to facts on Hadrian's Wall, the Roman Army, and more. Limited but interesting.
British History (4000 BCE to modern times) is a very comprehensive site with relatively short, well-written articles about each topic. It has separate sections on Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
Mr. Donn's Ancient History includes Greeks, Romans, Celts, Vikings, and more plus a number of non-European peoples. Keep scrolling down the page!
Walk Through Time is an interactive BBC site that takes students through periods of British history from the Romans to the 1950s. Although it's aimed at students younger than our class, it is still quite suitable for older learners, too, especially those who have not grown up in the UK and do not have a broad base of general knowledge about these things.
BBC History is the parent site of the one above. This has things of interest to adults as well as kids. Interactive, frequently updated, well-organized.
History Index They aren't kidding! This is a massive index to internet information about everything from African Studies to Web Development. More topics than could be imagined. Most are intended for college use, but there are some places worth going. Let us know if you find something especially exciting that we should post separately.
The Ancient World Web is an enormous index of links to sites relating to -- yes -- the ancient world. You can find out about ancient bacteria, ancient Roman recipes adapted for modern ingredients, Hawaiian mythology, ancient plumbing, mummification techniques, and far more. Probably more than you want to know about. It is also somewhat uneven in the reliability of the contents of its sites and should be explored with a bit of cautious skepticism (as opposed to reckless skepticism?). Great fun, though. A lot of sites relating to this year's study are listed here.
English History on the Web Links and links, with a webmaster's introductory caution that we should all write above our monitor screens: "Anyone can publish anything on the web." No guarantee that all of this is scholarly or accurate.
Mythography is a site dedicated to Greek, Roman, and Celtic mythology. There seem to be no myths here but there is a fairly good listing of principal gods and heroes, and there is a discussion forum.
Cartographic Maps is a wonderful collection of JPEG images of maps classified as Ancient, Late Medieval, and Renaissance.
Stonehenge: The Master Plan is part of the English Heritage site (see below). Although its main purpose seems to be explanation of what the caretakers of Stonehenge are planning for the future, there is excellent information on what archaeologists believe about its ancient history. A series of photographic images show the first building of the monument and its gradual evolution to its present form. Did you know that the huge stones were rearranged at least three times? This is a very well-designed site.
The Museum of Antiquities is a well-constructed U.K. site with a lot on ancient Rome and other old things: a section on stone age hunter-gatherers in Britain, for example. Fun to browse as well as good for research.
BBC History : Ancient Britain is well illustrated and carefully researched. Great for gathering information or incidental browsing.
The Stone Pages is a site dedicated to wonderful photos and annotation about prehistoric stone monuments in Ireland, Britain, France, and Italy. The author apparently works hard at updating the site with new material, as he completed an 8-week trip through Scotland in July that was carried live on-line at his site. There's a lot here, including his evaluations of sites in terms of several practical criteria, an opportunity to buy the photos on disk or CD, and more. The home page may very slow to load, but the photos are pure art.
The Peoples of Medieval Europe is actually an essay on the lives of Europe's earliest settlers; part of a larger site.
Ancient Britain is a site with lots of photos that introduce the virtual traveler to some of the best-known prehistoric spots in the British Isles. The text is a bit liberal in its views about how to interpret the sites, but the pictures are good and load quickly.
Jewelry from the Iron and Bronze Ages is lavishly illustrated and quick to load.
The Labyrinth -- Resources for Medieval Studies Another university site specifically for finding links to the Middle Ages in Europe. Although most of the links appear to be accessible only by adults or heavily assisted students, they are working on a page of teaching ideas for K-12 which is not yet up. The listed sites are numerous and varied in style and density.
The English Heritage Site is excellent! These folks, along with The National Trust (who tend to be more into Endowed Stately Homes than Collapsing Court Tombs), are the keepers of most of the historic places that are open to tourists. From this well-illustrated site, you can take a virtual tour of Stonehenge, learn about Roman forts and medieval merchants' houses, and even receive a warning that your plans to come and go from Lindisfarne Priory must coincide with LOW tide. (Apparently they do lose a tour bus or visitor's car there from time to time, or so we were told. It's a very long causeway when you've stayed longer than you meant to.)
Ancient Britain (same name as site above but a different site) is a good collections of links to books, articles, other web pages. Lots here!
NETSERF: The Internet Connection for Medieval Resources is exactly that: an enormous collection of links to stuff about the Middle Ages. Instead of being a massive alphabetized list as many link sites are, it is organized into very specific categories: People, Art, History, Law, Science and Technology, Culture, Music, and the like. Those are then broken down into subcategories. If you know what you're trying to find, this site can help you find it, and it's also fun just for "serfing."
Medieval History on About.com is a set of links to many sites and resources. Take a quiz. Learn what happened on this date in the middle ages. Order videos. Find maps. Scope of information goes well beyond western Europe. Highly recommended.
Medieval Irish Poetry -- Bibliography and Links is a very useful site that includes music, information about Celtic life, Irish language sites, and more. Too rich and in some places too scholarly to explore in a day or perhaps even a lifetime, it's a treasure trove of information and interesting places. Some of the links are dead, but it's worth exploring.
Timeless Myths: Celtic Mythology is a section of a very complete and attractive site that contains mythology from the Greeks, Romans, Celts, Norsemen, and others. Definitely worth a look if you want to know more about the stories and beliefs of the Celts.
IrelandStory is a website that presents detailed information about the history, geography, and current events in Ireland. It's done with scholarship, is highly readable by students the age of our class, and seems to be updated and deepened frequently. Maps, balanced analyses of political issues, extensive prehistory information, and more make this an exceptional site.
Simon James' Ancient Celts Page is written by an author/archaeologist and gives both conventional and interestingly original ideas about the Celts in the past. Worth investgating.
Celtic Cornwall is a lovely site that is semi-professional in its scholarship and filled with beautiful images because at least one of the authors is a photographer. Cornwall is a Celtic outpost in extreme southwestern England, intent on maintaining their identity. A beautiful, rugged part of the island, it is an excellent source for research into the lives of the people who lived there more than 2,000 years ago.
Internet Celtic Resources comes to us from the University of the Highlands and Islands on the Isle of Skye (Scotland). Many of the links are to academic journals, sometimes offering entire articles and sometimes just the contents.
Celtic Web Art is a place from which you can see and collect a lot of beautiful Celtic and Celtic-based designs.
World of the Celts is a site that needed an editor -- the visual clutter is almost too much to get through. But it does contain a lot of information and is worth checking out. Lots of good images and photos (apart from the ones that spin and change color).
Prehistoric Music: Ireland is a very interesting site that discusses a recent discovery -- how the horns used by ancient musicians were actually played..
The Celts is another part of the "World Civilizations" site and gives a good overview of Celts throughout Europe.
The Language of the Celts is part of a larger site, apparently put together by a hobbyist. This particular section starts with a black and white illustration. Click on an item in the picture and you will go to a spot that gives you the Irish word for that thing and a very brief annotation. Looks generally accurate and easy to use. There's even a pronunciation guide, although it would be far more useful if you could click on a word and hear it pronounced.
The Story of Mac Datho's Pig is a dual-language telling of a story that includes many of the same people that appear in The Tain, the story of the great cattle raid of Cooley, part of the Ulster Cyle.
The Celtic Tribes of Roman Britain is a well-done overview of Celtic tribes in Britain during the period of Roman contact and occupation. It's part of a larger site with a constantly-expanding wealth of information about Roman Britain and, although not an academic site, appears to be well-researched and responsible in its content.
Who Were the Celts? is part of the Gaelic Language homepage. It gives a very brief but accurate historical summary.
Ancient History is a major project from a 6th grade class at the International School in Amsterdam. It's in English, and it's extremely well done. Greeks, Vikings, Romans, Celts, Chinese, Maori, Maya, and more are presented through student work and good Internet resource links. Recommended!
Barbarians on the Greek Periphery? is a "hypertext doctoral dissertation" by Constanze Maria Witt, a resident of Wurtzburg, Germany, who submitted it for her Ph.D. in 1997 to her department at the University of Virginia. It is obviously intended for adult (but not necessarily expert) reading, but it is also rich with images and clearly stated, interesting ideas about Iron Age Celts, especially those whose remains and relics have been found in mainland Europe.
Mythography is a site dedicated to Greek, Roman, and Celtic mythology. There seem to be no myths here but there is a fairly good listing of principal gods and heroes, and there is a discussion forum.
Irish Links is an enormous collection of links to just about everything Irish. These include folklore, news, regional information, shopping, and more. Some of it may be politically biased in one direction or another and should be read in the context of a broader range of views, which can be accessed from links on the same site.
The Great Irish Famine is a website that is included in the New Jersey schools' statewide Holocaust and Genocide curriculum. This is an excellent presentation of a dismal period in Irish history.
Gaelic and Gaelic Culture is both a site featuring and a collection of links relating to the three languages that come under the heading of Gaelic: Irish, Manx, and Scots. (There are three or perhaps four other languages that, with these three, are collectively known as Celtic languages: Welsh, Cornish, Breton, and perhaps Galician.)
Daltaí na Gaeilge is an organization dedicated to the perpetuation and spread of the Irish language. Based in northern New Jersey, they have strong Philadelphia area connections as well.
Learn to Draw Your Own Celtic Knotwork and discover the beauty and mathematics of this ancient art style that reached a peak in the illuminated books produced in Christian monasteries, most especially in Ireland. Related to Viking and Pictish design, the complex and often witty designs of The Book of Kells and other such works are examples that survived the destructive raids of the Norsemen and warfare among the Celtic leaders. This page offers a link to several how-to sites as well as some references to instructional books on the subject.
Surfing the Net With Kids: IRELAND is part of a larger site dedicated to providing links to all sorts of topics suitable for and interesting to kids. This particular one has several excellent places to go, including Around Ireland, 5-Minute Irish Tales, and Interpreting the Famine. Go to the home page of this site to see what it offers to kid-surfers besides Irish links .
What Is Northern Ireland? This is a commendably balanced and clear explanation of the history of Northern Ireland, right up to the current peace agreement.
The Romans (BBC for Schools) is a little young and oversimplified for some of our group but just right for others. A great introduction for parents, of course, and also fine for kids who are willing to read carefully, enjoy the occasional quiz, and like getting a quick overview of a bigger topic. Hyperlinked keywords help with understanding, and the material is quite broad in its scope. Although it clearly assumes that you are a British child with Roman relics in your neighborhood, it's still useful to those of us who live Across The Pond and who have other interesting stuff in our back yards. Definitely worth a look.
The Illustrated History of the Roman Empire is the most amazing site! I can't begin to descibe how much material is on it, both text and graphics. There is a "Kids' Section" which contains a lot of interesting bits. The full site is accessible but may need some adult support because of the density and readability of the content. Highly recommended.
Roman Social Bathing is one of several essays at a larger site written by high school students. It's well-researched and written in very readable language.
Odyssey: Rome is part of a larger site based at Emory University. Well-organized and readable.
Religion in Ancient Rome emphasizes festivals and general beliefs and practices, not information about Roman dieties.
BBC Online: The Romans is not the same as the BBC site further down this list. Very appropriate for elementary school. Entertaining as well as educational.
Slavery in Ancient Rome tells about the many ways that slaves did most of the work in the Empire.
History Online: Ancient Rome is a large collection of links. I haven't visited all of them, so some may be "dead" or not useful or appropriate four our students, but all of the ones I did investigate looked good.
Roman Board Games is not an easy site to use quickly, as the explanations of the games themselves are mixed in with interesting history, but you really can learn how to play some games here. Just keep reading.
Roman Britain (BBC Online) is a good site for students. Recipes, pictures of mosaics, information about women's lives, even an "audio" drama with script about the rebellion led by Celtic Queen Boudicca of the Iceni tribe.
Design Your Own Mosaic is part of a larger site on ancient Rome done by a hobbyist who seems to have researched his information carefully. This and other sections are well-planned and easy to use.
Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Rome may go into more detail than the average elementary-school student wants, but it's a very well-done and comprehensive site.
Dinner Parties and the Upper Class in Ancient Rome tells you about the wilder side of Roman dining.
Medicine in Ancient Rome is another high school student essay and, again, is carefully researched and well-written.
Roman Weapons and Tactics has a few spelling and grammatical mistakes, but it's a student essay that contains a lot of good information.
Caesar versus Pompey is a dramatic bit of military history. Just how did Julius Caesar get rid of Pompey? Read it here! Click on "full text" at the cover page to get the whole gory story.
Romans in Britain is a little thin on detail but gives a simple overview with some illustrations.
Women's Fashion in Ancient Rome gives a good overview of clothing, hairstyles, and accessories.
Vesuvius: Images is a site that offers some great pictures and basic information on this famous volcano that destroyed Pompeii and two other Roman cities in 79 AD and offers links to more.
Vesuvius: the 79 AD Eruption offers a brief MPEG movie of a computer simulation of this disastrous event. Part of a larger site about the threat of Vesuvius today to the 3 million modern residents on its slopes.
Roman Gladiatorial Games tells you a lot about who, what, how, and why -- but the pages are a little hard to read. Nonetheless, it comes fromt the Classics department at Brooklyn College and should help straighten out all the misinformation from that movie you saw.
The Romans in Scotland is a very well-illustrated site from the University of Glasgow.
Trajan's Rome is a set of lesson plans(including the actual content) for middle schoolers with lots of information and illustrations that show life in Imperial Rome. Lots of primary sources, including documents and photographs of artifacts and buildings. Recommended!
The Forum Romanum is a site maintained by a teacher of classical studies. Filled with information, pictures, and ideas for activities. Lots of fun amid the facts.
Costume History: Ancient Rome shows you that it was more than just those baggy togas.
Roman Clothing is a good site with a lot of detailed information about the clothing of many different classes, both men and women. It's in 2 sections and includes a third part which is a great collection of images. Scroll down to the bottom of the section to find the link to the next part.
Roman Public Games tells about chariot racing, gladiators, and theater.
Roman Open-Air Museum is a site maintained by a reconstructed archaeological project in Germany. Great illustrations, good explanations (in English). Keep going deeper into the site by clicking on choices. There's even a virtual tour, and it's excellent. (The villa looks just like the ones we've seen in Britain. Very consistent, those Romans.) Recommended!
Mythographyis a site dedicated to Greek, Roman, and Celtic mythology. There seem to be no myths here but there is a fairly good listing of principal gods and heroes, and there is a discussion forum.
The Museum of Antiquities is a well-constructed U.K. site with a lot on ancient Rome and other old things: a section on stone age hunter-gatherers in Britain, for example. Fun to browse as well as good for research.
The Romans in Staffordshire is run by the museum there and is a great site for students. Lots of good information about daily life in Roman Britain in this county in the west of England. What did they wear? What did they eat? What kind of houses did they have? What games did they play? It's all here!
The Romans in Britain is an information-filled site that is well illustrated and well organized. The writing style is a bit dense and wordy, but the information is excellent. Recommended.
Roman Mythology is part of a larger online encyclopedia of mythology. A good source for brief information about many gods and goddesses, with a cross-link to show how they are related to Greek deities. Images, too.
Daily Life in Ancient Rome is one of a set of sites for elementary and middle-school age students on life in the past. Great fun, interactive, and informative.
The Roman Empire in the First Century is a PBS site based on a series of television programs. The site is very informative in itself. There are also lesson plans based on the videotape which exists in several versions for home and for school. The site, however, answers a lot of questions through its own extensive and well-organized text.
Mythman's Roman Homework Center is a bit overloaded with spinning, flying images that don't add any information, but it's a well-organized and informative site. Worth taking a look, although some of the sections are very brief.
The Detective and the Toga is a site that mostly features mystery stories that are set in ancient Rome. No, the stories aren't here, but it has a link to Amazon and you can obtain the books that way if you wish. (Commissions on those sales would go to that site's creator and not to our classroom if you link to Amazon from his site, but he's earned them.) There are books listed in many languages and for a wide age range, including a section for "younger" readers that seems about right for many of our class. There is a good explanation of Roman festivals at this site, and a clear description of togas and toga traditions. Obviously, the entire subject of ancient Rome is of great interest to the site's creator, who seems to have done his homework.
Roman Baths and Bathing demonstrates clearly that the Romans knew how to live.
Roman Arms and Armour is part of a larger British site.
Schools History: Romans is a combination of activities and information that would be useful to students and teachers alike.
Asterix the Gaul is one of the world's great cartoon personalities. This is more for fun than for reseach, but it's actually quite authentic in its historical aspects. Besides, why learn all this stuff if you can't have some fun with it? Anyway, in what is now France there really were Gauls (the local Celts) who opposed the Romans, and the Asterix stories are very witty, pun-laden satire which becomes more enjoyable when you know more about the real history. This is the Official Web Site of Asterix the Trademark. It includes a pitch for the Asterix theme park in France, which does more business than the Disney park there, by the way.
Armamentarium: Roman Arms and Armor is an excellent site. If you want to know what the 1st century Roman soldier wore to work, this is the place to start. Very readable for elementary and middle-school students, interesting to older folks.
Note: It has been hard to find sites suitable for young readers, especially those that do not have a biased religious affiliation. The topic is so volatile in terms of current events that I must urge parents to oversee their children's use of these pages to make sure that the contents are factual, honestly presented, and published with scholarship -- rather than political ideology -- in mind. Our goal in the classoom is to present Islam and the ancient Muslim world as positive and fundamental shapers of our world today while acknowledging that, just like every other culture and religion, there are things that we cannot admire or condone. Most of the content at these sites is written for adults, with difficult vocabulary and assumptions about the level of the user's prior knowledge. Please let me know if there are sites you would recommend, particularly those that don't present these challenges..
History for Kids: Islam is a site that works for us. Definitely a taking-off place. Includes resource books for young people. Highly recommended.
Understanding Muslims This is a Christian-sponsored site that has some basic, apparently-unbiased information but should be read with its pro-Christian agenda in mind.
Islamicity This is a Muslim-sponsored site that has a well-balanced education section.
Muslims' Internat Directory A collection of links, not all of which I have explored, which is worth giving a serious (but guided) look.
Images A useful collection of clip-art images (not all related to Islam) that might be useful for a research project.
About.com: Muslims This is a multi-layered entry on Muslim beliefs, history, and daily life. It's not easy to separate the sponsors' ads from the informational content.
About.com: History of Islam is another "About" page that has a lot of useful material and links that connect with the previous section.
Maps of the Middle East and Islamic History is a scholar's site that offers a useful collection of historical maps.
Internet Islamic History Sourcebook I like these "sourcebooks" and they seem to improve every year. Although this is not easy for a young student to use independently, it is a useful and scholarly collection of links. And there's theme music!
Islamic Art, Music, And Architecture Around The World is part of a larger site relating to Islam that resides at the University of Georgia. It's an excellent collection of links and is definitely worth examining.
USC - MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts is just what is says -- a collection of information from Muslim sources, including a chronology. Worthwhile.
History of Islam is brief but useful as an introduction. Nice map.
A Concise History of Islam and the Arabs appears to be fairly neutral. The text is dense, but the reading level is not overwhelming. It needs stronger skimming skills than reading skills. Again, a little adult help would make a big difference.
The Islamic World to 1600 resides at the University of Calgary (Alberta, Canada) and is attractive, well-organized, but too difficult and dense for most of our students to handle independently. Nonetheless, it is highly recommended.
Anglo Saxon is a portal to a number of sites relating to the history and culture of these folks.
ORB: Anglo Saxon is part of the Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies. Most of the linked material is intended for adult readers and is not likely to be easily accessed by or interesting to middle school students.
Anglo Saxons at Spartacus UK tells about everyone from Alfred the Great to Harald Hardrada (the one who lost to Harold Godwinson before HE lost to William the Conqueror at Hastings in 1066).
Angelcynn: Anglo Saxons Anglo-Saxon Living History is how it is subtitled. Learn about the people that swept into the void left by the Romans in Britain! Lots of additional links, too. Small site but interesting.
Barbarian Europe costume links -- a very big list.
Old English Pages . . . a site that describes itself as "An encyclopedic compendium of resources for the study of Old English and Anglo-Saxon England. Now part of ORB, the On-Line Reference Book for Medieval Studies." Again, this is a link to more links. Just leave a trail of electronic breadcrumbs and you'll be able to find your way back home again.
Medieval and Anglo-Saxon Recipes from the British Museum Cookbook are a way to help your family participate more fully in our social studies theme. "Griddled Trout with Herbs" doesn't sound too bad to me, but I'm not sure about "Fenkel and Soppes." If you are seriously interested in pursuing medieval cooking, look for book recommendations by tracking down your topic at NETSERF (listed above). One they suggest which I have used with great success is Fabulous Feasts: Medieval Cookery and Ceremony. (Caveat eater).
Regia Anglorum is the site of an organization dedicated to carefully researched re-creation of daily life in Anglo-Saxon England during the 100 years or so before the Battle of Hastings and the Norman invasion in 1066. There's a wealth of information here, from how to embroider in the Anglo-Saxon style to the legal responsibilities of children (who became adults under the law at age 10 or 12). They make extensive illustrative use of the Bayeux Tapestry, which was made about 20 years after the Battle of Hastings, and the information seems to correspond closely to scholarly sources.
Anglo-Saxon Britain: 410 to 1066 is a very brief, informative overview with small illustrations that takes us from the end of Roman times to the arrival of William the Conqueror, giving us the Viking bit along the way.
The World of the Vikings describes itself as "the definitive guide to Viking resources on the Internet" and I would have to agree. It may take some hunting around, but you will soon find yourself learning about Viking culture and history from museums that, in the main, are being run by their descendants in Scandinavia. Lots of good links, too.
Norse Mythology is a comprehensive collection of information, although the vocabulary and very concise style may be hard for some of our students to use independently.
FactMonster: Norse Mythology is a brief dictionary/encyclopedia of major characters and other elements that are important in Norse mythology. Includes a helpful pronunciation guide.
Encyclopedia Mythica: Norse Mythology is just what it says -- a reference. But it's wonderfully complete and gives some lengthy essays that, with a little dramatic imagination, could have been told as exciting stories. Useful, just not riveting.
Timeless Myths: Norse Mythology is a friendly site, attractive and filled with internal links. The many links, in fact, may be a disadvantage because it is easy to click your way so far from where you started that you may forget what your original purpose was in coming to this site. Nonetheless, it's well done and informative.
Norse Mythology is another attractive website, although the information is written at a challenging level and requires a lot of perseverance to make all of the bits connect logically. The website creator knows his stuff, and he has put together a useful and very pretty set of pages. Probably better as a teacher resource. Scroll down through the links on the left side of the home page, and you'll find a place to download a TrueType runic font ("futhark") for your PC.
Secrets of the Norman Invasion sounds a bit sensationalistic (did they land in Area 51?) but it's actually a serious work of research and includes images from the Bayeux Tapestry and more. Begun to stop a highway project from destroying vital archaeology, it took on a life of its own. Great site.The Bayeux Tapestry is the embroidered -- not woven -- (go figure!) -- account of the Norman invasion, including the Battle of Hastings and the events leading up to it, in which the English King Harold Godwinson managed to snatch defeat from the gaping jaws of victory by charging after the retreating Norman troops, thus giving England and the English language over to the descendants of the Norsemen ("Normans") who were actually also the probable ancestors of Harold and also of Harald (with an A) who had been defeated a few days before by Harold (with an O) at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Is everything clear so far? Anyway, historians seem to think that the "tapestry" was probably commissioned by Bishop Odo and embroidered by Anglo-Saxon nuns about 20 years after the victory. One of the panels shows Halley's comet, which people at that time interpreted as a portent of evil and doom. Harold (spelled either way, actually) would agree. This site contains 14 of the panels, unfortunately not in color, but they load quickly.
The Bayeux Tapestry At the Reading Museum is a wonderful site at which you can see annotated panels of the full-sized copy of the Bayeux Tapestry that was made by a group of Victorian ladies who decided that it wasn't right for just the winners to have it over there in France. After all, it was their King Harold (with an O) who LOST the battle of Hastings! Without him, there wouldn't have been a tapestry, would there? So the Leek Embroidery Society of Staffordshire got busy in the late 1800s and stitched up their own copy, which looks a great deal like the original. It's a good site, and the museum itself is definitely worth visiting if you ever find yourself in that part of England.
The Bayeux Tapestry is a beautifully-made, enormous website and contains well-organized information about the history and making of the tapestry itself, has a link to information about the Battle of Hastings, and shows the entire tapestry in a series of panels. Very well done!
The Bayeux Tapestry at Britain Express is a brief, very readable overview of the tapestry and its history -- a much easier entry point than the deep site above. There is much more at this website, too, if you have any interest in British history and travel.
Barbarian Europe costume links -- a very big list.
The Normans is an attractive, informative essay that is part of a larger "World Civilizations" site.
Normans is another part of Spartacus, a large and well-organized UK educational site. Learn about primogeniture, knighthood, pilgrimage, and the Normans themselves.
The Middle Ages, Chivalry, and Knighthood is a massive collection of links that are well organized and easy to use. This is part of a much larger site put together by a secondary school history teacher, Tracey Osborne. Click here to go to her home page.
The Middle Ages is apparently still under construction. It is connected to Wikipedia and must, therefore, be used with caution. (Click here to learn more about Wikipedia and use your browser's BACK button to return to this page.) With that disclaimer, it does contain some well-organized and well-written explanations of aspects of medieval life, including individual people, weapons and warfare, literature and music, art, and links to other sources.
Britannia.com calls itself "America's Gateway to the British Isles" and it certainly does the job. This link takes you to their section on the Middle Ages, but there is much more to investigate as well. The level of the writing is varied but generally a bit high for most of our students. With some adult help, it will be a very useful place from which to gather information about a huge range of topics.
netSERF is a collection of links to sites that deal with medieval life. Definitely worth a look!
Enter the Middle Ages is part of an "e-museum" site located at Minnesota State University, apparently created by students. Well illustrated and well-organized, it should serve as an interesting starting point for research and general interest but is not deep enough in content to be a major resource.
Crossbow History is from the World Crossbow Shooting Association website. It contains a brief history (going back to ancient China) and an excellent glossary of terms.
The Longbow tells you clearly why this was the medieval weapon that levelled the playing field (and most of the players).
Medieval Music is very different from Green Day, the Beatles, or Frank Sinatra. Played here by means of synthesized MIDI files, it probably wouldn't sound authentic to the folks who originally wrote it. But it does convey the feeling of the pieces. Did you know that "Sumer is Icumen In" is the oldest round in the English that we know? It's from the 13th century. You can hear it and see the lyrics here.
Medieval Economics is a well written site that covers money, feudalism, the manorial system, and trade goods in Europe and the middle east. The highly decorative page backgrounds make some of the text difficult to read, but it can be printed without the background.
Scotland Castles gives good basic information about a dozen Scottish castles.
Castles on the Web is actually more than just castles. It includes myths and legends, heraldry, and more.
Castles of Europe is still constructing some of its castle pages, but it's definitely worth a look.
The Castles of Wales This is more of a hobby site than a scholarly one, but it's easy to read and filled with pictures and good descriptive information. It's authored by a Welsh-American who is active in language and culture groups and frequently visits Wales, and the material seems accurate. If you want to learn something about castles, this is one to check out.
Living in the Middle Ages This is an interactive site that is well organized and fun to explore. There are sound clips of medieval instruments, for example, and a quiz game in which the player tries to match the sound clip with the medieval picture of the instrument. It would be useful for research in specific topics relating to medieval Europe. It does a wonderful job of including a lot about daily life.
Medieval Englande is yet another section of the "World Civilizations" site.
Medieval Warfare is part of Spartacus, a large educational history site based in Britain. Well organized, readable, and informative.
Medieval Farming is more from Spartacus and focuses primarily on tools such as the mouldboard plough.
A Boke of Gode Cokery is a vast and attractive award-winning site that offers recipes from the middle ages, a wealth of links to other medieval sites, and a great section called A Feast For the Eyes, which is a large collection of downloadable medieval images from many sources. One of their images is at the top of our European history booklist. Highly recommended.
Medieval Jewelry has lots of pictures. Click on each one to see a larger version.
Medieval and Anglo-Saxon Recipes from the British Museum Cookbook are a way to help your family participate more fully in our social studies theme. "Griddled Trout with Herbs" doesn't sound too bad to me, but I'm not sure about "Fenkel and Soppes." If you are seriously interested in pursuing medieval cooking, look for book recommendations by tracking down your topic at NETSERF (listed above). One they suggest which I have used with great success is Fabulous Feasts: Medieval Cookery and Ceremony. (Caveat eater).
Medieval Europe Clothing and Costume is a mass of links to sites that tell and show you how the people of the Middle Ages looked.
The Catapult Museum Online is a New Zealand based site that is both brief and highly technical, something of a shortcoming -- but, then, they are hoping to sell you their CD on the same subject. Nonetheless, there is a lot of information here about death-dealing machines through the ages, and someone who is really interested in building a highly authentic one can find out a lot here. They promise more features at the site, including a chat room (hmm...) and 3D animations. We will probably build little catapults in science with Tony this year, by the way, so it might be worth a look.
The Heraldry Game is a fairly simple on-line adventure game that teaches the basic terms of heraldry (coats-of-arms and other identifying symbols). There is a lot of text to read, a link to a "basics of heraldry" page, and a branching storyline whose outcome is dependent on your understanding the descriptions of the shields. Well done, and a good introduction to the topic. Part of the "Owl & Mouse" free software site.
Cartographic Mapsis a wonderful collection of JPEG images of maps classified as Ancient, Late Medieval, and Renaissance.
The Renaissance is the period of "rebirth" that followed the Middle Ages in Europe. The Annenberg Project offers a good introduction.
American HistoryReference and General Information for American History
- Reference and General Information
- Native Peoples
- American Revolution
- Civil War
- Slavery
- Westward Expansion
- 19th and 20th Century America
- 21st Century America
The Flags of the USA is a site that offers clear images of national and state flags, including historic American flags and flags of the Confederacy, and some historical information..
African American Research Links is a broad collection of links to this part of America's past. Some of the sites are scholarly; some are hobbyist or unauthenticated. Each of the links must be evaluated in its own right, and some are more suitable for adults than young students.
America's Quilting History is remarkably varied in its contents -- Victorians, Native Americans, pioneers, African Americans, quilts that tell stories and quilts that explode with symmetry and design ingenuity. Great fun for browsing as well as serious research.
The History/Social Studies Web Site is targeted principally at K-12 teachers, but it's really useful for students and parents as well. This is an enormous site. I suggest that you start with the section titled "American History Sources" but don't stop there.
Teaching With Historic Places describes itself like this: "One of Teaching with Historic Places' primary offerings is a series of classroom-ready lesson plans. Created by National Park Service interpreters, preservation professionals, and educators, these lessons use historic sites to examine developments throughout American history and across the country. TwHP lesson plans are designed for middle school students learning history, social studies, geography, and other subjects in the humanities. However, the lessons are easily adaptable from upper elementary through high school, and even for college courses. Each lesson includes maps, readings, and photographs, all of which are accompanied by questions; at the end are activities that pull together the ideas students have just covered, and require them to initiate their own research."
USA: 1840 - 1980 is part of a larger British educational site. This is an extremely thorough, organized, and well-researched compendium of American history in the post-Revolutionary period. Look up individual civil rights leaders by name. Find out about European immigration or artists and poets. It's really good.
American Memory is the online access to archives of the Library of Congress. It's a mammoth undertaking still in process, so I suggest that you drop in from time to time and see how they're doing with getting it all out there. There are 50 collections up as of this writing, including some that relate directly to our scope of study.
WayBack: American History for Kids (PBS) is part of a much larger website, The American Experience. Although fairly small, this section includes several topics likely to be of interest to our class.
States and Capitals is a site that will come in handy as we do research projects on states that are strongly connected to the Westward movement and/or the Civil War. Keep this one in mind!
Your About.com Guide to American History is saturated with ads and promotions, but it is a dense resource for good links.
The American Local History Network is a link to many, many independent sites about American history, and it's organized by state and by topic. Looks like a very rich site for all of us as we do our research through the year!
The History Buff's Home Page is produced by the Newspaper Collectors' Society of America. It centers around newspapers and reporting and contains some streaming audio clips of famous speeches, news broadcasts, and even historic ads. It's fun.
Smithsonian National Museum of American History says that it's "not just for kids" and it isn't, but it certainly is for kids too. This link goes to a subsite within the museum's much larger on-line presence. Follow the links at the bottom of any page and you'll discover a virtual museum that's almost as good as the real thing.
Our Ancestors in American History is a site set up by children (as young as 5!) with some adult help, telling the stories of family members who experienced everything from the First Thanksgiving to World War II. It's very well done, simple in content but rich in anecdotes and archival materials.
Native American History and Culture is part of an "encyclopedia" site at the Smithsonian: a rich collection of links, exhibits, primary source material, interactive lessons, booklists, and more. Take a look at the section on the importance of buffalo to the Plains Indians and see how much you can learn from a buffalo hide painting.
On This Date In North American Indian History is just that -- a site dedicated to sharing information about the folks who were here before the Europeans, Africans, and Asians arrived on our shores. It also contains a very cogent explanation of why we should hold off on celebrating the new millennium until January 1, 2001.
The Trail of Tears is part of a site presenting the history of northern Georgia. a site focusing on the forced removal of the Cherokee people from Georgia in the 1830s. Did you know that Davy Crockett's political career came to an end because he took the side of the Cherokee in this? As a result, he went off to Texas and ended up at the Alamo.
The Creek Nation is part of the same site, offering a brief but interesting picture of life among the Creek before and during encounters with Europeans.
History of the Cherokee is a site created and maintained by a Cherokee with a strong interest in his people's history. It is well done and appears to be carefully researched.
The Revolutionary War is an impressively large and well-done site, surprising because it was done as a special project by a 4th grader. I have to assume that there was some adult support with this, but I have corresponded with its author, and he is clearly one sharp and interested kid (now in 7th or 8th grade). Recommended for anyone interested in good, well-explained information about the days of 1776. Highly recommended.
The Civil War at a Glance is much more than a quick look, despite its title. True, there are few details, but this comprehensive survey gives a good paragraph of the land campaigns in each region and time period and provides excellent color maps of the areas involved. Brought to you through your tax dollars from the National Park Service, and I think the money was well spent. Highly recommended.
AmericanCivilWar.com is a collection of material relating to many aspects of the Civil War. It describes itself this way: "AmericanCivilWar.com's mission is to provide a very comprehensive source of Civil War related information, which can be utilized as research source material and reprinting without copyright concerns (courtesy credits are expected). All of the material contained on the site is from public domain sources or are published with permission from the author and so credited. The target reader is the student doing research during K-12 Civil War History blocks, the College and University American History requirements, and the Civil War buff."
Gettysburg Park Virtual Tour is much more than that. It is a very clear presentation of the events leading up to the battle and the battle itself, augmented with images and sound. Maps in motion and optional deeper levels of detail make this both attractive and informative to users who could represent a wide range of ages and degrees of expertise. Created by the National Park Service, this is a very informative site. Highly recommended.
The Battle of Gettysburg is a hobbyist's site that is well-researched and carefully documented, giving a brief and precise sequence of events for each day of the battle.
The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry is a website devoted to the experience of African-American soldiers in the Civil War, particularly the unit made famous through the film "Glory" As the main force involved in the assault on Ft. Wagner, it helped to establish respect for black men as effective soldiers in the Union army. Run by re-enactors of this historic event, the site also offers good links to a wider base of information.
The Civil War (TeachPDLaw) is another hobbyist's site, this one being a massive and well-organized collection of other websites on the topic that are likely to be useful to students. It contains links to information about the war, about the time preceding the war, and about Reconstruction. A good place to start researching a narrower subject.
History Central: The Civil War is a subsection of a much larger general history site. Brief coverage of battles, biographical information, and more are found here in an easy-to-read format.
The Civil War (Kidport) is a good site for elementary school students to get a very simple overview of the Civil War. This is a generally good history site at this level and is worth exploring for other topics.
The American Civil War offers an interesting and thorough perspective from a British educational site.
Eyewitness: The Battle of Gettysburg is part of a larger site offering background information and first-person accounts of the event. This one includes excerpts from published recollections of a woman who was a teenage girl at the time of the battle.
Band Music From the Civil War Era is part of the "American Memory" site at the Library of Congress. The history of the instruments, orchestration, and music is well-supplemented by period photographs.
The Ulysses S. Grant Home Page is apparently an enthusiastic hobbyist's project. The tone is sometimes needlessly stilted and often so defensively positive as to raise doubts about its accuracy. However, the information is generally consistent with that found in other sources and so complete as to make the man come to life for the visitor in a way that a dry encyclopedia article cannot. An entertaining site as well as an informative one.
Nile of the New World is a site that deals with the history and culture of the Mississippi River delta. It includes a section on the Civil War history of this river: "Thousand Mile Front." This is very well done and highly recommended.
Choices and Commitments: The Soldiers at Gettysburg is part of the National Park Service's "Teaching with Historic Places" collection of lesson plans and resources. This particular section includes printable maps of the 3 days of the battle.
Civil War Artillery Page is a hobbyist's site which is extremely well done. Lots of excellent, clearly explained information about the terminology and weaponry of the war.
Civil War Artillery is another scholarly hobbyists' site. Attractive, well-organized, and informative.
Civil War Photographs from the Library of Congress. Not just pictures but also very readable commentary. See the famous "faked" photograph that was taken at Gettysburg, and read the evidence for the argument that the body was moved and rearranged by the photographer. Consult a timeline of the Civil War, and learn about the photographic process at the time. This is a site worth visiting.
The Great Locomotive Chase "For more than a year, war raged in the fields of Virginia and Tennessee while factories and farms in Georgia produced supplies that fed and clothed the Confederate Army. In the spring of 1862, the quiet of North Georgia was shattered by a group of 22 Union spies on a mission to disrupt Confederate supply lines. The General, a locomotive engine owned by the Western and Atlantic Railroad, left Atlanta at 4:00 am on April 12, the first anniversary of the attack on Fort Sumter. At Marietta, the raiders boarded the train under the command of James Andrews. When the train stopped for breakfast, the men made off with The General in a daring raid that had been planned the night before." Read all about it at this site, part of The Blue and Gray Trail.
Civil War Women is part of the Duke University Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Sheet Music Collection. It's worth going to their home page and browsing through the whole thing. But this section contains papers and diary entries from three women who were involved in the Civil War: Rose O'Neal Greenhow (one of the Confederacy's most effective spies), Sarah E.Thompson (a spy for the Union), and Alice Williamson (who was a 16 year old living in Tennessee in 1864).
The American Civil War Homepage is a massive collection of links to all kinds of Civil War related information. It has been recently updated and is well organized. Many of the linked sites have content that will challenge the reading skills of many of the class, but it is worth tackling with some adult support.
The Civil War is part of a homeschool parent's website in which she describes at some length and with good photos a study project on the Civil War that she did with her elementary-school-age children. Of particular interest to me was her detailed description of making costumes, but there's more there as well.
The Civil War in Michigan is a site based in a Michigan museum that recognizes the state's involvement in the war. Nearly one fourth of the adult male population of Michigan fought for the Union -- whites, blacks, and Native Americans. No battle was fought in Michigan, but its men were present as soldiers in almost every major battle that occurred elsewhere. Age-appropriate.
The American Civil War -- a Thinkquest Student Project is a well-constructed page created by middle school students as part of a learning program. (We can all forgive a few spelling and grammar errors.) It contains a section on Gettysburg, is easy to read and explore, and is a wonderful example of the kind of work that students can do on a serious topic. It even includes a site search engine.
Civil War Battle Summaries by State is a somewhat spare but useful listing of Civil War battles that took place in every state with a brief description of the course and outcome of the battle, the troops involved, and the casualty statistics.
The Valley of the Shadow (Living the Civil War in Pennsylvania and Virginia) describes itself thus: "This project interweaves the histories of two communities on either side of the Mason-Dixon line during the era of the American Civil War. It also combines a narrative and an electronic archive of the sources on which the narrative is based."
The Fight for Equal Rights: Black Soldiers in the Civil War is a teaching plan aimed at high school age students but contains useful information and thought provoking questions that will be of interest to students who are younger and to their parents.
The American Civil War and the Battle of Gettysburg seems to be a carefully researched and ever-expanding resource on several battles, including the battle of Gettysburg. Maps. images, and clear explanations make the complexities of this watershed battle understandable to middle school students. Recommended to anyone interested in knowing more about this event. We'll study this battle closely any year we learn about the Civil War.
The Battle of Gettysburg (Military History Online) is a picture-rich site that is filled with visual information of all kinds, facts about related topics such as an annotated life of a woman who was a civilian living in Gettysburg at the time of a war and who kept a diary throughout her adult life, and clear descriptions of the three days of the battle. Recommended!
Home of the American Civil War is a hobbyists' page rather than a university site, but it looks very carefully researched and well organized. It contains not only all of the usual information but also a lot of additional material. Did you know that there were some twenty-five Union soldiers in the war who were ten years old or less? And that about 100,000 were 15 or less? There is a poignant, cynical short story by Ambrose Bierce here. There is a very interesting list of Civil War "firsts" including battlefield photography, voting by servicemen who were not at home, a cigarette tax. aerial reconnaissance, and a successful submarine. A browser's delight!Recommended!
The United States Civil War Center is maintained by Louisiana State University. It's almost too dense with information for idle browsers, but it is a treasure trove if you know what you are looking for or don't mind just wandering around and discovering lots of stuff. This is very well organized site.
The James-Younger Gang's Homepage is a somewhat light but detailed look at this band of outlaws, their victims, and their generally bad ends. MIght be of interest to anyone in the class who has read Jayhawker, in which Jesse James is a featured character.
The Michigan State Historical Center is, understandably, focused on Michigan. But there are good resources here for American history generally, especially the Civil War and settlement. Things specifically for kids and for teachers.
Slavery is a very thorough treatment of American slavery from a British educational site. Includes slaves' own narratives, many specific aspects.
Nile of the New World is a site focusing on the Mississippi Delta area. It includes two good sections on slavery and the underground railroad as well as Delta Blues music. It tells its stories in very fully and in a very readable form. A good resource.
African American: A Journey from Slavery to Freedom is a very large site filled with information and images based on an exhibition at Long Island University that was created in 1998.
Chronology on the History of Slavery and Racism comes from an organization connected with Holt House, an historic property now part of the grounds of the Washington Zoo. The related web pages telling the story of the house and the concerns about its connections with slavery are also very interesting and worth doing a little backtracking through the site to discover them.
African American Odyssey comes from the Library of Congress. It goes well beyond the history of slavery, and it's excellent.
Journal of a Residence on a Georgia Plantation is the diary of Fanny Kemble, a member of the famous English family of actors. She married a Georgia slave-owner and went to live on his plantation at Butler Island in the 1840s. She became an ardent abolitionist, divorced her husband, returned to England, and published her journal in an effort to stop the British from assisting the Confederacy during the Civil War. The entire text of the document is here.
Africans in America is an extremely well-done, highly informative site from the folks at PBS. They describe it this way: "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 and television series in U.S. history courses." Really exceptional.
Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, The African is a site based at the British Library that tells of the life of this amazing man who was first captured and used as a slave by other black Africans when he was 11 years old and then sold to transatlantic slave traders and brought to the New World. His autobiography is impressive in its language and depth of detail but might be very challenging independent reading for our class. His life story is astonishing because of the extent to which he traveled the world -- even to the Arctic -- as the slave of a British Royal Navy sea captain. Later, he was the slave of a Quaker merchant, who allowed him to buy his freedom in 1766. Equiano spent the rest of his life writing and working to abolish slavery. There are a number of sites devoted to his story, and this is a good one.
The African American Journey is a compilation of information for students put together by World Book. It goes from slavery to modern times and is quite readable. Includes some good links. Recommended!
End of the Oregon Trail is a site just packed with information about the people who went west to Oregon and adventures they had on their journey. Diaries, pictures and diagrams, lists of provisions and costs are all here. Definitely worth some time!
The Oregon Trail comes from eduscapes.com. It features 2 descriptions -- one brief and simple, one with more detail and more advanced vocabulary. The links to related information are excellent and include a full range of informational, interactive, and classroom-based pages.
Across the Plains in '64 is one person's family history. Her great-great-grandfather went with his family from Iowa to Oregon in 1864. His daughter told the story of the trip to her daughter, and in the third generation the story was written down. This is a transcription of that book. It's charming and informative.
The Michigan State Historical Center is, understandably, focused on Michigan. But there are good resources here for American history generally, especially the Civil War and settlement. Things specifically for kids and for teachers.
Exploring the West Maps comes from an exhibit at the University of Virginia in 1995.
The Oregon Trail Map is a visual adventure -- produced by a company called HistoryGlobe.com, it offers photos, diagrams, and information about the trail, showing it both on a modern map of the states and on the less-defined territory that it crossed in 1843.
The Oregon Trail is a wonderful site with several interesting subsections put up by the people who made the PBS documentary of the same title. We'll be watching the video in class as part of our preparation for our own virtual journey west a little later in the year. Especially recommended at this site is the first section, "All About the Trail."
In Search of the Oregon Trail is really a site intended to sell you a PBS videotape of the same title. It also contains a trivia quiz that's fun, a teacher's guide for the videotape that contains a lot of useful information in itself, and a section on myths that is well-written and informative. Worth visiting, even if you don't plan to spend $40 for the tape.
Stephanie Flora's The Oregon Trail is described by its creator as her "number one addiction and hobby." Although I can't find any academic credentials, she seems to have gathered information and set up links in a very scholarly way, and the site did get an American Local History Network Award of Excellence in 1998. It looks reliable and is filled with wonderful primary source material of all kinds along with a lot of good links.
Journal of Western Travel is a site based on the journal kept by the creator's great-great-grandfather when he and a companion went West in 1859 in search of gold. This is a beautifully-produced site and uses maps from the Color Atlas of Landforms site mentioned below.
Academic Info: The American West -- Frontier History is another compendium of sites. They describe their material as being suitable for high school and college students, which may mean that some of our class will need some help wading through it, just as some do with encyclopedias written for adults.
A Brief History of the Gold Rush is delightfully brief and suitable for anyone looking for an overview. At the end of the clear text is a list of links, including places to visit if you happen to be in California.
Women of the Alaska Gold Rush is dedicated to the Klondike gold-seekers, a "rush" that came later than the one in 1849. The emphasis of this site is on the Native American and other women who were part of this event. It's well written and is loaded with archival photographs.
The James-Younger Gang's Homepage is a somewhat light but detailed look at this band of outlaws, their victims, and their generally bad ends. MIght be of interest to anyone in the class who has read Jayhawker, in which Jesse James is a featured character.
The Wild West is a bright and richly illustrated site for students that tends to gloss over the more difficult facts and over-romanticize some things that were not quite that simple, but it is also filled with excellent information and great pictures. Contains extensive sections on Native Americans and on cowboys. Includes information about specific women, outlaws, heroes, and more.
Child Labor in America is a Library of Congress "American Memory" site that is essentially a teaching plan but could be used easily by students and parents. Lewis Hine photographs are among the primary sources that this site contains.
Child Labour (in Britain) is, obviously, not American history but many of the problems and practices are similar.
Nineteenth Century Children and What They Read is a very informative scholar's site that gives us an interesting picture of the world of an American child in the 1800s, although we must keep in mind that a great many 19th century American children were too poor and too busy working to be reading anything.
First World War is from Spartacus and offers us the British view of the "war to end all wars" but has good information and connects well with American involvement in this event.
The Century (ABC News) is a multi-topic retrospective view of the 20th century. Not exactly our time period under study, but a fascinating collection of history that evolved from the 19th century that we will be exploring.
Investigating the Vietnam War is part of a larger British site aimed at students.
I guess it's time to start this section . . .
Language ArtsGuide to Grammar and Writing will help you with most of the basic stuff of writing. Large clear print, well-organized information, and good examples and explanations make this a valuable writer's tool. Highly recommended.
The Web of On-Line Dictionaries is incredible. Languages, specialized fields, neologisms, just about any word is here! (Except, of course, the word I was looking for that led me to discover this web site.) You'll love it!
Collective Names of Animals is a useful resource for a narrow topic. What do we call a group of badgers, of heron, of magpies, of foxes? (Not in correct order, it's skulk, cete, seige, and tiding. But you knew that.)
Word Central is Merriam-Webster's dictionary site for kids. The definitions are easy to understand, there are some language games, and it's well-done.
AllWords.com is yet another dictionary site. One helpful feature here is the "crossword helper" that lets you supply whatever letters you have and then it looks for all the words that might fit. Could free up a lot of time on Sunday mornings for you! It will translate the word into several languages, if you like. It also has links to a math site, a lottery site, and goodness knows what else.
Wilton's Etymology Page is a hobby site that I really like. It doesn't have everything, but if you're wondering where some funny words and expressions came from, you'll find some interesting ideas about many of them here. Great fun to read on a rainy afternoon with no word in mind.
Famous Quotations Network will help you find something brilliant that someone else said on almost any topic. A great way to start an essay or speech.
Science and TechnologyGeneral ResourcesGeneral Resources
Inventors and Inventions
Structures
Bridgesite.com
The Natural World
The Sky and Outer Space
Other Science TopicsThe Invention of Knowledge is a slightly strange site, obviously someone's passionate interest, and not easily explored or understood because its creator has put so much effort into constructing "a new theory of knowledge" based on "a fundamental element -- artifacts." It's rather eccentric, but it might be interesting for an adult to tackle on a rainy afternoon. The author doesn't seem to have given his name anywhere on the site (except in a scrawled signature) and does confess that this is not his professional field but his hobby of some 30 years or more. My primary criticism of the content is that he does not offer the reader alternative interpretations or views but just the one that seems to satisfy him and his schemata, without giving much justification. For example, his summary of Piagetian stages of development in children is accurate and interestingly connected to the development of cultures, but he doesn't take any note of the enormous body of research that challenges many of Piaget's findings and conclusions. Still, I recommend it to the insatiably curious and open-minded.