Social Studies/History - Online Activities/Games

America on the Move
http://www.americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/
This rich, varied site explores the role of transportation in America's history, thereby fulfilling many state standards on the importance of transportation in the building of America. Themes include Arts and Leisure, Immigration and Migration, Work and Industry, and other subjects connected to transportation in America. There are historical photos, tours through exhibits, a section on games for children, and a teachers' resource center. The Smithsonian has included an interactive activity in which students choose a transportation type, a particular vehicle, a purpose, an era in U.S. history, and a region and can then see stories and pictures of artifacts.

BBC Online: History for Kids
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/forkids/
BBC proves history can be fun with this site, which is designed for children of all ages but is well done enough to keep most adults interested as well. For the kids, there are games and quizzes to keep things lively. Visitors may search for historical information by time, place, event, or person.

Big Picture
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/features/puzzle/puzintro.html
On this site you will find twelve puzzle sets. Each set challenges you with four or five jigsaw puzzles made from images found in the American Memory collections. As each puzzle in the set is completed, a new puzzle will appear...until you have completed all of the puzzles in that set. You will then have a chance to use what you have learned to discover the Big Picture...the theme the images in the set have in common. Choose a puzzle set and get started!

Clocks...Teaching Time
http://www.fi.edu/qa00/attic3/index.html
Includes interactive activities having to do with clocks and time.

Discovering Lewis and Clark
http://www.lewis-clark.org/
This site looks at three different aspects of their journey: The Preparation, Exploration, and The Return Trip. The Preparation—Learn all about the Presidential Mission that they were given, which President gave it to them, and learn all about their preparation for this journey. Exploration—This is where you can follow their journey step by step. And in the meantime learn all about the trek across America from location to location. The Return Trip—While this section is not as varied as the Exploration section you will finish the journey back where they began. Learn about the people and places that were a part of their trip home.

dMarie Time Capsule
http://dmarie.com/timecap/ 
A simple tool to help locate news headlines based on the date you enter. Quick Page will automatically generate a Time Capsule page for you. Advanced Page will lead you through a "wizard" that allows you to select specific headlines, birthdays, songs, TV shows, toys, and books for your selected date. You can edit the information, or even add your own information to the final page! When you're through, you'll be presented with your own customized page that includes all the information you've chosen, plus typical consumer prices from that year, Academy Award winners that year, etc. Currently has data for the years 1800 through 2002.

Freedom: A History of US
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus/
Based on Joy Hakim's critically acclaimed book this PBS television series come with a remarkable web site to study American history. The site follows the series sequence and is divided into "Webisodes". What makes this site a "must" is the age level it addresses is the middle school to high school population. Here is history that's understandable while maintaining integrity by avoiding oversimplification. Webisodes are further broken down into segments following historical events. There's a link to the Teachers Guide originally developed by Johns Hopkins University with lesson plans created for the book before the existence of the television series. Includes interactive games.

History Detectives (PBS)
http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/  
History Detectives is devoted to solving historical mysteries, searching out the true facts (and falsehoods) behind local folklore, family legends and interesting objects. Using traditional investigative techniques, modern technologies, and plenty of legwork, the History Detectives team of experts discovers that artifacts, buildings and stories can give us new (and sometimes shocking) insights into our national history. The History Detectives site includes highlights from the televised investigations. This year it will also feature one story per week in detail as a Case File. Visitors can study the techniques used by professional investigators; learn how to conduct their own historical investigation; or get to know the History Detectives' team of experts. The site also provides a number of interactive features and learning activities. Classroom Resources include lesson plans and other tools to reinforce concepts from the programs, and develop student interest in the study of history, science, and other core subjects.

Iditarod 2001
http://www.iditarod.com/
History, trivia and much more are all part of this site about the famous Iditarod race in Alaska. The Student's Playground section has information on the mushers, the people part of the race, games and more.

Irish Potato Famine
http://www.irishpotatofamine.org/
Here you can take an interactive tour of a village during the Irish Potato Famine. This is an entertaining, informative way to learn about life at this time.

My Chicago (Chicago Historical Society)
http://www.chicagohistory.org/mychicago/index.html  
Discover Chicago and connect the city's past to life today. My Chicago is designed for children ages 6-12, and uses the symbols and design of the Chicago flag to explore the city's rich and diverse history. My Chicago illustrates the themes of Chicago's past and present by drawing on the collections of the Chicago Historical Society, including a variety of photographs, documents, and images of artifacts. "Downloads" portion of this site includes ten lessons for use in the classroom. "Games" portion of the site provides online activities that further explore My Chicago's themes.

Time Lord
http://timelord.waidev5.com/
Time Lord is an interactive game that tests your knowledge of many areas of history. Through video and audio clips and questions, you can make your way across the virtual board to win. The questions cover the following areas: Exploration, Military and War, Mysteries of History, Political and Historical Figures, Science and Technology, Society and Culture, U.S. History, and World History. You can play as a single player without registering.

Tower of London Kids Tour
http://www.toweroflondontour.com/kids/index.html
Reginald Raven will take your students on a visit with William the Conqueror, King Richard I, King Henry VIII, Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth I. They will learn about the construction and history of the Tower of London.

Turn of the Century Child
http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/projects/20c/turn.html
Students will love looking through these old photos, dating from around the turn of the century, of children from diverse backgrounds. And teachers will find this an excellent resource to use when teaching to the standards involving historical research and inquiry.Taking on the role of historian, your students will be asked to sift through artifacts to build an understanding of the past through observations and clues. The author has provided three sets of photos that take students on a learning journey. Questions from the first group of pictures ask them to examine the photo objectively, noting forms and structures. The second set of questions deal with making deductions out of clues and set the stage for further investigation. Finally, students are asked to track these photographic artifacts using a cataloging record. There's a link to the NARA (National Archives and Records Administration) site. A further activity prompts students to create a scrapbook of an imagined child born in 1900. There's a Teacher's Guide that provides lesson plans and Web sites for students to use in their research.

World Conflict Map
http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/peace/conflictmap/
The Nobel Peace Prize organization has provided an interactive map that shows conflict areas in the world from 1900 to 2001. A description pops up when a specified conflict area and time frame are chosen. This activity map will be very intriguing to students and will definitely prompt their study of conflict and conflict resolution.