Cultural History Teacher Resources

The mission of the Standing Up for Democracy unit is to bring about “a more humane, just, and compassionate society rooted in democratic values.” These 16 lessons, built on a foundation of mutual respect, tolerance, and participation,...

The Becoming Us: Education module examines the history of the fight for racial justice and educational equity today. The first case study looks at the re-segregation of American schools, while the second explores the resistance to school...

The three case studies in the Becoming Us: Resistance unit module look at the individuals and groups who have resisted the antidemocratic forces of inequality and oppression. The Fighting For Freedom resource has young historians...

A collection all about Roald Dahl's novel, Matilda, contains eleven lessons. Each lesson contains a theme and covers a different subject: literacy, social-emotional learning, science, and geography. Scholars work collaboratively and...

The California missions were established by the Franciscans with the hope of converting Native Americans to Catholicism. The three lessons in this collection present fourth graders with primary source documents, paintings, and drawings...

Eight lessons make up a collection designed to help high schoolers make sense of an election year. Class members learn about voting rights, the importance of a free press, and civic participation. The focus is on the 2020 presidential...

Studying the laws and policies enacted to restrict or reform immigration, including or excluding certain groups of people, is essential to understanding the complicated history of immigration in our nation's democracy. Three case studies...

As part of their study of the history of the Channel Islands, class members watch Dark Water, a documentary about a traditional Chumash ceremony. The documentary launches a series of lessons about this tribal nation that inhabited the...

A kindergarten ELA curriculum designed by the Core Knowledge Foundation is comprised of a series of 12 read-aloud units. Each unit takes 3 weeks to complete and consists of several lessons following a common routine of introducing,...

The Price of Freedom: Americans at War is a collection of 13 resources from a printable exhibition curated by the Smithsonian Museum of American History. Each resource begins with a summary and a table of contents. The resources...

Viewers take a Crash Course in Media Literacy. They watch 12 videos that take them through media history, the positive and negative effects of media, and regulations and policies affecting media producers. The series aims to help viewers...

Conflicts happen, conflicts grow, and learning how to deal with conflict is what this curriculum wants learners to know. A series of short videos teach viewers how to identify the source of a conflict, identify different types of...

Established by Congress, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is a nonpartisan institution whose goal is to "increase the nation's capacity to manage international conflict without violence." The 15 USIP resources in the...

Rather than just talking about giving peace a chance, with the 15 resources in this collection middle schoolers learn the skills they need to become peace builders. The lessons were developed by the United States Institute of Peace...

Five units comprise the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) Curriculum unit module for high schoolers. Learners investigate bullying and school safety data, study the effects of stress and learn different ways to manage stress, and explore...

The six lessons in the Confidence Building Module of the Overcoming Obstacles course are designed for Middle Schoolers. Activities and games encourage participants to consider who they are and what they value. They learn to identify...

Five lessons comprise the Overcoming Obstacles Middle School Curriculum: Looking to the Future Module. Through a series of activities, scholars learn that change is inevitable and that accepting change with a positive attitude is key to...

What is the European Union and why was it formed? The six resources in this collection provide background information about the formation of the Union, its members, and the programs it has developed to foster peace and unity.

Use this collection of digital and print resources to wrap up the school year. Activites include resources to use in the virtual classroom!

A collection of 12 instructional activities helps young people develop the five core social and emotional learning competencies identified by CASEL. Videos, slides, activities, games, news articles, and discussions target life skills. In...

Designed for teachers, a 15-lesson collection curated by the Smithsonian, examines how wars have impacted American society. Each resource includes a lesson plan, background information, a materials list, maps, images, and worksheets. An...

Begin the school year with a collection of lessons that asks sixth-graders to consider who they are, their new role in middle school, and their role in their community. They study examples of peoples of the past dealing with issues of...

Viewers take a Crash Course in Ecology with a 12-video collection that takes a look at where organisms come from, how they interact, and how they influence their environments. The videos, appropriate for in class or remote learning, use...

Benjamin Franklin: The man, the scientist, the inventor, the statesman, the legend. A 10-lesson collection introduces high schoolers to the many facets of Franklin’s character. Although developed for the International Traveling...