Social Studies Site Reviews

Site Reviews by Dr. Gus

Meet Dr. Gus
aka Arnold Pulda
Doherty Memorial High School
Worcester, MA

Einstein's Letter "I love this site and this document, plain and simple. It gives us one of those "teachable moments" that we're always looking for. This is Einstein's letter, written on August 2, 1939 -- what timing! -- warning FDR of the imminent danger that German scientists might be well advanced in their research and work in creating what was to become known as the atomic bomb, and urging the President to consider applying American scientific resources toward achieving the same goal. The two-page letter is scanned from the original, of course. You want to run your fingers over the paper to feel the marks of the typewriter; you can't take your eyes from Einstein's signature. Take your students here and they'll create their own lesson plan."

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History Matters "A terrific site, specifically created for teachers of the high-school U.S. History survey. History Matters is nicely organized, with sections for a list of annotated "best web sites" for U.S. History, a collection of good online activities,some examples of excellent student/class work on the web (mostly generated from college classes), some recent articles of various themes, some good ideas on strategies for teaching the U.S. History survey effectively, and a page of annotated U.S. History course syllabi."

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Martin Luther King "The Seattle Times has published two excellent, indispensable web sites for teachers and students of U.S. History: this one (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/mlk/index.html) on Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement, and another on the decision to drop the atomic bomb (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/trinity/index.html). Each site stands out as among the best that the internet has to offer. The one on Martin Luther King is deceptively simple at first, organized into sections ("The Man," "The Movement," "The Legacy," and so on. The coverage of King and the movement is excellent, taking full advantage of all the tools available to us through the web: text, audio, graphics, video. Julian Bond's recent essay, "Remembering An Antiseptic Hero," is especially thought-provoking; this and other sections of the web site will challenge your best students and kindle a live interest in the subject in your classes. Pour yourself a coffee and take a look; your cup will be cold before you get up."

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National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) "Documents and archives galore are here. This is one of the best sites for U.S. History classes. Many excellent lesson plans and other teacher resources are included in the nicely-organized site, as well."

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The New Deal Network "FERI stands for the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute. This site is a comprehensive guide to everything about the Roosevelts and the years of the Depression in the United States."

Updated 01/22/0

Einstein's Letter	"I love this site and this document, plain and simple. It gives us one of those "teachable moments" that we're always looking for. This is Einstein's letter, written on August 2, 1939 -- what timing! -- warning FDR of the imminent danger that German scientists might be well advanced in their research and work in creating what was to become known as the atomic bomb, and urging the President to consider applying American scientific resources toward achieving the same goal. The two-page letter is scanned from the original, of course. You want to run your fingers over the paper to feel the marks of the typewriter; you can't take your eyes from Einstein's signature. Take your students here and they'll create their own lesson plan."
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History Matters	"A terrific site, specifically created for teachers of the high-school U.S. History survey. History Matters is nicely organized, with sections for a list of annotated "best web sites" for U.S. History, a collection of good online activities,some examples of excellent student/class work on the web (mostly generated from college classes), some recent articles of various themes, some good ideas on strategies for teaching the U.S. History survey effectively, and a page of annotated U.S. History course syllabi."
..
Martin Luther King	"The Seattle Times has published two excellent, indispensable web sites for teachers and students of U.S. History: this one (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/mlk/index.html) on Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement, and another on the decision to drop the atomic bomb (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/trinity/index.html). Each site stands out as among the best that the internet has to offer. The one on Martin Luther King is deceptively simple at first, organized into sections ("The Man," "The Movement," "The Legacy," and so on. The coverage of King and the movement is excellent, taking full advantage of all the tools available to us through the web: text, audio, graphics, video. Julian Bond's recent essay, "Remembering An Antiseptic Hero," is especially thought-provoking; this and other sections of the web site will challenge your best students and kindle a live interest in the subject in your classes. Pour yourself a coffee and take a look; your cup will be cold before you get up."
..
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)	"Documents and archives galore are here. This is one of the best sites for U.S. History classes. Many excellent lesson plans and other teacher resources are included in the nicely-organized site, as well."
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The New Deal Network	*"FERI stands for the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute. This site is a comprehensive guide to everything about the Roosevelts and the years of the Depression in the United States."*