Editorial Cartoon Handbook from http://jteacher.com/handouts.html

Just scroll down the handoutpage until you get to cartoons. Excellent teacher support for coaching students to both analyze professional editorial cartoons and produce their own editorial cartoons on any topic the teacher might assign. This is a 47 page document in PDF format read with Acrobat Reader. Although the handbook is set up with examples from The Oregonian, there is a valuable list of generic techniques that any editorial cartoonist uses such as irony, historical reference, symbolism, etc. Each of the more challenging techniques is thoroughly defined in a previous lesson also provided. A humor triangle on page 15 gives guidelines on selecting appropriate content for the target audience, clearly indicating when the offence hazard is high and only a narrow audience would be suitable. An assignment to assess a current editorial cartoon is on page 32 providing students with excellent prompt questions that promote analysis of both the content and the techniques used to make convey the cartoonist's opinion. A planning page for students to use in designing their own cartoon is on page 34, and it is followed with a student worksheet to critique their own work before submission. For easy reference through the document the second page has a Table of Contents. The document goes on to provide equally good student support for the writing of an editorial. [top]

A Hypertext on American History from the colonial period until Modern Times

The main body of this hypertext comes from a number of USIA-publications An Outline of American History, An Outline of the American Economy, An Outline of American Government, and An Outline of American Literature. The text of these Outlines has not been changed, but they have been enriched with hypertext-links to relevant documents, original essays, other Internet sites, and to other Outlines. A number of contributors have prepared additional texts and links for the project.[top]

National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

This site offers a sampler of Museum programs and activities and electronic access behind-the-scenes to Museum resources not on view in our exhibitions. Using the NMAH Web site, you can plan your own visit to the Museum and tailor it to your particular interests. [top]

The Internet African American History Challenge

The Internet African American History Challenge© is an interactive quiz that helps you sharpen your knowledge of African American History. It's an "open book" test. So if you're not sure of an answer, you can check our reference material for help. Level I is the easiest and has 7 questions while levels II & III have 10 questions each and are a bit more challenging.[top]

American Memory - Historical Collections for the National Digital Library

American Memory is a gateway to rich primary source materials relating to the history and culture of the United States. The site offers more than 7 million digital items from more than 100 historical collections[top]

An Outline of American History

A collection of factual content and knowledge from the U.S. Information Agency. Chapeters include information from Early America through to Approaching the 21st Century.[top]

Gateway to African-American History

This site has been established to assist an international audience in acquiring information on the rich and varied contributions of African-Americans to the culture and history of the United States and the world. Updated throughout the year, the Gateway includes documents, articles, Internet sites and other resources which honor and acknowledge the accomplishments of African-Americans. [top]

Basic Documents and Writings in American History

Information on historical overviews, Americana (symbols, flags, coins, etc.), and Famous American Speeches. A great resource for primary evidence.[top]

Women in American History

Information on this site is divided into four time periods (Early America, the Nineteenth Century, At the Crossroads and Modern America. There is a media gallery, a collection of links to other sites of interest on the web and a study guide.[top]

Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoon Index

This website is a treasure chest of contemporary editorial cartoons - 50,000 cartoons and the work of hundreds of contributing artists. There is a search engine allowing visitors to search by topical issues, and also by artists. The weekly tour of the best cartoons includes 19 top Canadian newspapers and cartoonists. This would be an ideal site to get examples to demonstrate cartooning techniques for students in preparation for Unit 1, Activity 2 in the profile. Of course, editorial cartoons are a great way to keep students interested in current events and this is dominantly from top American newspapers. Site also connects aspiring cartoonists with advice for beginners and career opportunities. Check the index in the search window on the left hand pane of the home page for a complete overview of what this site offers.[top]

This American site has very good information about integrating technology into the curriculum. Particularly under Tools there is a rubric maker called Rubistar that allows the user to select first the student activity such as collaborative work, poster, etc. and then offers a variety of possible categories to assess with solid descriptors for each. The site allows the user to then edit the prompts provided for each of the four levels of the category and allows professional printing of the final product. A fast way to create rubric. Some good ideas for rubric categories.[top]

This website set up by Mark Melynk is of interest for several reasons. If you are looking for a model of how to take a history course and put it on line this is an example. Melynk has sites for World History to 1600, 20th Century, World Religions, and Economics leading to useful information of interest to both other teachers and students. The link to Students Online Binder has teacher ready materials related to each of the courses including student handouts, rubrics, and assignment instructions. Online Resources has excellent links to topics specifically related both to the course and to the specific units studied as well as student reference material for getting materials ready to post to the web themselves. Student Work posts the best of the student websites that have been developed by his students on course topics.[top]

Objects of Memory - Considering How Single Objects Can Memorialize Important Historic Events

In this lesson, students consider the importance of individual artifacts in memorializing important historic events. Through creating their own memorials to significant events in American or global history, students learn how objects can be transformed into tools for preserving the memory of people, places and events.[top]

America and the Holocaust - Lessons to accompany the PBS video "America and the Holocaust"
Complex social and political factors shaped America's response to the Holocaust. It was not until 1944, that the small band of Treasury Department employees forced the government to respond.[top]

In this lesson, students will compare and contrast the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 to the Iraq Crisis of 2002, and then reflect on whether or not these events support the saying "history repeats itself."[top]

Protest Songs of the 1960s

The sixties were a time of unprecedented social unrest in the United States, and the youth of the time were not hesitant to express their opinions. We had signs and demonstrations for everything, from women's lib to civil rights, environmental issues, and of course the biggie was the Vietnam war. Links on side bar to much other 1060's music. All songs are full length and are in Real Audio format. Click on the red ball to load and play or on the "S" for streaming music.[top]

Striking a Deal - Learning the History of American Labor Strikes

In this lesson, students explore the economic repercussions of a potential Major League Baseball strike. Then, through researching other labor strikes in American history, students will consider the importance and impact of labor unions in United States history.

The African American Experience: A Research Quilt

This activity introduces students to the research process as they investigate the contributions of African American leaders of the 1900s. Each student constructs a quilt square highlighting the achievements of an individual. The class shares the finished quilt with the community.