TEDU 591: Social Studies Education in the Elementary School

Print and online magazines tailored to grade level. The magazines for Grades 1 and 2 cover a variety of non-fiction topics, while those for Grades 3, 4, and 5-6 are focused on current events.

Selected free articles and videos from past issues of Scholastic magazines.

Articles written for children. Quite a few free resources. Grade-level specific versions require a subscription.

News, activities and more from The Washington Post

Articles and other resources mostly on cultural, geographic, environmental issues.

Free K-12 daily news site from the Smithsonian. Teachers can set up an account to reach more resources.

From FEMA. Aim is to teach children ages 8-12 about emergencies and readiness.

Ready Kids site in Spanish

A small collection of articles that can be sorted by grade level. Additional features are available via subscription.

Bills itself as "news + more for the young." Articles usually have a short video (1:30 to 3:30 minutes). Most suitable for upper elementary and middle school students.

Games, lessons, and other resources aimed at promoting civic knowledge, civic engagement, and citizenship skills. Register for a free account to access resources for teachers. [Site founded by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor]

Find lesson plans focused on various aspects of how the United States government works.

Includes ideas, activities, lessons, reference and mapping resources.

Searchable database of a variety of materials for teachers. Search by grade, subject (e.g., social studies), type of media. Free registration required to access all areas of the site.

Ideas for teaching with documents. Explore Special Topics & Tools for primary sources and photographs. Might be good for national holidays, anniversary events.

Requires a free membership to access any resources. Designed for middle and high schools, but may provide ideas for elementary school teachers.

Designed for 6-12, but may be a good teacher resource for earlier grades.

Designed for 7-12, but like C-SPAN Classroom and The Learning Networks may provide ideas for lower grades.

Replacement of CNN Student News (as of January 2017). 10-minute broadcast of news highlights. Aimed at middle and high school students, but may provide ideas for elementary school students.