Nebraska – State Specific and Local Resources
In an ongoing effort to promote the values, culture, and pride of Nebraska, this page seeks to connect Nebraska educators with resources and websites that are specific to our great state and local communities.
“Giganto” Nebraska Maps
From GEON website:
The Geographic Educators of Nebraska (GEON) own several Giganto Nebraska Maps that are available to any classroom in the state. Rental is free, all GEON asks is that you help with moving the map to the next school on the borrowing list. The map collapses into a shoulder bag that will fit across the back seat of most mid-size or larger cars. Click below to find out how to reserve a “Giganto” Nebraska Map.
History Nebraska
From website:
History Nebraska collects, preserves, and opens to all, the histories we share.
Homestead National Monument
From website:
Homestead National Monument of America ‘s K-12 curriculum guide includes the following topic areas The Homestead Act and President Lincoln, American Indians, Frontier Education, Homesteaders, Prairie Animals, Prairie Fire, Prairie Plants, Prairie Insects, and Water Quality.
Homestead National Monument Curriculum Materials
Nebraska 150 Sesquicentennial
From website:
Nebraska was granted statehood on March 1, 1867. The state commemorated its Sesquicentennial beginning on January 1, 2017, with a yearlong celebration that involved a wide variety of programs and projects across the state.
Our 150th birthday presented a unique opportunity in time to honor our heritage, celebrate our growth and plan for our future. We commemorated this historic occasion and celebrated the great State of Nebraska and its diverse history and cultures by engaging, educating and inspiring our citizenry and leaving a legacy for future generations.
We strove to create a celebration that served as a catalyst for a movement that goes beyond 2017 – a strategic initiative that promoted a spirit of pride, growth, engagement and connection within our state by:
- Bridging Nebraskans across different communities, perspectives and cultures.
- Building a connection with every Nebraskan to the celebration and the state.
- Instilling in every citizen an even greater sense of pride.
Nebraska Sesquicentennial Education Resources
Nebraska Atlas
Teachers and students may copy any part of this atlas for classroom use or school projects. Any commercial use of the maps or text whether by copying, scanning, or photographing is expressly prohibited without written permission from the Geographic Educators of Nebraska.
Please note: The following links take you to PDF lesson plans developed for use with the Nebraska Atlas. Colorful classroom sets of the atlases were sent to schools in 2017 as a part of the Sesquicentennial celebrations and were to be kept by schools and educators for continued use. The atlas is designed to be integrated into the 4th grade Nebraska Studies curriculum in order to enhance and improve the understanding of history, geography, civics, and economics concepts. Also, the lessons reflect the 2012 state standards and not the newly adopted 2019 Nebraska Social Studies Standards.
Teacher’s Guide to Atlas
Exercise 1: Compare & Contrast Nebraska
Exercise 2: Latitude and Longitude
Exercise 3: Measuring Nebraska
Exercise 4: Water, Water, Everywhere
Exercise 5: Nebraska Scavenger Hunt
Exercise 6: Population
Nebraska Educational GIS Initiative
From website:
The Nebraska Educational GIS (NeEdGIS) Initiative is a group of people and organizations who believe geospatial technologies have the power to enhance K-12 education in the state of Nebraska. It is also the initiative supporting the implementation of the educational state license for Esri’s ArcGIS software.
Nebraska Educational GIS Initiative and Resources
Nebraska Studies
From website:
Nebraska Studies puts the history of the state at your fingertips, from its very beginning to the 21st century. On this site you can meet the people and explore the events that have shaped this state, through archival photos, historic documents, personal letters, special video segments, informative maps, supplemental activities, pertinent lessons, and much more.
Nebraska Unicameral Kids
From website:
Unicam Kids is a civic education resource produced by the Clerk of the Nebraska Legislature ‘s Unicameral Information Office. For free copies of the corresponding Unicam Kids! guide, contact the Unicameral Information Office.
Nebraska Unicameral Kids Homepage
Nebraska Virtual Capitol
From website:
The interactive “Nebraska Virtual Capitol” website is a resource for students and visitors of all ages, both here in Nebraska and around the world. Young and old can discover more about Nebraska; learn about the history, arts and architecture of the building that serves as the heart of our state government and the Governor’s mansion.
Curriculum
http://curriculum.nebraskavirtualcapitol.org/overall-building-tower-and-plains/
Virtual Tour
http://nebraskavirtualcapitol.org/tour
Please note: The pre and post field-trip lessons that had been developed and classroom tested by Nebraska teachers previously available on the website are currently inaccessible as they are being updated to not only complement, but include the instructional shifts and reference the 2019 Nebraska Social Studies Standards. Upon completion, the revised lesson plans will be available on this website.
Now You Know Nebraska
From YouTube website:
The “Now You Know Nebraska” project is a series of 174 video shorts that highlight unique, fun and interesting Nebraska facts and stories at part of the Nebraska 150 Celebration in 2017. The videos are intended for fourth through eighth grade students as a supplement to history lessons being taught in the classroom, but we hope they are something all Nebraskans enjoy. Videos address a wide variety of topics and time periods, incorporate all parts of the state, and include education on a variety of cultures, ethnicities and races. The videos are created by Lincoln-based production firm V2 Content and sponsored, in part, by Nebraska Humanities.
Now You Know Nebraska YouTube Video Playlist
Standing Bear’s Footsteps: Meaning of Home
From website:
Standing Bear’s Footsteps tells the story of the Ponca people, who were forcibly removed from their northern Nebraska homelands and sent to Oklahoma. One of their leaders, Standing Bear, made the difficult decision to take some of his people back north and fought in the courts to have the right to do so. Today, the Oklahoma Ponca have about 3500 enrolled members while the Nebraska Ponca have about 2500. The result is a people divided by location, but not completely by culture.