Bookmark Collection

Explore the process of piecing together the lives of ordinary people from the past with this interactive site, which specifically studies the life of midwife Martha Ballard, and the research that went into the creation of the book and movie, A Midwife's Tale. Whether you are interested in the story of this particular woman, or want students to understand how to use and interpret primary and secondary sources materials for research, this site will prove to be both exciting and useful.

Everybody loves a murder mystery. Of all the historical situations researchers encounter nothing has quite the same impact as discovering an innocent man hanged, a guilty man going free. In the case of William Robinson—an African American murdered on Saltspring Island in 1868, allegedly by a Native man who was hanged for the crime—students have a real murder case to solve, a case in which many will conclude an innocent man was hanged. "Who Killed William Robinson?" is designed to engage students at different educational levels from junior high-school to graduate school in a detailed investigation of this murder. Taking full advantage of the non-linear and graphic features of World Wide Web, this educational site draws students into historical research through the use of 'real' archival materials, including newspaper clippings, photographs, maps, diaries, artist's reconstruction, and written narratives. Teachers can select the level of difficulty by the complexity of the questions they want answered, but students will have the opportunity to use their critical skills to construct a narrative and defend their conclusions against others.

"Crisis at Fort Sumter" is an interactive historical simulation and decision making program. Using text, images, and sound, it reconstructs the dilemmas of policy formation and decision making in the period between Abraham Lincoln's election in November 1860 and the battle of Fort Sumter in April 1861. The program primarily focuses on Lincoln, both as President-elect and as President. Viewers place themselves in Lincoln's position, consider the events that transpired, and choose a course of action at five critical junctures, called "problems."

This interactive site has students browse reproductions of records and documents pertaining to two similar towns in Pennsylvania and Virginia just before and during the Civil War to determine for themselves how the issues of the day and events of everyday life affected ordinary people.

“Seventeen Moments in Soviet History” selects seventeen years during the reign of Communism in the Soviet Union, from 1917 to 1991, to provide users with primary sources that are print, image, and video offerings in recreating the spirit and mentality of a nation emerging as a future threat, ally, and superpower to the western world. One of the great strengths of this site is the array of learning materials provided. When a year is selected, an introduction to the year comes on the screen. To the right are a list of additional resources for the selected year that include Texts, Contexts, Video, Images, and Websites. It is clear that a great deal of thought was put into the materials selected and in designing the site. The site offers a rich array of diverse materials that a creative instructor could easily adapt for instructional purposes.

The Raid on Deerfield in 1704 is an interactive assessment which helps develop student skills of analysis and critical thinking. The History Editorial Board selected this site because the content is excellent with cultural information on background, scenic descriptions, food-ways, clothing, entertainment and leisure, society, and government for the French and English in North America as well as several Indian tribes.

This site includes a collection of nine historical mysteries which draw students into Canadian history, critical thinking and archival research through the enticement of solving historical cold crimes. Each of the mystery archives includes an average of 100,000 words in English (and in French), as well as up to several hundred images plus maps. Some of the mystery websites also include 3-D recreations, videos and oral history interviews. Site users can look at the collections of archival materials and analyze the evidence provided. Students are encouraged to come up with their own interpretations of primary documents. Educators have access to a Teachers' Guide and experts’ interpretations for each of the mysteries.

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: Exploring the French Revolution offers an excellent opportunity to delve into the details of the French Revolution using a wide variety of primary source materials, which includes 338 texts, 245 images, and a number of maps and songs. The site was many years in the making, and was the product of work by several leading historians of the French Revolution.

"The Vikings. The North Atlantic Saga" is a Smithsonian produced web site designed to highlight an exhibit on Viking exploration of the North Atlantic commemorating the millenary voyage and landing of Lief Eriksson at Vinlnad in North America. The site provides a broad overview of the Vikings and their expansion from Northern Europe to the Atlantic in the 9th and 10th centuries C.E.

The Carcassonne site details the history of southwestern France which was devastated at the time of the Crusades for alleged heresies against the Roman Catholic Church. There are good bibliographies and brief biographies on leading figures of the era.