General Resources		Daily Almanac - Historical events, births, and deaths by date from around the world.
Africa	Ancient History	Asia	Central America	China
Europe	Japan	The Middle East	Russia	Australia

Canada and the Hudson's Bay Company - Grades 4-12 - This Canadian site is written expressly for younger audiences, yet the thematic presentation is interesting enough to hold the attention of older students. There's lots of information, presented in an appealing, easily accessible structure. Great addition to any unit on exploration, or for the study of Canadian history itself.

Canadian Heritage Information Network - Grades K-12 - This site from the Canadian government offers a huge compilation of online resources about Canadian heritage from museums in all disciplines, government agencies, educational instutions. If you're in search of things Canadian, this is an excellent starting point.

Canada Teaching Resources - The National Atlas of Canada has compiled a large collection of teaching resources on Canada. They include numerous mapping resources as well as political, native, and scientific topics.

The Conquistadors Adventure - Grades 4-12 - This is the education section of the PBS series of the same name. It offers several activities, including a Flash-based timeline and a discussion of the impact of Spanish exploration in different regions of Central and South America. Some of the content will be over the heads of elementary students, but this one's worth a look for your explorers unit.

Mexican Folklorico - Grades 4-12 - A site offering information and resources on Mexican cultural celebrations, including resources for creating a celebration and schedules of celebrations in communities in the U.S. and Mexico.

México para Niños - Grades 3-6 - This children's site from the Mexican government introduces elementary students to Mexican history, culture, and customs. Originally written in Spanish, the English translation is uneven in places, but no less useful. Some of the additional historical information could also be used for middle school studies of national histories. The site could also be used in conjunction with study of the American southwest.

Orinoco Online - Grades 6-12 - This foundation-supported site offers information on the various native cultures found in the Orinoco region of Venezuela. Learn about tribal customs, shamans and religious beliefs, and the cultures of these native peoples in an educational site with spectacular design and elegant execution.

Virtual Palenque - A Mayan Ruin - Grades 6-12 - Here's a virtual tour of the Mayan ruins at Palenque. This site uses the Quicktime VR player to give users panoramic views of a number of the ancient buildings. There's a well-written narrative as well. Good site for independent research, or as background to a study of Mayan and Central American native cultures.

Virtual Villages - Dominican Republic - Grades 9-12 - This site from CNN chronicles the role which technology is playing at the local level in helping developing to overcome basic development issues. The site offers four case studies in the ways that the addition of small amounts of technolgy can create major changes in the ways that simple communities work and behave. Lots of interesting "why and how" lesson possibilities in this one.

 

World Cultures Lessons
Elementary World Cultures Resources

TeachersFirst Home Page