How does a judge in the federal judicial court decide on a verdict? Give your middle and high schoolers a better idea of how final decisions are made in the judicial system. Then split your class into four groups, assigning each group a...

Working in groups, middle and high schoolers describe and discuss photographs depicting working conditions experienced by child laborers in the 19th century. They then write a persuasive paragraph supporting an amendment to regulate the...

The reading of a contextual essay launches a study of Black Americans who served in Congress from 1870 through 1887. Young historians identify the African Americans who served during this period, investigate the ways they won national...

Students investigate the meaning of the First Amendments right of freedom of speech. They examine the anti-war movement that occurred during the 1960's in response to the war in Vietnam. While studying primary sources, they determine how...

What would your scholars do if Susan B. Anthony walked into class? Shock them to attention with this instructional activity, which has the school secretary (or any willing participant) dress as the famous suffragette and answer questions...

Although the PowerPoint this lesson plan calls for is unavailable, you could easily create a presentation to fulfill its purpose. Learners listen to a presentation and keep track of the information with a graphic organizer that looks at...

In groups, learners review one of four selected Supreme Court cases. The whole class watches a video introducing the four cases, and then small groups dive into Internet research in an attempt to write a two-paragraph summary of the...

Prompted by a viewing of Emiko and Chizu Omori’s Rabbit in the Moon, a documentary about the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, high schoolers examine a series of documents, including the Bill of Rights and the UN’s...

Need an online resource to supplement the paper textbook in your classroom? An all-encompassing website covers historical events throughout the last half of the second millenium, leading right up to the third. From the pre-Columbian...

Learners investigate Jim Crow laws. In this segregation lesson, students analyze images that display American segregation. Learners use the provided questions to aid them in their evaluation of the images.

Imagine a list that includes Alan Abelson of Baron's, Bob Woodward of the Washington Post, and Mother Jones. High schoolers select a national columnist, read and annotate five columns by this author, noting the rhetorical...

Students explore freedom of speech. Individually, they complete a K-W-L chart. Students participate in a "Stand If You Can" activity where they make statements regarding the freedom of speech. Students stand if they agree with the...

Students study the Civil War. In this American history lesson plan, students define segregation, make a segregation collage with pictures of people being separated from others because of their race, religion, or ethnic background, and...

Pupils examine the Bill of Rights, They read the Bill of Rights and clarify the meaning of the material using different reading strategies. In groups, students brainstorm to compare and evaluate their conclusions with those of others.

Students form conclusions regarding the motivational effects of music on the mind during the Civil Rights era. For this Civil Rights movement lesson, students describe how music motivates, describe the motivational role in freedom songs...

Students use correct grammar, spelling and capitalization in their writing. They connect information acquired in history and science classes with the events described in the books that were read. Students make a clear and informative...