Citizenship: Rights, Responsibilities and Participation
Official site of the American Civil Liberties Union: This site contains current information, related to civil liberties organized by issue and is frequently updated.
- Immigration and Naturalization Service
A site from the Immigration and Naturalization Service: This site contains information regarding the requirements for naturalization. The site includes an on-line citizenship test that students can take as well as a naturalization eligibility worksheet.
- Kids Voting Student Page
This site encourages political participation and was created out of the concern for low voter turnout. Students can take a quiz on their knowledge of the Constitution and they can make “wishes” for changes they would like to see in this country. They can also learn about ways to get involved in the political process.
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Purposes, Powers, and Organization of Government
- C-Span
This web site offers information on a wide variety of subjects that should appeal to students of varying abilities and diverse interests. Audio from both the Congress and the Senate can be downloaded.
A gateway site to information on the branches of government as well as other related government sites.
The Federal Web Locator is a service provided by the Center for Information Law and Policy and intended to be the one stop shopping point for federal government information on the World Wide Web. This list is maintained to bring the cyber citizen to the federal government's doorstep.
Access to official government information, including legislative bills.
A non-profit organization that promotes research and provides links to public information offered by the United States government. The site is easy to navigate and presents the information in a neat organized manner.
This site contains the Code of Virginia (statutory law) and administrative code (agency rules) as well as all current bills and resolutions before the General Assembly, committees, etc.
A site from the Virginia Information Providers Network: This site provides information on all three branches of Virginia Government with links to agencies and local governments. Status of bills before the Virginia Legislature can be accessed from this site as well. This site is most useful as a teacher resource.
A Library of Congress Internet Resource Site with links to information about Virginia state and local governments including the General Assembly.
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Structure and Function of the Judicial System
This site provides links to articles about the daily happenings on the Supreme Court. It also provides a search of Supreme Court rulings by amendment or issue.
This multimedia site presents a vast amount of primary material relating to the U.S. Supreme Court. It can be searched by cases or justices and includes a virtual tour of the Supreme Court Building.
This web site lists all Virginia State Bar Association publications. These publications are available for use in the classroom by either downloading the text from the Internet or by ordering them from the Virginia State Bar Association at:
Virginia State Bar Association,
707 East Main Street,
Suite 1500,
Richmond, Virginia 23219-2800.
Telephone Number: (804) 775-0500
This site furnishes an eclectic range of primary and secondary resources for understanding federal taxes. A research project, "The Price of Civilization", features 14 posters and primary source text--much of which currently consists of reports from the Treasury Department--arranged into three searchable categories: Treasury, White House, and Congress. " The site also presents Federalist Papers, book reviews and scholarly articles; charts and graphs concerning federal tax statistics from 1935 to 1998; and material generated by several additional research projects, such as "The Power to Tax," which explores "the power of private interests in the making of public policy."
The Relationship of the United States to Other Nations and to World Affairs
A site from the Central Intelligence Agency: This site offers detailed statistical information about almost every country of the world. It also has color maps.
A site from the Department of State: Students can access a time line of the history of diplomacy in the United States. They can also access the Geographic Learning site where students can learn about our system of embassies, consulates, etc. as well as ways students can explore geographical and diplomatic issues.
This site contains information about over 200 countries of the world. It also has links to find the country and national anthem of each country. Students can use the national anthems in multimedia presentations.
Information on over 160 geographic entities. Brief country profiles with an in-depth description of people, history, economy, government, political conditions, defense, US and foreign relations, and business.
This series gives an in-depth description of countries around the world. Most “books” contain a country profile followed by chapters on historical background, society and environment, economy, government and politics, and national security.
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Economic Systems and Economic Decisions
This site contains information about doing business in Fairfax County. It provides economic and demographic statistics in an attempt to attract businesses to Fairfax County.
This site is useful as an introduction to the impact of government borrowing. It displays the national debt clock and illustrates how much each person “owes.” The site also provides links to other web sites concerned with the national debt.
A site from Jumpstart, a coalition dedicated to promoting the study of personal finance. The site provides a link to “It’s Your Loot,” a site that quizzes students on making personal financial decisions and provides tips on saving.
Physical and political geography of the United States and the World
A site from the Global SchoolNet Foundation: This site offers information on every country of the world, including facts and data on geography, climate, people, religion, language, history, and economy. The site also offers color political and physical maps of every country.
This site offers a wide variety of outline maps that can be printed and distributed to students. Latitude and longitude lines are included on the maps. This site is most useful as a teacher resource.
A site from the U.S. Census Bureau: Students can enter a city and state or zip code to receive census information about a city. A link will take them to a map of the area. Students can easily select map options such as adding roads, parks, bodies of water, etc.
Created by the U.S. Geological Survey to promote geographic awareness. You can view simple political and physical maps or complex maps with customized data created by selecting desired overlays. It can be complicated to use initially but offers a wealth of data to be analyzed geographically.
This site offers maps, flags, facts, and profiles for the countries of the world. The site is easily navigated through clickable maps. Maps can be downloaded for student use.
National Geographic Society--Geography Bee Game
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News Sources
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Other Sites of Interest to Civics and Economics
A site from the U.S. Department of Education: A collection of hundreds of federally supported educational resources. Links, organized by subject area, lead to sites sponsored by such agencies as the National Endowment of the Arts and the Library of Congress. A section called “More for Students” offers links to pages from government agencies.
This archive collection contains records from the first two federal congresses, documenting the construction of the American nations and the federal government. Short illustrated essays provide historical background on the Constitution and congressional documents.
This archive site offers 274 broadsides relating to the work of the Continental Congress and the drafting and ratification of the Constitution. A Special Presentation, “To Form a More Perfect Union,” briefly describes the work of the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, illustrated with documents, paintings, and engravings.
A site from the National Archives: This site contains a valuable collection of primary documents suitable for student use as well as pictures of the founding documents.
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