Social Studies

Historic USGS Maps of New York

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The image map showing the State of NewYork includes a grid marked off in 15 minute increments. Each rectangle points to a web page that lists the available images for this quadrangle. For any particular date, there will most often be four images because the maps were scanned as four sections. Each image is typically 2 megabytes, so download times are likely to be slow. The size was chosen to maintain an acceptable level of detail.

Grey blocks indicate areas where no map is available.

Mission US: Flight to Freedom

In Mission 2: “Flight to Freedom,” players take on the role of Lucy, a 14-year-old slave in Kentucky. As they navigate her escape and journey to Ohio, they discover that life in the “free” North is dangerous and difficult. In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act brings disaster. Will Lucy ever truly be free?

Mission US: A Cheyenne Odyssey

In Mission 3: “A Cheyenne Odyssey,” players become Little Fox, a Northern Cheyenne boy whose life is changed by the encroachment of white settlers, railroads, and U.S. military expeditions. As buffalo diminish and the U.S. expands westward, players experience the Cheyenne's persistence through conflict and national transformation.

Mission US: For Crown or Colony?

“For Crown or Colony?” puts players in the shoes of Nat Wheeler, a printer’s apprentice in 1770 Boston. They encounter both Patriots and Loyalists, and when rising tensions result in the Boston Massacre, they must choose where their loyalties lie.

Journey of a Man (2003)

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Journey of a Man answers the question, "Where do we all come from?" Today, some six billion people are spread across the planet. But there was a time-not so long ago-when the human species numbered only a few thousand and their world was a single continent: Africa.

Grade Level:

Middle

High

Length:

2:00

Freedom: A History of US (2003)

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It's long been America's strongest cultural bond and its most perilous fault line. For generations, men and women have lived and died for it. Now, consider what it means to be free with this groundbreaking new series, based on the award-winning books by master storyteller Joy Hakim.

Grade Level:

Middle

High

Length:

07:00

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (Unabridged)

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On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood.

Author:

Laura Hillenbrand

Grade Level:

High

Lexile:

1010L

Length:

13:57

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (Unabridged)

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

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Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells, taken without her knowledge, become one of the most important tools in medicine. The first immortal human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than 60 years.

Author:

Rebecca Skloot

Grade Level:

High

Lexile:

1140L

Length:

12:30

Profiles in Courage

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During 1954-1955, John F. Kennedy, then a U.S. Senator, chose eight of his historical colleagues to profile for their acts of astounding integrity in the face of overwhelming opposition. These heroes include John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, and Sam Houston.

Tillie Pierce: Teen Eyewitness to the Battle of Gettysburg

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Copies: 7

Imagine being fifteen years old, facing the bloodiest battle ever to take place on U.S. soil: the Battle of Gettysburg. In July 1863, this is exactly what happened to Tillie Pierce, a normal teenager who became an unlikely heroine of the Civil War (1861-1865). Tillie and other women and girls like her found themselves trapped during this critical three-day battle in southern Pennsylvania. Without training, but with enormous courage and compassion, Tillie and other Gettysburg citizens helped save the lives of countless wounded Union and Confederate soldiers.

Author:

Tanya Anderson

Lexile:

970L

Social Studies

Journey of a Man (2003)

Freedom: A History of US (2003)

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