Best U.S. History Websites for Students

Top geography resource site provides global exploration opportunities

Bottom Line: This is a must-bookmark site for classrooms across the curriculum hunting for inspiring place-based resources.

Treasure trove of lesson resources will benefit from adaptation

Bottom Line: For teachers with time to sift through and adapt materials, PBS LearningMedia has a lot to offer with some highly useful support materials.

Browse and use American history artifacts and activities

Bottom Line: This is a handy resource that, with some effort, will uncover resources for kick-starting curious learning.

Scrappy, smart elementary history curriculum builds inquiry skills

Bottom Line: The free and adaptable nature of these intriguing history lessons makes them easy additions to just about any elementary history curriculum.

Pretty good primary source site helps kids dig into historical photos

Bottom Line: KidCitizen is an easy-to-implement historical and societal inquiry platform perfect for either one-off lessons or deep study in elementary social studies classes.

Powerful stories and media centralize African-American history

Bottom Line: While there aren't ready-to-go curricular materials, this modern, well-curated, and well-contextualized digital collection is sure to inspire compelling lessons.

Interactive data, practical plans bring the Census to the classroom

Bottom Line: Engaging and authentic material connects the U.S. Census to many subject areas.

Dig into famed library's collection of research goodies

Bottom Line: The Library of Congress delivers the best of America's past and present, and with teacher support it could be a reliable research resource for students.

Discover, create, remix, and share first-rate museum artifacts

Bottom Line: This thoughtfully crafted, open-ended curation and creation tool has a place in most classrooms.

Critically acclaimed documentaries repackaged meaningfully for classrooms

Bottom Line: Top-notch documentary clips offer opportunities to expand students' perspectives, but some lesson materials might be underwhelming.

Access U.S. history with treasure trove of docs, genealogy, and other resources

Bottom Line: NARA's website wasn't designed for kids, but they can definitely use it to research and learn about history, genealogy, and the U.S. population and government.

Site famous for its Lincoln assassination resources has more to offer

Bottom Line: This site can support meaningful, primary source-driven examination of some of the most important events in U.S. history, but educators will need to dig a little.

Organized digital library features piles of useful primary resources

Bottom Line: DPLA is at the top of the list of high-grade, online primary source collections if teachers make effective use of what's on offer.

Students think like detectives to gather evidence, explore civics

Bottom Line: Makes the case for middle schoolers using primary sources, but this isn't gonna be a grab-and-go experience.

Stellar history website, gateway to cool PD and scholarship

Bottom Line: In class, a good resource for U.S. history; beyond, a great website for free teacher PD and some great in-depth exploration of primary sources.

Well-curated art and history site inspires curious learning

Bottom Line: A beautifully presented one-stop shop for compellingly curated and contextualized art, history, and culture resources, but it's lacking educator supports.

Resources, lessons help teach a more inclusive version of U.S. history

Bottom Line: Free downloadable resources encourage critical thinking and active learning in search of a more accurate picture of American history.

Top-notch lessons teach historical content, boost analytical skills

Bottom Line: A go-to resource for the CCSS era, filled with rich content and meaningful opportunities for skill development.

Valuable resources offer needed perspectives, require adaptation

Bottom Line: This site is great for the planning phase and has excellent resources for bringing in Native perspectives and histories, but it will need some tweaking to fit well into classrooms.

High-quality resources and activities offer an in-depth study

Bottom Line: Materials and activities support a thorough study of World War II, making this a valuable resource for both teachers and students.

Journalistic history site helps students analyze primary sources

Bottom Line: This is a strong resource for showing the power of journalism and research, and it'll engage most students; others will need teacher support.

High-quality, document-based lessons spark stellar historical inquiry

Bottom Line: A gold mine of cross-curricular literacy lessons that encourage sound, research-backed strategies for reading, analysis, and critical thinking.

Vast collection of primary source documents a solid starting point

Bottom Line: A great place to begin when you want to make history feel more real, but "begin" is the operative word; plan on creating your own scaffolding.

LA riot videos shake up dominant narrative

Bottom Line: This artful re-examination of the '92 LA riot can offer new insights and diverse perspectives, if students don't get too lost in the design.

Archival site is a treasure trove for New Deal researchers

Bottom Line: While it doesn't offer much specifically for teachers or students, it's a must-use site for primary source material if you have a unit on the New Deal or Great Depression.

Deep, complex database is challenging but a peerless research tool

Bottom Line: This is a highly academic site for better and for worse; it's filled with deep, research-backed resources and primary sources but is intimidating without clear guidance.