Teacher Materials & Ideas

If you know of available materials or have an idea or project that works well for you, please use the e-mail link at the right. We'd love to add them!
  2. Here's a great thought to start the school year with . . . and a great activity. This was sent by a Howard County teacher. We don't know who wrote it or whether a copyright is held. If anyone has any information, we'd be glad to know more about it.

  3. Maryland's Sister States Program Background on Maryland's Sister States: Anhui Province, China; Jalisco, Mexico; Prefecture of Kanagawa, Japan; Kyongsangnamdo, Korea; Leningrad Oblast/City of St. Petersburg; Lodz, Poland; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Walloon, Belgium.Includes information on culture, geography, etc. of each area and on exchange programs.

  4. Maryland and the Underground Railroad Deciding to try to escape slavery was very complicated. Living as a slave was extremely hard. But escaping meant leaving family behind. It also might lead to eventual capture, punishment, and sometimes, even death The resources here will help you see how people made this complicated decision. They include:
    • autobiographies, or life stories written by the people who lived them.
    • biographies, or life stories written by others.
    • interviews with former slaves, conducted in the 1930s as part of the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA)

  5. How Stuff Works All KINDS of information about the workings of all kinds of things from demolition to root beer to dieting.

  6. Lighthouses of Maryland This is a great index page for lighthouses of Maryland. It's probably a little complicated for fourth graders to use, although those who are interested will find a way.

  7. The September 2002 issue of CobbleStone magazine focuses on Maryland and her history. It's an excellent issue. All of the articles are written by Maryland historians and/or educators. Lois Green Carr, who wrote the "Life in Colonial Maryland, " "A Place in the Carroll Dynasty" and "The Calverts" articles is the historian who did much of the research on Historic St. Mary's City. Many schools subscribe to CobbleStone, so you may find it in your school media center. If not, you can probably find it in the magazine section of one of the larger book stores.

  8. Holiday Ideas Lots of reminders and ideas for holidaysmany unusual (National Raspberry Popover Day? Wear Purple For Peace Day).

  9. Potomac Adventure A wonderful site, maintained by WETA, which explores the Potomac Riverits history, transportation, settlement, ecology, industry and importance. This site was originally developed with Washington, Maryland and Virginia students. Explore the river's heritage and learn more about the events that have unfolded on its shores. A timeline, lesson plans and field trip plans are included.

  10. March is Women's History Month Maryla nd Women's Hall of Fame gives background on many of women of note in Maryland. There will be a page added to the MD Kids' Page about famous Maryland women at the first of March.

  11. Chesapeake Bay - Bay Link - an educational site centered on the Chesapeake Bay estuary, the people living on its drainage area, and the effect the various natural and human forces have on the Bay. They invite you to try out the lesson plans and submit lesson plans for use by your colleagues. Includes a primer, also.

  12. Teachers, please note - Since the Kids' Page is now using frames, clicking on some links will open new windows (for those sites which were too wide to fit into our frame). Students need to know that if they can't get back to where they were by hitting the back button, they probably need to close the window by using the "x" in the upper right. Another way to tell this is that if our red title bar is not showing, they will need to close the window they're in to return to the Kids' Page. This is standard across the web, but students may not realize it.

  13. Aquaculture links for teachers

  14. Play Doh Map of Your State

  15. A Visit to Charm City - an ESOL visit to Baltimore

  16. St. Mary's County Historic Landmarks - You may want to plan a field trip to include several of these small museums.

  17. Great American Landmarks Adventure - background on teaching about National Landmarks. Includes Teachers' Guide - National Park Service

  18. You may find a use for the U.S. Map Quizzes

  19. You may find a use for the Age Gauge --or you may just have fun with it!

  20. Maryland Digital Library - Includes material on St. Mary's City; the Port of Baltimore; and African, Asian, Eastern European, Jewish, German, Hispanic, Irish and Italian histories. Also, legislation, population and labor history. Excellent!

    "The Maryland Immigration Digital Library is largely an effort to examine the many faces of immigration in Maryland over the past 300 years, from myriad perspectives. Combining text, imagery, and sound, this collection seeks to shed light on the current and historical issues framing immigration to Maryland, from how legislation has shaped and informed immigration to in-depth looks at various communities and their struggles to simultaneously carve out a unique space and achieve assimilation."
  21. The Strength of Our Diversity - Multiculturalism in Maryland History. Maryland State Archives: Documents for the Classroom. Explores race, gender, ethnic, and class diversity in Maryland's history. Includes images of original documents. Take a look at all the Archives has to offer for classrooms.

  22. What was the impact of the railroad on our country ? . . . and lots more general railroad info!

  23. Make your own puzzles using this puzzle maker site

  24. Economics & Geography Lesson on Maryland' s Watermen

  25. History & Geography lesson based on The Day they Left the Bay by Mick Blackistone. Prepared by Montgomery County Public Schools (MD)

  26. Pride of Baltimore II Online Classroom - lessons, ideas and quizzes about Maryland (sections include transportation and economics )

  27. Transportation information

    • Garrett A. Morgan site for Teachers & Students. Morgan was the inventor of the first traffic signal. The US Department of Transportation has mounted a website named for Mr. Morgan, which includes lesson plans, curriculum guides and ideas for use in the classroom and at home.

    • Chesapeake Bay Reading Series: Migratory Fish, a Reader for Early Elementary Students (paperback) - Single copies may be requested by writing the following address: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Chesapeake Bay Estuary Program, 180 Admiral Cochran Drive, Suite 535, Annapolis MD 21401 (410-224-2732). Teachers may reproduce the materials. Free.

    • Map of the Month - Individual maps of the State of Maryland (18" x 24") for the student cartographer. Includes elementary level cartographic activities. Contact Map of the Month, East Side Station, P.O. Box 2484, Providence, RI 02906-0484 (401) 274-4288. Inexpensive.


© Copyright November 5, 1999, Office of the Secretary of State.
Last Modified September 16, 2003. bv