Who needs textbooks when you have a computer and high speed Internet! Check out a sample of FREE resources on the Internet for teaching history:

History Reference Resources:

• World Wide Web Virtual Library of History: http://vlib.iue.it/history/index.html
  
• EyeWitness to History, from Ancient World to present day through the eyes of those who lived it: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/
  
• Ancient Civilizations: http://killeenroos.com/link/anchist.htm
  

Lesson Plans and Teaching Ideas:

• Teaching Ideas for History: http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/history/contents.htm
  
• Teaching with Historical Places, Lesson Plan Index: http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/state.htm
  
• Country Report Notebook Ideas: http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/countryrpt.html
  
• Thinkquest Projects for US History: http://www.thinkquest.org/library/cat_show.html?cat_id=52
  
• Archiving Early America Videos - Watch online if you have Flash and high speed access. Videos cover the major characters from Early America: http://www.earlyamerica.com/series.html
  
• Free Unit studies for History:
  
  • Cindy Downes' page: http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/unitstudies.html#free
    
  • Mr. Donn's Page: http://members.aol.com/donnandlee/SiteIndex.html
    

Biographies of Historical Persons:

• Famous People Biography: http://www.indianchild.com/famous_people.htm
  
• Need a picture of the person you are studying? Try Utopia's Portrait Gallery: http://utopia.utexas.edu/project/portraits/
  

Be sure to include primary sources in your studies. Here are some free resources:

• 100 Milestone Documents: http://www.ourdocuments.gov/content.php?flash=true&page=milestone
• AmDocs, Documents for the Study of American History: http://www.vlib.us/amdocs

If you need a map, try one of these resources:

• Historical Maps from Perry-Castaneda Library: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/map_sites/hist_sites.html
• Map Machine from National Geographic: http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/mapmachine/index.html
• National Atlas - 50 printable maps of the US. You choose what you want on your map!: http://www.nationalatlas.gov/index.html

How about a recipe?

• Food Timeline - recipes related to a time period: http://www.foodtimeline.org/
  

Need a coloring page for your younger children?

• Activity Village: http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/history_coloring_pages.htm
  
• Teacher Helper Bible History coloring pages: http://www.teacherhelp.org/color.htm#bible
  

For the crafty ones, here are some history craft resources:

• History for Kids: http://www.historyforkids.org/crafts/index.htm
  
• Colonial Crafts: http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/colonial.htm#K5
  
• Western Crafts: http://www.makingfriends.com/western_crafts.htm
  
• Egyptian Crafts: http://www.dltk-kids.com/world/egypt/index.htm
  
• Roman Crafts: http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0210200/ancient_rome/directions.htm
  
• Victorian Crafts: http://www.craftown.com/vic.htm

Music & History:

• Songs for Teaching: http://www.songsforteaching.com/socialstudiessongs.htm
  
• History in Song: http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/history.html
  
• Popular Songs in American History: http://www.contemplator.com/america/
  

History Worksheets:

• School History: http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/resourcesprimary.html
  
• Worksheets 4 Teachers: http://www.worksheets4teachers.com/socialstudiesheets.php
  
• Teach-nology: http://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/soc_studies/
  
• Homeschool Forms: http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/forms.html
  

Field Trips:

• Links to Living History Museums: http://www.alhfam.org/alhfam.links.html
  

Don't forget the free quizzes:

• Quiz on Early American Heritage: http://www.earlyamerica.com/games/index.html
  
• Who's Who and What's What? http://www.nytimes.com/learning/students/quiz/index.html
  
• World History Quizzes: http://www.funtrivia.com/quizzes/history/world_history_31.html

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