Middle School Social Studies

The National Archives is a great starting point when searching for historical artifacts about the United States. You can look up soldier enlistments in the major wars, browse the microfilm catalog, or access databases. This free site has thousands of artifacts to explore.

National Geographic Kids provides an overwhelming number of high-quality visual learning tools. Profiles of animals and countries include videos, photos, maps, and facts. Videos are brief (one to five minutes) and include excerpts from National Geographic's nature films and exploration shows. The reading level is appropriate for kids as young as second grade and might even provide some motivation for reading instruction in class.

Newseum was a museum in Washington, D.C., with exhibits examining five centuries of news coverage. The NewseumEd website complements what the physical museum had on display as exhibitions. It gives students access to videos, images, and written content on topics like the civil rights movement, 9/11, and journalists' experiences.

PBS NewsHour Extra is a website that provides news for students and resources for teachers. An offshoot of the daily TV program PBS NewsHour, its mission is "to help school students understand world events and national issues and answer the question 'why should I care?' about the news."