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INNOVATIVE
TEACHING
presented by
Walter McKenzie - Creative Classroom Consulting
http://www.interserf.net/mcken/consult.htm
Innovative staff development:
Technology Applications, Multiple Intelligences,
Curriculum Integration and Creative Education.
Let's see what we can do for your staff!
March 19, 1999
As a facet of Social Studies, Civics has taken a back seat to History,
Geography and Collaborative Projects on the WWW thus far. But there are
some excellent resources out there for those of us teaching government
and citizenship as part of the Social Studies curriculum. Consider these
offerings as you continue your good work in the classroom!
American Justice Files -
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/1617/
Looks at the judicial branch of our system, with coverage of Historical
Documents, State Constitutions, State Law
Libraries, U.S Law, Federal Regulations, American Government & Legal
Research and the Law Enforcement
Bulletin - defenitely for an older audience
The American Promise -
http://www.pbs.org/kqed/ap/
PBS site celebrating Americans who are improving society by working
through the democratic system; QuickTime
movies, a community action guide and excerpts from a viewer's companion
make this site inspiring in its view of
volunteerism and citizenship
Avalon Project -
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/avalon.htm
From the Yale Law School, online access to documents "in law, history
and government" from the Athenian
Constitution through the Magna Carta and the original state charters of
our nation right up to the present
Capitol Watch -
http://www.capitolwatch.com/
Today's report on Congress, national and international news items, your
representatives' votes, stories,
transcripts and a FREE Subscription - the next best thing to being there
Cast Your Vote -
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/statistics/
Interactive survey and statistics exhibit on the voting process in the
United States with a wonderful look inside the
process of polling and its imapct on the electoral process - presented
by a first rate organization!
Cow Civics -
http://www.esotericworldnews.com/cow.htm
OK, so this one isn't for the students - have yourself a smile!
Dumb Laws -
http://www.dumblaws.com/
If you can get past the title, this is a nice approach to government
regulation and its effects on everyday life - fun
too! Offers lots of approaches to critical thinking and intelligent
citizenship: exactly where is the line drawn
between responsible legislation and the kind of lawmaking that deserves
to be questioned?
Electoral College Calculator -
http://www.bga.com/~jnhtx/ec/ec.html
Select a state name by clicking it on the map, then press the radio
button corresponding to the winning party; the
calculator displays running totals and votes needed to win
Government Links -
http://government.thelinks.com/
Links to online sites for state, federal and world government offices -
very complete
Great American Web Site -
http://www.uncle-sam.com/
Billed as "the Citizen's Guide to U.S. Government Resources on the World
Wide Web", access to every
government branch and all independent government agencies - WOW!
The Inaugural Classroom -
http://www.pbs.org/inaugural97/letter.html
Categorized lesson plans covering both the electoral process and the
history of inaugurations - excellent material
which does an admirable job of staying politically neutral; hey, it's
only eighteen months away from national
elections!
Liberty and Limits -
http://www0.pbs.org/wnet/federalist/papers.html
Another PBS production covering the Federalist papers and the delicate
balance between the rights of the
individual and the rights of the state
Livelyhood -
http://www.pbs.org/livelyhood/
PBS production which presents Americans revitalizing their communities
through the common everyday jobs we
perform; lots of resources to supplement the T.V. presentations covering
dozens of inspirational examples of
citizens making an appreciable difference in the quality of community
life - wonderful stuff!
Making the Constitution -
http://www.bonus.com/bonus/card/Continental.html?referrer=ED4
Safe within the controlled environment of BONUS.COM, using Library of
Congress documents students re-live
the signing at the Constitutional Convention - superb
National Standards for Civics and Government -
http://www.civiced.org/stds.html
By the Center for Civics Education, a complete set of standards for
every level of education
The New Urban Renewal -
http://www.pbs.org/newurban/
Documents grass-roots efforts to transform neighborhoods in the 90's in
Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los
Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Newark, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis and
Washington DC; the PBS Take the
Challenge resources are especially invaluable for teachers wanting to
extend this beyond the classroom
PBS News and Views -
http://www.pbs.org/newsandviews/
Combines civics and current events to present stimulating topics for
secondary school classrooms; taps into all of
PBS's news resources to present a high caliber spring board for dozens
of quality class discussions and activities -
not to be missed!
PBS Social Studies Resources -
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/social/index.html
Wonderful conduit for everything on the air and online from PBS in the
Social Studies; if you're interested in tying
in a variety of media to make your civics current and vibrant, you must
see this site
Peace Corps Kids World -
http://www.peacecorps.gov/kids/
Elementary-level orientation to the altruistic organization, with lots
of information and facts and data specifically
for children researching the Peace Corps; don't miss the Pack Your Bags
game, downloadable and
Shockwave-based and worth the time!
Politicians of the World -
http://www.trytel.com/~aberdeen/
Mailing addresses for almost every nation's leaders and provincial
governors; phone, fax, e-mail and website
addresses are being added
Polling Report -
http://www.pollingreport.com/
Non-partisan breakdown of current polling statistics in the context of
contemporary political happenings -
wonderful
State and Local Governments -
http://lcweb.loc.gov/global/state/stategov.html
Maps and information on everything from state houses to municipalities
for all 50 (count 'em) yes 50 states!
The Thirty Second Candidate -
http://www.pbs.org/30secondcandidate/
An offshoot of the PBS Democracy project, this site looks at political
advertising in the U.S.
U.S. Congressional Fax Service -
http://www.uscongress-fax.com/
Your students' letters can be faxed within a day to every member of
Congress or just those you select for less
than the cost of a postage stamp
Voting and Registration Data -
http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/voting.html
A U.S. Census Bureau site, you can access all demographic and
socioeconomic data concerning national elections
from 1964 to the present
White House Project -
http://www.thewhitehouseproject.org/index2.html
Designed to promote women successfully running for elected offices in
the United States including the Presidency
- what a great month to feature this site!
Next week's topic: "I.T. Update"
Please send in URL's of high quality sites which may be
of interest to our readers to
mrmck@...!
Also, I'm always looking for new topic ideas and input!
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-©1999 Walter McKenzie
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