Kids Past has put together an easy-to-read World History “textbook” for kids. Kids Past also offers five history games to which students can apply the knowledge the find in the textbook. The textbook and games correspond to each other.
Applications for Education The Kids Past World History textbook could be a nice supplement to a classroom textbook or lesson. A teacher could use the games as a review activity for students. With the congruence between the textbook and the games a student could have two browser tabs or windows open and refer back to the textbook when they get stuck on a question. Educational games like those offered on Kids Past can be super opportunities to assess a student’s learning in an informal environment that they enjoy. Educational games are also a method of allowing students to progress at a self-determined pace.
Mr. Lincoln’s Virtual Library is a collection of Abraham Lincoln’s papers and a collection of sheet music about Lincoln, the Civil War, and emancipation. The collection of sheet music is what caught my attention as talking about music is a good way to start classroom discussions about culture and public opinion during the Civil War.
George Mason University has posted online four units of study for US History. Each unit is based on images and primary documents. The units are divided by century pre-18th, 18th, 19th, and 20th. Each unit has a selection of images and or documents that are the focus of a series of inquiry based questions. Each item in each unit offers resources for additional study.
Applications for Education These units could be used as individual student assignments or as group discussions in high school classrooms. A related resource that could complement the units of study from George Mason University is the Picturing America series from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Witness the birth of a nation in bite-sized chunks. Famous Moments in Early American History is a collection of short presentations about…well, famous moments in early American History.
View the beginnings of the American Revolution in “The Shot Heard Around the World.” Or see what all the hubbub was about during Paul Revere’s famous ride in “Paul Revere, Messenger of the Revolution.” Each flash presentation contains several primary source images, including woodcuts, drawings and engravings.
Famous Moments in Early American History contains concise history lessons ideal for younger students first learning about American History. The videos also provide examples for students who want to play with PowerPoint or other presentation software for school projects. -BILL FERRIS
As you read this, I am standing beneath a marble statue of Julius Caesar, participating in an event that means a lot to me: the launch of the Ancient Rome 3D layer in Google Earth. Thanks to Google and the Rome Reborn Project, everyone in the world, from Rome itself to Calcutta, can now travel through time and discover Ancient Rome as it was 1,688 years ago when it was ruled by Emperor Constantine.
The project includes more than 6,700 buildings of Ancient Rome rebuilt in 3D — a true record. This accomplishment demonstrates how technology can be helpful in promoting culture and disseminating knowledge. Ancient Rome 3D is a great opportunity to rediscover the importance of Ancient Roman culture, which is at the base of the Italian, European and, more generally, Western identities. The archaeological heritage and the artistic monuments of the Roman Empire have found their way to many continents, but it is in the capital city (known in Roman times as Caput Mundi, which is Latin for “Capital of the World”) that we can still find most of it. For example, architectural masterpieces like the Colosseum (considered one of the seven wonders of the world) have managed to withstand the tests of time — resisting sacks, invasions and world wars over the centuries and proving, with the immortality of their stones, the grandness of one of the most majestic empires that has ever existed.
What fascinates me most about this project is the accuracy of the details of the three-dimensional models. It’s such a great experience to be able to admire the monuments, streets and buildings of Ancient Rome with a virtual camera that lets you go inside and see all the architectural details. From the Colosseum to the Ludus Magnus, from the Forum Caesar to the Arch of Septimius Severus, from the Rostra to the Basilica Julia, you can get up close to them all. The idea that virtual technologies now let people experience the city that I guide as it appeared in 320 A.D. fills me with pride — a pride that I inherited from Rome’s glorious past.
Update @ 6:50 PM: The layer is now live in Google Earth, in the Gallery folder of the Layers panel. When you zoom in on Rome, you will see yellow Ancient Rome 3D icons. To load the terrain and buildings, click on any icon and then click the links at the bottom of the bubble.
A Tremendous Unit on Slavery from PBS This site has podcasts (short ones), diary entries, great (sad!) stories, historical overview, a year in the life and more. The topics covered include religion, the family, slave life, education, freedom and more.
TimeRime is a new addition to my list of excellent multimedia timeline creation tools. TimeRime is similar to one of my favorite timeline builders, Xtimeline. TimeRime allows users to create timelines that include text, images, audio, and video. One of the better features of TimeRime is that you can have more than one type of media for each event on your timeline. TimeRime users can also select which media type they want as the feature piece of each event. As we’ve come to expect with any web 2.0 tool of this type, you can embed the timeline in a blog or share it via email. I’ve embedded a sample TimeRime timeline below.
Applications for Education Timelines have been a staple in the Social Studies teacher’s handbook for years. TimeRime and resources like it, put a 21st century spin on the standard timeline project. One way to really take advantage of TimeRime would be to have students role play events in history, film the role play, then post the video on the appropriate place along a timeline.
So I wanted to be able to show my students how slavery spread, especially after the invention of the cotton gin. The map above is what I found. You can change the dates and watch the increase of the slave population even after legal importation of them had stopped. Speaking of Whitney, here is a nice flash image of how the cotton gin works.
Kids Past has put together an easy-to-read World History “textbook” for kids. Kids Past also offers five history games to which students can apply the knowledge the find in the textbook. The textbook and games correspond to each other.
