Time Travel
By Gail Junion-Metz -- School Library Journal, 12/1/1998
The medium of the future offers many new ways to look at the past.
It's a rough world out there when you're looking for history sites. So many links, so little time. Kids need good jumping-off points when starting historical research and I've found some of the best.
Start Here
Like reference or general history books, these sites will help kids launch their research. The History Net, created by the Cowles History Group for grades seven and higher, offers different feature articles each week. Visit the "Personality Profiles"section for short biographical essays. The History Place, created by Philip Gavin, a history buff with a background in journalism, provides a frequently changing selection of photos and speeches for grades five and higher. Check out the "Points of View"section, where well-known writers and historians offer their opinions on historical events.
American Memory, created for grades six and higher, is a joint project of the National Science Foundation and the Library of Congress. This site offers more than 40 online "exhibits" that you can browse or keyword search. (One of my favorites is "Jackie Robinson and Baseball 1860s-1960s.")
History Highlights
These sites truly bring history to life. EyeWitness, developed for grades five and higher by Ibis Communications, provides short essays on historical events with perspectives from folks who were actually there, such as survivors' accounts of the San Francisco earthquake. HyperHistory Online, conceived by Vancouver architect and self-appointed researcher Andreas Nothiger, offers a timeline that kids can custom search for specific people, periods, and events. Don't miss the "Maps" section.
Another part of the American Memory project is Today in History, for grades five and higher. Kids see a different Web page every day, containing a brief essay about a historical event that occurred on that date. The folks at the History Channel take a slightly different approach with their This Day in History page, providing students in grades six and higher with information on many topics and people who were born or died that date. (The day I visited, you could learn about historic events in the automotive industry, during the Civil War, and on Wall Street.)
Follow the Links
Sometimes kids just need a site that provides lots of links to specific historic periods, countries, or people. The University of California-Riverside's History Department created Horus' Web Links to History Resources for grades six and higher. Horus is a large library of well-selected links. Kids can also use Horus to locate information on ethnic and oral histories. Mississippi State University sponsors the Historical Text Archive. Here kids in grades six and higher will find an eclectic mix of documents and other primary texts from many countries.
For Teachers
Dennis Boals, a retired high school social studies teacher, offers lesson plans at History/Social Studies Web Site for K-12 Teachers. The site History Matters, created by City University of New York and George Mason University for high school history teachers, provides assignments that use Web resources and interactive exercises. History's Best on PBS supplies resources that correspond to PBS shows such as Frontline.
Web Addresses
For previous "Surf For" links, visit SLJ Online at www.slj.com/links.html
The History Net
www.history.com
The History Place
www.historyplace.com/
American Memory
lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/amhome.html
EyeWitness
www.ibiscom.com
HyperHistory Online
www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html
Today in History
memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/today.html
This Day in History
www.historychannel.com/thisday/
Horus' Web Links to History Resources
www.ucr.edu/h-gig/horuslinks.html
Historical Text Archive
www.msstate.edu/Archives/History/
History/Social Studies Web Site for K-12 Teachers
www.execpc.com/~dboals/boals.html
History Matters
historymatters.gmu.edu
History's Best on PBS
www.pbs.org/history
