History
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Wonderful huge site: Atlas of the 20th Century.
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Another massive site with Primary Source materials: teacher's use, probably, initially, although you'll use it to find sites for your children. If they want to read the originals, here they are!
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All ages will love this site on US Government. This site transcends unit boundaries. It's GREAT!
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The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Van Loon is now online: read from the screen or print to your heart's content.
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The 1900s: A Century of Sound lets you listen to audio clips of music,
speeches, commercials, etc. plus has a chronology decade by decade of 20th Century events. -
Eyewitness History is GREAT! It has first-hand accounts, graphics, and a wonderfully user-friendly interface. Bookmark today and use it all four years! I recommend that you start by clicking on "index" and then scroll through, noting upcoming topics in your Year-Plan! Enjoy!
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Have you chosen the Spielvogel books as a spine? If so, click here to find more teaching helps! To navigate through this site, you'll want to click on the picture of your text, or one similar, to find interactive quizzes, internet activities, and more!
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Use this site for great pictures when making lapbooks. Contributed by Sue.
Portfolios
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History Portfolio: This product has been recommended by Teresa, one of our users, and I thought it looked good too! Here's a blurb from their website. "The History Portfolio Series encourages rigorous study and plenty of creativity while providing a compact and handsome way of keeping and storing a student's own written projects and reports, colorful drawings, photographs, clippings, downloaded images . . . anything that can fit between the pages! Each book is designed for use by an individual, child or adult, and will become not only a beautiful history book, but a true keepsake. "
Timelines
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Enjoy using this FREE download for making the timelines. You just input the dates and events, and it generates the timeline three different ways, automatically adjusting the sections for larger amount of information.
Awesome! No more messy timelines. Recommended by Anne. -
All the time line links you could ever need for this year.
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Timeline (and much more!) of Presidents of the 20th Century. Check it out!
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Interactive Technology Timeline from PBS. GREAT!
Presidents:
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Do you want pictures only? Click here for a picture gallery.
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Another excellent site for studying the Presidents: POTUS (Presidents of the United States)
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Coloring pages of every president for your Lower Grammar kids
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Site for inaugural addresses of the presidents
Want to suggest a resource or link? Email Dana.
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You might want to start by having your oldest students read this selection on "How to Read a History Assignment".
Week 1:
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For review, you might want to look over this excellent site on the Spanish-American War.
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This link is from The Henry Ford museum site. Contributed by Kathy.
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Primary source documents and other web connections written as companion to the book America 1900: The Turning Point. (You can read the enhanced transcript on screen in place of the book OR buy/see the video)
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Another wonderful PBS site with ideas you could use if you wanted to study this century through the eyes of the history of aviation. Here are the Wright Brothers!
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Beautiful, detailed site from PBS on Teddy Roosevelt. Includes: link to video you can buy (its script is posted on the site) and free video clips you can click to and view on your computer. Plus: excerpts from key speeches, texts of several important letters, the 1912 Progressive Party platform, a link to a full, free copy of The Rough Riders, and more links to other sites connected with TR!
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Booker T. & W.E.B. An interesting comparison of strategy for black social and economic progress. Look for a bias.
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Helen Keller biography. Scroll down to find another link to lots of pictures of Miss Keller. Recommended by Ronda.
Week 2:
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PBS site with many resources on Hawaiian history.
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Link to many aspects of Hawaiian culture.
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Beautiful, detailed site from PBS on Teddy Roosevelt. Includes: link to video you can buy (its script is posted on the site) and free video clips you can click to and view on your computer. Plus: excerpts from key speeches, texts of several important letters, the 1912 Progressive Party platform, a link to a full, free copy of The Rough Riders, and more links to other sites connected with TR!
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PBS site on Harry Houdini.
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After reading about Father Damien, listed under Church History, read about the disease of leprosy, and the ongoing missionary work among those stricken with leprosy. Upper grammar and up.
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Wonderful site for all ages on the Panama Canal. Keep following links to history and photos!
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Live camera on the Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal!
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A meaty, simple site with some pictures and much information on the Panama Canal. Dialectic and up.
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One last site for studying the Panama Canal: pbs.org
WWI: general sites for the 4-week study, all levels:
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Vast WWI site linking all kinds of WWI topics for all ages: codes, pictures, propaganda, personal memories, role of African Americans--it's all here. All ages will enjoy some part of this treasure trove site!
Week 3:
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This site contains photographs of eight different real submarines, six model submarines and a large number of plans of old and modern boats. Submarine video clips and two virtual submarine tours are also presented.
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Actual pictures of a U-boat sinking a merchant marine vessel.
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General purpose site with much wonderful information on WWI.
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Good site for Dialectic students (and older!) interested in the U-boats of WWI.
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WWI Aviation home page: all kinds of information on planes, and the culture of those that flew them!
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Details on DH4 bi-planes, the British fighter planes of WWI.
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Europe in 1914: lots of helps for this unit!
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Interactive web site featuring an overview of the history and organization of the Federal Reserve, the monetary policy and regulatory functions, and the services provided to depository institutions. Site also includes interactive simulations with ways to test knowledge, such as quizzes and a virtual Bank examination
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Visit the mystical world of the Fed and talk about terms like monetary policy, discount rates, and open market operation. We'll find out just what kinds of tasks fill Alan Greenspan's day, and see how his and the Federal Reserve Board's decisions affect our everyday lives
Week 4:
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Another wonderful PBS site with ideas you could use if you wanted to study this century through the eyes of the history of aviation. Here's Lindbergh!
Week 5:
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Review Russian history up to the Russian Revolution. This page is especially good for those who are new to Tapestry in Year 4. Dialectic and up.
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Large site devoted to organizing links connected with the Russian Revolution. Primary source documents, maps, biographies--it's all here! Parental screening advised, since I'm sure there must be some pro-Marxist sites included.
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Direct link to helpful time line on the above site.
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Have a Grammar or Dialectic student crazy about baseball? Try a unit study on Joe DiMaggio's life that lasts the rest of this year! Start here!
Week 6:
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Read about the Influenza epidemic during WWI that claimed more lives at home than the war did overseas.
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Read about a famous WWI carrier pigeon
Weeks 7-8:
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Great site with all kinds of fun projects and information related to the study of the 1920's. Scoll down to see links to specific topics from the decade. Fun!
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This site includes background information as well as two multiple choice quizzes, one fill-in-the-blank quiz, and one true/false quiz. There's also a great set of flashcards! Link contributed by Kathy.
Weeks 9-10:
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Great Depression: Tales From the Rails
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Great Depression: Questions for an interview with a Senior adult
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Great web site with tons of resources on Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.
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PBS site on the Dust Bowl of the 1930's. Detailed and very informative.
Want to suggest a resource? Email Dana.
General: use throughout this unit!
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Outstanding, incredibly detailed and rich site on WWII. Dialectic and up; teachers (if you have time!).
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Outstanding index of sites dealing with WWII. Heavily hyper linked text and a joy to use. 6th Grades and up.
Weeks 9-10:
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Great Depression: Tales From the Rails
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Great web site with tons of resources on Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.
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PBS site on the Dust Bowl of the 1930's. Detailed and very informative.
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The Fed’s Depression and the Birth of the New Deal. Site contributed by Martha.
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Interesting interview: "THE ECONOMY'S NEW CLOTHES: Milton Friedman on the New Economy"
- Year 4 Unit 1 Review
Week 10: FDR and the New Deal
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PBS site on the Hoover Dam.
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Beautiful, detailed site from PBS on FDR. Includes: link to video you can buy (its script is posted on the site) and free video clips you can click to and view on your computer. Plus: excerpts from key speeches, texts of several important letters, and more links to other sites connected with FDR!
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Eleanor Roosevelt has been voted "The Outstanding Woman of the 20th Century" by some. Here's a PBS site devoted to her, with links and video you can buy!
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Website sponsored by the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, which contains a massive amount of primary sources and information about the Depression and the 1930s (co-sponsored by the Institute, Teachers College at Columbia University, and the Nat'l Endowment for the Humanities -- I suspect given the sponsors a fairly liberal bias but solid on the primary sources)
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Wonderful, detailed biography of FDR, with MANY MANY hyper links to subtopics associated with FDR's life and presidency. Dialectic and up! Great if you want to follow subtopics you get interested in this week.
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New Deal Programs: ABC Agencies
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Great links to further reading on FDR
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Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics
Week 11: Totalitarianism
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Recommended reading for Rhetoric level students: this analysis clearly sets forth real differences and connections between Marxism, Communism, Nazism, and Fascism. It will be of much aid to students filling out this week's chart (in Student Activity pages) in preparation for our discussion.
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Benito Mussolini: this site contains a biography, and links (eventually) to sites with very graphic pictures of Mussolini's execution, as well as an archive of pictures of him during his tenure in office. Parents are advised to view these sites with their OLDER children only.
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Read original text of Mussolini detailing what Fascism is!
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Excellent online biography of Adolph Hitler. Detailed and interesting! Read up to his seizure of power: Part 1: up to 1933. Continue in Week 13.
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Outstanding site on the Hitler Youth.
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Outstanding site on the rise of Japanese Militarism: text, maps, and pictures!
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Steady as a Rock: The Papacy of Pius XI and its relationship to Europe's turbulent generation between the wars by Joseph John Florencio Jr.
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Discussion of "Fiscal Fascism." Excerpt: "Thus, it is important to recognize that, as an economic system, fascism was widely accepted in the 1920s and '30s. The evil deeds of individual fascists were later condemned, but the practice of economic fascism never was. To this day, the historically uninformed continue to repeat the hoary slogan that, despite all his faults, Mussolini at least "made the trains run on time," insinuating that his interventionist industrial policies were a success." Were they? Find out by reading this article!
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Radio broadcast of the Hindenburg disaster. This site contributed by Sue.
Week 12: Stalin's Russia
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Outstanding, heavily hyper linked site detailing the life of Joseph Stalin. Read up to, but not including, Stalin's relations with Hitler.
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VERY detailed (maybe too much so for even our high school students) life of Stalin, with some photos and some audio clips linked.
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Official Amelia Earhart site, or read about her last flight here.
Week 13: Totalitarianism III: Expansionism. The Spanish Civil War. Chamberlain, and the Politics of Appeasement.
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Spanish Civil War Factbook. Excellent introduction.
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Short biography of Francisco Franco. This fascist totalitarian ruler survived until the mid-1970s, largely because his was NOT an expansionist regime.
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Images from the Spanish Civil War: posters index.
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This outline of the Spanish Civil War is very informative, given an attentive student. It's in outline form, and therefore efficient, but the student will not be "drawn in" by interesting text. However, it's worth the price of admission to view the graphics and maps that go along with this very helpful time line. Also note, as you scroll down, that the outline includes a section on the "civil dimension" of the conflict, a section on the "international dimension" (very important: the Spanish Civil War was a training exercise for expansionist regimes) and a section on the "ideological dimension" of this war.
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Pictures and maps to aid in your study of the Spanish Civil War.
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Excellent online biography of Adolph Hitler. Detailed and interesting! Read Part 2: The Triumph of Hitler this week.
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Outstanding highly hyper linked page on Neville Chamberlain. This page will give you MUCH valuable information that is not available in enrichment books recommended for this week. Please take some time to follow hyper links that interest you, or are terms/events about which you know very little. This site is highly recommended.
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This link on the policy of appeasement from the above page is HIGHLY recommended reading this week, especially the primary source quotes at the bottom. In reading them you will gain valuable insight into WHY this policy was followed.
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Outline of Hitler's maneuvers Leading up to the Munich Crisis. Wonderful original audio clips from various world leaders including the leaders of Britain (Chamberlain), Czechoslovakia, Austria, and Germany (Hitler).
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Neville Chamberlain is often quoted (and belittled) for his famous statement that his appeasement of Hitler over Czechoslovakia at the Munich Conference had earned Europe "peace in our time." To read the text of his ironic statement, click here.
Week 14: WWII Officially Begins. Churchill and the Battle of Britain. Blitzkreig!
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Neville Chamberlain declares war on Germany after the Nazis invade Poland. Audio clip and text. All.
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More on Blitzkreig strategies and weaponry. Dialectic and up.
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Many details on the Panzer Tanks used in WWII, especially in the Blitzkreig phase of the war. Dialectic and up.
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Wonderful page detailing the Nazi-Soviet pact that took the world by surprise on the eve of Hitler's invasion of Poland. Dialectic and up.
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Good overview of Churchill's life, with many hyper links to key events and concepts in understanding this great man's times and actions. Dialectic and up.
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Compilation of quotes from Winston Churchill. Dialectic and up.
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Motivational quotes and details of the life of Churchill. A very nice site! Dialectic and up.
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Battle of Britain home page. All ages.
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Detailed description of the Battle of Dunkirk: Rhetoric and up.
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The Maginot Line: great for ALL ages. Pictures and history.
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Compilation of original WWII documents, including the Atlantic Charter. Dialectic and up.
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Read more about the invasion of France and Poland in articles linked to this excellent time line of WWII. Rhetoric and up.
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History of air craft carriers. All U.S. ships ever built listed by name with personal histories from those who sailed them linked. Fascinating REAL history! All.
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Parliamentary government in the UK explained. Interesting and informative site; Dialectic levels and up.
Week 15: Global War Before American Entry: The Holocaust
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Holocaust timeline. Many pictures. Many linked histories. Pulls no punches; parental supervision suggested.
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Memory of the Camps: this documentary on the liberation of the German concentration camps in 1945 was assembled in London that year, but never shown until FRONTLINE first broadcast it - 40 years later - in May of 1985.
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Three women who refused to remain passive in the face of the Holocaust. PBS.
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Learn about the role of the Swiss during WWII as the Nazi's bankers. PBS site called Nazi Gold.
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Fascinating site about race relations between Jews and Blacks: From Swastika to Jim Crow.
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Excellent site to substitute for some of the recommended books for your Upper Grammar and Dialectic students. Explore the links to read lots of information about the Holocaust.
Discussion articles for Rhetoric Students:
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Hannah Arendt: Eichmann in Jerusalem. A Report On The Banality Of Evil.
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The Lend-Lease Act: details and primary source documents, if you scroll down.
Week 16: Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima
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The National Geographic for December 2001 posted a website on the 60th
anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. There is an interactive
battle map, a memory book, a collection of stories from survivors and
families.
America and the Holocaust: a PBS site. -
PBS site on treatment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. For another great site on this subject, also by PBS, click here.
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Detailed NOVA site on Albert Einstein. Outstanding!
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Copy of Albert Einstein's letter to President Roosevelt recommending the development of the atomic bomb.
- War Theory
Week 17: The Iron Curtain Descends and the Marshall Plan.
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Beautiful, detailed site from PBS on Presidents Truman and Eisenhower. Includes: link to videos you can buy (scripts are posted on the site) and free video clips you can click to and view on your computer. Plus: excerpts from key speeches, texts of several important letters, and more links to other sites connected with these men!
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Learn about the little-known powerbroker of the 1900's--Jesse H. Jones.
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The story of George Eastman and how he transformed photography.
Week 18: Survey of the Middle East: Focus on the Creation of Israel
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The History of Israel in a Nutshell. This is a Flash presentation that is worth watching!
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Brief history of Israel and Palestine, with hyperlinks to key documents. Recommended as core reading for the Rhetoric level students this week. Pay close attention to the section entitled British Mandate!
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Outstanding web site: Maps to use in Geography assignments this week. For all ages!
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Selection of documents relevant to all sides of the Middle East conflict. They go back before our time period, and forward well beyond it.
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Searchable site on the Middle East to help you fill in this week's chart and study for your quiz!
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History of Israel timeline: great for your Grammar level students to aide in further understanding.
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Another great site for your Grammar level students to aide in learning more about Israel. Contributed by Sharie in Maine.
- Charlotte has graciously shared her Unit 2 Study Guide and Review for rhetoric students.
Want to suggest a resource? Email Dana.
General:
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Beautiful, detailed site from PBS on Presidents Truman and Eisenhower. Includes: link to videos you can buy (scripts are posted on the site) and free video clips you can click to and view on your computer. Plus: excerpts from key speeches, texts of several important letters, and more links to other sites connected with these men!
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Get a quick thematic overview of the Cold War, and see the entire huge CNN video series on this conflict. Every imaginable subject is covered; it would be great if your library carried some of these videos. Take a look!
Week 19: Indian Independence: Gandhi
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In case you can't get recommended books this week, learn all about Gandhi from this site. Has text, pictures, hyperlinks for in-depth research. Upper Grammar up.
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This site claims to be the "official" Gandhi site, and is notable for its many quotes from him, and fine pictures. Probably better for Dialectic and up.
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Why did Gandhi make such a big deal out of salt? Here's an article on the effects of the British salt taxation policies. Fascinating reading for Rhetoric students with the time and interest to pursue it.
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Clear, concise history (with a few pictures) of Gandhi's overall program for Indian independence, focuses attention on the Salt March and its effects. Includes map and time line dates. Good for a quick overview for Dialectic and Rhetoric students.
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Excellent explanation of why Gandhi is seen in so many pictures spinning thread. Dialectic and Rhetoric level students.
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Another time line of Gandhi's life.
Week 20: Communist China: The Rise of Mao
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Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung. Rhetoric level, for interest mostly.
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Nice biography (a little hard to read because of graphical design) of Mao Tse-tung. Includes rise of Chiang Kai-Shek and a picture of him. Dialectic up.
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Another biography: easier to read and more detailed, but of similar length and content as the one above. I'd choose this one if you only have time for one. Dialectic up.
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Brief Columbia Encyclopedia article on Chiang Kai-Shek, with good hyperlinks to related topics. Dialectic and up.
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Brief Columbia Encyclopedia article on Sun Yat-Sen, with good hyperlinks to related topics. Dialectic and up.
Week 21: The Korean War
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Go into as much depth as you want to with this exhaustive site on the Korean War, its special forces, the countries that fought in coalition there--this is a huge site; something for everyone.
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Or, how about a brief overview of the war. Great to read aloud to younger students, this summary even includes a few black and white photos.
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Beautiful, detailed site from PBS on President Truman. Includes: link to videos you can buy (scripts are posted on the site) and free video clips you can click to and view on your computer. Plus: excerpts from key speeches, texts of several important letters, and more links to other sites connected with these men!
Week 22: Eisenhower: The 50’s Oasis
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Beautiful, detailed site from PBS on President Eisenhower. Includes: link to videos you can buy (scripts are posted on the site) and free video clips you can click to and view on your computer. Plus: excerpts from key speeches, texts of several important letters, and more links to other sites connected with these men!
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The following links will help you in preparation for your reports:
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Billy Graham and the Hour of Decision
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History of the Monarchy: click here to find out more about Queen Elizabeth II (Click here for the homepage.)
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Plenty of info to help you learn more about Betsy McCall paper dolls. Follow the links to find pictures and more information.
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Explore the history of the H-Bomb
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Read about James Watson and Francis Crick , or click here to read their paper about DNA.
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The History and Appeal of James Bond
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Biography of Khrushchev
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Another biography of Khrushchev: facts and a picture. Dialectic and up.
Week 23: The Civil Rights Movement & African Decolonization
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PBS on the history of the Black Press.
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Text of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter from a Birmingham Jail.
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Wonderful site on Nelson Mandela: black hero of South Africa.
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Rosa Parks online exhibit. Contributed by Kathy.
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Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech. Link contributed by Barb.
Week 24: The 60s: The Cold War escalates: President John F. Kennedy: The Cuban Missile Crisis, The Berlin Wall, & Vietnam
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Details on the life of Marcus Garvey: black leader. Read about his effect on African independence movements and other contributions.
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PBS site on Vietnam: many links. Outstanding.
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Full text of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech "I have a dream!"
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Sound clips from King's "I have a dream!" speech.
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Almost everything you could want on JFK: the JFK Library and Museum. His biography, his speeches, lot's on Jacqueline, etc.
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Short biography of Khrushchev
Week 25: The Cold War: The Space Race and Mutually Assured Destruction
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You MUST SEE this incredible site on the Space Race. Take a virtual tour of the National Museum of Air and Space, visit the time line, see actual artifacts from the Space Race.
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Studying the space race? Check out this great site all about the moon.
Week 26: The Cold War Continues: L. B. Johnson: War on Poverty & Vietnam. Counter culture and rebellion. More on Civil Rights.
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Brezhnev ousts Khruschev and rules Russia. Biography.
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News, culture, information on the Middle East. Better for Dialectic/Rhetoric students, with supervision.
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PBS on Vietnam: The American Experience
Week 27: The 60s: Crash of confidence: a culture in turmoil and confusion. Liberalism on the rise world-wide.
Want to suggest a resource? Email Dana.
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Middle East time line for use with the major thread of Middle Eastern history that is woven throughout this unit.
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The countries in the UN
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Independent States in the World
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Flags of each country
Weeks 28: Foundering on the Rocks of Individuality
Week 29: The Family Adrift
Week 30: The Nixon Years
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PBS site studying Nixon's foreign policy towards China (subtitled "A secret diplomatic breakthrough that shocked and changed the world"). You can purchase a video, or just read the video's transcript.
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Famous picture and article from the Kent State massacre. An image that captured much of the feeling of the times.
Week 31: Ford and Carter
Week 32: The Reagan Years
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Beautiful, detailed site from PBS on Presidents Kennedy, Nixon and Reagan. Includes: links to videos you can buy (scripts are posted on the site) and free video clips you can click to and view on your computer. Plus: excerpts from key speeches, texts of several important letters, and more links to other sites connected with these men!
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Outstanding site on Reagan: powered by World Book. Tons of related links. Upper Grammar and up.
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Mikhail Gorbechev time line, and brief biography.
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Biography of Mikhail Gorbechev with many links.
Week 33: George H. W. Bush: Persian Gulf War
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Outstanding biography page, with tons of helpful links to related subjects. Good for Upper Grammar and up.
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Frontline presentation on The Gulf War.
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The Berlin Wall: outstanding site.
Week 34: The Clinton Years: An Opportunity Missed
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Outstanding PBS-linked site on The Clinton Years.
Week 35:
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Text of President Bush's Roadmap to Peace in the Middle East.
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Bin Ladin's view of America, and his list of the reasons America deserved to be attacked in 2000. It is something every American should read thoughtfully, since it articulates a series of widely held view.
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Picture of President Bush and the fireman, standing in the rubble of the World Trade Center.
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Click here for a map of the seven cities of the seven churches in Revelation
