BROWNSVILLE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
Curriculum & Instruction Department
SOCIAL STUDIES: INTERNET RESOURCES
Physical Maps
www.shadedrelief.com/physical
http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/mapmachine
www.50states.com/maps/
www.eduplace.com/ss/maps
www.infoplease.com/statemaps.html
www.nationalatlas.gov/printable/reference.html (congressional district maps)
www.worldatlas.com/webimage/testmaps/maps.htm
http://maps.google.com
http://quizlet.com
http://digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/us14.cfm
www.archives.gov
Standards
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies (Chapter 113)
http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter113/index.html
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Economics with Emphasis on the Free Enterprise System
and Its Benefits (Chapter 118)
http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter118/index.html
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board College and Career Readiness Standards
http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/index.cfm?objectid=EADF962E-0E3E-DA80-BAAD2496062F3CD8
The English Language Proficiency Standards
http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter074/ch074a.html
Organizations
Texas Council for the Social Studies (TCSS) http://txcss.org/
National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) http://www.socialstudies.org/
Texas Social Studies Supervisors Association http://tsssa.org/
Texas Alliance for Geographic Education http://www.geo.txstate.edu/tage/
National Council for History Education http://www.nche.net/
American Historical Association http://www.historians.org/
Texas Council on Economic Education (TCEE)
History
National Archives http://www.archives.gov
Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov/index.html
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History http://www.gilderlehrman.org/
Teaching American History http://teachingamericanhistory.org/
Smithsonian Source: Resources for Teaching American History
http://www.smithsoniansource.org/ Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)
http://www.tshaonline.org/
Texas State Library and Archives Commission http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/
Texas Historical Commission (Local History) http://www.thc.state.tx.us/
Geography
National Geographic http://www.nationalgeographic.com/
United Nations (Also Economic, Government, and Culture) http://www.un.org/
Federal Reserve Education http://www.federalreserveeducation.org
Geodata.gov http://gos2.geodata.gov/wps/portal/gos
Facing the Future http://www.facingthefuture.org/
The Power of Place http://www.learner.org/resources/series180.html
Water First International http://www.water1st.org/
Economics
Texas Council on Economic Education http://economicstexas.org/
Federal Reserve (Education) http://www.dallasfed.org/educate/index.html
Government
Law-Related Education http://www.texaslre.org/
Citizenship
iCivics http://www.icivics.org/
Culture
World Fact Book https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
Nation Master http://www.nationmaster.com
Intervention
OnTRACK for College Readiness http://ipsi.utexas.edu/OnTRACK.html
Mentoring Minds http://www.mentoringminds.com/
Gifted and Talented
Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented http://www.txgifted.org
Texas Performance Standards Projects http://www.texaspsp.org/
http://www.texaspsp.org/eighth/TimeTravel8.pdf
http://www.texaspsp.org/resources/COLEF_8.pdf
HS TPSP Social Studies Recourses http://www.texaspsp.org/tasks/HSComedy_FINAL.pdf
http://www.texaspsp.org/tasks/HSPolicyExploration_FINAL.pdf
http://www.texaspsp.org/tasks/HS_Community_FINAL.pdf (Most pertinent to World Geography)
The “home links” to access all of the above
http://www.texaspsp.org/moregrades/additionaltasks.php
http://www.texaspsp.org/about.php Other grade levels (overview)
http://www.texaspsp.org/about.php
http://www.texaspsp.org/resources/colef.php?p=2
http://www.texaspsp.org/fourth/WeAreTexans4.pdf
http://www.texaspsp.org/moregrades/index.php
TEA Listserv Texas Education Agency Mailing List Administration (Listserv)
http://miller.tea.state.tx.us/list/
Technology
Free Technology for Teachers http://www.freetech4teachers.com/
Teaching History with Technology http://www.thwt.org
1. Best History Websites- A portal created for students, history educators, and general
history enthusiasts. Here you'll find sites, rated for usefulness and accuracy, that will help
you study or teach a wide variety of topics and periods in History.
2. Big Sky Social Studies Lesson Plans - Gopher site offers dozens of lesson plans for all
grade levels.
3. Colonial America - For Freedom and Profit - United States History project designed for
grades 6-12. It is an interactive, internet-based, cooperative group activity in which
students build a colony from the ground up.
4. CongressLink: Know your Congress - A site that educates about Congress, the
Constitution, the legislative process (long and short versions), current Congressional
leadership, and Congressional staff positions.
5. Digital Classroom - To encourage teachers of students at all levels to use archival
documents in the classroom, the Digital Classroom provides materials from the National
Archives and methods for teaching with primary sources.
6. Dwayne Voegeli's Social Studies Teacher's Page - A collection of resources geared
toward 9-12 grade educators.
7. Global Nomads Group - GNG is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting
international dialogue by partnering educators around the world. Includes a teacher
survey and project overview.
8. Great Sites For Teaching About: The Middle Ages - These sites are among the best on
the Web for teaching about the Middle Ages.
9. Histor eSearch.com - Directory of online history research resources for students and
educators.
10. History Matters - Designed for high school and college teachers of U.S. History courses.
This site serves as a gateway to Web resources and offers useful materials for teaching
U.S. history.
11. Junto Society - In-depth information and resources on historical dates and events,
American documents, founding father's, American Indians, Presidents, and How
Government Works.
12. La Escuela Rice WebNaissance Pages - Uses the life of Galileo as the starting point for a
wide variety of activities. As part of a special enrichment project, Galileo's Web, students
learn all about the life and times of this important scientist.
13. LLEK Bookmarks Scientific Search Engines - History - Catalog of journals, catalogs, and
other scholarly resources primarily in in German and English.
14. Mrs. Ruland's Social Studies Page - This site is for high school students studying Modern
World History and AP US History. Contains an extensive listing of Internet resources and
information on various writing and studying skills.
15. National Center for History in the Schools US History Standards - The standards are both
online and in print form.
16. National History Day - Non-profit academic program designed to promote the study of
history. Includes information on upcoming contests and participation, past winners, and
recommended links to history resources.
17. Origins of the Polytechnic University - Brief history of the origins and development of
polytechnic institutions.
18. Our Documents - Featuring 100 milestone documents of American history from the
National Archives. Includes images of original primary source documents, lesson plans,
teacher and student competitions, and educational resources.
19. Repositories of Primary Sources - A listing of over 4000 web-sites describing holdings of
manuscripts, archives, rare books, historical photographs, and other primary sources for
the research scholar.
20. Schools History - History of Britain and Europe 1066-2000; features activities,
homework help, and background on major events.
21. Social Studies - This page is designed for K-12 social studies teachers and students. It
also has information and topics that are useful to pre-service social studies instructors and
students. The World Wide Web offers almost unlimited opportunities for social studies
education and we hope that this page will benefit both the novice and the experienced
Web user.
22. Social Studies Education: National Council for the Social Studies - An information
resource for social studies teachers.
23. Thomas Jefferson Online - Enlightenment - Classroom activities from the Ken Burns'
documentary site.
24. Tudor and Elizabethan Times - Activities for schools based on images of Henry VIII and
his wives, Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Drake.
25. Twentieth Century in America - A group of internet activities covering the major events
of the 1900s in America.
26. The Vietnam War: Past and Present - Resource site for high school teachers provides
historical background and curriculum ideas.
27. A Wanderer in a Sea of Clouds - World history notes by Robert Shannon Sumner of the
State University of West Georgia.
Kids Voting Links
28. National Constitution Center web site which provides printable full-text of the
Constitution: http://constitutioncenter.org/ncc_edu_Text_of_the_Constitution.aspx
29. The National Archives web site – provides .pdf image of original Constitution, as well as other
historical documents: http://www.archives.gov/historicaldocs/document.html?doc=3&title.raw=Constitution%20of%20the%20United%20States
30. The National Archives web site, which provides a detailed history of the
Constitution: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_history.html
31. CongressforKids.net – provides a more basic and interactive way to explore the history of the
Constitution: http://www.congressforkids.net/Constitution_index.htm
32. http://www.constitutionday.cc/
The new TEA program entitled Texas Students Using Curriculum Content to Ensure Sustained Success
(Texas SUCCESS) provides access to interactive math and reading programs for Texas public school
students in grades 3-8 under the Student Success Initiative (SSI).
For additional information and to sign up for these resources, visit www.texassuccess.org. To contact
the SSI Support Center, email help@texassuccess.org or call (877) 315-4918 (toll free).
texasbar.com/iwasthefirst
 quizlet.com : Vocabulary development; flash cards, and study games
 10 Photographs of Children from around the World and their Bedrooms
http://twentytwowords.com/2011/03/10/10-photographs-of-children-from-around-the-worldand-their-bedrooms/
 Primary Source Readers from Teacher Created Materials Audio File Link – FREE!
http://www.teachercreatedmaterials.com/socialStudies/primarySourceReaders/audio_html#w
ctt

WorldMapper – cool interactive maps and projections of the world
http://www.worldmapper.org/

What the World Eats from Time Magazine
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1626519_1373764,00.html
 Link to video that models how to create Power Points with disappearing quadrant effect
(created by Ryan O’Donnell) – similar to what I modeled with the Jimmy Carter photograph
https://sites.google.com/site/ryanodonnellpd/trainings
 Link to our website where you can find more information on our Geography resources
and much more!
http://www.teachercreatedmaterials.com/socialStudies/newproducts
http://www.teachercreatedmaterials.com/socialStudies/primarySources
www.georgiastandards.org/resources
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/map-puzzles.htm
There's a really good site for World Geography teachers to review physical geography concepts thru
really cool upbeat songs. The lyrics are there for students to follow. Similar to Bubonic Plague video
we saw during the World Geography training. Go to You Tube and Type: Mr.Parr
Sites for Learning About Countries
October 27, 2011 by
findingDulcinea Staff
The sites below have a cool collection of tools to help you learn about different countries.
For Young Students
National Geographic’s “Find People & Places” allows you to do just that. It has facts, photos, videos,
and maps, and you can even e-mail your friend a postcard.
Time for Kids’ Around the World takes you on a tour of countries and even a couple of U.S. states
through sightseeing guides, folktales, quizzes, and more.
Scholastic’s Global Trek lets you plan your own virtual trip to any of 35 different countries, read all
about their cultures and customs, and write down all that you learn in your own travel journal.
For Middle and High School Students
The CIA World FactBook might be a bit dry, but it is one of the most reliable sites for basic facts,
figures, and comparisons between countries.
The BBC’s Country Profiles is similar to the CIA World FactBook, but it’s easier to navigate and gives a
clearer outline of each country’s background, leaders and media.
The U.S. Department of State provides a thorough and up-to-date overview of every country you
would research with its Background Notes.
The Country Studies/Area Handbook Series is a compilation of books written between 1986 and 1998
that details the history of more than 110 countries, dating back to the earliest settlements. It was
created by U.S. Department of the Army and printed by the Library of Congress.
The Library of Congress’ Portals to the World is a compilation of links to the best online resources
about individual countries, great for those seeking a much deeper understanding of a country.
The University of Richmond’s Constitution Finder allows you to read countries’ constitutions in either
English or the original language.
NationMaster compiles data from sources as the CIA World Factbook, UN and OECD, and makes it easy
to compare data from one country to another.
The International Monetary Fund offers recent economic news and data about countries and other
territorial entities around the world.
McKinsey Quarterly is a periodic report, prepared by one of the world’s leading consulting firms,
about economic and sociological developments in countries around the world.
The World Health Organization reports on health conditions and matters in all of its member
countries.
GeoHive breaks down census numbers by country and by topic. It’s a good site for a more sophisticated
report.
GoogleEarth is a free program that you can download to take a virtual tour of a country’s buildings and
terrain.
Dr. Alice Christie’s GoogleEarth Resource Guide is a tutorial on conducting research using
GoogleEarth.
Juicy Geography is a decent blog with tips, links, and sample GoogleEarth lesson plans.
GoogleSightseeing is another GoogleEarth blog does the research for you. Browse the site for intimate
glimpses into global landmarks.