Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
What Good May I Do: Franklin and the American Civic Association
Benjamin Franklin may have been a Founding Father of the United States, but he also founded a number of civic associations. Learners explore his legacy using a biographical essay and collaborative activity. After their exploration,...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Lists to Live By: Developing a Self-Improvement Plan
Ben Franklin was a man with a plan. Learners investigate his plan for self-improvement using excerpts from Franklin's autobiography. Then, pupils develop their own plans and discuss how to sell them to others using the two-session lesson...
College Board
2007 AP® Microeconomics Free-Response Questions
A monopoly gives a company exclusive rights to a market. What is the impact of that decision on the economy? Problem sets from College Board explore this question, as well as variables in labor markets and government regulations on profit.
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Colonial Tobacco Economy
Tobacco as money? Middle schoolers investigate how eighteenth-century Virginia farmers used tobacco as a cash crop to buy tools, livestock, and household goods. They also examine the connection between tobacco production and the slave...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
How Do We Know about Colonial Life?
Young history sleuths examine an inventory of the belongings of a Virginia colonist and use deductive reasoning to determine what the document reveals about colonial life. They then use a Venn diagram to compare the inventory with a...
National Park Service
“Famous Footsteps” Teacher’s Guide
As part of a study of Ellis Island Immigration Station, class members assume the role of immigration service workers, investigate the dossier of an immigrant, and recommend whether or not their subject should be allowed to enter the US....
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
What Was Everyday Life like in Colonial Virginia?
After reflecting on jobs people perform in the present day, scholars discuss what they believe jobs would have been like in Colonial Virginia during the American Revolution. Small groups then perform a jigsaw using informational packets....
College Board
2004 AP® Macroeconomics Free-Response Questions Form B
A problem set explores how an international crisis could affect the economic health of Canada using authentic materials from College Board. Other questions ask learners to create and evaluate supply and demand curves and examine factors...
Penguin Books
An Educator’s Guide to Ruta Sepetys
Historical fiction novels give readers a chance to step into someone else's shoes. An educator's guide from Penguin Common Core Lesson Plans provides resources to accompany three historical fiction novels written by Ruta Sepetys: Between...
Penguin Books
An Educators' Guide to Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Books can help teens understand complex global issues. A helpful educator's guide introduces readers to what it's like to be a refugee. Lesson components for the novel Shades of Gray include an anticipation guide and writing and research...
Penguin Books
Core Curriculum Lesson Plans for Jefferson's Sons
Thomas Jefferson lived a controversial life. A series of lesson plans shares information about Jefferson's Sons, a novel about the infamous founding father. Discussion questions and other tasks explore different points of view and cover...
Penguin Books
Core Curriculum Lesson Plans for The Lions of Little Rock
Schools in the 1950s and 60s looked very different from the schools we know today. An educator's guide explores the civil rights movement and, specifically, the process of integrating schools. Questions cover key themes in the novel and...
Judicial Learning Center
Your Day in Court: Criminal Justice
When a person goes on trial for a crime, what options does a court have to render justice? Who are the key players in the legal system? Interested legal scholars answer the inquiries and more using an Internet-based activity, chart, and...
Judicial Learning Center
The Judge and the Jury: Trial by Jury
Why is it so important to have a trial by jury in the American judicial system? This right is one of the hallmarks of American democracy, but it also comes with the responsibility of serving on a jury if called. Young legal scholars...
Judicial Learning Center
Judicial Independence: What’s Wrong with This Court?
Why is it important for judges to operate independently of politics or other branches of government? Scholars ponder the question as they examine video clips, case studies, excerpts of the US Constitution, and an interactive computer...
Judicial Learning Center
Understanding the Types of Cases
Most young scholars are aware of the criminal courts system, but the United States Constitution allows for a much broader role. What other roles do courts play in settling other questions? A case study and WebQuest-style activities...
National Constitution Center
Explore Rights Around the World
How has the American Bill of Rights influenced the rest of the world? An interactive web activity helps individuals see the similarities between countries' bills of rights. A text-to-text tool compares the American Bill of Rights to...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Choosing a Trade in Colonial America
How did workers pick a trade in colonial America? Using a WebQuest approach, scholars explore life in the colonial era by looking at professions available to men like Benjamin Franklin. Individuals then apply their knowledge to create...
Judicial Learning Center
About Federal Judges: Qualifications of Judges
"Help Wanted: A Supreme Court Justice." What should be included in the ad? Learners ponder the question during a lively activity that asks them to examine the qualifications for various federal offices and then create job postings....
National Constitution Center
American Treasures
Just how long did it take the framers to write the Constitution? What role did the drafting process play? Scholars examine various drafts from the Constitutional Convention to gain a better understanding of its formation. Interactive...
USA.gov
How The Supreme Court Works
Just how does a case come before the highest court in the land? A graphic flow chart unpacks how plaintiffs come before the Supreme Court. Graphics include background on the nine justices and just how many cases they actually hear each...
National Park Service
Teaching with Historic Places: Discover the Jackie Robinson Ballpark
Can sports and popular culture change public opinion? That's the essential question asked by a lesson plan that looks at the role Jackie Robinson's appearance at City Island Ballpark in Daytona Beach, Florida played in the desegregation...
National Constitution Center
Writing Rights: The Bill of Rights
Where did the cherished ideals enshrined in the Bill of Rights originate? While history gives the Founding Fathers much of the credit, laws in colonial America influenced the Bill of Rights. An interactive web-based activity allows...
Council for Economic Education
Mercantilists and the Midas Touch
What is the connection between greed and mercantilism? Historians consider this question by analyzing a fairy-tale like story about King Midas from the nineteenth century. The background information and excerpt help pupils understand the...