Recommended Social Studies Resources

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Laurie Block Spigel Classes & Lectures Photo Gallery            Testimonials Consultations Poems by Laurie Contact Laurie FAQ (testing etc.) Articles etc.        Books & Resources Favorite Kids' Books Language Arts Math & Economics Statistics Critical Thinking Science            Social Studies Foreign Languages Music            Art & Architecture Standards, etc.      Activities & Crafts Physical Activities Magazines Special Ed Gifted & Talented About College Art by Kids Poems by Kids Reviews by Kids Other Sites            Volunteer / Interning            Contests            Glossary            Acknowledgements Sitemap              © Laurie Block Spigel 2005 – 2010	Go to Page Index Social studies includes history and geography and anthropology and folklife and genealogy and civics and political science. It is the study of our world and how people and countries relate to each other. Learning about your block, about your neighborhood, about your city, about your heritage, is all social studies. If history only comes from books, even from exciting historical fiction, then your child will never understand that history and social studies is something that is alive and happening every day. Let your interests guide you to the cultures and period of history for study (you can never learn everything about all of them, so pick and choose), and let your child’s curiosity provoke questions that will result in research and field trips. NYC is filled with historical sites well worth visiting. Search the census on the Place Matters website for the hidden historical treasures in your own neighborhood, or create your own walking tour in any of the five boroughs. Check the website resources for historical reenactments that turn history into living theater. Page Index General Social Studies Resources History Resources: For kids For parents and educators Field Trip Ideas History Games American History websites World History websites Websites on ancient history for kids See also Archaeology Geography Resources Anthropology Resources Folklife Resources Genealogy Resources Civics Resources Political Science Resources See also: NYPL's HomeworkNYC.org Grade Levels, Standards and Benchmarks What's Free or Cheap in NYC? Social Studies Economics Resources Other Countries, Languages and Cultures Recommended Magazines Social Studies Resources, from Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE) Laurie's class Create your own Board Game is a course in social studies and research. General Social Studies Resources Culture Quest. Visit different countries and sample their cultures. National Council for the Social Studies. Resources, teaching plans, standards, and more. Fun Social Studies. They offer a free newsletter. PBS offers lesson plans linked to the news. Social Studies for Kids Using the New York Times With Children of all Ages (article by Laurie Block Spigel) Back to index History Resources: History is the study of the past. Until the 20th century, teaching history usually involved learning a great many dates (of kings and queens, famous battles, etc.). "Social history" is concerned with the doings of everyday people. For kids For parents and educators Field Trip Ideas History Games American History websites World History websites Websites on ancient history for kids See also Archaeology under Science Resources. Paleontology is the science of bones, but archeology is more about history. For example, it's amazing what has been learned about our ancestors by studying their garbage dumps! The Internet History Sourcebook Project covers a wide range of topics, including a guide to Modern History in the Movies. Check out paid internships at the New-York Historical Society. Search the census on the Place Matters website for the hidden historical treasures in your own neighborhood, or create your own walking tour in any of the five boroughs.

For kids:

• History for Kids covers a wide range of topics, from classical Greece and Rome to medieval Europe to ancient Africa.
• Critical Thinking in United States History, published by Critical Thinking Press, comes in four volumes (Colonies to Constitution, New Republic to Civil War, Reconstruction to Progressivism, Spanish-American War to Vietnam). One Parent's review: These books are for 6th - 12th grade, designed to teach how to analyze primary and secondary sources. Each book starts out with lessons on how to assess information, and has exercises in identifying fallacies and generalizations. Then kids can then apply it to historical case studies. Most of the exercises take about 15-20 minutes to do; occasionally there is one that you have to spread over several days because of the amount of reading and analysis (the exercise in Volume One on the Salem Witch trials was like that!). Because there's a fair amount of discussion involved, the lessons would be well-suited to a small group setting.
• New York State for Kids
• Cobblestone Magazine, from Carus Publishing/Cricket Magazine Group.
• KidsDiscover Magazine, includes topics in science and social studies
• Usborne kits and publications
• Kids On Strike, by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, about the history of child labor. (She also wrote Black Potatoes, about the Irish potato famine, and Growing Up in Coal Country, both for kids.)
• Stan Mack's Real Life American Revolution
• The Cartoon History of the Universe, volumes 1 & 2, by Larry Gonick
• History of US, a series, by Joy Hakim. The PBS website has free lesson plans designed to go with the books.
• historical fiction (for example, Johnny Tremain, by Esther Forbes, set in the Revolutionary War era in Boston )
• Picture the Middle Ages: The Middle Ages Resource Book, by Linda Honan in conjunction with the Higgins Armory Museum
• Picture the Renaissance: The Renaissance Resource Book, by Linda Honan in conjunction with the Higgins Armory Museum
• Higgins Armory Museum- click on the Museum Store and then click on books to find a wonderful list of books on the middle ages (in Worcester, Mass, between Boston and Sturbridge Village, this museum makes an excellent field trip)
• The catalog at Jas. Townsend and Son has colonial gifts and 18th-century reproductions. You can find girls' aprons for $5 each, caps for $10, a tin candle holder for under $5 (beeswax candle is extra) and a few other reasonably priced items.
• History Resources from the US Government

For parents and educators:

• GothamED - teaching New York history K-12
• The Learning Page from the Library of Congress. Includes lesson plans that make use of the Library's resources.
• Discover Magazine (not just social studies)
• National Geographic Historical Atlas of the United States
• A People’s History of the US, by Howard Zinn
• Eyewitness to History, by John Carey
• Letters of a Nation, Andrew Carroll, Ed.
• Kids Zone from Colonial Williamsburg, includes Electronic Field Trips with lesson plans, tips for teachers, etc.
• World History series, by William J. Duiker and Jackson J. Spielvogel from Wadsworth Publishing. Includes great resources such as interactive maps.
• Teaching with Historic Places. Lesson plans from the National Register of Historic Places.
Back to index

Field trips ideas:

• The Heritage NY website has info, maps, and a listing of special events throughout the state, with heritage trails for the Revolutionary War, the Underground Railroad, and Theodore Roosevelt, all within NY State.
• Museum of the City of NY - antique toys, period dollhouses, antique firefighting equipment
• Metropolitan Museum - arms & armor, ancient Egypt, gallery treasure hunts
• Jewish Museum - Jewish heritage and culture
• U S Holocaust Memorial Museum, 60 E 42nd St., Ste 2208, New York, NY 10165-2208. (212) 983-0825 - history of the Jews & WW II
• NY Historical Society
• Brooklyn Historical Society
• The Morgan Library
• NYC Park Ranger tours (Indian Caves in Inwood, Colonial Life in Van Cortlandt Park)
• Restored houses, mansions and farms
• Revolutionary War sites, cannons in Riverside Park, Fort Lee in Fort Lee NJ
• Fraunces Tavern Museum, (212) 425-1778, for the life of George Washington
• Ellis Island - explore your family's history
• Lower East Side Tenement Museum
• National Museum of the American Indian
• American Museum of Natural History
• Morristown, NJ for Gen. Washington’s headquarters and period houses and restaurants
• National History Day (email hstryday@aol.com or call Cathy Gorn, Exec. Dir. at Univ. of Maryland at (301) 314-9739) and state competitions
• Higgins Armory Museum- in Worcester, Mass, between Boston and Sturbridge Village.
• Teaching with Historic Places. Lesson plans from the National Register of Historic Places make great field trip ideas.

History Games

• "Chronology"
, a timeline game (ages 12 and up) from Great American Puzzle Factory.
• "Bethumped with History" and "Feilong: The China Game" from Mamopalire.

American History websites

• Archiving Early America
• Channel Thirteen's Education Online - free lesson plans and nightly educational TV schedule ( to tape videos - all subjects)
• Chronology of US Historical documents
• Colonial Williamsburg
• Forgotten Founders - the complete text of The Forgotten Founders by Bruce E. Johansen: Benjamin Franklin, the Iroquois and the Rationale for the American Revolution, at the Iroquois 6 Nations website
• History Lesson Plan Database - a database of American History lesson plans for teachers, students and parents.
• The Holland Society collects information respecting the settlement and history of New Netherland.
• The Lower East Side Tenement Museum has a virtual online tour. See how early immigrants to New York City lived.
• NARA - National Archives and Records Administration serves American democracy by safeguarding and preserving the records of our Government, ensuring that the people can discover, use, and learn from this documentary heritage.
• NY Historical Society - local history tidbits
• PBS (especially for American history, Lewis & Clark, Black history, & more)
• Regents Examination: U.S. History and Government (past examinations and the answers)
  • Preparation for NYS Regents Examination: U.S. History and Government
• "Reunion" - a Civil War musical with primary source documents and period music
• Revolutionary War re-enactments
  • In the Hudson River Valley
• Teach with Movies - a guide to teaching history with movies.
• Teaching a People's History - Howard Zinn's materials for educators.
• Tools for Learning from the National Park Service. Historic places and more.

World history websites:

• DiscoverySchool.com - free lesson plans, some paired with cable TV programming and with video
• HyperHistory Online - timelines and biographies
• The Food Timeline - history with recipes!
• Homework Help - from About.com
• British Museum Education Department
• Go to google.com, type in a search for a time period in history and you will find many other sites.
• Regents Examination: Global History and Geography (past examinations and the answers)
  • Preparation for NYS Regents Examination: Global History and Geography

Websites on ancient history for kids:

• Mr. Donn’s ancient history page - Lesson Plans & Activities for K-12 teachers & students
• History for Kids. Europe, Asia, and Africa before 1500 C.E.
• The Roman Empire - Children's Section - children’s page with maps and games on the Roman Empire

Geography Resources:

See also Other Countries, Languages and Cultures and Armchair Travel.

• The AAG Center for Global Geography Education offers three free online course modules: Population, Global Economy, and Nationalism. They are available in English and Spanish, and are undergraduate level.
• The CIA World Factbook
• Cyberschoolbus, information on other countries from the United Nations.
• Geography Resources from the US Government
• Go to Google.com and type in a place name (location of your study), and you will find links to tourist websites, chambers of commerce, governments, maps and weather, local news, and more. Click on images for your search and you will see the photographs of the location.
• Google Earth is a free download of a globe that sits inside your PC. You point and zoom to anyplace on the planet that you want to explore. It uses satellite maps and more.
• The Greatest Places
• Historic USGS Maps of New England & New York
• Journey North, where you can track the migrations of wildlife.
• National Geographic Online - maps, photography, and more
  • Xpeditions @ nationalgeographic.com - lesson plans, activities, atlas, etc.
• Rader's Geography 4 Kids
• Regents Examination: Global History and Geography (past examinations and the answers)
  • Preparation for NYS Regents Examination: Global History and Geography
  • Runkle Geography textbooks (free sample lessons)
  • Recommended Geography Sites for Kids from the American Library Association.
  • World Atlas.com - maps, flags, and geography facts
  • World Atlas.com - outline maps
  • The World Factbook from the CIA
• Quiz Tree - free online geography quizzes.
• Virtual Pilot - can you land your plane in the right city? A fun and addicting website for the whole family

Anthropology Resources

• Anthropology for K-12 from the Smithsonian Institution.
• FACES magazine fosters an appreciation of other cultures and traditions and encourages young readers to think from new perspectives.

Folklife Resources

Folklife is the everyday and intimate creativity that all of us share and pass on to the next generation:

• The traditional songs we sing, listen and dance to
• Fairy tales, stories, ghost tales and personal histories
• Riddles, proverbs, figures of speech, jokes and special ways of speaking
• Our childhood games and rhymes

• Folklife Resources from the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.
• Folklife Resources from the Library of Congress
• Folklife Resources from the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
• Citylore fosters New York's cultural heritage.

Genealogy Resources

Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their history. Parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, way back into the past. Dig into YOUR family - where did they come from? where are they now? What are their stories?

• Genealogy for Kids includes family "pedigree" forms you can print out and fill in after some detective work.
• Genealogy for Kids

Civics

Civics is the study of citizenship and government with particular attention given to the role of citizens, as opposed to external factors, in the operation and oversight of government.

• American Civic Literacy Program, which includes a quiz.
• Center for Civic Education, which publishes standards.
• Civics and Citizenship Study Materials from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
• Civics Online, with many resource listings.
• Our Courts, Created by Sandra Day O'Connor, to engage children and teens, with interactive video games, curricula, lesson plans, links, and the opportunity to write Sandra Day O'Connor.
• Perform community service, learn about the law, and get paid to do it! Ages 14-18 can volunteer to participate in Greenpoint Youth Court, Brooklyn. Read details (pdf format), download the 2010 Application (pdf format, deadline 6 April), or contact the Program Coordinator of the Greenpoint Youth Court, Jessica Stein, at 646-460-1764.

Political Science Resources

• CIA for kids
• Constitutional Rights Foundation
• The Declaration of Independence
• FBI for kids
• FirstGov for Kids A page of links about the U.S. Government.
• Glossary of Political Economy Terms
• Ben's Guide to the U.S. Government
• Introduction to Political Systems
• NY State Assembly's Kids' Page