Cultures through Time Teacher Resources

"Can a museum be a catalyst in a community? Can a museum house artists and allow them to be change agents as communities re-think themselves?" Watch as curator Thelma Golden re-imagines the museum as a think tank and explores the...

Students research the passage of the 19th Amendment as an illustration of the mutual influence between political ideas and cultural attitudes. They aslos read the Seneca Falls Declaration and explore the cultural shifts it both reflected...

Students explore Stephen Sondheim's contributions to musical theatre in the context of the dramatic cultural shift that occurred in American life in the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.

High-interest content captures your most reluctant readers and class participants. Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation, in collaboration with Harvard University, seeks to nurture a culture of kindness and reduce bullying. Excerpts from...

Keep your scholars organized using this study plan and progress report tool, one of many great learning strategies featured in this online western civilizations resource! Although designed for use alongside the Western Civilizations...

Each of the three dance lessons included here will get your class moving. The first lesson allows learners to explore how music and movement differ in meaning depending on cultural context. Lesson two gives them an opportunity to create...

How have inventions and events changed the English language? Learners create posters showing specific words and language changes that resulted from an event, discovery, or cultural change. The class develops their vocabulary by...

How do authors use their writing as a means of responding to social and cultural change? Pupils watch a video, engage in discussion, read interesting author biographies, write an account of a typical day in a sharecropping family, and...

How does one become a catalyst for change? What are the challenges faced by those who take a stand for change? What part do the arts play in cultural change? Using primary and secondary sources from the 1920s and 1930s, class members...

Students study about wide scale construction and development in Moscow and its impact on cultural and historic preservation. They research the political, social, economic, and cultural changes in the former Eastern Bloc and create a...

Students examine how American Indian cultures changed as a result of the Revolutionary War.

Immigration, refugees, and cultural change due to the movement of people around the globe is discussed. Learners examine the work of Michael Blum to gain an understanding of how national and cultural identities shift due to immigration....

Students describe the history of California prior to 1848 and its early Californio culture. They relate how the Californios were changed by the coming of the Americans and analyze documents and plans that describe Californio architecture.

Students investigate the history of African Americans by researching Harlem.  In this culture instructional activity, students examine a slide-show of images and identify the great African American singers and performers of the 20th...

The Crusades sounds like a glamorous time period in the Middle Ages full of glory—but was it? Scholars find and review the truth of the Crusades' influence on the world through the resource. The study guides, separated individually by...

Fourth graders research and take notes while viewing a video on the Navajo Indians. In this Indigenous people lesson, 4th graders use the notes they've taken to compare and contrast the Navaho tribe to other Indigenous tribes. Students...

Build an understanding of the social, economic, and cultural changes that were incited by the American Industrial Revolution. Learners will research the historical context of the Ragtime Era, and compose an oral presentation in the voice...

In this folk culture research worksheet, students use the form to record data about a graveyard that they visit to show that graveyards reflect how cultures change and differ from each other.

After comparing and contrasting non-violent and violent social movements, your young historians will take a closer look at the work and influence of John Lewis on the civil rights movement. They will then choose a current social justice...

Young historians examine the lifestyle changes and cultural changes that occurred as a result of the challenges posed by World War II on society in general. With regard to American History and culture, pupils write an essay on the...

Young scholars examine the evolution of women's rights in Korea. In this Korean history lesson plan, students read 5 articles pertaining to women's lives under the Silla, Koryo, and Choson kingdoms. The articles also make reference to...

Students appreciate how cultural change causes people's perceptions of places and regions to change. This lesson focuses on the sequential occupancy of a specific habitat.

Does the human body evolve as quickly as human culture? With a stellar 15-minute video, explore the trait of lactose intolerance. Only about 1/3 of human adults seem to still have the enzyme lactase and therefore, the ability to digest...

Students read and analyze Jessie Benton Fremont's travelogue of her trip out west in 1849 to identify the gender roles, social attitudes and class distinctions of the time. They then adapt the the travelogue into a film script.