Below are some of my favorite sites that I use for lesson planning, student engagement, trip planning, finding professional development, or research.  I’ve broken them up by category for you so that you can easily find what you’re looking for.

Research

Colonial Williamsburg: http://www.history.org
Colonial Williamsburg’s website has excellent resources for students and teachers who are doing research about the colonial and revolutionary time periods.  I often refer my 8th-grade researchers to this website.  It is great for all levels of learners since it has a wide range of resources available from the very simple to the very complex.

Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello: http://www.monticello.org
The Monticello website features everything and anything about the man himself, Thomas Jefferson, and the era in which he lived.  You will have to sift through their tour reservations and click around a little to find what you need, but the search is worth it considering the wealth of information available.  This site also includes lesson plans for teachers on a variety of subjects ranging from Enlightenment thinking to slavery.

Primary Sources

Gilder Lehrman Institute for American History: http://www.gilderlehrman.org
The Gilder Lehrman Institute for American History provides a wealth of information and services for students and teachers.  My favorite part of this website is the variety of primary sources available for student and teacher use.  My students have used GLI to get primary sources for their research papers and I have used GLI for lesson planning.  They offer a huge amount of lessons that you can use in your classroom or tweak to fit your time/level of interest/academic level.