FEMA For Kids: http://www.fema.gov/kids/index.htm

            This webpage for kids by the Federal Emergency Management Agency provides information, homework help, games, and quizzes for kids to use to learn about how to stay safe.  This page provides beautifully illustrated links to information on different types of disasters and how to prepare for them.

            This webpage would be an excellent site suggestion for teachers when teaching about community and helping out.  This webpage provides ways that kids can contribute to disaster relief as well as make their own lives safe when it comes to disasters. 

4kids: http://www.4kids.com

            This kid friendly webpage provides links to all subject areas.  Links provides are excellent sources of information and are beneficial to any student.  The Social Studies section of this webpage provides useful information for students in the areas of history, culture, biographies, government, language, and religion.  The links are to official and maintained websites appropriate for student review.

            This webpage can be used in the social studies classroom as a research resource.  The wide range of topics available to students and teachers could be used for research papers, presentations, teaching, web pages, etc.

Kids Web Japan: http://web-jpn.org/kidsweb/index.html

            This webpage is a fun and user-friendly resource for learning about Japan and the Japanese culture.  This webpage allows viewers to explore Japan by looking at maps, calendars, and frequently asked questions.  Kids can view the cookbook for kids to find great recipes that are part of the Japanese culture.  A Kid’s Life link leads viewers to information regarding what a day in the life of a Japanese kid is like.  Other information provided is related to language, technology, and travel.  Kids are also able to play games, take quizzes, send greeting cards, view the kid’s gallery, search through archives, and search other links.

            This webpage is an excellent resource for students to refer to when learning about Japan.  Teachers can also refer to this webpage when preparing lesson regarding what life is like in Japan for children.

Peace Corps Kids World: http://www.peacecorps.gov/kids/

            This webpage explains to kids what the Peace Corps are and how the kids themselves can make a difference.  The site provides information regarding different places that the Peace Corps are located and students can learn about those places and read about what life is like there.  Viewers can also learn about holidays, food, and schools in different locations.  Kids can also read different stories posted about different places around the world.

            This page would be an excellent resource for the social studies classroom when talking about the world and how we can all make a difference.  Students can also use this webpage as a research tool to find out information about the Peace Corps and different places around the world.

Economics of Pro Team Sports: http://www.bos.frb.org/peanuts/leadpgs/intro.htm

            This page provides information, activities, and lesson plans for teachers to teach about the economics of professional sports.  Many aspects of economics are taught through this “unit” and could be a great resource for any social studies teacher.  Concepts such as supply and demand and salary can be taught.  The lesson plans provided are set for a wide range of learning styles.

The Mint: http://www.themint.org/

            This webpage provides tips and information regarding money and how to save, earn, spend, track, and invest it.  This webpage provides useful information to go along with lessons in the social studies classroom related to economics.

            Students could use this webpage to learn how to apply what they have learned about economics in their life.

Kids and Community: http://www.planning.org/kidsandcommunity/

            This site educates kids on how America’s city planners create communities, how you live in them, and how you change them.  Students can learn what a city planner is and more about city planning in general.  Several activities include crazy city stories, city gallery, book corner, word town, and a scavenger hunt scrapbook.

            This webpage can be used to teach students about cities and how they are built.  The theme of change can also be tied into the use of this webpage as it explains how people have the ability to change cities.

Law for Kids: http://www.lawforkids.org/

            This webpage informs kids about laws.  Speak Up!, is a section of the webpage that allows kids to ask questions and provide answers involving issues with certain laws pertaining to driving, work and employment, illegal substances, other, violence, family and school.  There are numerous stories and cartoons available for kids to read and listen to pertaining to different laws.  There is a tour of a juvenile detention center, U.S. Constitution search by section, games, links to other important and helpful sites, and a special page for teachers.  The page for teachers provides information regarding free materials and tips for working with students using this page.

            This webpage could be useful when teaching about laws and the ability for student to change laws.  The cartoons and stories could be useful to view as a class to help the class better understand the purpose of different laws.

Civil War: http://www.civilwar.com/

            This webpage provides information for viewers to learn about the Civil War.  A comprehensive time line explains the events of the Civil War.  Viewers can learn specifically about the battles, places, music, and documents of the civil war.  Actual photos, lyrics, and audio are available. 

            This webpage is essential for any teacher to use when teaching about the Civil War.  The photographs along with the audio files would be a great accompaniment to lesson plans.  Students can use this website to learn more about the Civil War based on what they have learn about in class.

Dr. Gandy's Social Studies Websites

National Geographic: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/education/

This site by National Geographic contains many resources for teachers and students.  There are five main pages to this web site.  Online Adventures is a page where there are over 100 educational adventures for viewers to explore.   These online adventures contain maps, audio, photo galleries and information regarding a plethora of topics.  Another important page on this website is the Maps and Geography page.  This page contains printable maps, a star chart, conservation maps, and links to information about all kinds of maps.  The Map Machine is a very special page that allows viewers to view maps ant all levels and around the world.  The Lesson Plans page provides plans for grade K-12 and features most popular lesson plans and editors picks.  The Teacher Community page informs teacher about grants for educators, different education foundations, and provides an educators newsletter.  The last main page of this web site is the Teacher Store.  This page contains information regarding featured school products, nonfiction reading, extensions sites, and an area to browse products by resource type.  There is an order form to order the most recent catalogue for free.  On every page there is a side table that provides viewers with searches for maps, facts, and photos, as wells as, an easy search for educational materials.  This page seems very useful to students and teachers. 

            This website could be used in any classroom for a variety of educational topics.  The online adventures would be a great center time exploration for students to discover more about what they have been studying in class.  The maps and facts available to viewers online can be very useful to the teacher and student for research or leisure.  Teachers would find this website extremely useful as lesson plans are provided that go along with the National Geography Standards. 

 What You Need To Know About Geography: http://www.geography.about.com/

            This map is a large resource available to viewers that provides numerous links relating to geography.  This page features links and articles that are “In The Spotlight” and weekly geography quizzes.  Important essentials provides are world atlases and maps, latest geography quizzes, a geography glossary, frequently asked questions about geography, and geography articles.  There are also special geography offers available.  Many of the standard links always available to the webpage are:  Basics, About Geography, Blank and Outline Maps, Cartography, Census and Population, Cities and Transport, Climate and Weather, Clip Art, Country Facts, Cultural Geography, Disasters and Hazards, Finding Places, Fun, Games, Humor, Geo Education, GIS and GPS, Historic Maps, Homework and Bee Help, Large Cities, Latitude and Longitude, Maps, Photos, Physical Geography, Rivers and Streams, Street and Road Maps, Time and Time Zones, Topographic Maps, U.S. maps, World Maps, World Population, and ZIP Codes.  There is also a subject library and random, Did You Know? Trivia questions provided. 

            This webpage would be a great starting part for a student or teacher when wanting to research anything about geography.  There are a variety of topics already listed for easing search.  Each topic webpage leads to 10 or more quality web pages containing just the information you want.   Teachers could use this webpage as a source to print maps and facts about countries instead of buying expensive teacher resources books.  Students could read the featured spotlight articles and give reports back to the class on what happening with geography in our world.

 50 States: http://www.50states.com/

            This page is an excellent source for finding out anything about a state.  Information is provided for every state as well as commonwealths and territories.  Each state, commonwealth, or territory pages, provides information regarding state flag, song, bird, flower, population, etc.  The page also provides numerous directories:  Sites for Teachers, Biography Directory, City Guides, College & University Directory,
Community College Directory, Newspaper Directory, Public Records, Search Directory, Sports Directory, State Maps, Community Pages Directory, Country Reports, Current Events and News Headlines, Fast Facts an d Trivia, State Fax Forms, Vital Records, White Pages, and Yellow Pages.             

            This page would be perfect for fifth grade social studies learning about the fifty states.  This would an excellent research starter page when researching a specific state or wanting to find out specific information about the United States.  Teachers could use this information for their own personal resource before teaching lessons about states or the country.  The links provided for the different state features within each individual state webpage lead viewers to important links containing information about trees, etc; giving the teacher and students the opportunity to explore other curriculums.

 The World Factbook: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/

            This webpage allows you to research information on any country in the world.  Searches provide a map of the country along with an introduction and information about the country’s geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues.  Information about the fact book and other useful research tools are provided for the viewers.

            Students in a social studies classroom could use this webpage when researching a specific country.  Teachers could also you this webpage for their own research.  The printable maps and flags would be great visuals for any lesson. 

The Library of Congress: http://lcweb.loc.gov/

            This website allows viewers to search and view almost every piece of written information regarding America and it’s history.  Searches are also made available for viewers to find out information about America and interaction with other world cultures.  There is a collection of exhibition information available as well as special pages for families and teachers.  The teacher’s page provides tips for searching the website as well as lesson plans and professional development information.  The family website provides fun an interactive resources for children to learn about American as well as a basic yet comprehensive timeline of America’s history for students use as a search base.

            Teachers can use this webpage to search for any type of information regarding America.  This would be an excellent resource for a teacher to check his or her own knowledge about an American historical event.  Students could use the family webpage to research information regarding what they are learning in class or for their own entertainment.  This would be the number one source to refer to when discussing legislation.

U.S. National Archives and Records Administration: http://www.archives.gov/index.html

            This webpage provides access to important information such as the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of the United States.  Viewers are able to research information on genealogy, federal records, current research topics, etc.  Resources provided for teachers include tips and lesson plans for teaching with documents.  The Digital Classroom provides teachers and students with activities and online lessons that further the social studies content taught within the classroom. 

            Teachers could use this webpage to access what they could print out or project for students when teaching lessons involving historical documents.  Students could also use this webpage to access these documents for oral or written reports.  This webpage could be a great site for a scavenger hunt.

Smithsonian: http://www.si.edu/

            This webpage allows viewers to search the museums and view parts of different exhibits.  Main search areas include: art and design, history and culture, and science and technology.  A special page for kids allows them to view new and cool exhibits, favorite exhibits, and games and activities for exhibits regarding everything about art, science and nature, history and culture, and people and places.  A special page for teachers provides lesson plans for all grades and subjects for the different areas of search in the museum.  Teachers are also able search information about other websites, lesson plans, fieldtrips, professional development, and instructional materials for sale such as publications and products.

            Teachers and students can use this webpage to research an exhibit that they may be learning about in class.  Exhibits provided would be great for the class to view as a whole and may be used as a guide for instruction on particular topics.

Whitehouse Kids: http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/

            This webpage is an excellent resource of students to find out any information about the Whitehouse they would like to know.    Viewers are able to view information on the history of the Whitehouse as well as take virtual tours of rooms in the Whitehouse.  Detailed information about the President’s pets and important information regarding Whitehouse traditions is available.  Children can also learn about patriotism through this site.  Math challenges, photos, quizzes, games, and videos are also available to viewers.  A special section for parents and teachers provides information regarding how they can teach their children and students by using this website.  Lesson plans are made available.

            This is an excellent website for students to frequent.  Teachers and students can use this website in the social studies classroom for researching important information about the Whitehouse and its history.

The Amazing Picture Machine: http://www.ncrtec.org/picture.htm

            This webpage is an excellent source for finding images that may be hard to find and pertain to content taught in education.  This site allows viewers to send pictures and provides citing information regarding how to cit pictures founds on the site. 

            Students and teachers can use this webpage to find any pictures that they may need for creating a website, giving a presentation, making a brochure, etc.

Discovery School's Puzzlemaker: http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com

            The puzzle maker at discovery.com provides an online puzzle-making program that allows viewers to type in the information they want in the puzzle and the computer will generate the puzzle for them.  There are ten types of puzzles available ranging from words search to mazes.   Puzzle lists and tips for adding clip art to puzzles is available. 

The Classroom Information Network: http://www.vpw.com/

            This webpage provides teachers with the information for obtaining free educational videos and print materials.  Videos are categorized according to grade level and are labeled according to concepts that may be taught from content of the video.  For example, relationships, economics, etc.

            This is an excellent resource for teachers to refer to when looking for videos that they can tie into the social studies content they will be teaching.  Even if what a teacher may be looking for is not at this website, there are many useful materials provided that can always an asset to the classroom.

Eyewitness to History: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/

            It is important to teach social studies through more than one perspective. What better perspective to teach history than the perspective of those who lived it?  This webpage provides a plethora of information regarding eyewitness accounts of important historical events.  The eyewitness accounts are accompanied by photos to bring the information to life for the viewer.

            This webpage is an outstanding resource for the social studies classroom.  Teachers should refer to this webpage for each bit of history content that they may teach.  This page would also be an excellent site for a scavenger hunt and would also be a great link for a social studies center, allowing students to view important information through eyewitness accounts.

Children's Literature for the Social Studies Classroom

Harness, C. (2001). Remember the ladies: 100 great American women. New York: Harper

Collins.

This book for upper elementary grades is about 100 of America's greatest women. A chronological history of the women ranges from Clara Barton to Oprah Winfrey. America's women are often over looked and should be mentioned in the social studies classroom. This book could interest student's to further study about a particular woman in history.

Provensen, A. & M. (1983). The glorious flight: Across the channel with Louis Bleriot.

New York: Puffin Books.

This book for upper elementary grades is a biography of a man named Louis Bleriot who invented the Bleriot XI flying machine and crossed the English Channel in thirty-seven minutes in the early 1900's. This book could be used when discussing inventions in the social studies classroom.

Rappaport, D. (2001). Martin's big words. New York: Jump At Sun,

Hyperion Books for Children.

This book for upper and lower elementary grades is about Martin Luther King and how he used small words with big meanings to motivate people into positive action for protecting their rights. The book could be used in the social studies classroom while discussing the Civil Rights Movement.

Ringgold, F. (1999). If a bus could talk: The story of Rosa Parks. New York:

Simon & Schuster.

This book for middle and upper elementary grades is an excellent resource for either introducing the Civil Rights Movement and important people involved, Rosa Parks specifically. This book allows readers to connect with Rosa and her feelings towards discrimination through out her life. This book could also be used as a catalyst for discussion or journal writing.

St. George, J. (2002). So You Want To Be An Inventor. New York: Scholastic.

This book for middle and upper elementary grades presents some of the characteristics of inventors by describing inventions of different famous inventors. This book could be used when discussing inventions..

Social Studies Game

(1991). Where in the world.  Aristoplay, Ltd.

This game is meant for two to six players that are eight years old and up.  The game includes six continent cards and several country cards that contain useful information such as populations and import/export crops.  Also, there is a spinner that indicates which component of the fact card is to be answered.  This game could be used in a small group or as a whole class divided up into two teams. The objective is to draw a card indicating a continent and then spin the wheel to find out what component to answer, if the answer is correct a team/player marker may be placed on that country. This could keep going until a certain number of points are earned or until a certain amount of time is up. This game could also be used in centers or the teacher could use the fact cards just to simply quiz the students. I would definitely use this game in the class for the fact cards alone. This game incorporates useful information regarding geography and countries that is useful for a social studies classroom.

Social Studies Kit

(1997).  Decisions, Decisions: Colonization.  Tom Snyder Productions.

This kit teaches students about colonization by putting them in collaborative groups and taking on the role as the President of the United States. The students are forced to choose whether if they want to work with a company called Astros or go solo on developing a colony in outer space because the Earth is running out of energy sources. Once conflict arises the students must rely on past history of U.S. Colonization to begin discussion about the current problem of the governments role in establishing a colony in outer space. This kit could be used to help students develop problem-solving skills, discussion skills, critical thinking skills, and cooperative learning skills. Students also learn how colonies were established, what types of colonies were established in the new world, issues of colonial rights and responsibilities, economics of supporting a colony, and issues of colonial government. Concepts involved with American current events and language can also be explored. I would definitely use this kit because it covers many standards and works across the curriculum efficiently. This kit provides students with meaningful learning and allows them to use higher order thinking, making this kit essential for any classroom.

Social Studies Software

(2002).  I Love the U.S.A.! Global Software Company.

Title: I Love the USA!

Running Time: 15-20 minutes per round for five rounds totally approximately one to one and a half hours.

Hardware Requirements: Windows 95/98 requires 16MB and NT4/2000/XP requires 32 MB

The objective of this game is to complete the Explorer Challenge. The player must locate Joe by following clues leading the player to 10 specific locations in the United States. Once the player locates Joe they will receive a medal. Once five medals have been collected, the player becomes an official explorer. In order to find each location, the player must either rely on prior knowledge or research regions of the United States by using different map and index resources provided in the game. Also, there are various quizzes to complete at different locations in order to earn stickers for a travel sticker book and postcards. Players also have the option to label/color and fill in features on a map as well as create weather reports and look up facts in an index.  This game is extremely user friendly with an audio introduction for the player and a written section for adults to learn how to play. Teachers could use this program in social studies and technology centers as well as utilize the printable resources for various instructional reasons. This game could also be used as a special reward incentive for behavior or academic achievements while still reinforcing social studies. Students can use this program as a simple way of having fun. Students can also use the program’s printable resources for projects and activities and can also use it for simple research for different locations in the United States. I really like how interactive and amusing the program is. I am sure that almost any child would enjoy playing it. What I dislike the most about this program is that when selecting different locations it wasn’t possible to actually see what state was being clicked on. Also, when a location/item was chosen; for example, Mardi Gras, the information did not reveal that it took play in Louisiana.

Historical Sites for Social Studies Instruction

Harriet Beecher Stowe, Slavery to Freedom Museum: http://www.washingtonky.com/stowe.html

This historic site allows visitors to explore what Harriet Beecher Stowe's life was like and learn about the underground railroad and the process of slavery to freedom. This would be an excellent location for students to visit while study slavery.

National Corvette Museum: http://www.corvettemuseum.com/

This site allows visitors to learn about the history of the corvette as well as tour the assembly plant. A visit to this site would bring to life for students the concept of inventions, the assembly line, and how products such as the corvette and factories have the ability to change the economy of a location such as Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Louisville Slugger Museum: http://www.sluggermuseum.org

A visit to the Louisville Slugger Museum will allow students to experience the joy of America's favorite pastime. Students will learn about the history of the Louisville Slugger as well as gain knowledge of baseball history. A visit to this site would complement lessons on American pastimes, economics of professional sports, and economics and assembly.

Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill: http://www.shakervillageky.org/

A visit to the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill will allow students to experience what life is like in a shaker village community. Students will learn to appreciate hand crafts, simple life, and acceptance of culture after visiting this site. A visit to the village would complement lessons on what life was like for some people in Kentucky during the 1800s.

Old Bardstown Village of The Western Theater: http://www.civil-war-museum.org/exhibit.html

Students will learn about the Civil War by viewing uniforms and other artifacts from the war in this museum. A visit to this museum will help student's conceptualize some of the facts of the Civil War and may spring additional interest on the topic.

Videos for Social Studies Instruction

School House Rock!: The Ultimate Collector's Edition. (DVD, Release Year: 2002)

This DVD contains songs about social studies and other content areas that help teach kids basic concepts and facts in a creative and entertaining way. This DVD is considered a staple classroom resource by many of my professors.