| Curriculum Adventures |
Link directly from this page to all sites in Critical Thinking Internet Activities: United States History.
(updated September 2, 2004)
*indicates a site that has changed since the original publication of this book
Activities: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Activity 1: Geography and History
*The World Biome Map is no longer available. Instead, go to http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/temp/index.htm and read about the temperate deciduous forest. This is the landscape the first European settlers would have seen. Write two to three sentences describing this landscape.
John Donohue’s National Park Photos: Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area: http://www.serve.com/wizjd/parks/delaware/delaware.html
Hunter Museum: Thomas Cole (1848): http://www.huntermuseum.org/thomascole.htm
T. Chambers: Hudson Highlands (1840): http://www.dfl.highlands.com/DFL_Painters/950.html
Activity 2: A Letter from Jamestown
Jamestown Rediscovery Exhibits: http://www.apva.org/exhibit/index.html
Jamestown Rediscovery: http://www.apva.org
What Did the Colonists Eat? http://www.apva.org/exhibit/eats.html
Jamestown Colony Timeline (made by 4th graders): http://look.net/gunstonelem/GunstonElemF/Jamestown.html
*Virtual Jamestown - Censuses: http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/vcdh/jamestown/census_main.html
*Virtual Jamestown: http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/vcdh/jamestown/page2.html
Activity 3: The First Thanksgiving
"A Letter Sent from New England to a friend in these parts…": http://members.aol.com/calebj/mourt6.html
*The following pages are currently unavailable. We're trying to find out if they'll be back, and we'll let you know when and if you can link to them again:
The American Thanksgiving Tradition: http://www.plimoth.org/Library/Thanksgiving/thanksgi.htm
The "First Thanksgiving": Facts and Fancies: http://www.plimoth.org/Library/Thanksgiving/firstT.htm
A "First Thanksgiving" Dinner for Today: http://www.plimoth.org/Library/Thanksgiving/afirst.htm
Common Mayflower Myths: http://members.aol.com/calebj/FAQ_history.html
*The Myths About the Pilgrims page (http://www.plimoth.org/Library/pilmyth.htm) is currently unavailable. We're trying to find out if it will be back, and we'll let you know when and if you can link to it again.
The Native Americans: http://members.aol.com/calebj/indians.html
*The Wampanoag People (http://www.plimoth.org/learn/history/wampanoag/wampanoag.asp) is currently unavailable. We're trying to find out if it will be back, and we'll let you know when and if you can link to it again.
Activity 4: Traveling the Revolutionary Battlefields
The History Place: Timeline of the Revolution: http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/revwar-75.htm
Activity 5: Your Bill of Rights
Bill of Rights: http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1776-1800/constitution/amends.htm
CNN Online: http://www.cnn.com
Time Magazine: http://www.time.com
Scholastic News: http://www.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/index.htm
*Your local newspaper (see if it's listed here): http://www.yahooligans.com/Arts_and_Entertainment/News/Newspapers
Activity 6: Who Becomes President?
Grolier Online: The American Presidents: http://gi.grolier.com/presidents/ea/prescont.html
*The Presidents of the United States of America: http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents
POTUS (Presidents of the United States): http://www.ipl.org/ref/POTUS
Activity 7: The Trail of Tears
*The Eastern Woodland Indians site is no longer available. Instead, read about the Trail of Tears at http://www.mce.k12tn.net/nation_grows/lesson_12.htm and just answer question a) on your worksheet.
*The Trail of Tears: A Brief History: http://www.neosoft.com/powersource/cherokee/history.html
*Samuel’s Memory: http://cherokeehistory.com/samuel.html
Letter from Jenny: http://rosecity.net/tears/trail/jenny.html
The Trail of Tears in the Southeast Missouri Region: http://rosecity.net/tears/trail/home.html
The Cherokee Trail of Tears Timeline: http://rosecity.net/tears/trail/timeline.html
Map of the Trail of Tears: http://rosecity.net/tears/trail/map.html
Activity 8: The California Gold Rush: Should You Go?
PBS The West: http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest
*For the Library of Congress "California As I Saw It," go to http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cbhtml/calbkbibTitles01.html#bottom and find "A letter from a gold miner, Placerville, California, October, 1850."
Activity 9: Abolitionist Speech
*"There Is No Such Thing As Rest": Excerpts From Slave Narratives: http://www.vgskole.net/prosjekt/slavrute/10.htm
*"My Bedstead Consisted Of A Board Wide Enough To Sleep On": http://www.vgskole.net/prosjekt/slavrute/13.htm
*"I Discovered The Difference Between Myself And My Master's White Children": http://www.vgskole.net/prosjekt/slavrute/18.htm
*"There Is But...Little Scruple Of Separating Families": http://www.vgskole.net/prosjekt/slavrute/21.htm
*"Matters For Which A Slave May Be Whipped": http://www.vgskole.net/prosjekt/slavrute/26.htm
Activity 10: The Transcontinental Railroad
PBS The West: http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest
*Leland Stanford: http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/s_z/stanford.htm
Driving the Last Spike: http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/rail.html
*Union Pacific Railroad: Historical Overview: http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/history/hist-ovr.shtml
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum: http://CPRR.org