Online Goverment Resources
Links to State and National Government-Sponsored Sites
by Dave Privett, WPS Media Specialist
PLEASE DON'T BE AFRAID of these government-sponsored sites! There is TONS of great information available at these sites for classroom use!! BILLIONS of taxpayer dollars are used annually on government publications, in both print and digital formats, and much of this information is published directly for teacher/student use. There's something for everyone.
America's
Story
Students can find out what
Abraham Lincoln had in his pockets the night he was assassinated;
read about Buffalo Bill Cody and his Wild West shows; learn about
the heroism or Harriet Tubman as she helped slaves escape; find out
what a 'cloth sandwich' is; or see a film of a break dancer way
back in 1898. Young students can also learn what happened on the
day they were born, or go to Explore the States if they are working
on a report on one of the United States. They can also send a
postcard to a friend and play a scavenger hunt. This site does a
great job of making history fun for young students.
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Ben's Guide to U.S. Government
for Kids
Once you arrive at "Ben's
Guide", you will see Benjamin Franklin flying a kite with the kite
divided into four different grade levels: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12.
Click on the grade level appropriate for you, and you will be taken
to a site that explains in many different ways how our government
works. The K-2 site, for example, has information on "Your
Neighborhood", "Ben's ABCs", "Symbols of U.S. Government", and
"Games and Activities" that can be printed or used interactively.
The grades 6-8 site has links to "Historical Documents"
(Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, Emancipation
Proclamation, among others), a description and pictorial process
for "How Laws are Made", information about the "Election Process",
and "Games and Activities" appropriate for this age group. Each of
the grade-level sites also has a link to the Ben's Guide's version
of FirstGov for Kids that is titled U.S. Government Web Sites for
Kids. Like FirstGov for Kids, this directory also has a subject
approach, but in addition, the user can click on "Agency" or
"Alphabetical" to have the links organized.
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FirstGov for Kids
A good place to begin to find
resources for students in grades K-8. This site was developed and
is maintained by the Federal Citizen Information Center, and, aside
from federal government sites, this site includes links to some of
the best sites from organizations for kids. One advantage of this
site is that it is arranged by broad topics, such as Arts, Careers,
Computers, Fighting Crime, Fun Stuff, Geography, Global Village,
Government, and so on, encompassing 20 subject areas. All
nongovernmental sites linked in FirstGov for Kids comply with the
regulations in the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of
1998. If you are looking for a topic that is not covered by one of
the 20 broad topic areas, use the "search" option. From the
FirstGov for Kids page, click on "search", type the subject in the
search box, and add the word "kids". For example, typing in
"dinosaurs kids" results in more than 30 options.
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Federal Resources for
Educational Excellence (FREE)
A site hosted by the federal
government with free animations, primary documents, photos, and
videos in the areas of Arts & Music, Health & Phys. Ed.,
History & Social Studies, Language Arts, Math, and Science.
Definitely worth checking out!
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Global
Gateway
From here, you can link to
"Portals of the World" where students are presented with a list of
more than 175 countries. The links for each country have been
selected by area specialists and other Library of Congress staff to
provide authoritative and in-depth information about the
countries.
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Library of Congress
"a gold mine of information in
many curricular areas. You will find a link from its home page to
'American Memory' that provides
a way to locate primary source materials pertaining to the history
of the United States. Students can choose from more than 7 million
digital items (documents, photos, maps, films, and sound
recordings) from more than 100 historical collections to learn
about a certain time in American history. 'The Learning Page' is a link for
teachers that provides lesson plans on U.S. history, civics, and
literature topics, ranging from grades 4-12."
YOU COULD EASILY LOSE A COUPLE YEARS OF YOUR LIFE EXPLORING THIS
SITE!
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NASA
Kids
Learn about the earth, the sun,
or the evolution of space travel. Play Connect the Stars and Make a
Constellation, or learn about rockets and airplanes. Sponsored by
NASA, this site also has several other children's links listed. The
Just
for Kids site for students in grades K-12 is sponsored by
NASA's Johnson Space Center. It gives information about how
astronauts sleep and work in space and also lets users become
virtual astronauts.
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Nebraska.gov
The state's official
website.
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Nebraska
Blue Book
The Blue Book is Nebraska's
official reference manual, with information about the state's
government, geography, economy, history, and culture.
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Statistical
Abstract of the United States
Includes almost 1,400 tables
taken from both government and nongovernment information services
in order to include statistics in areas the government does not
count.
If you need statistics on the number of teenage drug users or the
number of people who currently smoke--broken down by male, female,
black, white, and then by age group within these categories--they
can find this information on this site, along with figures on
teenage homicide rates, the number of teenagers with AIDS,
statistics for teenage pregnancies, the number of kids who bought
sound recordings on CD-ROMs or cassettes, the number of teenagers
in the labor force, and how many teenagers participate in sports
activities, to name just a few of the topics included. Includes
information from federal on down to the state level.
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Students.gov
For students who are thinking
about going to college and are wondering how they should prepare
for college, or how they will pay for their college education. From
this site, students learn about options in distance education, read
how to find and apply for college loans, and learn what's involved
in military service and the educational benefits that are available
through the different branches of the armed forces.
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THOMAS
Another link on the Library of
Congress page. For students who are tracking legislation at the
federal level or who are interested in finding out what bills might
have been introduced on a certain topic. This always-changing site
includes databases that allow the following searches: *the House
floor this week and on a current legislative day; *a quick search
of the text of bills in the current Congress; *summary and status
information about bills and resolutions since 1973; *public laws by
law number since 1973; *House and Senate roll call votes since
1990; *Congressional Record index since 1993; *committee reports
since 1993; and *current House and Senate directories. Information
on how laws are made in both the House and the Senate, a summary of
congressional activity from 1969, and links to historical documents
that formed the foundation of our country from 1774-1789 are
provided on this site. New materials are added daily to many
databases, and the bill text files are updated several times a
day.
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USA.gov
Whatever you want or need from
the U.S. government, it's here. You'll find a rich treasure of
online information, services, and resources. This is the U.S.
government's official web portal, priding itself on having
something to offer all users.
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The
U.S. Government Manual
Useful to those studying civics
or political science. This is the official handbook of the federal
government, and it provides information on the various agencies of
the federal government and also the quasi-official agencies, as
well as the international agencies with which the U.S. government
does business. Each listing gives a brief history of the agency,
tells its role in the government, and describes its programs and
activities. The principal officials along with their phone numbers
are also listed.
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The
World Factbook
This is an easy-to-use almanac
that is published by the CIA, offering detailed information on all
the world's geographic and political entities. A great resource for
study on foreign countries and governments.
Click HERE
to view a video tutorial on how to use this site.
