Free American History Resources: List #2 for Grades 6 – 12
Not too long ago, I posted a list of free American history resources I found during my research for a writing project. Since then, I’ve accumulated a great deal more to present you with a second list! This list focuses on resources for grades 6 – 12, but many items are adaptable for younger students.
As stated in my first post. “Free American History Resources: List One”, there are so many resources available, I’ll not be able to sufficiently vet them all. So, practice due diligence in checking out the background of each source.
Just to note, the individuals and organizations who have generously donated these resources may later archive their current freebies in exchange for different ones. If you discover a link which is no longer valid, please let me know, and I’ll update it.
Even if the specific items mentioned in this post change, you’ll still have a list of websites which continually offer great educational resources. If you really like a website, consider signing up for their newsletter. That way you’ll be notified when they update their freebies.
Bill of Rights Institute
https://billofrightsinstitute.org/
The Bill of Rights Institute does not take partisan positions and neither opposes nor endorses any candidate for public office or any political platform. All Bill of Rights Institute resources are animated by the ideas of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and are not aligned to the dictates of any external entity.
The lesson I reviewed was “Being an American.” It contains 10 ready-made lesson plans, dozens of Primary Sources, 7 background essays, and a student capstone project.
Explore the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights and how our American heroes challenged the status quo in the fight for liberty, equality, justice, and a more perfect union through in-depth primary sources, lessons, activities, and discussion prompts.
This website also provides educational games for students! The games and interactives developed by the Bill of Rights Institute immerse students in their learning and help them to discover important civics and history lessons along the way.
An example is the Give/Get Game:
A collaborative pass and collect game that challenges players to balance time and score. Democracies aren’t just run by the government in a vacuum; they require civically engaged people. Private citizens have a myriad of actions they can take to make life better for themselves, their neighbors, and even those who they don’t agree with. By communicating resource needs, the community can act and the government can lead effectively.
Ducksters
https://www.ducksters.com/history/
This is an educational website with lots of interesting, informative, and easy to read content. Numerous articles including links for further reading. Ducksters.com is certified by the kidSAFE Seal Program.
edX
EdX, a nonprofit created by Harvard and MIT, offers a wide variety of courses covering history, geography, government, culture, religions, and more. The length and format vary from course to course, and availability changes periodically. The courses are free to audit, or certificates of completion are also available for a fee.
Heritage History
https://www.heritage-history.com/index.php
Heritage History offers an extensive online library of classic history books organized by reading level. They also have multiple history study programs available. Each program includes reading, review questions, and other study aids.
Traditional histories are not perfect. Some that cover the 19th century are written from a progressive viewpoint that glorifies ‘republican’ government, economic growth, and ever-increasing liberty, while ignoring the darker aspects of modernism. But even our most ‘progressive’ books are patriotic, age-appropriate, and respectful of Christian traditions.
We have built our library of student histories over twenty years, mostly from browsing used book stores in person or online. We use children’s librarian references (c. 1920) as guides, and have a good knowledge of early 20th century authors and publishers.
Beyond that, our selection criteria are: a book must be published before 1923; it must be written for young people or the general public and must be organized as a narrative history rather than a textbook; it must be on an interesting subject matter and it must be in an area that we do not already have an abundance of books.
We do not necessarily agree with the author’s interpretation of every event in all of the histories we publish. As long as a book is well-written, informative, and likely to engage introductory readers, we do not obsess over minor disagreements or biases. It is simply impossible to present all sides of every controversy and expose the hidden forces that propel political events in an introductory history. We intentionally publish histories from more than one viewpoint and encourage students to read from more than one source.
The History Cat
https://www.thehistorycat.com/
This website offers online textbooks for World History and U.S. History. Please note that only the textbooks are free. The lesson plans are sold on Teachers Pay Teachers.
The History Cat is designed with teachers in mind. Our stories break down historical events into engaging narratives that students can relate to, complete with vivid details, humor, and thought-provoking questions. Teachers can use these stories as standalone lessons or as supplements to their existing curriculum to spark discussions and encourage deeper thinking.
Reinforce learning with study guides based on the stories and interactive activities like trivia games or escape rooms focused on key terms, events, and patterns.
Whether you’re looking for a quick resource to reinforce a topic or a complete lesson to build skills in historical analysis, The History Cat is a flexible tool for any classroom. It’s perfect for group discussions, independent study, and even virtual learning environments.
iCivics Education
This civics curriculum has downloadable teacher’s guides, student handouts, and reading materials for each lesson. Some lessons include PowerPoint presentations, games, and other resources.
Open Learn
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/
They have hundreds of courses, articles, videos and interactives.
This is Not the End
Mercy, me. I’m only two-thirds of the way through my list of free history resources. I’ll need to post a third list soon. Plus, I’d like to create a list of family-friendly movies, videos, and games that share a bit of American history.
In the meantime, do you know of a website that offers free history resources? Please share!
Motivated by the power of story, history, and His Story, Sally Matheny’s passion is telling the next generation wondrous things.
Her nonfiction writing appears in worldwide, national, and regional publications including Appleseeds, Clubhouse Jr., Homeschooling Today, and The Old Schoolhouse.
She and her husband live in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and are blessed with three children, two sons-in-law, and armfuls of grandbabies. Connect with Sally on several social media sites, but her favorite hangouts are at SallyMatheny.com and Pinterest.
