Social Studies - Academic Websites - SOCIAL STUDIES & CURRENT EVENTS - LibGuides at Padua Franciscan High School

General & Essential Social Studies Sites

Below you will find links to quality and/or highly recommended academic websites for Social Studies & Current Events. (Please report any broken or missing links to the Librarian. Thank you!)

American Memory from the Library of Congress
American Memory provides “free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience".
Best of History Websites
Best of History Web Sites is an award-winning portal that contains annotated links to over 1200 history web sites as well as links to hundreds of quality K-12 history lesson plans, history teacher guides, history activities, history games, history quizzes, and more.

Best of History Web Sites has been recommended by The Chronicle of Higher Education, The National Council for the Social Studies, The New York Public Library, the BBC, Princeton University, -- and many others.
Center for Civic Education
Center for Civic Education is an independent, nonprofit organization based in California with a network of program coordinators in every state and congressional district in the country and in more than seventy emerging and advanced democracies throughout the world. The mission of the Center is to promote an enlightened and responsible citizenry that is committed to democratic principles and actively engaged in the practice of democracy in the United States and other countries. The Center administers a wide range of critically acclaimed curricular, teacher-training, and community-based programs in conjunction with civic educators and activists around the world.
60-Second Civics
60-Second Civics begins with a single question quiz. Then there is a daily podcast that provides a quick and convenient way for listeners to learn about our nation’s government, the Constitution, and our history. The podcast explores themes related to civics and government, the constitutional issues behind the headlines, and the people and ideas that formed our nation’s history and government. 60-Second Civics is produced by the Center for Civic Education. The show's content is primarily derived from the Center’s education for democracy curricula, including We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution, Foundations of Democracy, and Elements of Democracy.
Digital Vaults from the National Archives
Photos, documents, and popular media from the National Archives provide resources and interactive opportunities for users to access materials on endless U.S. historical topics and themes. The user can then organize the resources in any number of ways to relate to our country’s history and tell a story. (from 2011 ALA Top 25 Websites for Teaching and Learning)
George Mason University's Center for History and New Media
George Mason University’s Center for History and New Media has created a range of Web sites designed for the needs of students and teachers. It includes basic surveys of U.S. and world history, sites that teach students to use primary sources, and sites that provide lesson plans and ideas for teachers. It also features several Web sites of archives and exhibits.
Google Life Archive
Google Life Archive is a wonderful resource of historical images. It features millions of searchable photographs from the Life photo archive stretching from the 1750s to the present day. Most of these images were never published and are now available for the first time through the joint work of Google and Life magazine. (Search tip : Add “source:life” to any Google image search and search only the LIFE photo archive. For example: computer source:life)
Historic Newspapers
Historic Newspapers is the world’s largest original newspaper archive, have put together free of charge educational resources using past newspapers to give insight into historical events. Newspapers are a fantastic way to discover the cause and consequence of historical events.
National Archives' Digital Classroom
DocsTeach.org is an online teaching tool from the US National Archives for teachers to find and create interactive learning activities with primary-source documents that promote historical thinking skills in 21st century classroom.
PBS
PBS has a wide range of resources for students from its various programs. The most useful is likely the companion Web sites for the American Experience documentary series examining important events and people in American history. Each site includes resources such as descriptions of the events, biographies of key figures, primary source documents, interactive maps and transcripts of the film. Also visit the American Masters series for biographies of historical figures.
Smithsonian Institute History Explorer
The Smithsonian Institution has a wide variety of exhibitions and collections on American history and culture. It also offers lesson plans searchable by grade level, type of resource and historical topic.
Stanford History Education: Reading Like a Historian
SHEG is a collaboration among many people: full-time staff, graduate student RAs, practicing teachers, and undergraduate volunteers and interns. SHEG sponsors an ongoing research group for students across the university interested in issues of how history is taught and learned. We also host visiting scholars whose work addresses issues of historical understanding and history education.
Teaching American History
TeachingAmericanHistory is a list of letters, speeches, documents, web sites, books, and articles on significant people and events in American political thought and history. Find primary source docs organized by time period & person.
Teaching Tolerance
Founded in 1991 by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Teaching Tolerance is dedicated to reducing prejudice, improving intergroup relations and supporting equitable school experiences for our nation's children. We provide free educational materials to teachers and other school practitioners in the U.S. and Canada. Our self-titled magazine is sent to 450,000 educators twice annually, and tens of thousands of educators use our free curricular kits. More than 5,000 schools participate in our annual Mix It Up at Lunch Day program. Our teaching materials have won two Oscars, an Emmy and more than 20 honors from the Association of Educational Publishers, including two Golden Lamp Awards, the industry's highest honor. Scientific surveys demonstrate that our programs help students learn respect for differences and bolster teacher practice.
The Gilder Lehrman Institute
Founded in 1994 by Richard Gilder and Lewis E. Lehrman, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is a nonprofit organization devoted to the improvement of history education. The Institute has developed an array of programs for schools, teachers, and students that now operate in all fifty states, including a website that features more than 60,000 unique historical documents in the Gilder Lehrman Collection. Each year the Institute offers support and resources to tens of thousands of teachers, and through them enhances the education of more than a million students. The Institute’s programs have been recognized by awards from the White House, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Organization of American Historians.
The Library of Congress
This site is a great source to find historical documents, photos, art, maps, audio and video, artifacts and other items. The American Memory section organizes items based on topics, time periods and places of American history. The World Digital Library, a cooperative project with UNESCO, includes rare documents from around the world.
The National Archives and Records Administration
This site has a massive collection of material on U.S. history that can sometimes be overwhelming to search through. The Resources for National History Day Research page guides students on where to find material in the archives.
The World Digital Library
The World Digital Library makes significant primary materials from countries, and cultures around the world, available on the Internet, free of charge, in many languages.
Timelines TV
Timelines.tv is a free-to-use, video-rich, award-winning history resource for students, teachers and life-learners. The resources include the history of Britain, smallpox through time, the America West… All text resources on the site may be reproduced freely without payment, but please credit the site as appropriate. It also launched a new exciting site for users of tablets and mobile devices. The new site also contains timelines for ‘Nazi Germany’, ‘USA 1900-45′ and ‘The Edwardians’.
US History Website
A collection of information on U.S. History people, places, events, and more, including many resources, free online textbooks, etc.
World History Matters

World History Matters is a portal to world history websites developed by the Center for History and New Media

Use the keyword search button to search all sites at the same time. For more advanced searching, visit each site individually.

Congress Sites

Below you will find links to quality and/or highly recommended academic websites for Social Studies & Current Events. (Please report any broken or missing links to the Librarian. Thank you!)

U.S. House of Representatives
The U.S. House of Representatives’ The House Explained page provides details on the legislative process, explaining how laws are made.
Center on Congress at Indiana University
The Center on Congress at Indiana University offers interactive simulations that explain how Congress operates. It includes video and audio from congressmen and others.
Library of Congress' Century of Lawmaking
The Library of Congress’ A Century of Lawmaking provides the records of the Continental Congress, Constitutional Convention and first 43 sessions of Congress (1789-1873).
The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress offers short biographies of every senator and representative in U.S. history.

Constitution & Presidents & U.S. Government Sites

Below you will find links to quality and/or highly recommended academic websites for Social Studies & Current Events. (Please report any broken or missing links to the Librarian. Thank you!)

American President Reference Resource
The University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs is the best resource for studying U.S. presidents. It provides detailed biographies of each president, along with profiles of his cabinet, a collection of speeches, and links to the most comprehensive sources for private and public papers.
iCivics
iCivics offers civics lessons created by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. The page offers resources for middle school students and their teachers, such as printable games and writing assignments.
Presidential Libraries and Museums
The Web sites of 13 U.S. presidential libraries are linked to by the National Archives. In this libraries, you can find resources such as Franklin Roosevelt’s fireside chats and Richard Nixon’s Watergate tapes.
The Contitutional Rights Foundation
The Constitutional Rights Foundation offers a wide array of resources, including lesson plans and enrichment texts, on constitutional issues designed to help students understand the Constitution and become better citizens.
The National Archives' Charters of Freedom
The National Archives’ Charters of Freedom explains the making of and impact of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights. It includes images of the documents, biographies of the framers, and fun facts.
The Official Website of the White House
The official Web site of the White House lets you listen to the President's weekly video address, read transcripts of White House press briefings, find the names of all current Cabinet members, and more. It also provides biographies of every president.
University of Chicago's Founders' Constitution
The University of Chicago’s Founders’ Constitution is an anthology of 18th century writings on the debate over the creation of the Constitution. The works are organized by sections of the Constitution, making it easy to understand how opinion of each founding father influenced the formation of the Constitution.
University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs
The University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs is the best resource for studying U.S. presidents. It provides detailed biographies of each president, along with profiles of his cabinet, a collection of speeches, and links to the most comprehensive sources for private and public papers.
US History Website
A collection of information on U.S. History people, places, events, and more, including many resources, free online textbooks, etc.
White House Website
The official Web site of the White House lets you listen to the President's weekly video address, read transcripts of White House press briefings, find the names of all current Cabinet members, and more. It also provides biographies of every president.

Current Events

For Current Events information, use the "Newspapers & Current Events" tab as well as other tabs located above...or...go to the separate Current Events LibGuide that was created for the Current Events course (see link below).

Current Events LibGuide
Regardless of the fact that this LibGuide was created for Mrs. Giulivo's Current Events class, the information in the LibGuide may be used to find Current Events information (newspapers, articles, academic articles, statistics, maps, etc.) and explore debatable and hot issues.

Psychology & Sociology Sites

About.com Psychology
This website is part of the About.com network, and offers easy-to-read articles on psychology. Many different topics are covered from theories and sub-fields to career and education.
ADAA - Anxiety and Depression Association of America This site offers complete information on anxiety, as well as a special section on teen anxiety.
American Sociology Association
American Sociological Association. Includes the Code of Ethics, Employment Bulletin, information about funding opportunities, research links and links to publicly- available data resources. Also provides information about the Section on Sociological Practice.
APA: American Pschological Association
With over 150,000 members, the APA is the world’s largest association of psychologists. APA has recently launched a newly redesigned psychology website that is attractive and easy to navigate. Psychology Topics offers a tag cloud view of popular topics or a list view of all topics. Each topic page leads to a page where you can find all related resources such as articles, press releases, books, videos, etc. Publications section is a gateway to APA’s vast repository of books, journals, databases, videos, software, magazines, brochures, reports, etc. You can browse by type of publication, or by subject. Psychology Help Center features articles and helpful information for daily emotional well-being. There are also specific interest areas for work/school, family, disasters, etc. Education section looks at the involvement of psychology in education from K-12 to post-graduate and lifelong learning. Careers section has resources for career psychologists, professional development, etc.
Articles, Research, & Resources in Technology
This is a psychology website managed by Ken Pope, Ph.D., offering free full-text articles from a variety of medical journals and a variety of other resources related to psychology. While there are many useful sections for laypersons, the information is invaluable for psychology professionals.

The site covers a broad range of subjects including licensing laws, regulation, ethics, medication, military related issues, suicide and sexual issues, etc. A unique feature that deserves mention is that the website is designed for people with disabilities in accordance with W3C Accessibility Guidelines.

While the sites above offer comprehensive resources for anyone even remotely interested in psychology, the following websites are useful especially for non-professionals interested in learning about psychology.
Association for Applied and Clinical Sociology
Association for Applied and Clinical Sociology. An organization formed by the merger of the Sociological Practice Association and the Society for Applied Sociology.
NIMH: National Institute of Mental Health
NIMH is a Federal agency that conducts and supports research on mental illnesses. NIMH: Extensive information on mental health topics. Access to free NIMH publications on a host of topics from disorders to treatment. Information about clinical trials for both participants and researchers. Access to statistical information about mental disorders. News in the science of mental health.
Psych Central
By John M. Grohol, Psy.D., this site claims to be the Internet's largest and oldest mental health social network created and run by mental health professionals to provide reliable, trusted information and support communities for consumers.
Catcher in the Rye Psychoanalysis LibGuide
Regardless of the fact that this LibGuide was created to support a Catcher in the Rye Literature Activity, it provides quality information on psychoanalysis, how to recognize a mental illness, depression, bipolar disorder, PTSD, borderline personality disorder, suicide, etc.
Psychology Today
Psychology Today is the website of the bi-monthly magazine. The site focuses on mental well-being and is geared towards therapy and treatment for mental illnesses. The content is easy-to-read and focused on non-professional laypersons.
WebMD Mental Health
WebMD’s Mental Health section has exhaustive information on disorders and treatment. It features Guide sections for specific disorders, with informative slideshows, latest news, and articles. All this is backed by the popular community section featuring blogs and message boards.

Research Engines and Digital Libraries

When searching websites in general, most people use comment search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, Bing, etc. As stated above, these search engines may bring you millions of hits. As suggested, databases are more reliable way to go; however, there are also many specialized search engines that may help you narrow down the search. Using specialized search engines will assist you in selecting more trustworthy sources. Included below are some links to the most popular of those sources (Source: Writing Term Papers by Joe Greek). (HINT: For descriptions of each site, hover over the site's title/address.)

Best of History Websites
Best of History Web Sites is an award-winning portal that contains annotated links to over 1200 history web sites as well as links to hundreds of quality K-12 history lesson plans, history teacher guides, history activities, history games, history quizzes, and more.

Best of History Web Sites has been recommended by The Chronicle of Higher Education, The National Council for the Social Studies, The New York Public Library, the BBC, Princeton University, -- and many others.
Digital History
This is an interactive collection of historical records, articles, media, and other resources about U.S. history created by the University of Houston.
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Directory of Open Access Journals
This is a large collection of searchable, free academic and peer-reviewed publications and articles.
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University of Cambridge Digital Library
This site features scanned historical documents and writings, including collections from notable figures such as Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, etc.
Yale University Library
This is a searchable archive of historical books, articles, journals, and media that cover a variety of topics.
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Supreme Court & Law Sites

Below you will find links to quality and/or highly recommended academic websites for Social Studies & Current Events. (Please report any broken or missing links to the Librarian. Thank you!)

The Oyez Project at Northwestern University
The Oyez Project at Northwestern University allows you to listen to the Supreme Court justices as they deliberate cases, providing a complete source of all audio recorded since the installation of a recording system in the Court in 1955.
The Supreme Court Historical Society
The Supreme Court Historical Society has a voluminous history of every court, including a timeline of justices with information about each one. There are sections on the current Court and previous “Homes of the Court,” plus quizzes and videos.
The Legal Information Institute of Cornell Law School
The Legal Information Institute of Cornell Law School is the best source for public legal information; it links to government sources for federal, state and international laws, and provides easily searchable text of U.S. codes.
University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law
University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law professor Douglas Linder has compiled research pages for more than 50 of the most famous trials in history, dating back to the trial of Socrates 399 B.C. Each page includes a detailed account of the events of and leading up to the trial, court documents such as witness testimony and trial excerpts, and other primary documents such as newspaper accounts and letters.

American History

Be sure to refer to General & Essential Social Studies Websites above.

Best of History Websites
Best of History Web Sites aims to provide quick, convenient, and reliable access to the best history-oriented resources online in a wide range of categories and has been designed to benefit history teachers and their students; however, general history enthusiasts will benefit from the site as well. Ranked #1 by Google for history web sites, Best of History Web Sitesd receives upwards of 140,000 visitors per month.

With links to over 1200 history-related web sites that have been reviewed for quality, accuracy, and usefulness, the site also includes links to K-12 history lesson plans, teacher guides, activities, games, quizzes, and more. Sites with engaging educational content and stimulating and useful multimedia technologies are most likely to be included in these pages. However, useful general resources and research-oriented sites have been included as well.
Digital Public Library of America
The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) brings together the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world. Search the collection by exhibition, place, date and a growing number of 2nd party plug in apps. The DPLA offers a single point of access to millions of items—photographs, manuscripts, books, sounds, moving images, and more—from libraries, archives, and museums around the United States. Users can browse and search the DPLA’s collections by timeline, map, format, and topic; save items to customized lists; and share their lists with others. Users can also explore digital exhibitions curated by the DPLA’s content partners and staff.
DocsTeach - U.S. National Archives
We have selected thousands of primary source documents to bring the past to life as classroom teaching tools from the billions preserved at the National Archives. Use the search field above to find written documents, images, maps, charts, graphs, audio and video in our ever-expanding collection that spans the course of American history.
FedFlix
Welcome to FedFlix, Joint Venture NTIS-1832 between the National Technical Information Service and Public.Resource.Org. Here we feature the best movies of the United States Government, from training films to history, from our national parks to the U.S. Fire Academy and the Postal Inspectors, all of these fine flix are available for reuse without any restrictions.
Have Fun with History
A resource for students, educators and all lovers of American History. Loaded with historic videos. Many in the public domain. People and Events in History are categorized by century so they're easy to find. Or to locate by history topic, choose History Subjects.

World History

Be sure to refer to General & Essential Social Studies Websites above.

AP World History Suggested Sites
Avalon Project
The Avalon Project contains a vast collection digital documents relevant to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government. All documents are in text format and easy to copy / paste. Search by era or collection.
Best History Websites
Best of History Web Sites aims to provide quick, convenient, and reliable access to the best history-oriented resources online in a wide range of categories and has been designed to benefit history teachers and their students; however, general history enthusiasts will benefit from the site as well. Ranked #1 by Google for history web sites, Best of History Web Sitesd receives upwards of 140,000 visitors per month.

With links to over 1200 history-related web sites that have been reviewed for quality, accuracy, and usefulness, the site also includes links to K-12 history lesson plans, teacher guides, activities, games, quizzes, and more. Sites with engaging educational content and stimulating and useful multimedia technologies are most likely to be included in these pages. However, useful general resources and research-oriented sites have been included as well.
Google Cultural Institute -Historic Moments
Explore Historic Moments, Cultural Figures, Science & Technology, and other categories to browse through photos, videos, manuscripts and documents on a wide range of topics.
Google Cultural Institute -World Wonders Project
World Wonders brings modern and ancient world heritage sites online using Street View, 3D modelling and other Google technologies. Explore historic sites including Stonehenge, the archaeological areas of Pompeii and the Great Barrier Reef as if you were there.
Web Gallery of Art
The Web Gallery of Art is a virtual museum and searchable database of Western (European) fine arts of the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, and Impressionism periods (1000-1900), currently containing over 32.500 reproductions. Artist biographies, commentaries, guided tours, period music, catalogue, free postcard and mobile services are provided.
World Digital Library
World Digital Library provides multiple ways to search and browse content, including by place, time, topic, type of item and contributing institution. And every item can be viewed with state-of-the art zoom features in order to catch all the fine detail. To date, there are about 1,460 digital items included in the World Digital Library, in a variety of formats – books, photographs, films, sound recordings, manuscripts and maps.
World History Connected
The purpose of the World History Connected website is to provide free information on world history for students, teachers, college instructors, etc. World History Connected strives to present reports on world history teaching methods, teaching resources, and recent research. Also contains links to other world history sites.

Political Information

Be sure to refer to General & Essential Social Studies Websites above.

PBS Election Central
Turn news coverage into learning opportunities with new content including the history of presidential elections, the local impact of national issues, how the Electoral college works, fast facts, and more.

Here you can find the following: The Election Collection + Lesson Plans: Voting, Elections, and the Political Process + Virtual Field Trips + More.

SOCIAL STUDIES & CURRENT EVENTS: Social Studies - Academic Websites

General & Essential Social Studies Sites

Congress Sites

Constitution & Presidents & U.S. Government Sites

Current Events

Psychology & Sociology Sites

Research Engines and Digital Libraries

Supreme Court & Law Sites

American History

World History

Political Information