Pflugerville Independent School District

General Social Studies Links

Museums

Current Events

Primary Social Studies Links

field trips

Geography Links

http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/ (United Nations Global Learning and Teaching Project- has statistical data on all world countries, click on “InfoNation”)
http://www.geography-games.com/index.html
http://members.aol.com/bowermanb/games.html
http:www.greatestplaces.org/
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/

Texas History Links

http://cybersleuth-kids.com/sleuth/Geography/United_States/Texas/index.htm
http://www.treasurenet.com/images/americanwest/westtx.shtml (great historical images)

http://www.coe.uh.edu/archive/sstudies/sstudies_lessons/ssles1.html (geography & history)

http://www.coe.uh.edu/archives/sstudies/sstudies_lessons/ssles2.htm (hispanic culture)
http://teacher.scholastic.com/hispanic/index.htm (hispanic culture)
http://pw2.netcom.com/~wandaron/txhist.html
http://www.lsjunction.com/
http://www.rice.edu/armadillo/Texas/history.html
http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net

World History Links

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook.html (Internet Ancient History Sourcebook)
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook.html (Internet Modersn History Sourcebook)
http://www.aneki.com/index.html (very helpful for middle and high school students doing research on countries around the world)
http://www.geography-games.com/index.html
http://members.aol.com/bowermanb/games.html
http:www.greatestplaces.org/
http://www.peacecorps.gov/kids/
http://www.ccph.com/
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/
http://www.futcher.com/nameflag/
http://www.worldtrek.org/odyssey/index.html

all cultures

different cultures

http://www.coe.uh.edu/archives/sstudies/sstudies_lessons/ssles2.htm (hispanic culture & countries)
http://teacher.scholastic.com/hispanic/index.htm (hispanic culture & countries)
http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/results/view.asp?SubjectID=2&SubheadID
=6&TopicID=70&GradeID=&PageURL=%2Ffieldtrp%2Fsocstu%2Fcelebmex%2Ehtm (hispanic culture & countries)

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/China/scrapbook.html (China)
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/China/ChinaQuest.html (China)
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/China/chinahunt.html (China)
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/index.html (Japan)
http://educate.si.edu/resources/lessons/art-to-zoo/japan/cover.html (Japan)
http://www.indiana.edu/%7Ejapan/LP/LS28.html (Japan)
http://www.indiana.edu/%7Ejapan/LP/LS9.html (Japan)
http://www.eduweb.com/amazon.html (South America)
http://www.website1.com/odyssey/ (Egypt)

American/US History

http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Oregontrail.html (The Oregon Trail)
http://www.archives.gov/index.html (National Archives and Records Administration- click on to “Exhibit Hall” and you will find the “The Charters of Freedom”)
http://www.americanpresident.org
http://americanhistory.si.edu/hohr/springer/
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi

images and documents for interactive social studies

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/history/core/pics/ (Brooklyn College Historical Images)
http://www.earlyamericanimages.com (Early American Digital Library)
http://www.pbs.org/neighborhoods/history/ (PBS Programs)
http://longman.awl.com/history/visuals.htm (American History Online)
http://www.boondocksnet.com/ (Boondocks)
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/ (The West - Archives)
http://www.treasurenet.com/images/americanwest/ (The West - Archives)
http://www.treasurenet.com/images/civilwar/ (Civil War)
http://www.nga.gov/ginfo/ngachron.htm (National Gallery of Art)
http://www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/index.html (National Archives)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amhome.html (Library of Congress)
http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/print/catalog.html (Library of Congress)

early america & revolution

westward expansion

100%&ws=0&qm=0&st=1&nh=10&lk=1&rf=0&rq=0 (activities that let the students learn about the organ trail)

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/west/

civil war & underground railroad

Swanson.html

http://www.northside.isd.tenet.edu/cmptecww/DeptWebSite/TIP/Secondary/SocStud/
Geerdes.html

Government

http://www.politicalindex.com/ (32 indices with links government-related topics)
http://www.rvc.cc.il.us/faclink/pruckman/PSLinks.htm (“Ultimate Political Science”)
http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/romans/fdtf/ (All the information and sites related to the federal government)
http://www.govengine.com (good state and local government info)
http://www.govspot.com (GovSpot.com is a non-partisan government information portal designed to simplify the search for the best and most relevant government information online.)
http://ccollege.hccs.cc.tx.us/instru/govecon/Govt2301.htm (Houston Community College Department of Government and Economics link to internet activities involving various government units)

Underpinnings to the United States Constitution

http://www.epistemelinks.com/index.aspx (index to early political philosophers)
http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/ (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
http://www.constitution.org/ (The Constitution Society- great website on rationale behind the principles and ideas of the Constitution, contains the complete works of important political philosophers that influenced the framing, including the text of the actual debates at the Constitutional Convention, and has links to Framers and founding documents)
http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/ (Chronology of US Historical Documents)
http://constitutioncenter.org/ (Great site with explanation of Constitution principles and its history, also contains teacher resources)
http://www.usconstitution.net/ (another great site with info on the Framers, Constitutional Convention, Confederation Period & Constitution)
http://www.archives.gov/index.html (National Archives and Records Administration- click on to “Exhibit Hall” and you will find the “The Charters of Freedom”)

Federalism

http://www.csg.org/CSG/default.htm (Council of State Governments website, contains news from each state with state responses to federal issues)
http://www.gmu.edu/ (George Mason University website, type in “federalism” in “Mason Search”)
http://www.vote-smart.org/issues/FEDERALISM_STATES_RIGHTS/ (Project Vote Smart site that has articles on perspectives and issues of federalism)
http://www.statelocalgov.net/ (State and Local Government on the Web)
http://xxx.infidels.org/~nap/index.federalism.html (Directory of federalism links)
http://www.closeup.org/federal.htm (Close-Up Foundation special topic page on history and development of federalism- includes a link to federalism and historic Supreme Court cases)
http://www.thirteen.org/federalist/ (PBS series on federalism that aired in 1997, “Liberty and Limits: The Federalist Idea 200 Years Later”, a great site on contemporary federalism issues)

The Bill of Rights: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

http://www.aclu.org/index.html (American Civil Liberties website- will find all issues involving the Bill of Rights, Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses, current news, and briefing papers on civil liberties and rights)
http://www.civilrightsunion.org/ (American Civil Rights Union- conservative site formed in response to the ACLU)
http://www.freedomforum.org/ (Freedom Forum- great site for 1st Amendment issues)
http://www.findlaw.com/ (Click on “cases and codes” and you can access every Supreme Court case involving civil liberties and rights)
http://www.hurisearch.org/ (Directory of Human Rights Resources on the web)
http://www.eeoc.gov (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission- government agency website on discrimination)
http://www.hrc.org/ (Human Rights Campaign Fund- nation’s largest gay and lesbian political organization)
http://www.ngltf.org/ (National Gay and Lesbian Task Force website)
http://www.gocwi.org (Child Welfare Institute website)
http://www.ncjrs.org/ (National Criminal Justice Reference Service- lots of links)
http://www.courttv.com/ (Court TV website)
http://www.glencoe.com/ps/cj/intro/links/ (Glencoe Criminal Justice Online Study Center- hundreds of topics and links!)
http://www.handguncontrol.org/ (2nd Amendment- The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence)
http://www.gunfree.org/ (The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence)
http://www.nra.org/ (National Rifle Association website)
http://www.englishfirst.org/ (English First website)
http://www.now.org/ (National Organization for Women website)
http://www.aarp.org/ (American Association of Retired Persons website)
http://www.prodeathpenalty.com/
http://www.amnesty.org/ (Amnesty International website, click on “Campaigns”)
http://www.naral.org/index.cfm (National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League website)
http://www.forerunner.com/forerunner/X0408.html (a collection of pro-life links)
http://www.naacp.org/ (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People )
http://www.lulac.org/ (League of United Latin American Citizens website)
http://www.lc.org/index.html (Liberty Counsel website- religious freedom information)
http://www.epic.org/privacy/ (Electronic Privacy Information Center- lots of info regarding privacy and the internet)
http://www.cfa-inc.org/ (Citizens Flag Alliance, Inc. - website dedicated to protecting the Pledge of Allegiance and the American flag)

Demographic and Statistical Information

http://www.fedstats.gov/ (access any statistical data you are seeking)
http://www.census.gov/ (United States Census Bureau website)
http://www.prb.org/ (U.S. population data broken down)
http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/ (United Nations Global Learning and Teaching Project- has statistical data on all world countries, click on “InfoNation”)
http://www.census.gov/statab/www/ (Statistical Abstract of the United States)

Political Ideology and Public Opinion Information

http://www.people-press.org (The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, has a nice political attitude online survey called “Where Do You Fit?”)
http://www.aapor.org (American Association for Public Opinion Research)
http://www.policyattitudes.org (Center on Policy Attitudes- click on “links” and you will have access to every major polling agency in the United States!)
http://www.publicagenda.com/ (Public Agenda Online- click on “issues” on the lefthand side)
http://www.pollingreport.com (An online journal of public opinion polling)
http://www.umich.edu/~nes/nesguide/nesguide.htm (National Election Studies Guide to Public Opinion and Electoral Behavior- this is a must site for the students to see, has down loadable tables, charts, and graphs, thousands of public opinion polls)
http://www.zogby.com/ (Zogby International- another great polling site)
http://www.ncpp.org (National Council on Public Polls)
http://www.turnleft.com/ (can access every liberal organization, publication, and think-tank on the web)
http://www.townhall.com/ (every conservative organization, publication, and think-tank on the web, click on “The Right Pages” and go to “Right100”)

Interest Group Information -

the number and type of interest groups who have web pages is unlimited. I suggest that you use a search engine and simply type in the name of the organization or type of group you are seeking. A number of organizations are listed above in the “The Bill of Rights: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights” section. Also, by going to

http://www.politicalindex.com and selecting indices 9 and 10, you can access every major political activist group that has a web page. For campaign finance and PAC information see the section below “Campaigns and Elections”.

Political Parties, Campaigns, and Elections Information

http://www.politicalindex.com (select indices 8 and 9 to access every major political party registered in the United States maintaining a web page)
http://www.rnc.org/ (Republican Party)
http://www.democrats.org/ (Democratic Party)
http://www.reformparty.org/ (Reform Party)
http://www.greenpartyus.org/ (Green Party)
http://www.lp.org/ (Libertarian Party)
http://www.fec.gov (Federal Election Commission- great information on FECA and other campaign financing laws)
http://www.fec.gov/pages/ecmenu2.htm (FEC site that explains the Electoral College)
http://www.opensecrets.org (Center for Responsive Politics- this is a must site- contains the best information on campaign financing, with tables and graphs that can be printed)
http://www.lwv.org (League of Women Voters- good website with election information)
http://www.fairvote.org/index.html (The Center for Voting and Democracy- great website with info on redistricting and election races around the United States)
http://www.nhprimary.com/ (All about the NH Primary)
http://www.primarymonitor.com/ (2004 Presidential Primary Info)
http://www.commoncause.org/ (Common Cause- dedicated to campaign finance reform, good information on the abuses of money and politics)
http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/electoral_college.html (Great site of National Archives and Records Administration- contains a primer on the EC) http://www.politics1.com/ (election information, also explains the primary and caucus system)
http://www.debates.org/index.html (Commission on Presidential Debates- great site for presidential campaign information and history of elections!)
http://www.pbs.org/30secondcandidate/index.html (The :30 Second Candidate: The Democracy Project- PBS site that has great information on political advertising and campaigning)
http://faculty.kutztown.edu/richards/220/ad-archive.html (Campaign advertising websites with ability to view campaign ads- great site for the kids!)
http://www.4president.org/ (select the election year to see an example of the Official Campaign Logo used by a candidate during that year's campaign. Learn about each election by downloading a candidate’s issues brochure, printing campaign stickers or materials for a mock election, or by looking at major campaign speeches, popular vote and electoral college data.)

The Media and Politics Information -

Web pages from news organizations that contain excellent information and links on politics, government, and policy making. Many also contain political cartoons.

http://www.washingtonpost.com
http://www.washtimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com
http://www.c-span.org
http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/ (Time Magazine and CNN News website)
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/
http://www.drudgereport.com/ (Great links to other news agencies!)
http://www.mediachannel.org/
http://www.rollcall.com/ (Roll Call online newspaper)
http://www.cq.com/ (Congressional Quarterly online news magazine)
http://www.hillnews.com/ (The Hill online newspaper about Congress)
http://www.newsmax.com/cartoons/ (Complete listing of political cartoons with links)

Political Institutions (Congress, Presidency, Executive Branch, and Courts) Information

http://www.house.gov/
http://www.senate.gov/
http://www.loc.gov/
http://www.archives.gov/
http://thomas.loc.gov/ (information on all legislation)
http://congress.org/
http://www.congresslink.org/index.htm (CongressLink provides information about the U.S. Congress -- how it works, its members and leaders, and the public policies it produces. The site also hosts lesson plans and reference and historical materials related to congressional topics. The Dirksen Congressional Center, a non-profit, nonpartisan research and educational organization, designed the site as a service for teachers of American government, history, and civics.)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ (can access all federal agencies from this site)
http://www.americanpresident.org
http://www.info.gov/ (Federal Consumer Information Center)
http://www.fedworld.gov/ (United States and world government information)
http://www.uscourts.gov/
http://www.nlcpi.org/ (National Legal Center for the Public Interest- contains links to other federal court sites)
http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/cases/topic.htm (Supreme Court cases by topic)
http://www.abanet.org/media/factbooks/judifact.pdf (facts about the American judicial system)
http://www.courts.net/ (This site has been developed to provide
access to web sites maintained by courts nationwide)
http://www.yourcongress.com/ (YourCongress.com is the only site that combines irreverent articles, behind-the-scenes information, and the revolutionary Congress.Watch tracking services to give everyone an easy and entertaining way to find out what's going on in Congress)
http://www.lib.msu.edu/vincent/presidents/index.htm (Vincent Voice Library- recorded movie and voice clips of modern-day presidents)

Policy Making Information