Resource Library

Students will examine the complexity of large-scale, slave-worked agricultural enterprises, the origins of rice production and the role it played in the economy of the antebellum South, and how before "cotton was king," the plantation system had already been producing crops such as rice, indigo and tobacco. Teaching materials include maps, readings, photos and drawings.

Students examine the basic purpose and work of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the involvement of African Americans in the CCC. They focus on issues such as the benefits gained and problems faced by African Americans who worked in the CCC and the attitude and approach of different New Deal officials towards the black men in the CCC.

ENTRI (Environmental Treaties and Resource Indicators) is a comprehensive online tool for accessing international environmental treaty data. There is status data for environmental treaties, treaty text and tools for searching for treaties by subject or country.

Click on the act to be directed to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) informational pages

1969 – National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

1970 – Clean Air Act

1970 – Reorganization Plan No. 3 (established the EPA)

"The National Parks: America’s Best Idea," is a six-episode documentary directed by Ken Burns. It is the story of an idea as uniquely American as the Declaration of Independence - and just as radical: that the most special places in the nation should be preserved, not for royalty or the rich, but for everyone. The series began on Sept. 27, 2009 on PBS.

Using the Nebraska rangeland as an example, students will explore the concept of public lands. Students will learn the intended use of public lands and the conflicts that arise among users by examining the history, politics and science of range management. The lesson plan includes reading, group discussion and activity, research and a reflective paper.

This dataset contains seven activities covering several physical and cultural geography topics, including: climate, population density, relief, mining, manufacturing, earthquakes, faults, volcanoes, tsunamis, and fires. Each activity builds on the data, skills, and concepts learned in the previous activity, and all are based on ArcView (GIS) software from ESRI, Inc.

This lesson asks students to consider how knowledge of geography and history can help prepare for the future. Students will research the geography and history of a city and write reports explaining how the city’s leaders can use this information to plan for the future. Lesson provided by National Geographic.

These lesson plans explore the use of matrices and graphing calculators to solve a linear programming problem with six variables, presented as community land use planning issue. The lesson plans include lead-up assignments where students relate the solvability of a system of linear equations to the invertibility of the coefficient matrix.

In the last decade, many areas in the Sunbelt region of the United States have experienced tremendous population growth. The growth can be a result of enticing media campaigns or lifestyle and employment opportunities that a city offers. Moving to these "boom towns" can be very beneficial for families.