Useful Web Site Links
by WPS Media Specialist David Privett
September 06, 2007
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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AwesomeStories.com
AwesomeStories.com uniquely uses the Internet to link its story
content to hundreds of thousands of the world's best on-line
primary sources. Enjoy an interactive learning experience as you
see relevant maps, pictures, artifacts, manuscripts and documents,
IN CONTEXT, within each story. Take advantage of human-based
searches for a safe, fast and fun way to learn the real story
behind historic events, famous people, heroic exploits, legends,
disasters, movies, plus topics of current and general interest.
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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"Historical Documents" (Declaration of Independence, Bill of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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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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The History
Channel
A collection of historical speeches and videos
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infoplease
"All the Knowledge You Need"
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Internet
Archive
"Universal Access to Human Knowledge"
A useful multimedia collection, including images, music, audio, and
texts. A great site to use for enhancing those PowerPoint
presentations!
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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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Newslink
A comprehensive worldwide collection of newspapers, magazines,
radio, and television, along with resources.
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Paperboy.com
Gives you access to local, state, national, and international
newspapers.
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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.
