A Live Virtual Field Trip to Ellis Island

Last week I received an email from Scholastic about a great virtual field trip opportunity. On March 29, 2012 Scholastic is hosting a live virtual field trip to Ellis Island. The field trip, for students in grades three and above, will be held at 1pm ET, 10am PT. The field trip will take the students on a tour of the island and the Ellis Island Museum. You can register for the event here.

Applications for Education
Scholastic has many good resources to help you prepare your students for the Virtual Field Trip to Ellis Island. The Stories of Immigration page includes the personal stories of children immigrating to the United States. On the same page you will also find this Interactive Tour of Ellis Island. For offline activities, Scholastic offers this activity and templates for graphing patterns of immigration.

On a related note, I recommend checking out the Interactive Virtual Tenement Museum.

Virtual Jamestown

Virtual Jamestown is a nice site for teachers of U.S. History who would like their students to explore some digital recreations of Jamestown. Virtual Jamestown features a mix of modern 3D tours (Unity browser plug-in required) and older static timelines, images, and articles. The video below provides a 3D fly-over of Jamestown Native American village (the video does not have sound).

Virtual Jamestown: The Paspahegh Site from Dane Webster on Vimeo.

Applications for Education
In addition to the 3D virtual tours, Virtual Jamestown provides teachers with ten inquiry-driven lesson plans about Jamestown.

The Cotton Gin Animated

It's difficult, if not impossible, to teach early U.S. History without discussing the impact of Eli Whitney's cotton gin on the production of cotton. Whenever I mentioned the cotton gin to my students for the first time they would ask what it looks like and how it works. I somewhat satisfied their curiosity by showing them pictures and video clips like this one. Now, thanks to Ken Halla and his US History Teachers Blog I have another resource to use. 

The Eli Whitney Museum website has an animated illustration of the cotton gin and how it functions. You still might have to explain some parts of the process and you will still have to explain to students why the cotton gin is significant in US History, but the illustration is still helpful.

Applications for Education
You might want to pair your use of the animated cotton gin with this primary source lesson plan from the National Archives. The lesson plan is built around the documents and drawing that Eli Whitney submitted with his patent application.

Custer's Last Stand - Video, Timeline, and Map

As some of you know, I don't have a television at home. Instead, my screen entertainment comes through whatever I find to stream online. This evening I was browsing the American Experience website when I found the full-length video of Custer's Last Stand. If you're a teacher of U.S. History, this is a resource that you should bookmark.

Watch Custer's Last Stand on PBS. See more from American Experience.

Applications for Education
In addition to the full-length video, American Experience offers a teacher's guide complete with twenty discussion questions and seven offline lesson plans. To accompany those lesson plans you will find a timeline of Custer's Black Hills Expedition and a Google Map about Custer's Black Hills Expedition.

Take an Interactive Journey Through U.S. History

Mission U.S. offers two interactive journeys through two important eras in U.S. History. The journeys are designed as role-playing games or missions. Both games can be played entirely online or downloaded for play on your PC or Mac (you do need an Internet connection to save a game in progress).

The first mission in Mission U.S. is set in Boston in 1770. Students play the role of 14 year old Nat Wheeler who, after the Boston Massacre, must choose to side with the Loyalists or the Patriots. A video introduction is embedded below.


The second mission in Mission U.S. is set in Kentucky and Ohio in 1850. Students take on the role of a fourteen year old slave named Lucy. In the mission students escape slavery in Kentucky and navigate to Ohio. A video trailer is embedded below.


Applications for Education
Playing Mission U.S. could be a good way for elementary school and middle school students to learn about two important eras in U.S. History. The Mission U.S. website offers an educators section that includes printable lists of vocabulary terms, writing prompts, and post-game discussion prompts.

A similar resource from PBS that you might be interested in exploring is Chronicles of the American Revolution.