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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Civil War Overview: Elementary Lesson Plan

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
How do you teach the Civil War and all its intricacies within the time limits of an average school day? Using a three-part plan, teachers easily integrate coverage of key Civil War battles into the unit. The lesson includes activities to...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Creating a Historic Site Lesson Plan

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
What makes a place historic? Using events from their own lives, learners consider this question, then deem places from their world historic. They then curate the experience for visitors, creating signs and other materials for their...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Preserving the Memory

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Civil War battlefields themselves are under siege by development and other forces. Using materials from the Battlefield Trust, individuals explore local areas that face threat and write letters to support their preservation. An...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Civil War Personalities: Individual Examples of Character

For Teachers 4th - 7th Standards
What is a hero? What is character? Using biographies of figures during the Civil War, both famous and lesser known, scholars consider these questions. After brainstorming what they think makes a hero, they examine the lives of those who...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

1864-1865: Bringing the War to an End

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
The Civil War—in its breathtaking ferocity—came to a close in 1864. However, turmoil echoed throughout the country's politics, including the presidential context between Lincoln and McClellan. Performing chronology and primary source...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Gettysburg Address: Abraham Lincoln's Greatest Speech

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Most Americans have heard of the Gettysburg Address, but may not know what it means and why is it so important. Following guidance and scaffolded prompts, scholars analyze the short document that left an undeniable impact on the American...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Joshua Chamberlain Lesson Plan

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
While Joshua Chamberlain's name is not as iconic as Abraham Lincoln or Robert E. Lee, he still played a pivotal role in the military engagements of the Civil War. Using two secondary sources—including one that draws heavily from his...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

The Home Front

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Women and children played key roles during the Civil War, even if their voices are often lost in history. By studying letters and personal testimony from them, budding historians get a glimpse into the day-to-day life of civilians during...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Civil War Play

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Everyone has a role to play. Young scholars step into history by taking on the roles of soldiers—both male and female—during the Civil War using a fictionalized play of what life was like on the battlefield. Pupils also examine the roles...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

1861: The Country Goes to War

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
What was it like to know the Civil War was coming? Using a graphic timeline activity and excerpts of speeches from Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, learners consider the early days of the conflict. The resource includes prompts for...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Life at War

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
It looks like a cracker, but hardtack was anything but. The staple of the Civil War soldier's diet is one of many aspects of military life that scholars consider using letters from soldiers back home and images from slavery. A PowerPoint...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

1862: Antietam and Emancipation

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
The Emancipation Proclamation shifted the tone and purpose of the Civil War. Using a primary source analysis, pupils consider the significance of the document. A second activity investigates the founding of the United States Colored...
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Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Martha Hughes Cannon: Doctor, Wife, Mother, Senator

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Each state is entitled to two statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection in Washington, D.C. After reading about Utah's debate over whether or not Martha Hughes Cannon should be represented by one of their statues, individuals...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Myth and Truth: The First Thanksgiving

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Encourage learners to think critically about common myths regarding the Wampanoag Indians in Colonial America. They discover that behind every myth are many possible explanations—and that learning more about American history helps them...
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Interactive
PBS

Latino Americans Share Their Experiences

For Students 6th - 9th Standards
Three Latino Americans are the focus of an interactive that spotlights their accomplishments. Scholars get to know Lin-Manuel Miranda, Judy Reyes, and José Hernández through short informative text and videos. Participants read, take...
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eBook
Utah Education Network (UEN)

Utah Open Textbook: 6th Grade Science

For Students 6th Standards
There are many interactions among living things and their surroundings. By completing a reading, scholars learn about the Earth, the moon, and the sun and how they relate to the solar system. They also investigate the basics of physical...
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Unit Plan
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Echoes & Reflections

Contemporary Antisemitism

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Despite the recognized atrocities of the Holocaust, anti-semitism continues. The 11th and final installment of the Teaching the Holocaust series explores the long-term effects of the Holocaust on modern anti-semitism, asking pupils to...
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Unit Plan
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Echoes & Reflections

Perpetrators, Collaborators, and Bystanders

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
After the Holocaust, the world grappled with how to bring justice to the Nazis. But what to do with the thousands—if not millions—who allowed it to happen? Young historians consider the issues of guilt, collaboration, and responsibility...
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Unit Plan
1
1
Echoes & Reflections

Antisemitism

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Propaganda and anti-semitism were linked to evil ends during the Holocaust. Using video testimony of Holocaust survivors, examples of Nazi propaganda, and discussion questions, learners explore the roots of anti-semitism in Europe and...
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Interactive3:02
British Council

William Shakespeare

For Students 3rd - 7th Standards
After watching a three-minute video detailing the life of William Shakespeare, scholars take part in several activities designed to show what they know about the famous writer. Learners read a series of eight sentences and put them in...
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Activity
Newspaper Association of America

Celebrating Women’s History Month

For Students 4th - 8th Standards
Examine the lives of four women—Blanche Stuart Scott, Madeleine L'Engle, Margaret Evans Price, and Sybil Ludington—in a 23-page activity packet. Each profile comes with a set of vocabulary and reading comprehension questions. Further...
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Worksheet
Skills Workshop

Rosa Louise Parks

For Students 3rd - 6th Standards
One moment can define the rest of your life—and in the case of Rosa Parks and her famous decision in December 1955, it can define the trajectory of a nation. Elementary readers learn more about the life and message of Rosa Parks with an...
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Worksheet
Look! We're Learning!

Ella Fitzgerald Biography Mini-Unit

For Students 5th - 8th Standards
Before there was Beyonce, before there was Madonna, before there was Cher, there was Ella. Introduce Ella Fitzgerald, The First Lady of Jazz, with a reading comprehension exercise that presents a brief biography of her life and then asks...
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Activity
Spreading Gratitude Rocks

Live and Learn and Pass It On

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
What are some of life's most tried-and-true lessons? Pupils listen to examples from the book Live and Learn and Pass It On by H. Jackson Brown, Jr. They write down their own life lessons to later compile in a class booklet. As a bonus...