BEN'S GUIDE TO GOVERNMENT FOR KIDS:
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/k-2/index.html
What should your elementary students be learning about their government in the early years? Find the ABC's and essentials here, with an overview of our nation and government, as well as a look at neighborhoods and communities, games and activities, and American symbols.

THE WHITE HOUSE FOR KIDS:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/index.html
Designed especially for children, elementary students can learn the history of the White House, take a tour, learn about the presidents, their pets, and more.

About Government
http://www.kids.state.ct.us/about.htm

United States Historical Documents

THE CONSTITUTION -- PRINCIPLES AND STRUCTURES OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY:
http://www.coreknowledge.org/CKproto2/resrcs/lessons/01_8_Constitution.pdf
This Core Knowledge lesson plan for eighth grade assesses both compromise and process in the actual writing of the Constitution. The lessons then proceed to understand, in depth, the roles and powers of the separate branches of government, as well as the rights and responsibilities of citizens. Lastly, students will analyze their roles in a democratic society, and learn the importance of successful leadership.

Chronology of U.S. Historial Documents
http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/
Brought to you by the folks at The University of Oklahoma's College of Law, this easy-to-use site contains primary documents related to U.S. History. It starts with Christopher Columbus' letter to King Ferdinand and Queen Elizabeth and ends with George W. Bush's Inaugural Address in 2001. In between are a myriad of documents covering every period of U.S. history. You can copy and paste into your word processing app and make study guides, or you could have your students access the site directly.

The Constitution of the United States of America
http://memory.loc.gov/const/const.html

National Constitution Center
http://www.constitutioncenter.org/

The Avalon Project: listed by dated Amendments
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/usconst.htm

Ben's Guide to U.S. Government
http://thomas.loc.gov/

Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet
http://thomas.loc.gov/

Declaration of Independence - National Archives 
http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/declaration/decmain.html

United States Postal Service
http://www.usps.gov/

Today@nasa.gov
http://www.nasa.gov/today/index.html

Library of Congress Home Page
http://www.loc.gov

The United States Mint
http://www.usmint.gov/index.cfm

Welcome To The White House
http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/Welcome.html

National Archives and Records Administration
http://www.nara.gov/

BILL OF RIGHTS WEBQUEST:
http://www.plainfield.k12.in.us/hschool/webq/webq68/

 

States

50 States
http://www.50states.com/

The State Report Section of ClassBrain ****
http://www.statereports.com
Although it is the ideal for students to consult many resources for state reports, teachers really need to be aware of what's on the web. Classbrain has assembled state report resources for all those students (and parents) doing reports on U.S. states. Templates, clipart and other resources are available here. The websites gathered for each state include the official state websites, so this will be a place to start for many students.

NetState
http://www.netstate.com/states/index.html

Stately Knowledge
http://www.ipl.org/youth/stateknow/

STATE FLAG QUIZ AND PRINTOUTS:
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/flags/
At this site you can print out each state's flag, corresponding background info, and a comprehension quiz to quiz the material read.

What Is the Capital?
http://www.what-is-the-capital-of.com/
Study a list of capitals around the world and then take a quiz. As a bonus, over 100 science questions are just a click away!

Connecticut

Welcome to CTKids
http://www.kids.state.ct.us/

State of Connecticut: About Government
http://www.kids.state.ct.us/about.htm

The State of Connecticut Website
http://www.state.ct.us/

Connecticut Department of Education
http://www.state.ct.us/sde/

Connecticut Tourism Home Page
http://www.tourism.state.ct.us/

Connecticut State Library Services Home Page
http://www.cslnet.ctstateu.edu/

The Connecticut Post
http://www.connpost.com/

Connecticut General Assembly-Legislative Government
http://www.cga.state.ct.us/

Connecticut.com - Connecticut's Premiere Portal
http://www.connecticut.com/

Connecticut Magazine
http://www.connecticutmag.com/

The Connecticut Historical Society
http://www.chs.org/

Get Local - Connecticut
http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/U_S__States/Connecticut/

West Hartford

Town of West Hartford
http://www.west-hartford.com/

West Hartford Public Library
http://www.west-hartford.com/library/

West Hartford Public Schools
http://www.whps.org/

Noah Webster House Museum of West Hartford History
http://www.ctstateu.edu/noahweb/

West Hartford News
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?brd=1646

West Hartford Toastmasters
http://members.macconnect.com/users/r/rhb/WestHartford/

West Hartford Chamber of Commerce
http://www.whchamber.com/

West Hartford Home
http://www.westhartfordct.net/

West Hartford House Senate Committees
http://www.cga.state.ct.us/maps/Townlvl/westhartford.htm

Community of West Hartford
http://officialcitysites.org/city.php3

International

Worldwide Governments on the WWW
http://www.gksoft.com/govt/en/world.html#I
Comprehensive database of governmental institutions on the World Wide Web: parliaments, ministries, offices, law courts, embassies, city councils, public broadcasting corporations, central banks, multi-governmental institutions etc. Includes also political parties. Online since June 1995. Contains more than 17000 entries from more than 220 countries and territories as of November 2000. Frequently updated.

Foreign Government Resources on the Web
http://www.lib.umich.edu/libhome/Documents.center/foreign.html

International Government Sources
http://www.umr.edu/~library/gov/intltabl.html

International Government Organizations
http://thorplus.lib.purdue.edu/vlibrary/reading/govdocs/igo.html

Elections

U.S. Elections
http://www.infoplease.com/millennium1.html

Elections around the world
http://www.agora.stm.it/elections/

U.S. Territories

Current Flags of US Districts, Territories, and Possessions
http://www.law.ou.edu/possflag.html

US Territories
http://www.statesnews.org/aboutcsg/territories.html

U.S. - Territories and Possessions
http://www.cyndislist.com/territor.htm

CT State Education

Connecticut Department of Education
http://www.state.ct.us/sde/

Immigration

Ellis Island
www.ellisisland.org

Immigration Station
www.angelisland.org/immigr02.html

Immigration Law: An overview
www.law.cornell.edu/topics/immigration.html

A Celebration of Diversity - Immigration & Citizenship
www.libsci.sc.edu/miller/diversity.htm

Presidents

PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY RESOURCES:
http://www.americanpresident.org/presidentialresources.htm
A series of relevant middle to high school lesson plans on the office of the presidency and the American Presidents in history are offered at this site, along with a wealth of research resources to back them up. Primary source documents are also posted on site, as well as pertinent essays and commentaries on each of the Presidents.

Presidential Links
http://gi.grolier.com/presidents/links/preslink.html#HISTORY

Presidents of the United States
http://www.ipl.org/ref/POTUS/

Presidents
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/P/

President for a Day
http://www.pbs.org/democracy/kids/presforaday/index.html

National Portrait Gallery: Hall of Presidents
http://www.npg.si.edu/col/pres/index.htm

The American President
http://www.americanpresident.org/presidentialresources.htm

Presidents
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/P/

Abraham Lincoln
http://www.berwickacademy.org/lincoln/lincoln.htm

Abraham Lincoln Research
http://www.siec.k12.in.us/~west/proj/lincoln/

POSITIVELY PRESIDENTIAL:
http://www.dltk-kids.com/usa/mlincoln.html

ALL THE PRESIDENTS FOR PRESIDENTS' DAY:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/2328/presday.htm

PRESIDENTIAL FIRSTS WORKSHEET:
http://www.activitiesforkids.com/internet/presfirst.htm
http://www.fujisan.demon.co.uk/USPresidents/pfirst.htm

The Time of the Lincolns
http://pbs.org/lincolns/

Abraham Lincoln
http://www.berwickacademy.org/lincoln/lincoln.htm

Yahoo Link sites to the Presidents
http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/History/U_S__History/People/Presidents/

 

The American Flag

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE -- HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN FLAG:
http://216.132.160.230/lp_amflag.htm
Students will research three versions of the American flag throughout its history, creating an illustrated pamphlet describing each rendition. They will also have a chance to create their own flags.

FLAG EDUCATION AND ETIQUETTE:
http://www.legion.org/flagtoc.htm
FAQ's, history of the U.S. flag and the Pledge of Allegiance, how to properly fold a flag, the flag code, and more.