Tips for Teachers

These are some of our selected resources to help teachers utilize FactCite in the classroom. 

Virginia Standards of Learning for History & Social Science

Click here for FactCite resources supporting the Virginia state standards.

American History

Holocaust Inquiry Assignment This activity supports research on the Holocaust using the FactCite American History module on The Holocaust.

FactCite 1-2-3 ELL Lesson Ideas

ELL students are asked to read an article in FactCite 1-2-3 and answer questions that will help them improve their English language skills. A teacher's key with answers is supplied in both PDF and RTF format, together with a Student Worksheet in RTF.

Sports Champions

Argument/Opinion Writing Activity Worksheet. Students are asked to take a side in the perennial Shoeless Joe Jackson debate and make a case for their opinion. In 1919, Jackson and his teammates on the Chicago White Sox baseball team were accused of “throwing” the World Series. The question is, “Did Shoeless Joe Jackson participate in the conspiracy to lose the 1919 World Series?” Opinions differ. Students should take a side and argue their case.

Mythology

Standards Correlations and Student Activity Worksheets. Our 44-page booklet, available here in PDF format, correlates the content of the database with curriculum standards. It also contains sample lesson plans and student activity worksheets that can be copied and distributed. Chapters are devoted to 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grades.

Mythology Trading Cards. A fun activity for any grade. This activity was submitted by Sue Pizer and Dana McClain of Mars Middle School who used it to great success with their middle school students.

Biography for Beginners

African Americans Biography Report. This activity encourages researchers to look deeper into the biographies of African-American leaders. Two graphic organizers are included to facilitate student research.

New York Social Studies Framework 4.6e: Entrepreneurs and Inventors. This activity—developed at the suggestion of Karen Fronhofer, K-12 Librarian, Salem Central School—is designed to help support New York Social Studies Framework 4.6e: Entrepreneurs and Inventors by providing a list of people for students to research.

Explorers Report. In this activity, submitted by Librarian Carol Hughes at Rousseau Elementary (Lincoln Public Schools), students work in pairs to create a Google document about the explorer they chose to study.

Defining Moments

Student Research Topics This Teacher’s Guide presents lists of potential research topics for each of the subjects covered in the Defining Moments database. These topics can be used by a student to narrow down his or her research interests. They detail some of the important topics that recur throughout the collection and provide a valuable starting point for research.

Essential Information: Countries and Cultures

“Without a Country” persuasive presentation This Teacher’s Guide supports the 7th grade English curriculum and stresses research on the countries of the world. The purpose of the project is to persuade someone without a county to immigrate to a country.

Junior Library Guild Selections Reference Resources

Magellan: Over the Edge of the World by Laurence Bergreen

Alexander Hamilton, Revolutionary by Martha Brockenbrough

Meet Cindy Sherman: Artist, Photographer, Chameleon by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan

Fallingwater: The Building of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Masterpiece by Marc Harshman, LeUyen Pham, and Anna Egan Smucker

Sinking the Sultana: A Civil War Story of Imprisonment, Greed, and a Doomed Journey Home by Sally M. Walker

Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library by Carole Boston Weatherford