North is to factory as South is to plantation—the perfect analogy for the economy that set up the Civil War! The first lesson in a series of five helps teach beginners why the economy creates a driving force for conflict. Analysis of...

The boarding school era is "a history that all of us need to know about," says Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. Here's a lesson plan that examines that history. High schoolers examine video interviews of Native Americans who detail...

Native American women powered the American Indian Movement and other social changes, but they are often forgotten by history books. Examining a series of resources, including a documentary film, photographs, secondary sources, and social...

Here is a complex lesson plan that interweaves the history of the Jim Crow South and the Great Migration with the study of poetry, art, and blues music from the Harlem Renaissance. The plan helps young historians develop a deep...

Students complete a unit of lessons that examine the goals of the Americans during the Revolutionary War. They explore an online interactive map of major campaigns, read and analyze primary source documents, and analyze diplomatic and...

What's missing from most studies of the American Revolutionary War is information about the role African Americans played in the conflict. To correct this oversight, middle schoolers research groups like the Black Loyalists and ...

The Civil Rights Act of 1866, which granted citizenship to all males in the U.S., resulted in the first African Americans to be elected to Congress. Class members research 11 of these men, the challenges they faced, and craft...

The era after the Civil War saw a flourishing of African Americans exercising their rights. Using graphic organizers and Internet research, pupils consider the legacy of Benjamin Sterling Turner, who sat in Congress. Afterward, they...

To understand the history of Native American education, high schoolers examine the record of young scholars who attended the Carlisle Indian School from 1879-1918. They also examine sources that contain information about indigenous...

Encultureate, assimilate, or eliminate? The 2021 discovery of a mass grave of over 200 children on the site of a former Canadian Indian Boarding school led to the creation of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative. High schoolers...

Did you know that in some states your pupils can pre-register to vote? Teach the advantages to pre-registering and engage the classroom in an intriguing discussion about youth voting trends. Class members participates in a live polling...

High schoolers research the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, as well as other primary source documents, to determine Reconstruction's impact on the North and South. The 34-page inquiry-based lesson includes a staging question and...

Native Americans lost so much—and gained so little in return. Scholars explore Native Americans' resistance to the United States government. The lesson uses primary sources to explore the different forms of protest and gives a voice to...

Eighth graders study North Carolina's reconstruction through an interdisciplinary project that emcompasses social studies, language arts, visual art, music, and technology.

Teens and tweens are invited to become changemakers in a five-lesson unit, asking them to investigate and share what they have learned about exemplary, contemporary Native Americans. They gather facts about their research subject, record...

Students investigate the life of African Americans in the North during the American Revolution. They analyze how authors use various techniques to write biographies, read about Sojourner Truth, conduct research, and write an excerpt...

Students examine what life was like in free African-American communities before the Civil War. They analyze maps, identify elements of everyday life in these communities, explore various websites, and complete a chart.

Middle schoolers may be surprised to learn that before the American Civil War there were more slaves living in New York than there were in Kentucky! Young historians examine maps and census data to gather statistics about...

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...

North and South: two opposite directions and two opposite economic and social systems in time of the Civil War. Pupils peruse census websites and primary source photographs to understand what life was like for the everyday person before...

Students explore the Great Depression. In this research skills lesson, students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary sources. Students write their own WPA interviews after they have examined...

High schoolers analyze the different roles assumed by various Native American tribes during the American Revolution. They examine the issues involved for Native Americans in choosing the British or the American side of the conflict, such...

Native American studies is fun, educational, and highly motivating. Fifth graders will gain a deeper understanding of the six major pre-Columbian culture areas on the North American continent. They will choose one group and conduct...

What did the English settlers think of the Native Americans inhabiting the Chesapeake region of the United States? Learners analyze a series of documents and images to determine the English perception of the local inhabitants. A great...