What We're Hearing from the Field

We received some feedback about our new weekly series with Dean Graziano, Vice President of Education at izzit.org, called Civics with Dean.

Have you had a chance to check out these new blogs? If not, read our latest blog here.

My Top Three Educational Sites for Middle School Social Studies by Mike Siekkinen

Brainpop.com- very reasonable pricing for a school license. Fun, fast and informative website for history, geography, economics and culture. I use the site to supplement my classroom instruction. Students receive a login and password and then go to the topic I assign. I have students view the video that is with each topic and then explore the area. There are games and activities associated with each of the topics as well as a quiz on the subject matter. I have my students email the results or take a screen shot of the final results. I place an 80% or higher requirement on students and they are allowed to retake the quizzes until passing grades are obtained. Site is fun and middle schoolers are not to “old” for cartoons!

Icivics.org- awesome free website on government and politics. Lots of games that are fun and educational. Also many levels, so this site can work for all ages. Games are interactive and are great to use when teaching government. Website has the endorsement and a founder of none other than Sandra Day O’Connor. Lots of fun and you sneak learning in. My students really enjoy this site.

Freedomflix.com- interactive online textbook that is great for teaching civics and history. Very reasonably priced for a site license. I design web quests for my students. Each lesson has a video, interactive text with vocabulary and includes maps, timelines and pictures. Really great site that I use weekly. My students are always on a web quest supplementing my classroom instruction. I assign students web quests in Google classroom where they have options for submission of my web quest information to allow for differentiation.

Dr. Mike Siekkinen, a retired U.S. Navy submariner, became a teacher as a second career. He teaches history at St Marys Middle School as well as Adult and Career Education at Valdosta State in Georgia.

The Invisible Hand - New Release

The Invisible Hand isn’t so invisible after all! 

The entire global economy boils down to two people: a buyer and a seller. And the system works best when the seller has the buyer’s best interests at heart. But even if the seller is acting strictly in his own interest, good things happen – we get what we want! 

Over 200 years ago, a Scottish philosopher named Adam Smith came up with revolutionary ideas about how things work. Those ideas are easy to see in the world around us. 


Visit a bakery in Scotland to witness supply and demand, and to learn how businesses know the prices at which they can sell their products and what they should offer customers. Then go to eBay to see the Invisible Hand in action, showing how economic systems can self-regulate without a “Man of Systems” micro-managing every transaction, and how trust and reputation are critical to sellers. 

Click here to choose as your FAV (Free Annual Video). Click here to purchase.

Keeping Our Customers Happy!

You probably know that teachers and homeschoolers across the country use izzit.org DVDs and other teaching materials. What you may not know about is our fabulous customer service team, based in Erie, PA, who make sure our customers get what they need. Below are some sample emails from educators about our customer service.

How sweet of you to email me back with all that wonderful information! Honestly, I thought my email would go into some database, and may never be read! I can't tell you enough how your willingness to share resources and assistance is appreciated! I look forward to checking out those websites.

Thank you again! :)

Lockport, NY

Joye, thank you for your correspondence. Fortunately, I have recently retired from many years at a wonderful, small town school. My school email has been "banished." Your service has been impressive and useful. I have and will continue to inform my teaching associates of your services. Many thanks for your excellent programs.

Eunice, LA

Finally, all is well and thank you for all your help. I ordered a new DVD and it was difficult to choose....so many must haves. Currently I use Pennies a Day every semester. The students get it! I do appreciate this source of educational materials. Money is so tight and free new items are welcome from the educator as well as from the student. Maybe especially the student! 

Respectfully, 

Middletown, IN

This email was sent to us by mistake- the teacher meant to forward one of our marketing emails to a friend. Customer service wrote back to tell him of his error and thank him for the referral, and he was very happy to hear from us, but had already corrected himself. The new release in the marketing email was Monkey Business.

Saw this new release thought you might be able to use it. If you register with this company you can get one free DVD a year as long as you evaluate it. They are very inexpensive even if you buy them and usually pretty good.

Falmouth, KY

So, anytime you have a question, concern, or problem with your izzit.org materials, call or email us. We'll take good care of you! (We also, as you see above, love to hear good things, too!)
We especially appreciate your recommendations to other educators you know.

If you or anyone you know, is interested in FREE educational materials, have them come create an account with us here. We have much more than just free DVDs, and we're creating new membership options for this fall. We help educators promote critical thinking among students in their classrooms and at home.

New Release: "Power to the Planet"

We need energy for many things, including lighting, cooking , transporting, heating & cooling....But which energy source is the best? What are the trade-offs of each?

Pollution needs to be considered, as well as availability. What else should we factor in as we decide what's best? Is there even such a thing as "the one best source?"

Travel the globe with scholar Johan Norberg, from Morocco to Sweden and throughout the United States, as he explores the pros and cons of the eight main energy sources available to us: coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, hydroelectric, biomass, wind and solar.




Click here to find out more about this teaching unit.

Teaching Resources

Did you know that on our website we list additional resources for all of our DVDs?

On the right side of each DVD's page there is a "Teaching Resources" tab that includes links to websites, videos, and articles that can provide you with more information on the video's topic or be additional resources for your lesson.  

Check it out the next time you use one of our DVDs in class!