All this from a Portrait?

This website takes the famous portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart and examines the symbolic, the biographic and the artistic elements in an interactive fashion that is fascinating. It is at once a historic and artistic study that will leave you in awe of the sheer mastery of this iconic symbol of our Founding Father. There is a strip under the portrait that acts as a magnifying window. Or you can click on various elements to enlarge and go to specific information.

Loads of Free History lessons and Resources

Free Activities and lesson plans abound at mrdonn dot org for Ancient, World and American histories. The worldview is secular evolutionary.There are presentations in power point format that are full of graphics, pictures, maps and even a little humor (for example, at the end of a Viking PP, there is a modern day photo of the football team). Here is an example of a map from that same PP.

There are many links to other resources. From the Vikings page, I was directed to the BBC page for Vikings which is also loaded with information. In addition, mrdonn pointed me to the Viking Quest game also on the BBC which was fantastic! Can't wait to show it to my young right brainer. I started playing and couldn't stop until I completed a game - interactive, informative and fun. Further down on the Viking page, I found a link that sent me back to BBC, this time to their Primary History and found another game more geared to the younger set - Thorkel and the Trading Voyage.

You really have to explore this website! I found so much on just a cursory trip around one page.

Early British Kingdoms

Looking for information on Early British Kingdoms from about 400 to 1000 AD? You will find a wealth of information at http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/. There are six main sections:

• Kingdoms
• Royalty
• Arthur
• Archaeology
• Saints
• Adversaries

Under Kingdoms, you will find Chronologies, Lists of various kinds (mostly kings) and some amazing Maps. Royalty hosts background information on assorted kings, queens, princesses and princes. The Arthur section needs a post all to itself, there is so much information there. Archaeology includes information on many historically signifcant site. For example, this page on South Cadbury Castle, one popular candidate for the location of Camelot, contains a photo and a map as well as interesting detaiils on the tradition, the dig and possible interpretations. Saints contains background on an exhaustive list of saints in the EBK. And Adversaries gives additional information on the Saxons.

Definitely a site to bookmark when you plan to cover this very interesting period of European history.

The Story of American Agriculture

In their own words, Growing a Nation...

tells the story of American agriculture and its influence on important events and issues in American history. Using techniques of digital story telling, the program brings the history of agriculture to life and shows learners that the history of America is much more than just wars battles. The program is filled with a wealth of original historical documents and media resources. A wide array of lesson plans and classroom activities makes the program especially useful as a curriculum resource for teachers.

You can download an entire program or launch it in Flash Player. The narrative of our agricultural heritage is bound up with all of our history. This literally starts at the beginning of our colonial period and goes right up to now. I have not previewed the whole program. The spots that I viewed were generally pro-agriculture. As someone who grew up doing 4-H and FFA, I can relate. It did appear that there were sections discussing ideas like sustainable agriculture in the modern section. As a concerned mom, I have become educated on the "other side" of food issues as an adult. I doubt this program will raise questions like those found in Food, Inc. It may be interesting to do both. I see both sides. I believe that in many ways, America has "fed the world." I am also aware that we have some serious challenges in our agricultural industry that need to find solutions.And I do think it is important for children to understand that food is not made at the grocery store!!

Test Your News IQ

 This is an interactive and updated quiz testing your current events knowledge. I tend to keep up in a general sense but obviously I could do better. From a few minutes ago:

Here's Your Score: You correctly answered 7 out of the 12 possible questions, which means you did better on the quiz than 66% of the general public.

The correct answer was my second choice on 3 of the ones that i got wrong.

This was posted on the Conservative High School to College list (for homeschoolers).

There is a lot of interesting current information on this website as well as other interactive quizzes. I did better on the science quiz, actually getting all the answers correct.

The Pew Research Center describes itself this way:

The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan "fact tank" that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It does not take positions on policy issues. 

Colonial Williamsburg

The Colonial Williamsburg website is a great source whether you are thinking about taking a trip or simply studying about that time period and area. For information and teaching resources, check the History tab under History and Education. There are biographies, essays and articles. You can read a historical newspaper called in the section Today in the1770's. Or check out the anatomy of a gown. And much more.

You will also want to check the Multimedia tab for lots of videos that take you to historic Williamsburg.

Another Give-away

Looking for Lapbook/Unit Studies in history? Hearts at Homes Discount Curriculum is giving away several items from the Time Travelers History Study series.Check out the instructions for entering at their Lapbook Lessons member blog. If you are reading this too late, you may still want to check out the series - looks interesting if you are into unit studies or lapbooking.

Free Lectures at The Teaching Company

The Teaching Company is one of our favorite sources for interesting history lectures. We have purchased courses and borrowed courses. We have taken advantage of their lifetime satisfaction guarantee. Here is an opportunity to hear a sample of two of their history professors.

http://www.teach12.com/ttcx/GreatLeaderslecture.aspx?ai

There are two choices, Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill. Use them as stand alone supplements or to get a sense of what the lecturer is like before investing in a whole course.