Social Studies

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CIVICS

Citizenship Quiz http://www.learner.org/courses/democracyinamerica/dia_1/dia_1_ct.html

This is the information immigrants need to know to become U.S. citizens. Much of this information is valuable to know when preparing for the GED Social Studies Test.

Structure of the U.S. Government

https://www.usa.gov/branches-of-government#item-2114

Find your Federal Elected Officials

USA.gov https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials

Find your State Elected Officials

State of Minnesota http://www.gis.leg.mn/iMaps/districts/

Democracy

http://ed.ted.com/featured/RgaIhs2w

The Magna Carta

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xo4tUMdAMw&t=5s

The Mayflower Compact

https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/americanexperience27p-soc-compact/wgbh-americanexperience-the-pilgrims-mayflower-compact/#.WqlO-JPwbVo

America's Founding Documents

https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs

The U.S. Constitution

https://ed.ted.com/lessons/who-made-the-american-constitution-judy-walton

Below is a link to the text of the entire document. Focus on the preamble (the short introduction) and Amendments 1 through 10 (the Bill of Rights).

http://www.ourdocuments.gov/print_friendly.php?page=transcript&doc=9&title=Transcript+of+Constitution+of+the+United+States+%281787%29

Amending the Constitution

https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-is-the-us-constitution-so-hard-to-amend-peter-paccone#watch

Branches of Government

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-is-power-divided-in-the-united-states-government-belinda-stutzman#digdeeper

The Bill of Rights (overview)

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/a-3-minute-guide-to-the-bill-of-rights-belinda-stutzman#digdeeper

The Bill of Rights (in-depth)

Each of the ten amendments in the Bill of Rights is explained in a separate video.

http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/0,28757,2080345,00.html?iid=redirect-billofrights

How Laws Are Passed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mbQZLHLQzc

HISTORY

Annenberg Learner Interactive U.S. History Map

Learn how the United States was settled by Europeans.

Discover how European colonization changed the continent, how the land's original inhabitants were displaced and decimated, and how the 50 states were formed.

https://www.learner.org/interactives/historymap/index.html

The History of North America: Every Year

An animated map showing changing "ownership" of North America over the centuries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IKcS4DlaTw

Non-European Perspective of U.S. History

https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/americanexperience27p-soc-plague/wgbh-americanexperience-the-pilgrims-european-plague-in-native-new-england-1616-1619/?#.WqqdJ5PwbVo

The Founding of the 13 Colonies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVlhqKwn36w

13 Colonies: Comparing Regions: New England, Middle, and Southern

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuCoSjqQK34

The History of Colonial America

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do4Ryapg3eU