Social Studies/Government Information Sites

American Currency Exhibit
http://www.frbsf.org/currency/
Money hasn't always looked like it does today. Explore the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's American Currency Exhibit online and watch history come alive as you step back in time to our nation's beginning. Learn how the United States’ rich history is closely tied with our currency.

A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans and the U.S. Constitution
http://americanhistory.si.edu/perfectunion/experience/index.html
How does a government balance human rights with a need for national security? This question is explored in an online exhibit from the Smithsonian. Immigration, Removal, Internment, Loyalty, Service and Justice are the areas available for viewing, with a special area for reflection by visitors. Classroom Activities are found under the Resources link at the bottom of the page.

Armed Forces Day
http://www.defenselink.mil/afd/
Armed Forces Day is celebrated annually on the third Saturday of May. This year it will be May 18. At this site, maintained by the U.S. Department of Defense, you can read the history of Armed Forces Day. The observance began in 1949 as a one-day celebration unifying each military branch's own celebration and remembrance day.

Bureau of Labor Statistics (U.S.)
http://stats.bls.gov/home.htm 
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is the principal fact-finding agency for the Federal Government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics. The BLS is an independent national statistical agency that collects, processes, analyzes, and disseminates essential statistical data to the American public, the U.S. Congress, other Federal agencies, State and local governments, business, and labor. The BLS also serves as a statistical resource to the Department of Labor. Numerous methods for locating data including a search by Topic, by Audience, by Top 20 Requested Items, by Form, by Organization, by Location, and keyword.

Career Voyages (Dept. of Labor)
http://www.careervoyages.gov 
Current and updated lists of careers and "hot" occupations reported by states. The site lists the fastest growing occupations by state, the educational requirements for the occupations, and salary ranges. The site is maintained by the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Education and geared towards students, parents, counselors, and adults considering career change.

College.gov
http://www.college.gov/
The U.S. Department of Education recently launched a new Web site that is intended to be the go-to source for information and resources to help students and their families plan, prepare, and pay for college. The site gives reasons why students should go to college, explains the necessary steps to be accepted and enroll at a two- or four-year institution, gives financial aid advice, and has sections devoted to parents/family and teachers/counselors. It also features inspirational stories of students who are already attending college.

CongressLink
http://www.congresslink.org/ 
CongressLink provides information about the U.S. Congress -- how it works, its members and leaders, and the public policies it produces. The site also hosts lesson plans and reference and historical materials related to congressional topics. CongressLink is divided into three major sections: Information Center (daily-updated guide to Congress); Features (historical info, basic congressional processes); and Classroom Resources (lesson plans, online historical materials, information to assist teachers, annotated links).The Dirksen Congressional Center, a non-profit, nonpartisan research and educational organization, designed the site as a service for teachers.

Constitution of the United States
http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/constitution.html
This NARA (National Archives and Records Administration) site explores the history and impact of the Constitution of the United States, ratified more than 200 years ago and still the basic law by which we live. Content includes high-resolution pictures of the actual document, a section on Amendnments 1-10 (which we know as The Bill of Rights), and a section exploring all the other amendments. There is also a Q&A section presenting dozens of fascinating facts about the Constitution, plus information about "The Framers," the men who created this document.

Core Documents of U.S. Democracy
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/coredocs.html  
"Direct online access to the basic Federal Government documents that define our democratic society, a core group of current and historical Government publications is being made available for free, permanent, public access via GPO Access."

Department of the Treasury For Kids
http://www.ustreas.gov/kids/
This is the Treasury Department's website for students. Kids can learn about money, saving, and investing, the history of the Treasury, and find out about tours of the Treasury building all in one place.

Doing What Works
http://dww.ed.gov/
The U.S. Department of Education has launched a new Web site aimed at giving educators advice about effective teaching practices and examples of ways to implement these practices to improve student achievement. Called “Doing What Works,” the new site offers a user-friendly interface to help users quickly locate teaching practices that have been found effective by the department’s research arm, the Institute of Education Sciences, and similar organizations.

EASE History (Michigan State University)
http://www.easehistory.org/index2.html   
EASE (Experience Acceleration Supportive Environment) History Campaign Ads is an interactive learning environment where presidential campaign ads are entry points to learn about campaign issues and their historical context, as well as the persuasive techniques and strategies that are part of political campaigns. More generally, the environment can be used to learn about history, from a beginner or a more advanced perspective, using video clips of historical events. The Learning Guide contains ideas and suggestions for classroom activities. Features over 160 campaign ads covering 1952 to 2004.

Energy Kid's Page
http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/
EIA's Kids Page invites kids on a fun-filled tour of the various kinds, sources, and uses of energy. Students can take a quick energy quiz, read fun facts, or visit five energy producing facilities.

Federal Reserve Education
http://www.federalreserveeducation.org/FRED/
"The Federal Reserve System is committed to economic and personal financial education. Here you can find links to instructional materials and tools that can increase your understanding of the Federal Reserve, economics and financial education."

FedWorld
http://www.fedworld.gov/
FedWorld offers a comprehensive central access point for searching, locating, ordering and acquiring government and business information. It has search features for Government Databases, FedWorld information Web Pages, Government Reports, and a link to Government Web Sites. FedWorld makes information accessible through an electronic gateway of more than 100 Government bulletin boards.

Firstgov for Kids
http://www.kids.gov/
Welcome to the U.S. government interagency Kids' Portal. It provides links to Federal kids' sites along with some of the best kids' sites from other organizations all grouped by subject. Look for state report information as well as music and transportation.

Future State
http://www.future.state.gov/
Future State is the U.S. State Department's Website for youth. It offers lesson plans and information about international issues. Meet the Secretary of State, News and Events, Fun Activities, Parents and Educators, and My Future with The State Department are among the features of the site.

Internet's Best Government Information Site!
http://www.govspot.com

Kids' Pages
http://www.uspto.gov/go/kids/
This site from the U.S. Patent and Trademark office invites kids to learn about inventors and intellectual property - patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. Kids can take a patent trivia quiz, read fun facts, and learn how to apply for a patent for their own inventions.

Kofi Annan, Center of the Storm
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/un/
The companion piece to the PBS documentary on Kofi Annan, this site is also an excellent source of on-line information about the Secretary General of the United Nations and about the U.N. itself. Find a Life Map of Annan, information on his quest for peace, and classroom activities on the work of the United Nations.

Living Room Candidate (American Museum of the Moving Image)
http://livingroomcandidate.movingimage.us/index.php  
The Living Room Candidate: Presidential Campaign Commercials 1952-2004 is an innovative online exhibition presenting more than 250 television commercials from every election year beginning in 1952, when the first campaign ads aired, and including ads from this year's campaign. Users can watch nearly four hours of TV commercials and explore the expanding world of Web-based political advertising. The site includes a searchable database and features commentary, historical background, election results, and navigation organized by both year and theme. Each commercial selected is accompanied by a list of related commercials in order to help guide the viewer through the collection.

Model UN Headquarters
http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/modelun/index.asp
This site provides ways to model the UN in your own school. The first section on "Getting Started" includes how to start a MUN club and select a country to represent. The next section provides an overview consisting of tips for gathering information and developing Model UN skills. Research help for specific topics is given in a question and answer format. Students can also contact experts on the United Nations. Each expert has a page explaining their particular expertise and "Words of Wisdom" to students. The site has a new monthly feature called "Ask an Ambassador" where students can submit questions about that particular ambassador's country. Links to other resources on UN basics and global issues are included.

MuniSource
http://www.munisource.org/

National Archives
http://www.archives.gov/
Visit the National Archives online. Find out what the National Archives is, and read tips on how to access documents and materials. Use the Subject Index to see what is available. There is a wealth of information here.

National Interagency Fire Center
http://www.nifc.gov/
The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho is the nation’s support center for wildland firefighting. Seven federal agencies call NIFC home and work together to coordinate and support wildland fire and disaster operations. These agencies include the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, National Weather Service, and Office of Aircraft Services.

National Security Archive
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/index.html
Declassified U.S. Government documents are available from George Washington University. Some of these primary sources include "The Real Thirteen Days" (Cuban Missile Crisis), "Fujimori's Rasputin" (background documents that explain Peru's sudden shift in leadership), and the "U.S. and Chinese Nuclear Programs (1960-1964)." Many documents have blacked out areas that contain information that still might threaten national security.

Official U.S. Time
http://www.time.gov/
Do you need to know the official U.S. time to the second? Go to this site and click on the correct time zone. You will find a ticking digital clock with the official time provided by the two time agencies of United States: a Department of Commerce agency, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and its military counterpart, the U. S. Naval Observatory (USNO). There is also a link called Time Exhibits that will lead you to interesting sites concerning time.

Peace Corps World Wise Schools
http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/
This wonderful addition to the Peace Corps site offers many resources for educators and students. Connect with a volunteer, find lesson plans relating to different countries, view video clips of Peace Corps educational videos, and read folk tales recorded by Peace Corps volunteers.

Present at the Creation
http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/spin/index.html
When politics are concerned teaching students the difference between lies, the truth, and spin is not an easy task. The National Public Radio's exploration of American cultural icons focuses on the evolution of "spin," the "deliberate shading of news perception; attempted control of political reaction" that became a part of our vocabulary during the Reagan vs. Mondale election of 1984.

Project Vote Smart
http://www.vote-smart.org/index.htm  
Project Vote Smart (PVS) contains information on thousands of candidates and officials in five basic categories: backgrounds, issue positions, voting records, campaign finances and performance evaluations. PVS alsom maintains CongressTrack, which monitors the status of major federal legislation and a calendar for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. But wait, there's more: voter registration forms for each state; contact information for state and county election offices; polling place and absentee ballot information; ballot measure descriptions for each state (where applicable); and links to federal and state government agencies, political parties and organizations. Forty national leaders, including former presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, formed Project Vote Smart (PVS) in 1992.

StudentJobs.Gov
http://www.studentjobs.gov/
"Studentjobs.gov is the one-stop portal for a range of employment opportunities for students within the Federal Government, whether in high school, college, or graduate school."

Supreme Court of the United States
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/

Tax Information for Individuals
http://www.irs.gov/individuals/index.html
The IRS wants to help you. Seriously! With a conversational tone on a user-friendly page, the IRS answers many of the questions an individual would have when filing income tax returns for the first time. Many features are helpful even to experienced taxpayers, such asl: a withholding calculator, a section on what's new for this tax season, tax tips, tax relief in disaster situations, understanding identity theft, and much more.

United Nations Cyberschoolbus
http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/
This site contains resources and curriculum surrounding global issues and the work of the United Nations.

United States Copyright Office: The Library of Congress
http://www.copyright.gov/
Here you will find key publications, including informational circulars; application forms for copyright registration; links to copyright law and to the homepages of other copyright-related organizations; news of what the Office is doing, including Congressional testimony and press releases; latest regulations; a link to online copyright records cataloged since 1978; and much more.

U.S. Supreme Court: Major Decisions (2007-08 Term)
http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/wdc/scotus0708/
The Associated Press takes a look at the major decisions made by the U.S. Supreme Court during the 2007-08 term. Detailed interactive provides information about the court's rulings on a range of issues, including the detention of terror suspects at Guantanamo, presidental power, lethal injection, and the composition of juries in capital cases. Also provides biographical profiles of the members of the court.

VA Kids
http://www.va.gov/kids/
VA Kids offers information about America's veterans, the U.S. flag, the history of veterans day, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. It includes a resource guide for teachers, as well as classroom projects and activities for Veterans Day. (From the Department of Veterans Affairs)

Westward Journey Nickel Series
http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/index.cfm?flash=yes&action=nickel_series
Lewis and Clark presented Peace Medals from the President of the United States to the various Indian tribes they met on their journey West. The United States Mint will modify the five-cent coin to represent these historic events. At this site students will find the two new engravings, the Peace Medal and the Keelboat, to be used on the coin. "New Nickel Lessons" reinforces the connection between history and the coins we have in our pockets. With a few clicks, all the wonderful colorful resources of the U.S. Mint "h.i.p. pocket change" section can be had for K - 6 students. The Teacher Feature entitled "Coins of the World" allows elementary students to travel through France to explore their history, culture, and currency. This activity plan reflects national standards in the Language Arts, Social Studies and Technology areas.

White House
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
The president and First Lady Laura Bush recently showed off the newly redone whitehouse.gov to reporters in the stately presidential library in the White House complex. New features include photo essays that showcase some of the best work of the official White House photographers, better access for the disabled and a kid's area where younger visitors can meet the First Pets.

World Flag Database
http://www.flags.net/ 
This is a very large flag database alphabetized for easy browsing. The flags are full color, and you get several. If you pull up the United States in the U section, you will see our stars and stripes and then you can browse by state. You can also drop into the "Flags from History" section where you'll find flags from WWII and Viet Nam. There is also the "What’s New" section, which gives you updates and let you know when maps are updated.

ZIPskinny
http://zipskinny.com/
Enter your ZIP code to see U.S. Census data and comparisons with neighboring ZIP codes. "The site provides an interesting 'first glance' at a ZIP Code area, but it should only be seen as that - a first glance. It is not a substitute for more thorough research done on the actual Census site."