ALEX - Alabama Learning Exchange

Social Studies

CIA - World Factbook
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
Country profiles contain authoritative statistics on population, area, terrain, natural resources, economy, imports and exports, currency, income levels, agriculture, industries, etc.

Congressional Youth Leadership Council
http://www.cylc.org/
The Congressional Youth Leadership Council (CYLC) offers education leadership conferences for outstanding young people from across the country and around the world, providing them with exciting enrichment opportunities and authentic leadership laboratories.

Education Place (Houghton Mifflin)
http://www.eduplace.com/
Resources for elementary-school teachers, students, and parents. Includes Reading/Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies Centers, Intervention, Professional Development, searchable activity database, educational games for kids, and textbook support.

National Council for the Social Studies
http://www.ncss.org/
NCSS's mission is to provide leadership, service, and support for all social studies educators.

National Geographic for Kids
http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngexplorer/
Variety of articles, movies, online adventures, and learning games about science and social studies topics, with teacher's guide

New York Times Learning Network
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/

Smithsonian Institute
http://www.si.edu/
Online material related to exhibits at the many museums which fall under the Smithsonian umbrella. Check out the teacher area for units with lesson plans and the kids' area for educational games and activities

Voices from the Dust Bowl
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/afctshtml/tshome.html
Covering a period between 1940 and 1941, this collection documents the lives of Dust Bowl migrants living in Farm Security Administration (FSA) camps in California.

Weekly Reader Galaxy
http://www.weeklyreader.com/
Articles from the well-known children's publication with related web links, field trips categorized by grade levels, parent projects and advice

K - 5

National Geographic Videos
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/
This website has a variety of FREE National Geographic videos on animals, natural disasters, nature, space, history, and more.

USA map with rivers, lakes, mountains to label
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/make-your-own-usa.html
Displays US map with various features that students can manipulate & print. Teacher can add on oceans to complete the standard.

National Geographic Xpeditions
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/14/g35/dawnducks.html
This lesson plan involves the impact of oil spills on the environment.

Landforms and Bodies of Water
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/geography/landforms/glossaryprintable.shtml
Illustrated glossary of landforms and bodies of water.

Identifiying Destinations for A Class Trip
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/01/g35/
In this lesson, students will use a geographic perspective in identifying and comparing features of physical and political maps of the world. They will use information from these map sources, as well as other National Geographic resources, to make decisions about the best place to go on a class trip. Once students identify this place, they will relay their findings in a presentation designed to convince the principal that it’s an ideal place for a class trip.

What They Left Behind: Early Multi-National Influences in the United States
http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/early-multi-national-influences-united-states
The lessons in this unit are designed to help your students make connections between European voyages of discovery, colonial spheres of influence, and various aspects of American culture.

Alabama African American History Calendar Project
http://alafricanamerican.com/
Events in history help complete the understanding of African American history. This website provides a month-by-month outline of historic dates relevant to Alabama African American history offers readers a perspective that compliments the biographical data on African American leaders. This timeline view helps complete the picture of the African American impact on Alabama and United States history. A free, downloadable calendar with historic events from African American history can also be found on this site.

When In Time
http://whenintime.com/
WheninTime is a web application that enables users to create, view, explore and contribute to interactive digital timelines on the topic of their choice. (Website's description)

6 - 8

Animated Atlas: Growth of a Nation
http://www.animatedatlas.com/movie.html
This is a 10-minute movie that is narrated and divided into smaller segments. It shows the geographic history of the United States from the beginning of the nation to the acquisition of the last state. Geographic elements are interactive and there is a timeline. It will take approximately 60 seconds to load with a 56K modem.

Ben's Guide to U. S. Government
http://bensguide.gpo.gov
Interactive guide to help K-12 students understand symbols of a democratic government and how our government works.

Maps Around the World
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/online-atlas.htm
Pick any country or continent. Displays rivers, cities, etc.

9 - 12

Alabama Moments in American History
http://www.alabamamoments.state.al.us
This website provides supplemental materials correlated to the 10th and 11th grade Social Studies Course of Study and the graduation exam. These resources were created in an effort to show how Alabama's history is interwoven with the history of the U. S.

Nation Master
http://www.nationmaster.com
This is an excellent resource for finding out current details about most of the countries in the world. The main page contains statistical data about the nations and allows the visitors to create their own graphs in order to compare different nations. Additionally, the site has links to national profiles. This site would be very helpful for students who are looking for basic statistics about different countries.

Judgment Day: For and Against Freedom
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/tguide/4index.html
This lesson uses a program segment and primary sources to deepen understanding of the militant phase of anti-slavery activism inspired by the pamphlets, newspapers, speeches, and organized campaigns of early 19th-century abolitionists. Students can perform guided research into the lives and ideologies of famous abolitionists, notably women abolitionists, and create fictional dialogues between them.

Econoclass: Resources for Economics Teachers
http://www.econoclass.com
Includes lesson plans, games, simulations, case studies, debate topics, brain teasers, and other active learning activities.

Ben's Guide to U. S. Government
http://bensguide.gpo.gov
Interactive guide to help K-12 students understand symbols of a democratic government and how our government works.

End of Middle Ages Tutorial
http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/endmiddle/
The End of Europe's Middle Ages is designed to assist those students engaged in Renaissance, Reformation and Early Modern studies who lack a background in medieval European history. Intended to provide a brief overview of the conditions at the end of Europe's Middle Ages, the tutorial is presented in a series of chapters that summarize the economic, political, religious and intellectual environment of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The main objective of the tutorial is to furnish a baseline against which the vast changes of the following centuries may be measured.

The French Revolution
http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/index.html
A site with maps, songs, images, documents, and a timeline about the French Revolution.

Inventors of the Industrial Revolution
http://www.pbs.org/empires/victoria/text/edindex.html
Click on Plan 1: Inventions that Changed the World for a lesson on the positive and negative impacts of the inventions of the Industrial Revolution, the ways this revolution shaped Victoria's reign as Queen of England, and the ways this invention contributed to the idea of a world economy.

The Price We Pay for Health: US and Canada
http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.php?lesson=EM535&page=teacher
Students will review the health systems of United States and Canada. They will identify the positive aspects of each system. They will look at the trade-offs associated with those positive aspects. In Canada, everyone has health care, but certain specialized medical services are not always available. In the United States, many people are not insured, yet for many people the access to technology and specialization is phenomenal. Which is the better choice? Students will also recognize that choosing between these two systems requires a trade-off between the economic goals of economic freedom and economic security.