I have a question

Essential questions, like witty small talk at a cocktail party, you have to have it but sometimes you just wish someone else would come up with it.

Here's a list essential question that pertain specifically to social studies, everything from geography to civic ideals. Also doubles as a handy themes barn.

Video killed the radio star

Sometimes you hear something on the radio that makes you want to go back to the days before moving pictures, which if you don't own a TV is really easy to do. I heard Campaign '68 a few days ago on NPR and after at end of the hour felt like I really knew the '68 election and the drama behind it. The show paints a detailed picture of the most pivotal election of a tumultuous decade.

The website has a useful timeline and extensive collection of links. Great pages dedicated to each candidate including a short biographic video and specific audio clips.

You probably can't, and shouldn't, play the show in it's entirety but the website and radio show are a great resource.

Ed McMahon's Star Search

Every time I use RubiStar I think back to Star Search, maybe it's the judging, maybe it's the bright pink. Regardless this is a good stop for Rubrics, Rubric ideas, and your dose of pink airbrushed writing on the web that's still school appropriate.

Something like a historian

Thinking Like a Historian is a little gem. Put out by those fine folks at the Wisconsin Historical Society this graphic organizer, historiography 95mb downloadable guide is phenomenal.
The guiding principles of historical thinking are divided into

-Cause and Effect
-Change and Continuity
-Turning Points
-Using the Past
-Through Their Eyes

The charts are a great starting point but scratch below the surface and you'll be richly rewarded.