Middle School Social Studies: Resources for Students, Teachers and Parents
History, geography and culture resources of all kinds can be found online. Whether you are a student looking for a way to help you remember the countries of the world, a teacher interested in engaging new lessons that can inspire your class, or a parent wanting to help your child understand important historical eras, you’ll find everything you need in this Web guide.
Expand All Guide SectionsStudent Resources for Middle School Social Studies
On the Internet you can explore faraway countries, discover the history of the world, learn about ... read more »
Teaching Resources for Middle School Social Studies
There are so many fantastic social studies resources online that, as a teacher, your biggest problem may be choosing which to use in your classroom. Whether your class is studying ancient cultures or following the election process, you’ll find great social studies resources using the sites listed below.
Dulcinea's Insight
- Don’t get fooled into paying for resources. Although some pay sites offer dependable content, you’re just as likely to find great stuff somewhere else for free. Museums, government entities, universities and well-known broadcast media all offer excellent resources at no charge and are often more engaging than pay-site material. A great example is the Library of Congress “Teachers” Web site that links you to lessons, documents and even a game or two.
- Many popular news publications and networks, such as Time For Kids and CNN.com, offer online content designed for students. Their Web sites provide lesson plans, activities and worksheets for teachers based on current articles. Some sites even describe alignment with content standards.
- Many terrible-looking sites are full of good, free educational resources. Although findingDulcinea usually weeds out sites for especially poor design, we’ve made some exceptions here to help bring you as much useful information as possible.
- There are many great references throughout the findingDulcinea Web site that can greatly enrich the social studies experience in your classroom. For a bit of history each day, try out the On This Day section of our Beyond the Headlines area. Other areas to check out include the Politics and Religion and Spirituality Web guides.
Dulcinea's Picks
For lesson plans and curricula …
PBS
devotes a section of its top-notch Web site to social studies teachers. Although this site can be intimidating at first glance, it’s very functional and easy to use. Choose a grade level and subject matter from the dropdown menus near the top of the page, and you’ll be whisked to a list of several thoughtful lesson plans, some of which allow you to contact the lesson’s author. Many lessons are accompanied by printable copy masters.
The Educator’s Reference Desk
, from the Information Institute of Syracuse, provides access to the most widely used education databases: ERIC and GEM. This site has a wonderfully straightforward and uncluttered design; either browse lesson plans by category or search by grade level and keyword (click the “Search Lessons” link on the left). Use the “Write a Lesson Plan Guide” for tips and guidelines on creating your own lesson plans.
EDSITEment
is hosted by the National Endowment for the Humanities and offers interesting lessons that can supplement your content. If you’re the kind of teacher who prefers to go deep on certain issues, this site gives you great lessons. Search this easy-to-use site by grade level and subject. Use the “Websites” tab in the search box to find sites rather than lesson plans.
The Library of Congress
“Teachers” section covers the range of American history, government, entertainment … you name it. Make use of wonderful primary sources such as pictures, artwork and original documents that will get your students thinking like historians. First-time users might want to visit “The Learning Page” to learn how to use the vast resources; veteran users can skip right to the content.
HotChalk’s LessonPlansPage.com
has a large number of lesson plans for social studies. Find plans divided by subcategory (for example, “Community & Sociology,” “Government,” “Environment,” and News & Current Events”). Choose a lesson plan and print it directly from the site. If you have a lesson plan of your own that you’d like to share, add it to the database.
SCORE
(Schools of California Online Resources for Education) provides a searchable database of lesson plans broken down by grade, title, keyword and California History/Social Science Standards. Also find a wealth of student-generated material that could be used to provide examples for your students to follow. This site is best suited for California teachers who are familiar with the content standards, but it can be quite useful for teachers in other states as well.
The Organization For Community Networks
’ (OFCN) Academy Curricular Exchange is a no-frills way to access lesson plans. All the plans come with suggestions for the appropriate grade and can easily be printed.
For reference and other resources …
ReadingQuest
provides engaging reading strategies and activities that can help your students get more from what they’re reading. The pre-, during-, and post-reading strategies help you get your students active in the reading process and on the road to better comprehension.
Paradigm Shift
is a frequently updated blog with many great resources that can help integrate technology into your classroom. Find things like technology tools and teaching tips, and access the author’s podcasts.
Virtual Middle School Library
offers links to specific topical Web sites. Whether you’re looking for a lesson plan or supplemental material, this site catalogs some great resources.
For online games and activities for your students …
The Library of Congress
’s ”America’s Story from America’s Library” site offers interesting activities focused on American history using primary sources. Most of the activities involve sound so be sure that your students have headphones if they’re browsing this page in class. Don’t miss the feature that helps students find historical events that happened on their birthdays.
Kathi Mitchell
has been teaching elementary school for more than 30 years. Visit this section of her Web site to find a great list of social studies “WebQuests” (Web-based, inquiry-focused activities) that are engaging and informative.
Parent Resources for Middle School Social Studies
In the middle grades, important social studies concepts include what it means to be a good citizen, ... read more »
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