CT Humanities has curated high-quality, ad-free, Connecticut-based digital content for curious people of all ages and stages. This time of being home and social distancing is a great opportunity to learn more about the history of the Nutmeg State, delve into a book by a Connecticut author, research a topic, and peruse the unique and fascinating offerings of trusted digital collections.
Along with our content partners Connecticut History Illustrated and The Connecticut Council for Social Studies, we work daily with experts from universities, libraries, museums, and historical societies from around the state to bring you the very best historical content. ConnecticutHistory.org provides new stories and connections each and every week, creating a mix of fun and fact, the famous and the obscure, and the surprising and the serious. The articles on ConnecticutHistory.org can be easily incorporated into distance learning programs.
Browse by town, topic, person, or era.
Teach It provides inquiry-based activities that reinforce the learning principles found in the state social studies frameworks. The exercises contain grade-specific content meant to help educators incorporate Connecticut history into the classroom. While the activities on TeachItCT.org are geared for in-classroom participation, they are adaptable.
Formed in partnership with the Connecticut League of History Organizations and developed by educators for educators, TeachItCT.org provides lessons and activities for students in Grades 3, 5, 8, and high school.
More Free Resources From Our Programs & Partners:
Today in Connecticut History provides a daily 30-second audio teaser accompanied by a post about an interesting and important event in Connecticut history. The posts feature added detail and historical context about that day’s featured event, along with vivid imagery and a list of links for further reading and resources.
Users can subscribe for daily email posts, follow via social media, and/or visit the website to access this unique and valuable resource. There’s even a trivia quiz!
Be sure to check your local historical society’s website for interesting information about your town’s stories, people, places, and artifacts. Some have virtual museums and pages specifically for kids.
More can also be found at Connecticut Collections, a program of the Connecticut League of History Organizations.
The Connecticut Digital Archive (CTDA) is a program of the UCONN Library in collaboration with the Connecticut StateLibrary. CTDA delivers a wide range of digital cultural heritage resources and provides access to collections from historical societies, museums, colleges, public libraries, and newspapers.
The Connecticut State Library works to preserve the past and inform the future. In addition to their digital collections, the library has tools students can use to access information while at home including A-Z Databases and pages to help with research.
The new, original documentary from Connecticut Public, Fake: Searching for Truth in the Age of Misinformation, takes on the topic of fake news, just in time for the 2020 election season.Viewers will learn how and why misinformation spreads, and how to be a smarter information consumer in our increasingly digital world.
Using CPTV’s website’s Guide to Finding Fakes & Facts, the downloadable resource guide, and short takes that look at a different facet of misinformation and media manipulation, teachers and parents can promote media literacy for their students and families.
Using trusted source materials from PBS, NPR and local public media stations, Thinkalong is a free program that helps students think critically about media, develop informed opinions, and practice respectful, civil discourse.
Connecticut Center for the Book is recapping winners of the Connecticut Book Awards. Using LibraryThing, the collection has been cataloged for easy access via sale or swap through independent booksellers.
Connecticut Center for the Book is an affiliate of the Library of Congress. The Library has millions of resources online – including some of history’s most important manuscripts, photographs, maps, recordings and films – to help teachers, parents and students learn about the world around us.
The Digital Public Library of America has primary source collections exploring topics in history, literature, and culture developed by educators — complete with teaching guides for class use. Teachers will be happy to know they can be shared directly to Google Classroom. The curious will enjoy learning about unique and interesting topics. For instance, Fake News in the 1890s.
From the National Endowment for the Humanities
EDSITEment is a partnership between the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Trust for the Humanities.
EDSITEment offers free resources in the subject areas of history and social studies, literature and language arts, foreign languages, arts, and culture.
All websites linked to EDSITEment have been reviewed for content, design, and educational impact. They cover a wide range of humanities subjects, from American history to literature, world history and culture, civics, language, art, architecture, and archaeology, and have been judged by humanities specialists to be of high intellectual quality.
EDSITEment was selected as “Best for History” in 2019 by Scholastic Education
