Social Studies

 

Library of Congress teachers' page
The Teacher Resources module for the American Memory Project brings together collections of digital resources and provides Web links to those materials, lesson plans,  and rubrics.

New York Times view more infocommentemail item
Online edition of The New York Times, a daily newspaper considered by some to be the national paper of record. "Most articles published within 7 days can be accessed free, older articles are available for a small fee." Some content requires free registration. Searchable from 1851 to the present.
URL: http://www.nytimes.com/
Added to LII: 1999-08-22  Source:  Librarians’ Internet Index

 

Historical Newspapers in Washington view more infocommentemail item
This project is part of Washington State Library's program to make its rare, historical resources more accessible. Search the growing collection by keyword or personal name, or browse by subjects such as industry, crime, pioneers, and religion. Additional newspapers will be brought online as they are scanned and indexed.
URL: http://www.secstate.wa.gov/history/newspapers.aspx  Source:  Librarians’ Internet Index

 

 

10 X 10: 100 Words and Pictures That Define the Time view more infocommentemail item
This site displays a new collage each hour of one hundred ranked images and words harvested from the news at Reuters, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and The New York Times Web sites. It "leaves a trail of these hourly statements which, stitched together side by side, form a continuous patchwork tapestry of human life." Includes an archive and links to sources.
URL: http://www.tenbyten.org
Added to LII: 2004-11-22  Source:  Librarians’ internet Index

 

SOCIOLOGY, SOCIAL CONDITIONS

AFRO-American almanac: African-American history resource. The AFRO-American Almanac is an on-line presentation of the African in America. A historical perspective of a nation, its people, and its cultural evolution. From the beginning of the slave trade through the Civil Rights movement, to the present."

 

Primary Source Learning:  Discover, Learn, and Teach with Digital Historical Documents   Primary Source Learning is funded by the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Program, Northern Virginia Partnership (TPSNVA).

 

Slaves and the Courts:  1740-1860 primary documents  American Memory Collection of The Library of Congress

 

World Treasures of the Library of Congress  Sections include "Creation Accounts and Depictions, First Human Beings, Societal Beginnings, The State of Nature and Society, and Rule of Law".

 

GENERAL STATISTICS

Census Bureau home page Statistical information based on the United States census. Includes historical information as well as data from the 2000 census.

2010 Census in the Schools  Resources on the US census geared toward the social studies standards.

Fedstats Offers a "full range of official statistical information available to the public from the Federal Government; track economic and population trends, health care costs, aviation safety, foreign trade, energy use, farm production, and more; collected and published by more than 70 Federal agencies." Or, go directly to their:

Statistical Reference Shelf: Published collections of statistics available online including the Statistical Abstract of the United States.  

 

Finding data on the Internet Robert Niles created a guide to finding statistical information on the Internet.  He includes explanations of varies ways of defining statistical results including mean, median, percent, per capita, standard deviation, margin of error, data analysis, and sample sizes.

 

InfoNation This is "an easy-to-use, two-step database that allows you to view and compare the most up-to-date statistical data for the Member States of the United Nations.... Statistics and indicators are provided by the United Nations Statistics Division from the World Statistics Pocketbook, Statistical Yearbook and Demographic Yearbook 1995, except languages." 

 

Statistical Abstract of the United States Find the most frequently requested statistics about the United States here. Collected and provided by the U.S. Census.  

 

Statistical Resources on the Web A statistics "gateway" site that organizes the most useful Web sites according to the type of statistics offered there. Compiled by the University of Michigan Library.

 

Statistics Every Writer Should Know Check this place out so that you will be able to tell if someone is "lying with statistics."

 

POLITICAL SCIENCE - GOVERNMENT, POLITICS, CIVIL RIGHTS

Cagle's Professional Cartoonists Index A very large, well-organized and indexed collection of editorial cartoons. 

 

Online Dictionary of the Social Sciences "This social science dictionary has 1000 entries covering the disciplines of sociology, criminology, political science and women's study with a commitment to Canadian examples and events and names.... a product of Athabasca University and ICAAP."  

 

The CIA World Factbook Wide variety of information about countries of the world, including maps, prepared by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.  

 

FirstGov The only official U.S. Government portal to 30 million pages of government information, services, and online transactions; it offers "a powerful search engine that searches every word of every U.S. government document in a quarter of a second or less." Browse according the subject of information you desire.

 

Info USA Information about many agencies and departments of the U.S. government, produced and maintained by the U.S. Department of State.  Created for foreign audiences seeking information about American society, political processes, official U.S. policies and culture, but useful for all as an accurate source of data and information.  

 

Ben's Guide to American Government for Kids (Grades 9-12) Find out here about the various agencies and services of the U.S. Government. The guide provides learning tools for K-12 students, parents, and teachers. These resources will teach how our government works, the use of the primary source materials of GPO Access, and how one can  use GPO Access to carry out their civic responsibilities.   

 

Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments If you want to know who the top government officials are in any country of the world, please look at this page. It is offered by the CIA!

 

Congressional Glossary (C-SPAN) Are you wondering about the meaning of some of the terminology associated with the U.S. Congress? This glossary allows you to click on any term used in Congress to see its definition.  

 

Historical United States Census Data Browser The data presented here describe the people and the economy of the US for each state and county from 1790 to 1960. Data is accessible and organized into decades for most of the time periods.  

 

IPL POTUS: Presidents of the United States The Internet Public Library provides background information, election results, cabinet members, notable events, and points of interest on each of the presidents. Links to biographies, historical documents, audio and video files, and other presidential sites are also included.

 

US Census Bureau
The provider of timely, relevant, and quality data about the people and economy of the United States.

 

GENERAL GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

HyperHistory Online "HyperHistory presents 3,000 years of world history with a combination of colorful graphics, lifelines, timelines, and maps.

 

GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL

Background notes "US Department of State provides information on geographic entities and international organizations and are updated periodically. Background Notes for some countries are currently unavailable.  The main page is arranged by geographic region.  International organizations include the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (updated 3/92), the European Community (updated 1/93), the Organization of American States (updated 5/00), and the United Nations (updated 7/00)."

 

Cultural profiles project This site was designed as an informational tool about the origin of immigrants to Canada.  The site, however, is a useful tool for anyone looking for general information about countries of the world.

 

Map games  Map games for the United States and for the world.

 

Middle East map game   Drag names to the correct country.

 

World Factbook, 2000 Extensive reference work containing basic information about countries, including geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, military and transnational issues.  Also includes brief introduction and color flag for each country.

 Dangerous Places (Pelton's) Offers extensive travel and tourist information about the most dangerous countries of the world that people might want to visit. Includes background on the reasons for the danger (conflict) and the major "players" that make it so.  

How far is it? "Finds the latitude and longitude of two places, and then calculates the distance between them (as the crow flies). It also provides a map showing the two places."

U.S. Gazetteer Find geographic facts about places in the U.S.

States and Capitals A guide to the 50 states of the USA, with information about geographic location, area, capital city, colleges, universities and community colleges, constitution, economy, geology, newspapers, population, tourism and weather. Includes images of flags for each state as well as information on state bird, state motto, state song, and other state emblems.

Test your Geography Knowledge  Quizzes on continents, countries, states, and capital cities.

Education place from Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt:  Outline maps that may be copied for personal or classroom use.  

U.S. Geological Survey Geographical information for the United States is offered here. See and browse their new section: USGS Information by State for information on Earthquakes, Floods, Maps, Public Health, Volcanoes and other similar/related topics.

The World Gazetteer  Offers current population figures for cities, towns and places of all countries.

 

MUSEUMS

WWW Virtual Library Museums page
A worldwide guide to online museums.