Subject Expert
Find Books & More
- EWU Library Catalog This link opens in a new windowSearch for books, videos, articles and more at EWU Libraries, Summit Libraries and beyond. While not required, if you want the full functionality (save or request items, etc.), please sign in with your NetID.
Searching for teacher resources in the catalog
In general, remember that adding the phrase (in quotes) "study and teaching" to any topic will generally help you narrow down on materials intended for use by PK-12 teachers. Another way of narrowing your search is to choose JFK Lower Level Curriculum Center from the list of Physical Locations in the catalog's left sidebar, since that will limit your search to materials set aside for use either by teachers or students in a PK-12 classroom.
Finding lesson/unit ideas in ERIC
Remember that ERIC documents often have curricular ideas that can be built on or adapted: don't click peer-reviewed to ensure you see all the types of materials collected in ERIC!
- ERIC: Educational Resources Information Center (EBSCOhost) -- 1966-present This link opens in a new windowComprehensive U.S. Department of Education database for education, indexing journals & magazines, as well as books, videos, conference papers and technical reports. Links to full text documents.
Finding primary source materials online
Remember, when using a search engine (like Google or Bing), pair the topic of interest to you with key phrases like "digital collections", "digital archives", and "primary sources", to see what universities, museums, and educators have collected and made available online. Below, I provide a range of sites that provide extensive access to primary source material (text, image, and audio/video) you may find useful:
- DocsTeach: From the National ArchivesA wide array of documents, including photos, maps, and audio/video clips, from the National Archives -- another good source for American history. Docs Teach also supplies educators with activities designed around one or more selected documents, for use in the classroom.
- Digital Collections from the Library of CongressLarge collection of primary sources for the history of the United States. Particularly good for photographs and other images, and for recordings of period music.
- America in ClassPrimary source materials collections and lessons from the National Humanities Center.
- Smithsonian SourceA site created by the Smithsonian to support the teaching of history -- provides Document-Based Questions (DBQs), lesson plans, primary sources, and even some video clips.
- Columbia University's Asia for EducatorsA wide array of resources connected with the history of East Asia, including a large collection of primary sources from ancient to modern time periods.
- Guide to Latin American primary sources from the University of WashingtonThe University of Washington's resource guide for finding primary source materials connected with Central and South America. Links to many sites that focus on specific topics: stronger coverage of Central America and the Caribbean than of South America.
- University of Wisconsin's Africa Focus collectionSlides, photographs, and audio clips from all over the African continent, primarily focused on 20th and 21st Century Africa.
- Yale Law School's Avalon ProjectSubtitled "Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy". Primary source documents (usually legal/political documents) covering many centuries and nations, but the vast bulk of documents are from Europe and the United States in the last 2-3 centuries.
- LIFE photo archive (hosted by Google)Images from the 1860s to the 1970s from the archives at LIFE magazine. An incredibly rich photographic collection, ideal for decades projects and many other units and lessons besides, although often irritatingly difficult to search (Google's indexing is not particularly good).
Other resources for teaching social studies
- World History for Us AllA project of the National Center for History in the Schools at UCLA & SDSU: a wide array of types of units and lessons that collectively cover the whole breadth of human history in an integrative approach.
- CK-12 Social StudiesA growing collection of free, open-access textbooks for high school instruction in the various social studies fields.
- iCivics.orgCurriculum units and supporting materials for civics instructions across K-12 grades from a nationally trusted non-profit.
- PBS Learning Media resources for Social StudiesLesson plans, interactive media, audio, video, images -- a wide variety of social studies teaching materials for all grades from PBS.
- Center for the Study of the Pacific NorthwestCurriculum materials on the history of Washington State and the Pacific Northwest
- EDSITEment!From the National Endowment for the Humanities, a wide array of lesson plans for teaching history and social studies, for a wide range of grades.
- TeachingHistory.org (Lessons for Using Primary Sources)Links to a wide variety of lesson plans at TeachingHistory.org -- the national history education clearinghouse. They have lessons on other topics, as well, if you're not looking for something with primary sources.
- National Council for the Social StudiesA wide array of potential lessons and other teaching resources, with spotlights on lesson materials that tie in with current events. (Many resources restricted to NCSS members.)
