Website Spotlight: Mission US

There's a new site to promote social studies learning in a fun and relevant way. Mission US will feature a series of free online games for social studies learning that can be used in classrooms and homes. On September 21, 2010, THIRTEEN (New York Public Media) launched the first game mission, “For Crown or Colony?,” which focuses on events leading up to the American Revolution. The game, together with supplemental resources for students and teachers, is available for streaming and download. The site provides kids with insight into all sides of the story - for example, in “For Crown or Colony?” kids can see into the minds of both Patriots and Loyalists. Mission US is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting with additional support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Hopefully this site will do something to change the current statistics from the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress, “The Nation’s Report Card.” According to that, only 17% of eighth graders perform at or above the proficient level in American history.

If you want to try to get your kids into social studies and history, there are some fun ways you can be involved too. You can work with your kids to create videos about history in their lives – for example, their hometown or family history – and share them online at Mission US. You can also try to get a real “taste” of history by trying out an authentic recipe or two from different timelines. Have kids interview senior citizens in your town to learn about how they’ve lived through important eras of our country’s past. Check out the historical sites in your area. Map your own family history with your kids, going back as far as possible. Figure out how your own story intersects with American history. All of these are ways to make history more relevant to kids today.