1.+Internet+Search+Literature+List

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Internet Searches &

Literature Lists **

**Danielle Donohue Internet Search: The Official Kids Portal for the U.S Government** [] This website caters to children, parents and educators who are looking for games, activities, lesson plans and other helpful websites. Specifically the link above is the link for the educator part of the website that offers tons of websites that would be beneficial when teaching about government. Some websites offer ideas, lesson plans, activities, and other resources give additional links to partnership programs and teacher tips.

[] This is a website that goes over all the national standards for civics and government. Not only does this website offer the standards, but it offers how to organize questions and content summary based on these standards. Another neat feature of this website is it offers educators online curricular materials that can be downloaded or printed.
 * Center for Civic Education**

[] This website is an online community of civic educators, scholars, policy makers, civic-minded journalists and other individuals who want to promote civil education all over the world. There are news links, blogs, discussion forms, newsletters and a list of resources and organizations that are all related to teaching civil education.
 * CIVITAS**

//Barack Obama: An American Story// By: Roberta Edwards This New York Times Bestseller is a picture book biography about our 44th president. This book would be great to do as a read aloud and then to put out as a resource for students doing research on our President or who want to read more. There is a mix between drawings and photographs in this biography that really bring the words to life.
 * Literature List:**

//D is for Democracy: A Citizen’s Alphabet// By: Elissa Grodin This is one book out of an amazing series of alphabet books. Each letter of the alphabet is paired with an important term about citizenship. Not only is there a cute rhyme that explains what the word is, for example “ B is for Bill of Rights- the freedom to express ideas and opinions and how we want to dress”, but then on the other side of the page it gives a detailed description of what the term is.

//Duck for President// By: Doreen Cronin This book talks about a Duck and how he worked his way from a citizen, to a farmer to a governor to running for president. This book teaches about the election process by using the Duck and his farm animal friends. The Duck doesn’t like the way things are run on the barnyard and decides to create a change and shows children their role of citizenship as well.

//Voting// By: Fredrick Liljeblad This is a nonfiction book that talks about the importance of voting and how it is a right and a privilege that gives people power such as choosing leaders and creating change. The book is broken up into the following chapters: To Make a Difference, Voting in America, Women Get the Vote, and Ways of Voting. The book also provides a glossary which I think is another reason this book is child friendly and informative.

**Lauren Alonso Internet Search**: National Student/Parent Mock Election: [] This site is a great tool to use in the classroom when discussing the topic of politics and elections. The site allows students and parents to take part in a “mock” election and vote for his/her favorite candidate. This allows students to make a better personal connection to the importance of the electoral process and encourage them to continue voting as an adult.

Library of Congress Home: [] This website was particularly interesting because it is the website of our nation’s library, and the largest library in the world. This site could be used not only as a research tool for students to be used on assignments but there are also resources and plans for teachers to use as well.

The American Presidency Project: [] This informational site offers students and teachers archives of Presidential documents from throughout history. This site, I thought would be very beneficial when discussing the topic of presidency.

American Presidents: Life Portraits: [] This website allows students and teachers to research countless information and biographies on the U.S. Presidents. The site also has great teacher resources for teaching the subject.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History: [] This website is designed to promote the love and study of U.S. History. Students and teachers can view collections of history by era through podcasts and virtual exhibitions.

//D is for Democracy: A Citizen’s Alphabet// by Elissa Grodin This book is written for students between the ages of 4-8. The book is designed as an alphabet book; except for each letter a different word used in democracy is represented. This, in turn, is teaching students the basics of government while reinforcing the alphabet.
 * Literature List:**

//House Mouse, Senate Mouse// by Cheryl Shaw Barnes and Peter W. Barnes This book is a fictional story explaining the government and our system through the more relatable subject of animals. The book tells about mice and their own democracy (that strongly resembles our own) and explains the concepts to students.

//Voting in Elections// by Terri DeGezelle This book is a non-fiction piece written for students in grades 1-3. It is written in order to inform children what voting is, how it works, and why it is important to our society and their future.

//The Fourth of July Story// by Alice Dalgliesh This book is a historical fiction book that takes students grades K-4 on a journey that describes how the fourth of July came to be and why.

//Political Power: Barack Obama// by Chris Ward This book is a biography written comic book-style to better appeal to students. This creates a more fun and interesting way for students to learn about the life of our President.

Internet Search: **
 * Michelle Aippersbach

**Name:** Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government for Kids
 * Website address:** []
 * Summary:** This website is a fantastic resource for kids to use to learn about the government of the United States of America. The site is divided into sections for the Parent & Teacher as well as the various grade levels ranging from K-12. Each section for the various grade levels provides age appropriate instruction on the government and how it works. Ben Franklin is the person who is telling the children about the topics. Since my unit plan is geared for second graders, I only focused on the K-2 section of the website. Ben has links for the students to learn about the nation, government, your neighborhood, his version of the ABC’s, symbols of the U.S. government, games & activities related to the government, and additional kid friendly websites to look at for more information about the U.S. government. The website will help students learn new information and review already learned information about the government.


 * Name:** Our Documents
 * Website address:** []
 * Summary:** This website helped me to enhance my knowledge of the important documents of our nation’s government. The site has a list of 100 of the most influential documents in the history of the United States. Each document has a description of what it is and how it has been so influential to the nation’s history. The site also provides additional resources and links to go to for more information about the various documents of our government. I specifically looked at the Constitution of the United States of America so that I could research more information about this important document of our government.


 * Name:** Congress for Kids
 * Website address:** []
 * Summary:** This is another fantastic website for students, teachers, and parents to use in order to gain more knowledge about our nation’s government. The website provides links to information and activities about: independence, the Constitution, the three main branches of government (Legislative, Executive, and Judicial), elections, and citizenship. The site is very interactive and full of information about our nation’s government and what every citizen’s role is as a member of this country. Everything a citizen needs to know is presented here.


 * Literature List: **


 * Title:** //Shh! We’re Writing the Constitution//
 * Author:** Jean Fritz
 * Summary:** This children’s book is a humorous view of what it was like drafting and revising the Constitution for the fifty five members of the Constitutional Convention. The text is accompanied by illustrations created by Tomie dePoala that help the reader to see how difficult it was for the delegates write in such hot weather during the summer and noisy environments, all while trying to keep the document a secret. The book provides great historical facts while keeping children’s interests. It would be a great resource for a lesson about the nation’s government.


 * Title:** //We the Kids : A Preamble to The Constitution of The United States //
 * Author:** David Catrow
 * Summary:** This is another great children’s book that provides a new view on the ideals that a citizen of the United States is expected to uphold. The text is the Preamble of the Constitution, but the illustrations provide a funny and easier way for younger readers to relate to what this important part of the Constitution is saying. This book also provides great historical facts while keeping children’s interests. It would be a great resource for a lesson about the nation’s government.


 * Title:** // What Is Government? -First Step Nonfiction //
 * Author:** Anne-Marie Kishel
 * Summary:** This is a wonderful nonfiction book to use to introduce what the government is to students. It helps establish the background knowledge about community, state, and federal governments within the nation. There are great photographs that accompany the text to help the reader understand the various aspects of the government. The main message of the book for the students to understand is who is in charge of our government and how they work together to make our country work smoothly. It would be a great resource for a lesson about the nation’s government.


 * Title:** //Barak Obama- History Maker Bios//
 * Author:** Jane Sutcliffe
 * Summary:** This biography is meant for ages 12 and up, but a teacher could still read parts of the book to younger students. This book provides factual information about our current President of the United States of America. It gives students information about his childhood, his journey to becoming the President, and a little bit about what his job entails as the President. It would be a great resource for a lesson about the nation’s government.

**Kayla Castillo Website List:** [] This website is the government website for non U.S. citizens. The link provides resources and study materials for the citizenship test. Some of the resources are provided in several types of languages. This website also includes information on how to get a green card, immigrant rights, any forms needed, and contact information for any further questions. Making sure that students are on websites with legitimate information is very important. This is a government website which would be great for students to get on and look around. A scavenger hunt of this website would be a fun activity.
 * U.S Citizen and Immigration Services**

[] Ben’s Guide for Kids is a great interactive website for students based upon their grade level. There are many different topics to choose from and those topics come with great information and many different visual representations to go along with the text. Printable and interactive games are also available on the website. This is a great website to help students understand some rather difficult concepts. The explanations are all in student language and the visual representations are fantastic!
 * Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government**

[] With the census being this year it is a great topic starter in the classroom. This is another great interactive website for students. The website includes different counting activities and also has a song that plays in the background. My favorite part to this website is the state facts. This page allows the student to pick whatever state they want and it gives results from the census taken however the list is in students! For example in Florida in 2008 there were 107,170 eight year old boys and 103,109 eight year old girls! Not only is this fun to look at the students own state but to compare to others around the country.
 * Census for Kids**

//Paul Revere’s Ride// By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Illustrated by Ted Rand This book is illustration to the famous poem written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The poem is about Paul Revere’s famous ride to warn the people about the British attack. This book is a great way to share quality literature in a way that young students will understand. Paul Revere’s Ride can go hand in hand with a poetry lesson taught at another time of the day.
 * Literature List:**

//Woodrow, the White House Mouse// Written and Illustrated by Cheryl Shaw Barnes and Peter W. Barnes This fiction book is a fun way for students to understand what the president does on a daily basis. The students will also gain some background knowledge of the white house and the president’s family. Although the students are reading a story about Woodrow G. Washingtail they are actually getting factual information.

//We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States// Written and Illustrated by David Catrow This nonfiction book is a great addition to have in any social studies lesson plan. David Catrow breaks down the preamble to the constitution and uses his cartoon abilities to help show what the terms mean. For the really difficult concepts the author uses “kid language” so the students can understand rather than memorize this piece of text. This book is great for students of all ages!

//Let Freedom Ring// Written and Illustrated by Regina F. Parker and Morgan B. Starkey From the looks of this book, Let Freedom Ring looks like it would be a poorly written piece of text with bad illustrations. Never judge a book by its cover! This published book was written by a ten year old girl! The book is about a seven year old girl who learns what freedom means for herself and her family. This is a great way to show the students that they can do anything!

**Alyson Lipensky Website List**: Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids [] This site is fun with learning games for all grades. There are categories for different parts of the government where you can find many interactive games as well as interesting facts to read. This site is very kid oriented and appealing to children learning about government.

Congress for Kids [] This site looks fun for students. There are quizzes as well as categories for different parts of government. There are pictures that go along with readings that make it fun. Then there are fun quizzes that the students can take to show what they learn.

Liberty's Kids [] This site is full of fun readings for the students to learn about government. They are able to learn about some of the famous people from the past. There are also fun and interactive games that students can learn in a fun way. There are also sections to look under and learn interesting facts. One cool area is called “behind the scenes.” This is fun for learning interesting facts that are interesting to children.

//If I Ran for President// by Catherine Stier and Lynne Avril This book is a fun picture book that explains the process of running for president. The students will get to see all the fun things as well as see how hard it is to run for president. It shows that running for presidents means that you have to study the nation’s problems to help get votes and be liked by the people. The students will be able to begin to learn about the election process.
 * Literature List:**

//Vote!// by Eileen Christelow This picture book is a great opening for learning about the voting process. It is a fun book with animals as the characters. This book shows how we choose our leaders and includes many things like a timeline of the voting history and a glossary of words that have to do with voting.

//Marshall, the Courthouse Mouse: A Taile of the U.S. Supreme Court// by Peter W. Barnes This picture book uses rhyme to teach students about the judicial system. It is full of information, vocabulary, and many other interesting facts. This is a fascinating introduction to the Supreme Court and keeps students attention with the fun rhyme of the book.

//House Mouse, Senate Mouse// by Cheryl Shaw Barnes and Peter W. Barnes This book is a fun book about a mouse being a senator. It presents the concept of how a bill becomes a law in a fun and easy to understand way. This book also describes researching and drafting a bill, committee hearings and markup, floor action, and presidential action, and covers the idea of compromise.