I composed this list of 101 websites for social studies teachers by scouring the deepest depths of the interwebs for quality resources. Let me tell ya, there’s some weird stuff out there!
I came across all kinds of sites "dedicated" to U.S. history, world history, culture, geography, maps, economics, etc., but these are the ones I found to be most up-to-date, accurate and professional. Also, I'll be adding "BONUS" sites to the list as I come across them. Make sure you check back often!
So, without any further ado, here they are!
U.S. History & Government
1. Zinn Education Project
The Zinn Education Project offers free, downloadable U.S. History lessons and articles organized by theme, time period and reading level.
2. DocsTeach
Thousands of historical documents from the National Archives. Plus, ready-to-use activities to pair with the documents. Search by historical era or make your own activity.
3. America in the 20th Century
Program clips and teacher resources for the Progressive Era, World War I, The Great Depression, Vietnam, Cold War, Civil Rights movement and more.
4. Harpweek
These historical and political cartoons make great discussion starters or classroom warm-ups for U.S. history lessons.
5. Digital Vaults
View digital versions of the nation’s most important historical documents.
6. USHistory.org Historical Documents
Use the easy-to-read text versions of the United States’ most important documents to familiarize your students with the words that shaped the government and culture of their country.
7. Finishing the Dream
Over one hundred Civil Rights Era clips from the NBC News archive including segments like Separate is Not Equal, Buses and Boycotts, Freedom Fighters and We Shall Overcome.
8. 100 Milestone Documents
These 100 documents chronicle United States History from 1776 to 1965. You can view a digital copy of each document and also read an excerpt that gives background information about the document.
9. StreetLaw Landmark Cases
A full range of activities and resources to support the teaching of landmark cases such as Marbury v. Madison, Brown v. Board of Education, Dred Scott v. Sanford and more.
10. The Library of Congress
An enormous collection of historical memories, prints, photographs, newspapers, sound recordings, films, maps, manuscripts and more.
11. Charters of Freedom
Charters of Freedom is another website that allows you to view digital versions of the nation’s most important historic documents.
12. Picture History
This collection of images from American History includes the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The majority of photographs are of presidents, the White House, iconic people and events from our nation’s past.
13. Oyez Project
A database on major constitutional cases heard by the United States Supreme Court, with multimedia resources including digital audio of oral arguments.
14. Chronicling America
Search through pages of America's historic newspapers from 1836-1922 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published from 1690 to the present.
15. American Rhetoric
American Rhetoric is an index of over 5,000 textual, audio and video versions of public speeches, sermons, legal proceedings, lectures, debates, interviews and more.
16. WYZANT HPOL archive database
History and Politics Out Loud is a searchable multimedia database that contains important audio clips from American history and politics.
 4th & 5th Amendments Video |
17. Constitution Facts
Did you know that the U.S. Constitution has only 4,400 words? It is the oldest and shortest written Constitution of any major government in the world. Find out more interesting facts at Constitution Facts!
18. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Online Exhibitions
An online version of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s exhibitions on Rescue and Resistance, Anti-Semitism, Propaganda, Persecution, Camps, the Aftermath and more.
19. Chronicle of Revolution
Chronicle of Revolution provides students with a detailed look at the events that contributed to the start of the American Revolution by reading newspaper articles from key cities.
20. Mission U.S.
Mission U.S. is home to two free, interactive U.S. history games. One focuses on the American Revolution, the other focuses on a slave’s quest for freedom.
21. American History Demographic Chart Book
A demographic history of the United States dating back to the first census in 1790. It includes maps, information on population growth and distribution, ethnicity, age, home ownership, education, occupation and more.
22. FedFlix
FedFlix features the best videos produced by the United States government, from training films to historical documentaries.
23. Civil War 150
An interactive map/timeline/infographic hybrid that is packed with cool facts about the Civil War. It’s got over 2,000 likes on Facebook!
24. Fold3
This website is an online collection of historical military records. There are millions of images and documents that can be searched and annotated with additional information. Everything is categorized by war which makes it easy to fit into a history lesson plan.
25. Law Focused Education
Entertaining games and animations covering topics including checks & balances, federalism, popular sovereignty, separation of powers, Bill of Rights, Preamble of the Constitution, American symbols and more.
World History
 Ancient Greeks PowerPoint Presentation |
26. Hypercities
Collaborate using social technologies to delve into the past, present or future of city spaces. View architectural maps of some of the world’s most famous cities from different time periods and overlay important structures.
27. HistoryPin
View some of the most interesting and thought-provoking photographs through time to stimulate discussion in your classroom.
28. European Virtual Museum
The European Virtual Museum is an online collaboration between twenty-seven prestigious European museums and showcases historical artifacts from all over the world.
29. TimeMaps
TimeMaps is an all-inclusive look at world history that combines maps, timelines and chronological narratives.
30. Spartacus Educational
This online encyclopedia focuses on historical topics and figures from England, the United States, Russia, Germany and France. All of the articles are easy-to-digest and are written for students.
31. Online Hieroglyphics Translator
Type in a phrase and see what it looks like when it’s translated to Egyptian Hieroglyphics. This is a cool activity to do if you’re covering Ancient Egypt.
32. Women in World History
Over 200 primary source materials about women in world history including photographs, propaganda, commentary and more. These materials are great discussion and essay starters.
33. HyperHistory
While HyperHistory’s design is reminiscent of websites from the 1990’s, it covers 3000 years of world history including culture, religion, politics and historical figures.
34. HistoryWorld
300 informational narratives and 10,000 events in a searchable database. HistoryWorld is great for conducting preliminary research for papers and projects.
 Ancient Civilizations Crosswords & More eBook |
35. EyeWitness to History
EyeWitness to History is home to first-hand accounts of historical events, vintage photographs, original radio broadcasts and more.
36. Wikibooks – Ancient Civilizations
Easy to understand descriptions of some of the world’s most influential civilizations including the Babylonians, Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks, Vikings, Persians, Romans and more.
37. Simple English Wikipedia - World History
The history of the world—according to Wikipedia—told in plain English.
38. History.com Videos
Watch video clips from the History Channel on a variety of topics including the American Revolution, American Civil War, World War II, the Titanic, Black History Month, Ancient Civilizations and more.
39. Go Social Studies Go
A modern-looking website dedicated to world religions, history and world geography. Each topic includes a separate page with information, images and links to relevant websites. Some pages even have videos.
40. The Avalon Project
A collection of historical documents in law and diplomacy from 4,000bce to the present. It includes documents such as the Athenian Constitution, Magna Carta, Articles of Confederation, Civil Rights Act of 1964 and more.
41. Playing History
Playing History aggregates all of the free history games on the web into a simple, searchable database.
42. Snag Learning
Free documentaries produced by well-known educational publishers, including PBS and National Geographic. The available titles cover topics like the Battle for Midway, Alexander the Great, Pearl Harbor and more.
BONUS:
World History for Us All (added 4/20/2012)
World History for Us All offers teaching units, lesson plans and resources for middle school and high school world history teachers. It is a collaboration between K-12 educators, collegiate instructors and educational technology specialists.
Bridging World History (added 4/20/2012)
26 thematic world history units include videos, an audio glossary and a database of over 1,500 images and maps. Use Bridging World History to teach your students about the ties that bind historical events together.
World History Connected (added 4/20/2012)
The best online journal for world history. Plus, it's free!
Crash Course YouTube Channel (added 4/20/2012)
Crash Course's YouTube Channel currently has 13 quality videos that cover topics in world history such as the fall of Rome, Alexander the Great, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Mesopotamia and the Agricultural Revolution. If you're unfamiliar with this YouTube channel, you should definitely check it out! FYI - some of the narrator's humor may be unsuitable for younger students.
Social Studies Materials
43. EdSITEMENT
High quality lesson plans, activities and student resources for history and social studies, sortable by grade level.
44. C-SPAN Classroom
Primary source materials for Social Studies teachers.
45. GoEd Online
Aside from having an awesome blog (tee-hee!), GoEd Online is a one-stop resource for fun social studies materials. Click here to check out our streaming social studies videos, downloadable eBooks, PowerPoint presentations and interactive games.
Civics
46. Project Vote Smart’s VoteEasy™
See how your views match up with those of major political candidates. Learn their stance on topics like abortion, economy, guns, health care, immigration and more.
47. CIRCLE
The official website of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning is home to information on the civic and political engagement of young Americans. There are a lot of cool graphs and charts that will get your students excited about fulfilling their civic duties.
48. iCivics
Free lesson plans and interactive games for learning civics. Some of the topics covered by materials at iCivics include citizenship and participation, separation of powers, branches of government and budgeting.
49. White House
The official website of the White House. Watch the weekly address to stay informed on the most important events in our government.
50. Vote: The Machinery of Democracy
This website teaches your students how ballots and voting systems have changed over the years in response to political, social and technological change.
Culture & Geography
 Geography Terms Video |
51. Mental Floss’ Geography Challenge
A fun, yet difficult, geography trivia game that tests your knowledge of where countries are located.
52. Nations Illustrated
View over 7,700 pictures from all over the world. Just type in a large city or country.
53. Traveler IQ Challenge
The web’s most popular free geography game. Over 42,000 people have “liked” it on Facebook.
54. GeoBeats
An award-winning website that hosts hundreds of short, guided video tours of the most famous cities throughout the world.
55. iknowthat
Neat interactive maps to review Geography – requires flash and shockwave player.
56. Google Earth
Google Earth is a nifty tool that is being used by educators around the world. It puts the planet’s geographic information at your fingertips and can be utilized in a variety of educational activities. There’s even a helpful Google Earth for Educators Community where you can go for new ideas or to share some of your own.
57. Culture Crossing
A guide to culture, customs, social, business and study abroad etiquette for every country in the world. The information posted in each country guide is submitted by people who are either natives or residents (or former residents) of the featured countries.
Printable Maps and Mapping Tools
58. ScribbleMaps
Easily draw on Google Maps and then share with your students or post to your teacher blog.
59. QuickMaps
QuickMap’s slogan is “Doodle on Google!” It’s another free and easy way to draw on Google Maps.
60. Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
High-quality historic, thematic and topographic maps of the world including Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia/Pacific, Europe, Middle East, Polar regions, Oceans and United States.
61. Printable World Maps
Free printable maps of the world’s countries. Each map is a blank outline.
62. Nat Geo Education: Mapping
Free, printable 1-page maps, printable large-format maps and an online interactive student map.
63. Mapping History
Animated socio and political maps of 18th and 19th century United States, Europe, Latin America and Africa.
64. Animaps
Animaps letting you create maps with markers that move, images and text that pop up on cue, and lines and shapes that change over time. Your finalized Animap appears like a video that can be played, paused, slowed down and sped up.
65. BBC Dimensions
This website takes important places and events, and overlays them onto a map. Just type in a zip code. Use it to show your students how large something like the Great Wall of China or the battle of Stalingrad really is/was!
Interactive Timelines
66. Timerime
Search for pre-made, media-rich timelines or make your own using MP3 audio clips, YouTube videos and more.
67. X Timeline
Another website that makes it easy to create and share timelines with pictures and videos.
68. Time Toast
All you need is a valid email address to create interactive timelines that can be shared anywhere on the web.
69. Tiki Toki
Easily create stunning web-based, sharable timelines with images and video. Tiki Toki also has a group editing feature for collaboration.
70. Dipity
With Dipity, you can find, create and embed interactive, customizable timelines.
71. Capzles
Create your own sharable timeline with images, video, audio, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint and PDF files.
Current Events
75. Newseum
View today’s front page from more than 800 newspapers worldwide. Use this website to demonstrate how different cultures can perceive the same event.
76. Cagle
A daily compilation of editorial cartoons from around the world that cover current issues and important figures.
77. Clay Bennett Cartoons Archive
Modern cartoons on a range of topics including individual liberties, global warming, lobby reform, congress and more.
Economics
78. Practical Money Skills
Practical Money Skills is an online resource for educators, parents and students focused on financial literacy and education.
79. Econ Ed Link
Sort economics and personal finance lessons by grade level, lesson type, concept, or standard covered. Econ Ed Link includes accounting, banking, budgeting, debt, inflation, interest, investing, risk and more.
80. Numbeo
Numbeo is a website that allows you to compare information about the cost of living from different areas of the world.
81. Living Wage Calculator
Use the Living Wage Calculator, developed by Penn State University, to calculate the approximate living wage of your area. The calculator lists typical expenses, the living wage and typical wages for the selected location.
Informational Resources
82. ZIPskinny
Enter in a U.S. Zip Code to get its latest U.S. Census data including detailed demographics.
83. CIA Factbook
The CIA World Factbook contains information on the communications, economy, geography, government, history, military, people, transnational issues and transportation for 267 world entities.
84. World Flag Index
A listing of all of the flags from each of the world’s countries, territories and sub-national regions. Some of the listings also include basic information about the area.
85. 50States
Find information about each of the 50 states, including the state bird, border states, climate, constitution, flag, population, state tree and more.
86. Google Scholar
Google Scholar is a simple search engine that specializes in scholarly literature. It allows you to search across many sources including articles, books, court opinions, online repositories, university libraries and more.
87. Wolfram Alpha
Wolfram Alpha is searchable database of information about government, historical events, political figures, important documents and more.
Web 2.0 Tools
88. Poll Everywhere
An inexpensive and quick alternative for clicker response systems. Create your first poll in 30 seconds without having to sign up. Your students simply text their answer to a predetermined number and, voila! Poll Anywhere is free if your class size is less than 40 students.
89. Animoto
Use Animoto to easily create presentations and videos with your own images and music, or choose from a library of stock files. Teachers can apply for a free Animoto Plus account.
90. Wikispaces
With a free option for K-12 teachers, Wikispaces is a great tool for making custom webpages that your students can edit together. You can manage privacy settings, create student accounts without email addresses, embed media and even customize the design of your Wiki pages. BONUS: Check out the resourcesforhistoryteachers Wikispaces page. (added 4/20/2012)
91. Voicethread
Voicethread’s group conversations are stored and shared in one place, from anywhere in the world. It allows you to create multimedia slideshows with images, videos and documents. Others can view the slides and then leave text, audio or video comments.
92. Prezi
Prezi is a really neat cloud-based presentation program that allows you to zoom in and out. If you don’t mind your slides being public, you can sign up for a free account with 100MB of storage.
93. IMDb
Use IMDb, the internet movie database, to see if there are any movies that are relevant to the topic you’re teaching. If you find one, you can also check the rating to make sure it’s appropriate for your classroom.
94. Quizlet
As one of the largest and most popular flashcard creation websites around, Quizlet allows students and teachers to customize their own “sets” of flashcards. You can manage access to the flashcards you create and share them with your students.
95. SlideShare
SlideShare is one of the most popular ways to upload and share PowerPoint presentations and other documents. Again, this is a great tool for transferring documents between your home and school computer without having to carry around a flash drive.
96. ClassMarker
ClassMarker is an online quiz and test creation website. As an educator, you get 100 free tests taken (and graded!) per month.
97. Blabberize
Blabberize is a fun web 2.0 tool that allows you to upload a picture (of a person—think historical figures!), select its mouth, and make it talk by adding an audio file. Like Gizmoz, your students are sure to get a kick out of it!
98. Online-stopwatch
Online-stopwatch is a web-based stopwatch that is easy to display on an interactive whiteboard and can count up or down. Use it for timed exams, essays, and standardized tests.
99. CuePrompter
A lot of students have a hard time giving class presentations, but CuePrompter helps to relieve some of the nerves. Copy and paste your script into the box and it displays just like a real teleprompter. Plus, it’s free to use.
100. Socrative
This web 2.0 tool uses cell phones and/or laptops to gather feedback from students. You can post as many questions as you’d like, which is nice if you have several classes.
101. Zotero
Zotero is a neat tool that helps you collect, organize, cite and share research that you have done. You can add PDFs, images, audio and video files, snapshots of web pages and more. It indexes the full-text content of your library, allowing you to quickly find what you’re looking for.
Thanks for reading! I hope you came across some useful websites that you can use in your class. If you liked this post, don’t forget to share it with your friends using the social sharing bar on the left-hand side of your screen!!!
What are your favorite websites for Social Studies teachers? Did I miss any? Let me know in the comments.
Oh, and before you go, take a look at 101 Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers You Should Know About.
Signing out,
Erik Schreefel
Marketing and Operations, GoEd Online
