us history

History Comes Alive in the Platinum Age of Television

| By Mark Mikula | Media critic and commentator David Bianculli coined the term “Platinum Age of Television” to define the current broadcast landscape, beginning in the late 1990s, to distinguish it from the “Golden Age of Television” that produced such iconic series as I Love Lucy, Your Show of Shows, and The Honeymooners. In … Read more

Judging Detroit’s National History Day Competition

| By Traci Cothran | The National History Day competition is right up our alley here at Gale—it encourages students to use factual resources (especially primary resources) to create a documentary, performance, paper, website, or exhibit on a historical topic that fits with the overall competition theme. This year’s theme is Conflict and Compromise. I’ve … Read more

Researching Dr. Bernard Lafayette Through Gale Resources

| By Traci Cothran | On Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. day this past week, I was privileged to hear Dr. Bernard Lafayette, Jr. speak at a church in downtown Detroit about the civil rights era and his last days working with MLK.  Lafayette is a long-term member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee … Read more

New Curriculum Correlations in Smithsonian Primary Sources in U.S. History

Smithsonian Primary Sources in U.S. History now connects literary concepts to primary sources located in the product. Detailed curriculum correlations align the primary source to national social science and literary standards for easy-to-see application across subjects. Primary source materials greatly enrich learning for high school students by helping them develop critical thinking skills, pursue independent … Read more

A Remarkable Review for Smithsonian Primary Sources in U.S. History

History is not just a list of dates and events. But history taught well is vibrant, relevant, and engaging. And nothing brings history to life like primary sources that give students a close-up look at history as it unfolded.

Gale and Smithsonian have partnered to deliver an online resource that includes unique and seminal primary sources, including documents, maps, historical objects, and other materials from the museums and archives from the collections of the Smithsonian and from Gale’s leading digital collections: Smithsonian Primary Sources in U.S. History.

Designed for use by both teachers and librarians, this resource from Gale supports core and Advanced Placement U.S. history programs. Primary source images are hand-curated by scholars at the Smithsonian – experts who have a unique knowledge of U.S. history as seen through the Smithsonian’s valuable collections and shaped for the school curriculum by an advisory board of teachers.

See how a reviewer feels about the collection of Primary Sources:

Read moreA Remarkable Review for Smithsonian Primary Sources in U.S. History

Smithsonian Primary Sources in U.S. History: “A Treasure Trove”

History is not just a list of dates and events. But history taught well is vibrant, relevant, and engaging. And nothing brings history to life like primary sources that give students a close-up look at history as it unfolded.

Gale and Smithsonian have partnered to deliver an online resource that includes unique and seminal primary sources, including documents, maps, historical objects, and other materials from the museums and archives from the collections of the Smithsonian and from Gale’s leading digital collections: Smithsonian Primary Sources in U.S. History.

Designed for use by both teachers and librarians, this resource from Gale supports core and Advanced Placement U.S. history programs. Primary source images are hand-curated by scholars at the Smithsonian – experts who have a unique knowledge of U.S. history as seen through the Smithsonian’s valuable collections and shaped for the school curriculum by an advisory board of teachers.

See how a reviewer feels about the collection of Primary Sources.

Read moreSmithsonian Primary Sources in U.S. History: “A Treasure Trove”

Funny Cat Videos or Historical Perspective – Take Your Pick

By Debra Kirby Like so many fellow “political junkies” I know, the current U.S. presidential election season has provided more than enough fodder to hold our interest—sometimes a little too much! From checking polling websites and political news coverage numerous times a day to spending way too much time in the evenings watching cable TV, all while using … Read more

We Love Analytics!

Posted on February 19, 2016

We love our work on the Gale Databases team, as we continuously add informative and engaging new content – this includes keeping up with the latest current events (World History In Context, Global Issues In Context), health news (Science In Context, Health and Wellness Resource Center), business developments (Business Insights), and topics being studied in school (Student Resources In Context, Research In Context, Kids InfoBits), to name just a few.

But we also love finding out how the content is actually used in these databases once we load it – and we look at many metrics, including:

  • Top Searches
  • Top Media
  • Most Popular Articles and Journals
  • Number of Users
  • And many others

Read moreWe Love Analytics!

Tending the Academic Garden with CLiC

Posted on February 9, 2016

By Megan McCarthy

I love to garden, and over the years I’ve gotten pretty good at it. However, that wasn’t always the case. When I first started, every spring I’d run to Lowes, and pick out all the blooming plants I thought looked pretty. I’d bring them home, and plant them in my yard. Then, every year, I would watch in horror as they would wither and die. What was I doing wrong?  Well, as it turned out, almost everything. I finally consulted with a gardening expert, and found that plants had to be grown according to their needs. Some needed shade, some sun. Some needed dry soil, and others needed water. Most liked to be planted when they weren’t in bloom, probably the reason I was killing so many. I learned some important lessons, but the most valuable lesson I learned was, when you are in trouble, ask an expert.

Read moreTending the Academic Garden with CLiC

Get Started Gathering Ideas for Black History Month Lesson Plans

Posted on January 8, 2015

There’s an abundance of historical riches out there, but sometimes you have to know where to look to find the pot of educational gold.  During Black History Month, get high school and undergraduate students to delve a bit deeper and uncover these influential and amazing people who changed lives and generations.  Get the facts from Gale’s In Context database products, relate them to curriculum topics, then follow up with the other multimedia suggested to engage students further.

Civil Rights Movement, US Government, Graphic Novels = John R. Lewis.  This Georgia congressman, serving for 29 years, leads a fascinating life.  Son of a sharecropper, Lewis became one of the six leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, served as SNCC chairman, and was one of the original Freedom Riders — all before he was thirty years old. There’s SO much more to discover about this icon, including his publication of two student-friendly graphic novels covering the 1965 Selma-Montgomery March, entitled March: Book One and Book Two.

Read moreGet Started Gathering Ideas for Black History Month Lesson Plans