updated 13 August, 2004

Citizenship and Government

• Understand that one of the key democratic values of the United States is the importance of freedom

Culture

• Understand that each ethnic, racial, and religious group adds its culture to the larger American culture

Economics

• Learn about the United States as a partner in alliances, trade agreements, and as a member of the United Nations
• Study the United State’s place in the world

Geography

• Explore four major regions of the United States as well as the climate regions

History

• Learn about the history of each region with a concentration on Illinois

Social Studies Related Web Sites

• State of Illinois
• Illinois State Museum
• States and Capitals A site displaying all 50 states with information concerning: official bird, flower, flag, tree, etc. It also includes state songs and music for each. Provides links to community pages and university and college directories.
• All 50 American States Home Pages This site links all 50 state home pages connecting its visitor to information on tourism, business, government and education. Here each state provides material on the special services and opportunities it has to offer.
• Chicago Mosaic
• National Park Service Guide
• Prairietown Stories Pages from Conner Prairie offer a way to learn what people were really like in the first Midwestern American towns. They were settlers who came from many different areas and backgrounds, and together they formed the villages, communities, and towns from which early America grew.
• Connor Prairie History Grassroots history from the heartland of 19th century America spreads across this page of interesting topics unique to their Indiana source. The Internet is pioneering new ways of making knowledge available, and this Web page is a trailblazer for many more regional sources to publish their knowledge on the Web. Connor Prairie is an open-air living museum in Fishers, Indiana, that serves as a local, regional, and national center for research and education about the lives, times, attitudes, and values of early 19th century settlers in the Old Northwest Territory, based upon the Indiana experience. The online history page contains fifty-one articles covering a broad range of topics. Some are original documents like the 1832 Muster Roll of Ohio Seneca & Shawnee; others are broader essays like "Jews in Early Indiana." The article on "The National Road" shows how far we have come via technological advances. The guiding tenets for designing the National Road were building the road the shortest distance between two points, and water crossings were made where the waterway was most navigable, not most convenient for crossing.
• Rain Forest Explorations
• Zoom Rainforest
  http://www.ZoomSchool.com/subjects/rainforest/
  Information and fun activites related to a study of rainforests.
• WWF Global Network
  Conservation methods and projects in various regions. Kids and teachers page has funfacts.
• Zoom School USA
  Informationand activites to support a study of the USA.
• At Home in the Heartland Online
  Organized by Illinois History Timeline, this exhibit has text and activities to support an involved study of Illinois and its people. Includes maps, inventions, etc.
• Friends of the Prairie Learning Center
  A look at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Iowas shows prairie animals, flowers and grasses among other things.
• Pioneers
  Provides information on early American pioneers’ experiences. An excellent and involved site.