PBS
Family History: On Your Honor
What is your history? Scholars work with their own families to create a unique story of the courage and bravery of their ancestors. The third and final part of the series culminates in a creation of not just a family history, but a...
PBS
Family History: Treasure Troves
It's time for show and tell! Scholars investigate historical artifacts to determine what secrets they reveal about the time periods they represent. They then research their own personal artifacts, as well as those from World War I.
PBS
Civil War: Before the War
Free the slaves! Scholars research primary documents and videos while working together to create abolitionist posters. They examine the John Brown raid as a template to creating their own demonstration.
PBS
Family History: Those with Lofty Ideals
Would you stand up for your beliefs, no matter the cost? Scholars investigate their own families to uncover examples of how and when someone stood up for their ideals. Using video clips, interviews, and eulogies, they come to understand...
PBS
Civil War: Blacks on the Battlefield
Imagine a war being fought to free slaves, with slaves on the front line. Scholars use primary documents, videos, and research in the second installment of a three-part series to guide their analysis of the first African-Americans on the...
PBS
Evaluating Conflicting Evidence: Sultana
What sunk the Sultana? Scholars become investigators to uncover the facts behind the 1865 sinking just after the end of the Civil War. Through group work, videos, and primary documents, they research and analyze why 1,800 men died....
PBS
Think Like a Historian: A Viewing Guide
Calling all junior detectives! Scholars use the tools of investigation to determine the causes and impacts of the American Civil War. Using viewing guides, videos, group research, and written resources, they discover what it takes to...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Women's Lives Before the Civil War
Women's lifestyles before the Civil War made a huge impact as a point of causation. Give middle schoolers the opportunity to view firsthand the lives of women before the Civil War. They analyze primary source documents, view photographs,...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Life Before the Civil War
American life before the Civil War was very different from American life today. To show this difference in a full spectrum, learners compare two communities that illustrate the differences between Northern and Southern life. Throughout...
National Endowment for the Humanities
A Debate Against Slavery
Slavery is a serious topic that can be challenging for middle schoolers to study. Young scholars can see firsthand through primary sources what occurred during that time period in the United States. The third of five lessons provides...
National Endowment for the Humanities
George Washington: The Precedent President
Everyone knows that George Washington was the first president, but do your scholars know why that was so important? The lesson plan, the third in a sequence of three, allows learners to understand how George Washington set a precedent...
American Battle Monuments Commission
The Great War: U.S. Division Under Allied Command
The victory of Allied forces in World War I is due in large part to the continued collaboration and support of the Allied divisions themselves. Learn more about the ways Australia, Britain, France, and the United States worked together...
American Battle Monuments Commission
The Strategic Bombing Campaign
An extensive look at World War II details the strategic bombing campaign of the Allied forces. Beginning in September 1939 and ending in May 1945, the interactive map follows British and American forces throughout the bombing campaigns...
American Battle Monuments Commission
The Sicilian Campaign
The summer of 1943 saw Italy transition from a fascist state in an Allied campaign that eventually became a liberation. Explore the ways Canada, Great Britain, the United States, and the Northwest African Air Forces collaborated to put a...
American Battle Monuments Commission
The Battle of the Atlantic
World War II is known for its land and air battles in Europe, but the waters of the Atlantic saw its share of skirmishes from 1939 to 1945. Learn more about the roles of the Allied powers in establishing ocean territory during World War...
American Battle Monuments Commission
Liberating Rome: The Anzio and Rome-Arno Campaigns
Follow the liberation of Rome in both time and space with an interactive timeline and map. As class members click on various icons on the map, they can track different countries and their troops during the Anzio and Rome-Arno Campaigns...
American Battle Monuments Commission
Flying Yanks: American Airmen in World War I
Their boots may not have been on the ground, but military airmen in World War I made a lasting impact on the global conflict. A thorough interactive resource takes learners through a timeline of events, campaigns, and battles with...
Our White House
The Our White House Inauguration Celebration Kit for Kids!
Get the youngest American citizens involved in the presidential election and inauguration with a set of social studies activities. Focusing on the history of presidential inauguration ceremonies, learners draft their own poems, design...
National Constitution Center
Town Hall Wall: Coming to America
Everyone seems to have an opinion on the status and rights of illegal immigrants. Help secondary learners research each perspective and arrive at their own conclusions with a collaborative exercise. As they read an informative passage...
National Constitution Center
Town Hall Wall: College Exam
The college that directly affects young citizens' lives is not the university they're applying to. Learn about the Electoral College in a town hall activity in which class members debate the merits of the current system versus electing a...
Advocates for Human Rights
Creating a Welcoming School and Community
The final activity in a unit study of immigration and human rights asks class members to design a project for their school that builds support for immigrant classmates. To prepare for this project, individuals use what they have learned...
Advocates for Human Rights
Civic Engagement and U.S. Immigration Policy
To conclude their study of immigration and human rights, class members create a civic engagement project centered on an issue of immigration and designed to influence US immigration policy. They examine examples of attempts to influence...
Advocates for Human Rights
Refugees and Asylum Seekers
To gain a deeper understanding of the plight of refugees and asylum seekers, class members read stories written from the point of view of an emigrant, map the individual's journey, and note the human rights affected by each stage of the...
Advocates for Human Rights
U.S. Immigration Policy
The United States Immigration Policy is incredibly complex. To gain a deeper understanding of the criteria, quotas, preferences, and categories of immigrants admitted to the US, class members engage in a role playing activity that...