Excerpts from Reconstruction: America After the Civil War, Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s documentary series provide young historians with insight into the struggles the country faced in the years after the Civil war. Viewers learn about the...

By 1786, it became apparent to many American founders that there were serious problems with the Articles of Confederation. A three-lesson unit focuses on the debates that lead to the 1787 Constitution Convention, as well as the...

The writings of a French diplomat and political philosopher, Alexis de Tocqueville, offer young scholars much to think about. In the three-lesson unit, class members examine Tocqueville’s arguments about the power of the majority and...

A four-lesson unit focuses on American foreign policy in the late 1800s. Young historians examine primary source documents, conduct a WebQuest, and use a timeline activity to reflect on the impact of American imperialism in Cuba, Puerto...

Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow is the anchor text in a 10-lesson unit that looks at some of the issues of race and justice in American society and how issues have changed over time. High schoolers look at the history of race and...

A three-lesson unit looks at the United States Civil War. In the first lesson, high schoolers analyze primary source materials to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the Union and Confederate armies at the beginning of the war. The...

Seven lessons examine the Reconstruction Era that followed the United States Civil War. The series of detailed lessons provide background information on the era, teaching strategies, videos, and primary source materials.

Seven lessons make up a unit on African-Americans who served in the United States Congress from 1870 to 2007. Young historians read contextual essays, engage in activities, examine primary source images, and artifacts to gain an...

Innocent man or traitor to France? That is the question addressed in a five-lesson unit that looks at multiple interpretations of the Dreyfus Affair. As young historians examine primary sources, they also consider the bias that history...

A five-lesson collection examines the history of the Cold War from a global point of view. World History students analyze primary and secondary source documents, as well as video clips, to investigate the beginnings of the Cold War, its...

Immigration and immigration reform are hot button topics, now more than they have been. The Energy of a Nation curriculum is designed to dispel myths about immigrants, build empathy, and provide up-to-date facts. The 13 lessons in the...

The “Grand Alliance” between the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union was established during World War II to counter the aggression of German and Japan. A four-resource collection looks at the differences in the members’...

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...

Analyzing primary and secondary source materials requires a special set of skills. Readers must be able to identify the central ideas in a text, to cite evidence to support their analysis, and to evaluate the arguments put forth in a...

Social studies and literacy skills go hand in hand, as one of the core components of history, philosophy, political science and the other social studies is the written word. The RH.9-10 CCSS standards place an emphasis on primary...