+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Be That As It Maya

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Creative projects are a great way to engage your class and can be a fun way to assess mastery! Learners create brochures and postcards that might have been created by and for travelers to ancient Mayan cities. They read and discuss the...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

For the Record

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Young scholars read a New York Times article in order to examine the importance of cultural artifacts. They create essays from the point of view of one cultural artifact to demonstrate the knowledge they gained by doing research.
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
National Endowment for the Humanities

Lesson 4 James Madison: Internal Improvements Balancing Act—Federal/State and Executive/Legislative

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Who has the power? The founding fathers asked the same question when the United States was formed. Learners explore issues that arose during Madison’s presidency that raised constitutional questions. Through discovery, discussion, and...
+
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

The Monroe Doctrine: A Close Reading

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students identify specific passages in the Monroe Doctrine to events in early U.S. diplomacy.
+
Lesson Plan
Council for Economic Education

The Role of Government: The Federal Government and Fiscal Policy

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Give learners a crash course in balancing the books on the United States federal government level with an economics and government resource. Class members engage in a warm-up discussion and brainstorming session before answering...
+
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Lesson 1: The First Great Awakening

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
High schoolers examine the First Great Awakening and how it affected religious belief in colonial America. They read and analyze primary source documents, explore various websites, and write a five-paragraph essay examining the beliefs...
+
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Lesson 2: Religion and the Argument for American Independence

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Young scholars examine how religion affected arguments justifying American independence. They read and analyze primary source documents, and write an essay analyzing how Americans used religious arguments to justify revolution against a...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

William Apess and the Mashpee "Revolt" of 1833

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Prompt your class with the following question: What was the status of American Indians in Massachusetts during Jackson's presidency? To answer this question, class members will read a series of primary source documents (attached),...
+
Lesson Plan
PBS

Inventions

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Use this lesson plan to discuss inventions that have changed your class's world and have impacted society. Middle schoolers investigate important inventions of their time and design an invention in a simulated business atmosphere. Modify...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
National Endowment for the Humanities

Soviet Espionage in America

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The war against Communism and Joseph McCarthy’s place in it are the focus of a series of three lessons examining postwar America from 1945-1950. This first lesson asks groups to read an introduction that describes the Verona Project and...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
National Endowment for the Humanities

The Rise and Fall of Joseph McCarthy

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
"I have here in my hand . . ." The war against Communism and Joseph McCarthy’s place in it are the focus of a series of lessons examining postwar America from 1945-1954. Joseph McCarthy takes center stage in this, the final lesson of the...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
National Endowment for the Humanities

Ending the War, 1783

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The various peace proposals, made by both sides, to end the Revolutionary War come under scrutiny in this final lesson of a three-part series on the war. Class members read primary source documents and compare them with military...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
National Endowment for the Humanities

The War in the North, 1775–1778

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Using primary source documents, including maps, learners examine Revolutionary War events from 1775 to 1778. The focus here is on the challenges George Washington and the Continental army faced and how they persevered in spite of those...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
National Endowment for the Humanities

The War in the South, 1778–1781

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The second in a three-part look at the Revolutionary War focuses the years from 1778 through 1781 and zooms in on military operations in the southern colonies, the French alliance, and the role African-Americans played in events. Class...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Note Taking By Crayon

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Skim a brief biography of Amelia Earhart with your class, and then assign groups of researchers one of four topics listed: Amelia's family life, important airplane flights during Amelia's life, turning points in Amelia's life, and...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Investigating the Swissair Flight 111 Tragedy

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Middle schoolers read two articles about the same event: "Plane from J.F.K Crashes off Canada" from the New York Times and "No Survivors from Crash of Swissair Jetliner Off Nova Scotia" from the Associated Press. They then compare the...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
Defining US

Integration of Education and American Society

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How did the struggle for Civil Rights during the 1950s transform American society and politics? Why are American schools integrated today? Class members explore these essential questions by examining a series of primary and secondary...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
Middle Tennessee State University

John Brown: Hero or Villain?

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
"Love it or leave it." "You're either for us or against us." Rhetoric and it's polarizing effects are the focus of a instructional activity that uses John Brown's attack on Harper's Ferry as an exemplar. Groups examine primary source...
+
Lesson Plan
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program

A Mini lesson on Semicolons

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" serves as an exemplar for a mini-lesson on semicolons. Working alone or in small groups, class members first circle all the semicolons in the letter, and then consider how this...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
National Endowment for the Humanities

Lesson 2: The United States, France, and the Problem of Neutrality, 1796–1801

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
While the French Revolution could be considered inspired by the American Revolution, it created thorny problems for the new United States. Should the United States get involved and be drawn into a European drama? Was the US strong...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding and Fighting Stereotypes through Words and Images

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Use some provocative modern art to get your class considering stereotypes and the impact they have on us all. Your class will discuss the print art Indian Look-Alike by Melanie Yazzie and stereotypes in general before conducting research...
+
Lesson Plan
Speak Truth to Power

Dalai Lama: Free Expression and Religion

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How is religious freedom connected to the conflict between China and Tibet? After reading an online passage of background information, your learners will divide into groups and both read and view an interview with the Dalai Lama. They...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
What So Proudly We Hail

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: A Lesson on the Declaration of Independence

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
What does it mean to say that a right is unalienable? How did the founding fathers convey this revolutionary concept in the Declaration of Independence? Engage in a close reading and analysis of the Declaration of Independence, and...
+
Worksheet
Smithsonian Institution

Mary Henry: Journal/Diary Writing

For Students 7th - 12th Standards
A great way to connect social studies with language arts, a resource on Mary Henry's historical diary reinforces the concepts of primary and secondary sources. It comes with an easy-to-understand lesson plan, as well as the reference...

Other popular searches