WWII women on the American homefront

Most of us are familiar with the “Rosie the Riveter” poster and other images of women working in factories during WWII.

The US Women’s Bureau has a wealth of black and white photos capturing women taking over the jobs left behind during the war years.

We have included nine photos that are high resolution and show a variety of women in various jobs that are ready for your classroom use.

For more resources on teaching this era, check out our:

US History PowerPoints

• The Great Depression and the New Deal
• Causes of World War II
• World War II

Classroom history games

• Causes of World War II: Part 1
• Causes of World War II: Part 2
• Causes of World War II: Part 3

World History PowerPoint

World War II

Lewis Hine’s photographs

Lewis Hine took photographs for the National Child Labor Committee from 1908-1918, documenting conditions for working children in factories, fields, mines, etc in order to bring awareness of the harsh daily environments for these kids.

Mail Online has compiled several of the images into an article here.

For more information on this era check out our:

US History PowerPoints

• Rise of Industrial America, 1865-1900
• Response to Industrialism: Protest Movements, Unions, and the Agrarian Revolt
• America Becomes a World Power: Imperialism
• Immigration & Urbanization
• The Progressive Era

Classroom History games

• Critical Decisions of Theodore Roosevelt
• Critical Decisions of Woodrow Wilson
• Steel Empire Game
• Famous Inventors Game
• American Immigration Game
• Chisholm Trail Game

Civil War photographs

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has an exhibit thru September 2, 2013 that contains some amazing photographs taken during the Civil War.

We have compiled some images along with their information to be ready for your classroom use.

For more Civil War era resources check out our PowerPoints:

• Colonization to Reconstruction: US History Review
• Slavery in America
• Expansion and Reform: The United States from 1829-1860
• Causes of the Civil War
• The Civil War
• Reconstruction: 1863-1877
• The West: Miners, Ranchers, Farmers, and Native Americans
• Rise of Industrial America, 1865-1900
• Response to Industrialism: Protest Movements, Unions, and the Agrarian Revolt

Check out our classroom history games:

• Causes of the Civil War Game
• American Immigration Game
• Critical Decisions Lincoln, part one and part two

History and Functions of the Presidency

Click here to check out this educational film on the Presidency. Not super exciting, but it gets to the point.

For more resources on teaching American Government, check out our PowerPoints:

• The Judiciary
• The Presidency
• The Congress
• The Bureaucracy
• Constitutional Underpinnings

Migrant Mother interview

Migrant Mother interview

The Great Depression provides the opportunity to explore the daily life experiences of Americans and how this dramatic event transformed them. 

One of the most well known images from the era was taken by Dorothea Lange in 1936 of Florence Thompson.

Here is the article that also contains the video interview with her in 1979.

Betty Boop for President

This adorable 1932 video depicts Betty Boop running for president against “Mr. Nobody”.

The two candidates sing their campaign promises, which provides much fodder for class discussions on elections.

There is even a scene showing the two parties in Congress disagreeing about each issue raised.

The only cautionary moment is at about the 3 minute mark when the Republican elephant calls the Democratic donkey an “ass”. Depending on the maturity of your class this may not be appropriate, unless it discussed beforehand to place it in context.

For more resources on teaching about the 1930s check out our The Great Depression and the New Deal PowerPoint.

For more resources on teaching government check out our PowerPoints:

• The Judiciary
• The Presidency
• The Congress
• The Bureaucracy
• Constitutional Underpinnings

Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman” speech

Sojourner Truth was an amazing woman who lived an extraordinary life.

Her famous speech given in Ohio in 1851 is a simple yet eloquent argument on the equality of the sexes.

There is a bit of controversy, however, as two versions have been recorded, one during the convention, a second a few years later.

The second version is the widely known speech. It is notable though that the second version is in a southern-style dialect which is not how the native New Yorker who only spoke Dutch for her early years talked.

We have included both and encourage adding questions to the assignment we have included for your classroom use.

Cold War Comic Books

Every teacher strives to find new ways to pique and keep students’ interest throughout the school year.

We believe that comic books can be one of many resources in this quest.

In this case we are highlighting a few Esquire Comics from the Cold War era.

The imagery can be quite graphic at times, so prescreening is always essential before passing something out.

We have included an assignment that is classroom ready to be used during a Cold War unit.

For more Cold War resources check out our:

US History PowerPoints

• US Foreign Policy in the Cold War Era: Truman to Kennedy
• US Foreign Policy in the Cold War Era: Johnson to the Fall of the Berlin Wall
• The 1950s
• 1960s
• Vietnam
• The 1970s
• Late History Overview: 1970s, 1980s, 1990s
• The 1980s

World History PowerPoints

• The Modern Era: 1945-1970
• The Modern Era 2: 1971-2009

Classroom History Games

• Critical Decisions of Harry Truman
• Critical Decisions of John F. Kennedy
• Causes of the Cold War, Part 1: 1946-1960
• Causes of the Cold War, Part 2: 1961-1980
• Causes of the Cold War, Part 3: 1981-2008

Historic Film Collection

Historic Film Collection, Part 4

MLK Day 2013

In honor of the Civil Rights Movement and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. we are posting this short clip containing a portion of the famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington in 1963.

For more information on this era check out our PowerPoint presentations:

• The 1950s
• The Civil Rights Movement
• 1960s

 

New year, new goals

We believe that an important part of Social Studies is teaching children real life skills, such as map reading and critical thinking skills, for example.

Today’s post emphasizes the need for setting and achieving realistic goals. This can be difficult for many people who often are too vague or too broad, leaving them overwhelmed and failing.

We designed this lesson many years ago for our 9th graders and have had much success over the years with all grade levels.

Our Five Goals assignment is ready for your classroom use today, let us know what you think!