Teacher Resources

Ohio Social Studies Resource Center
The OSSRC, http://www.ossrc.org, provides links to peer-reviewed instructional resources that have been identified by a review board of Ohio educators as exemplifying best or promising practices. Available resources also include content and professional resources as well as assessment and general education resources that will support the work of Pre K-16 classroom teachers and higher education faculty members. The resources are correlated with the Ohio Social Studies Academic Content Standards.

Silk Road Lesson Plan
This lesson plan includes a PowerPoint supplemental and was published in the OCSS Review. Click here to access the lesson plans and PowerPoint slides.

Harvey Goldberg Program for Excellence in Teaching at The Ohio State University The History Teaching Institute at The Ohio State University is the P-16 portal of the Harvey Goldberg Program for Excellence in Teaching at The Ohio State University (http://hti.osu.edu/). This site provides lesson plans, professional development and resources for teaching history. The History Teaching Institute serves as the primary outreach unit of The Ohio State University’s History department.

Editorial Cartoon Resources
Using editorial cartoons to teach history. When it comes to explaining a complex idea, sometimes a picture is worth a thousands words. Because of increased interest among Ohio ’s K-12 teachers in using editorial cartoons as a tool for teaching history, Ohio State has created The Opper Project.

The website, http://hti.osu. edu/opper, offers lesson plans that integrate editorial cartoons on topics that include American Imperialism, the Red Scare, the Civil Rights Movement and others. The lesson plans were designed by teachers and aligned with the state’s content standards for social studies. The Opper Project is a joint effort by Ohio State ’s Cartoon Research Library, The Ohio State University History Teaching Institute, and the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. The site is named for Ohioan Frederick Burr Opper (1857-1937), who was the first great American-born editorial cartoonist.

Check Out the NEW Smithsonian Website
SmithsonianEducation.org now aligns more than 1,200 free educational resources to standards of learning in every state.

Simply by entering the name of the state into the search engine, teachers can find lesson plans, virtual exhibitions, photographs and artworks, and databases of research information that apply to their curriculum. The state standards are correlated to all subjects-from language arts and social studies to mathematics and technology.

Object of History: Behind the Scenes with the Curators of the National Museum of American History (http://objectofhistory.org)
Created by the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, The Object of History: Behind the Scenes with the Curators of the National Museum of American History features six artifacts from the Museum’s collections, related high school curriculum materials, and opportunities for students to participate in live online forums with Smithsonian curators.

Online Modules of Resources to Teach About the World
Go to http//www.coe.ohio-state.edu/mmerryfield and click on online modules to find over 3000 resources for teachers on Africa, East Asia, Latin America, The Middle East, and Slavic and Eastern Europe. There are modules on introducing the region, geography, history, literature, current issues and their media, cultures, and other topics relevant to social studies.

The modules were developed by the OSU Social Studies and Global Education Program and OSU's five area studies centers. An online course, Ed T&L 883d Teaching World Cultures and Global Issues, is taught once a year using the modules. For information on the course, email merryfield.1@osu.edu.

Peace Corps Coverdell World Wise Schools Program
Established in 1989 by then Peace Corps Director Paul D. Coverdell, this program provides services and materials that help K-12 students in the United States learn about the world’s diverse peoples, cultures, geography, and global issues.

Educational materials produced by the program promote cross-cultural understanding, awareness of global issues, and the ethic of community service. They include writings by Peace Corps Volunteers and returned Peace Corps Volunteers supported by standards-based lesson plans, online narrated slide shows, weekly podcasts, a monthly educational electronic newsletter, and award-winning Destination videos.
The World Wise Schools Correspondence Match program matches U.S. teachers with Peace Corps Volunteers in the field on a one-to-one basis, enabling them to maintain a rich correspondence, sharing stories, ideas, photographs, and artifacts that enlighten students on both ends of the match.

The World Wise Schools Speakers Match program also matches returned Volunteers in the United States with schools and other organizations looking to have the Volunteers speak about their experiences overseas.

Some materials are published in book form; all are available for downloading at no charge from the website at www.peacecorps.gov/wws. As excellent resources for educators, these materials help the agency achieve the Peace Corps’ third goal of helping Americans better understand other peoples.
For further information contact Chris Amesquita at 202.692.1814