These resource links have not been updated and may contain faulty links. Digital resources may change over time. In the case that any of these are faulty please try a Google Search to find the resource. Thanks for checking in!
TWITTER CHATS
Educator chats are a great place to get new ideas and to feed your teaching soul. You don't even have to have an account to follow along, but doing so treats you to interaction with a dedicated community of educators. Regulars are usually very welcoming, so don't be shy about joining in.
You can find a chat on just about any topic. A calendar and comprehensive list of topics can be found at Education Chats
During chats make sure to search the #hashtag and click the "Latest" tab.
TweetDeck can be a great tool for following chats. Just login through your Twitter account.
.Here are a few chats that I enjoy:
Tuesday 6:00pm CST #SSChat
Tuesday 7:00pm CST #EdAdvBecause (every 3rd Tuesday)
Tuesday 8:00pm CST #HipHopEd
Thursday 8:30pm CST #k12ArtChat
Saturday 9:30am CST #SatChatWC
WEBSITES
Alabama Department of Archives & History provides links to solid, standards-based lesson plans which can be viewed by topic. Lessons link to downloadable digital archives including primary documents and photographs from Alabama history. It's a stunningly rich resource!
Alabama History Notebook Among other things, it contains an informative and accessible section on Native Americans. It also offers an Alabama timeline of archival photos The 276 page PDF is described as "A collection of Alabama symbols, maps, and photographs for students." It's an old-fashioned 4th grade state booklet in many ways, but still has relevance. (From Alabama Department of Archives & History).
Alabama In Transition, is an interactive map that visually demonstrates a comparison of social characteristics between the years 1920 and 2010 in Alabama counties. Its an interesting look at changes in racial makeup of the population, income, education, employment and agriculture. Very neat! (Alabama Department of Archives & History).
Digital History is a catalog of topic summaries, texts, and transcripts. Link directly to texts, digital images, sound files. These summaries could be a great online reference for student research. Rich content and easy to navigate. (Created by The College of Education at the University of Houston).
Dora Franklin Finley African American Heritage Trail offers Mobile, Alabama-specific history. It includes maps, photos, text, and audio as it shares some of the most well documented African American stories in local history. The education tab offers some games.
Encyclopedia Of Alabama A "resource on Alabama’s history, culture, geography, and natural environment." (Created by Alabama Humanities Foundation & Auburn University).
Facing History Standards- based resources for facilitating understanding of racism and intolerance and for fostering responsibility to civic engagement. "Choose from a wide range of flexible, multimedia materials, from primary sources and streaming video to teaching strategies, lessons and units, and more." Pretty awesome!
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History provides a wealth of information, primary sources, and multimedia links.
NCTE Resources For Teaching In These Times Scroll past the brief article to find classroom resources for understanding bias, for understanding white supremacy, professional reading lists, books for students, articles and more! Resource list created by NCTE's Standing Committee Against Racism and Bias.
Social Studies Trade Books This is a link to the National Council Of Social Studies' selection of notable trade books for young people. NOTE: The current year's list is for member's only. Scroll to the bottom or click available link for lists from past years. Share with your media specialist!!
From the Southern Poverty Law Office, a multitude of teacher resources. Well known for promoting equity and fighting prejudice. Lots of good stuff!
Artists I follow several artist accounts on Instagram. Paintings, needle-craft, paper folding, carving, sculpting...its all there. Just do a search on Instagram, the more specific, the better! As a social media platform focused upon sharing visual images, Instagram is filled with artists.
@badakhshane Landscape photos from Iran. Ebrahim Badakhshan is a professor of Linguistics at the University of Kurdistan. Because Iran is often mentioned in current events, I find this account valuable, in that it demonstrates to Americans that the country of Iran is beautiful and can appear in many ways similar to the U.S.
@DavidZinn Chalk street art. I share this because this artist demonstrates creative thinking, innovation, and imagination using simple prompts from the world around us. Clumps of grass, valve covers, and cracks in the sidewalk become something entirely different -and temporary. Could be an interesting discussion to consider Zinn's willingness to commit so much time, energy, and talent into a project that will be washed away by foot-traffic or rain before many get a chance to acknowledge it (community service). Images could be great writing prompts too!
@GirlNextDoorHoney Bees -Very interesting and educational account!... Excellent photos and videos of honey bees, comb, bee keeping, and bee removal. Hilary Kearney, a bee keeper in California, shares closeups of bees drinking, collecting pollen, and tending to their queen & hive. Her comments usually contain factual instructive content. She also frequently posts a "Where's Waldo"-style photo and answer that she calls Queen Spotting.
@PaulNicklen Mostly Arctic wildlife photo and videos with factual information, primarily leaning toward conservation. Paul Nicklen is a photographer for National Geographic. Awesome photos including narwhals, penguins, sea lions, polar bears...
@PeteSouza44 Photos of Obama presidency. Pete Souza was the official photographer for both President Reagan & President Obama. This is an archived account. He currently posts photos from President Obama's term that correspond with current events related to President Trump's activities on a new account. You can also seek out his full body of work online through this account. His original posts include great backstory and insight to daily life in the presidency.
@PhysicsFun Short videos of cool science "toys," for example: slinky treadmill, mini wind turbine powered lights, kinetic art, and so much more! The post always includes an explanation of the science behind the "trick." Fun & interesting!
@Pondlife_pondlife Video of single-celled organisms. Sally Warring has a PhD in genomics & molecular biology from NYU. She posts video of the life she finds in bodies of water she finds in New York City, including puddles! She often posts a photo of the site. Her comment always contains factual information about the images.
@Rabarbies Gardening photos only, from the Netherlands. Little informational text beyond a label of what is pictured. I share this because it is a source of excellent photos of various stages in the the gardening process, by a pair of urban gardeners. The same process documented in these photos as taking place across the ocean also takes place here in U.S. cities.