American History 2 2014-2015: December 2014

Hi All

Everyone will be taking the The National History Bee. It is an academic competition for elementary and middle school students that tests knowledge of a wide range of historical topics. The competition is divided into three distinct stages and you will move on if you qualify. Everyone will do the preliminary test stage. It will be given during a period at some point after our long break in December and January. The top 5 student finishers will take the Online Regional Qualifying exam to see if they will move to the next stage.

Here are some materials to help if you are interested.

History Bee Study Guide

Practice Tests

Written Test Sample

Here are some websites to help prepare...

http://www.neok12.com/

This is a great site that has thousands of educational videos and interactive quizzes organized by category. The history section has more than 20 sub-categories with hundreds of videos and quizzes.

http://www.khanacademy.org/#history

Khan Academy is an amazing site that offers short video lessons for students on a variety of topics. Its history selection is relatively limited (though still worthwhile), but it’s growing rapidly.

http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/index.html

This is an interesting site from the Smithsonian that traces the changes in transportation over the course of history and how these changes affected the daily lives of Americans.

http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/customcf/timeline.html

This site is a great interactive timeline tracing the Civil War from its earliest causes to its resolution.

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/es/index.php

A wealth of interesting information about the history and geography of each of the fifty states

http://www.digitalvaults.org/

This site from the National Archives allows you to view hundreds of original documents, photographs and films important to the history of the United States.

http://americanhistory.si.edu/presidency/home.html

This site from the Smithsonian allows you to explore information about America’s presidents.

http://americanhistory.si.edu/timeline/

This interactive timeline allows you to explore history both chronologically and thematically

http://www.history.com/interactives/citizenship-quiz

Test your knowledge of US government and history by taking this citizenship quiz from our friends at the History Channel.

http://juris.nationalparalegal.edu/ChecksAndBalances.aspx.
Suggested by the students of the Goodwin Community Center!

EUROPEAN HISTORY

http://www.multcolib.org/homework/eurohist.html

This is a great site that catalogs hundreds of sites relevant to European history by category.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/vikings/

This is a great site about the Vikings by the BBC. The site is designed with students in mind and has a multitude of photographs and videos and even a web game that puts you in the role of an archaeologist.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/

This is a very informative site that outlines the major events and people of the Middle Ages.

http://www.learner.org/interactives/renaissance/

This site outlines the basic causes and consequences of the Renaissance. It also links to some interesting sites that go into more specific detail.

http://www.pbs.org/empires/martinluther/

This site from PBS tells the story of Martin Luther and his role in sparking the Protestant Reformation.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/tudors/

This is great site to explore to learn about Britain’s Tudor dynasty.

http://library.thinkquest.org/C006257/default.shtml

This is a compact but useful site that tells the basic story of the French Revolution

http://www.alexanderpalace.org/

This is a nice collection of resources on various aspects of Russian history. It’s particularly strong on information about the Revolution.

http://www.pbs.org/opb/conquistadors/home.htm

This PBS site is designed as a resource to teachers and students learning about Spanish exploration of the New World.

ANCIENT HISTORY

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/romans/

This is a great site about life in ancient Rome created by the BBC. The site is designed with students in mind and has a multitude of photographs and videos and even a web game that puts you in the role of an archaeologist.

http://www.arwhead.com/Greeks/index.html#Athenian art

This is a small but informative site about the contributions of the Ancient Greeks.

http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/

This is a wonderful site about ancient Greece designed by the British Museum. The information is very well-organized, making it easy to navigate and explore.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/ancient_greeks/

This is a great site about life in ancient Greece created by the BBC. The site is designed with students in mind and has a multitude of photographs and videos and even a web game that puts you in the role of a Greek hero.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/indus_valley/

This is a great site about the Indus Valley civilization created by the BBC. The site is designed with students in mind and has a multitude of photographs and videos and even a web game that puts you in the role of a trader

http://www.wingedsandals.com/

This is a great site that introduces students to the basic stories of Greek mythology. Filled with beautiful graphics and animated videos, it’s both fun and informative.

http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/

This is an interesting site from the British Museum with information about the beliefs and daily lives of the cultures of ancient Mesopotamia.

http://www.eyelid.co.uk/Egyptian_Videos/Egyptian_Videos.html

This site has some great information, but what really makes it worthwhile are the links to more than 40 videos about ancient Egypt

http://www.eternalegypt.org/EternalEgyptWebsiteWeb/HomeServlet?ee_website_action_key=action.display.home&language_id=1

A fabulous interactive site designed in part by IBM. This site has a wealth of information, including some wonderful multimedia features.