Social Studies Links
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American Indian Studies Program
The American Indian Studies Program at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction exists primarily to assist with the implementation of the curricular requirements in the areas of American Indian history, culture, and tribal sovereignty.
The Census in Schools program promotes data literacy and increases awareness of Census Bureau products and activities by providing educators with teaching tools, resource materials, workshops, and other professional development opportunities.
Here you will find hundreds of high-quality lesson plans, classroom activities, and more, all provided by leading professional education organizations, and all aligned to Wisconsin's model academic standards. These resources were made possible by the support of the MarcoPolo Education Foundation and the Educational Communications Board ITV.
The National Council on Economic Education source of classroom tested, Internet-based economic lesson materials for K-12 teachers and their students.
This web site promotes justice and environmental sustainability for coffee farming communities everywhere. It is sponsored by Co-op America, a membership organization of consumers, investors, businesses, and communities that work together to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable economy.
The web site provides background information on the Free the Children organization, founded by Craig Kielburger and his friends in Canada when 12-year-old Craig became aware of the problems of child labor. The organization is dedicated to ending poverty, exploitation, and abuse among children and offering children a voice in solving these problems. The web site offers actions children and youth can take to inform others about children’s rights issues and specific projects children and youth can become involved in to address the problems of child labor and child poverty in different parts of the world.
International Education and Resource Network
This site offers projects that teachers and students can tackle with the interaction of other classrooms around the world.
KidsEcon Books© is the sister website of KidsEcon Posters©, a curriculum project of the Indiana Council for Economic Education (ICEE) based at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. At KidsEcon Books©, you will find popular books illustrating the economic concepts presented by KidsEcon Posters©. These books may be purchasd at highly competitive discounts (generally 35% off the retail price). ICEE Educators have prepared a Lesson for each book consisting primarily of questions relevant to the economic concepts covered in that book. These Lessons will help prepare teachers to talk about the various economic concepts covered in the book or books they choose to use in their classrooms. Each Lesson can be printed directly from the website for use in the classroom.
The PBS Kids Democracy Project site can be a useful, fun addition to your classroom during the election year and beyond. The activities and lesson plans you see on the site have been designed with the following goals in mind: (1) introducing the structure and duties of local, state and federal government; (2) understanding how government affects our everyday lives, through laws, institutions and services provided in the community; (3) identifying the duties of the U.S. president and thinking critically about the skills necessary to be a good president; and (4) understanding the history of voting rights in America, and articulating how voting and other forms of civic involvement are essential to a healthy democracy. The online activities are designed for students in grades three to six, with accompanying lesson plans for language arts (LA), social studies (SS), and math (M) teachers.
Our agenda is simple. The contributors and I offer you the history, culture, preservation efforts, and current events of African-Americans, other ethnic, non-ethnic groups and individuals. We focus on and emphasize their sacrifices, relationships, interactions, patriotism as well as their contributions to the growth and development of this great nation.
National Geographic: Education
This web site is offers teachers lesson plans, online adventures, maps and geography, and educational materials for use in the classroom.
The National Labor Committee (NLC) is a human rights advocacy group, dedicated to promoting and defending the rights of workers. Through establishing long standing working relationships with non-governmental, human rights, labor and religious organizations, primarily in Latin America, the NLC puts a human face on the global economy. The NLC educates and actively involves the public in actions aimed at ending labor abuses, improving living conditions for workers and their families and promoting the concept of a living wage and true independent monitoring.
Oshkosh Area School District Social Studies Benchmarks
You can view OASD Standards and Benchmarks by grade for elementary, by subject for all grades, or by content area/course benchmarks for high school.
Oyate is a Native organization working to see that lives and histories are portrayed honestly. Its work includes evaluation of texts, resource materials and fiction by and about Native peoples; conducting of teacher workshops, in which participants learn to evaluate children's material for anti-Indian biases; administration of a small resource center and library; and distribution of children's, young adult, and teacher books and materials, with an emphasis on writing and illustration by Native people.
Parenting in a Commercial Culture
Here you can find information and statistics about the harmful effects of excessive commercialism on kids and families, and positive tips and actions to help parents raise healthy children in this highly commercial culture. These ideas are part of the web site of the Center for a New American Dream, an organization dedicated to helping Americans consume responsibly to protect the environment, enhance quality of life and promote social justice.
At this web site you can discover the good, the bad and the ugly behind the products you buy everyday — from clothing to shoes to toothpaste. It is sponsored by Co-op America, a membership organization of consumers, investors, businesses, and communities that work together to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable economy.
Rugmark is the global nonprofit organization working to end child labor and offer opportunities to children in India, Nepal, and Pakistan. It does this through loom and factory monitoring, consumer labeling, and running schools for former child workers. Rugmark recruits carpet producers and importers to make and sell carpets that are free of child labor. By agreeing to adhere to Rugmark’s strict no child labor guidelines, and by permitting random inspections of carpet looms, manufacturers receive the right to put the Rugmark label on their carpets. The Rugmark label provides the best possible assurance that a carpet is not produced by children. The label also verifies that a portion of the carpet price is contributed to the rehabilitation and education of former child weavers.
Social Studies Sources (Indiana University)
This site is for K - 12 social studies teachers and students. It has information and topics useful to preservice social studies instructors and students. It also has links to other sites in such areas as history, geography, culture, news sources, global and international studies, cultural diversity, and more.
Social Studies Sources (Madison, WI Public Schools)
Madison, WI School District site containing lists of web sites on different social studies topics. Sites are inclusive of racial, cultural, and gender diversity.
This site is primarily a teacher resource, designed to help teachers teach about tolerance.
Voices of Youth has been developed as part of UNICEF's 50th Anniversary celebration. Through Voices of Youth, you can take part in an electronic discussion about the future as we face the 21st century. UNICEF invites you to discuss how this world can become a place where the rights of every child are protected, that is, the right to live in peace, to have decent shelter, to be healthy and well-nourished, to have clean water, to play, to go to school, and to be protected from violence, abuse and exploitation.
UW Oshkosh EMC Social Studies Lesson Plans
The library staff at UW Oshkosh maintains this list of links to over 15 sites.
The lesson plans on this site were written by educators and have been tested in the classroom. Together, they address all of the U.S. National Geography Standards, the five geography skills, and the main geographic perspectives.
Serving a variety of needs, the plans include a wide range of teaching strategies. The assessment component of each lesson focuses on the knowledge and skills that students will use to answer a guiding geographic question as they address real-world issues.
Zillions Online's purpose is to help kids make informed and independent consumer decisions, and to develop consumer literacy that will serve them and society throughout their lives. It aims to help young people question and evaluate products and services; build financial literacy and manage their resources with knowledge and forethought; think critically about advertising and other media messages; grasp broader family and community values inherent in consumerism; and define themselves in terms of who they are, not what they own. Zillions is published by Consumers Union, which also publishes Consumer Reports.