TOP PICKS | 24 TOOLS
Civil Rights and Social Justice Resources for Classrooms
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Anti-Defamation League
Toolkit equips teachers to tackle bias with ready-to-go resources
Bottom line: This site fuses meaningful curricular connections between challenging current events and class content, and is a helpful go-to for teaching tough issues.
Grades: Pre-K–12
Price: Free
Teaching Tolerance
Thought-provoking classroom resources support diversity education
Bottom line: It's an invaluable teacher tool to help reduce prejudice and encourage tolerance in schools, as well as within society as a whole.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free
Library of Congress
Visit our largest library's online collection of multimedia goodies
Bottom line: The Library of Congress delivers the best of America's past and present, but it's a little tricky to navigate.
Grades: 1–12
Price: Free
EDSITEment
Extensive humanities resource offers deep well of great content
Bottom line: The National Endowment for the Humanities has put together an outstanding place for art, history, language, and literature.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free
National Archives
Access U.S. history with treasure trove of docs, genealogy, and other resources
Bottom line: NARA's website wasn't designed for kids, but they can definitely use it to research and learn about history, genealogy, and the U.S. population and government.
Grades: 4–12
Price: Free
Digital Public Library of America
Organized digital library features piles of useful primary resources
Bottom line: DPLA is at the top of the list of high-grade, online primary source collections if teachers make effective use of what's on offer.
Grades: 5–12
Price: Free
Beyond the Bubble
Top-quality assessments challenge students to think like historians
Bottom line: A ready-to-go, pedagogically sound route for refocusing formative assessment on critical thinking and literacy rather than memorization.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
Critical Media Project
Relevant media clips get students examining identity, culture
Bottom line: Teachers will need to take time to build effective lessons, but if they do, this is a useful, relevant, high-interest resource for deconstructing identity and building critical thinking and empathy skills.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free
Do I Have a Right?
Law sim lets players practice pairing rights with amendments
Bottom line: Standout iCivics title helps learners new to the U.S. Constitution get great practice matching amendments to individuals' rights, and have good fun doing it.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
Facing History and Ourselves
A wealth of resources explore racism, prejudice, and anti-Semitism
Bottom line: These valuable materials empower students to understand and address difficult ethical choices -- past and present.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
Ken Burns
Dynamic video clips explore cultural themes throughout U.S. history
Bottom line: A huge time-saver and an effective way to share Ken Burns' brilliant documentaries with students.
Grades: 6–12
Price: $9.99 Full Version One free playlist on Innovation is included in the download.
The Knotted Line
Unique, artistic timeline lets kids explore freedom in U.S. history
Bottom line: Students will benefit from this eye-opening and interactive approach to studying history.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
Newseum
Media museum's site offers timely resources mixing history and civics
Bottom line: Filled with primary sources, daily content, and lesson plans, this is a valuable site teaching news and media literacy, especially the value of a free and independent press.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
Youth Radio
A stellar take on the news from diverse kid journalists
Bottom line: An outstanding place to find fresh voices and NPR-quality content created by kids.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
Zinn Education Project
Resources, lessons help teach a more inclusive version of U.S. history
Bottom line: Free downloadable resources encourage critical thinking and active learning in search of a more accurate picture of American history.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free
IWitness
Explore survivor testimony with lessons, video on teacher-geared site
Bottom line: IWitness allows students to reflect upon the past, looking toward today’s values and society. Students build knowledge about the past using a dynamic, specific tool.
Grades: 7–12
Price: Free
Voices of Democracy
Vast collection of primary source documents a solid starting point
Bottom line: A great place to begin when you want to make history feel more real, but "begin" is the operative word; plan on creating your own scaffolding.
Grades: 8–12
Price: Free
Constitute
Extensive, highly searchable collection of the world's constitutions
Bottom line: Quickly and easily access almost any country's constitution, locate an excerpt, or compare governments.
Grades: 9–12
Price: Free
K-TOWN'92
LA riot videos shake up dominant narrative
Bottom line: This artful re-examination of the '92 LA riot can offer new insights and diverse perspectives, if students don't get too lost in the design.
Grades: 9–12
Price: Free
Liyla and the Shadows of War
Stark, arresting game offers emotional perspective on war's human toll
Bottom line: The short length and powerful themes make this an effective way to help students consider the brutal effects of war on families.
Grades: 9–12
Price: Free
Parable of the Polygons
Dynamic interactive helps classrooms explore topics of bias, diversity
Bottom line: A fascinating way to address how communities become segregated due to individual bias.
Grades: 9–12
Price: Free
The Republia Times
Unassuming editorial sim elegantly exposes the business of bias
Bottom line: What this game lacks in pizzazz it makes up for in smarts, and it's certain to get students thinking and talking about bias and media politics.
Grades: 9–12
Price: Free
Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database
Deep, complex database is challenging but a peerless research tool
Bottom line: This is a highly academic site for better and for worse; it's filled with deep, research-backed resources and primary sources but is intimidating without clear guidance.
Grades: 10–12
Price: Free
