Smithsonian Institution
A Ticket to Philly—In 1769: Thinking about Cities, Then and Now
While cities had only a small fraction of the population in colonial America, they played a significant role in pre-revolutionary years, and this was certainly true for the largest city in the North American colonies: Philadelphia. Your...
Smithsonian Institution
Native Resistance: Native Resistance Then and Now
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...
Curated OER
North America, Then and Now
Students identify ocean, lake, gulf, and continent on maps of North America from 1845 and the present, and identify Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, the Great Lakes, and the Gulf of Mexico on maps of North America from 1845 and the present.
Annenberg Foundation
America's History in the Making: Classroom Applications One
Someone finds a time capsule 100 years from now, and it includes your family photo album. What would the photos tell that person about you and your place in history? Scholars investigate how artifacts tell stories. Using photos, maps,...
University of Virginia
Student Page: Uncle Tom's Cabin and American Culture
History sleuths read articles for and against Uncle Tom's Cabin, examine visual images, print responses, and multi-media tomitudes to better understand the impact of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel on American culture prior to the Civil...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
The Boston Massacre: You Be the Judge!
The importance of considering multiple perspectives of the same event is the big idea in this exercise that focuses on the Boston Massacre. Class groups examine photos of four depictions of the massacre, an English and an American...
Curated OER
Reading the World, Then and Now
Students distinguish geographic features using Ptolemy's map of the world.
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Slaves and Indentured Servants
In theory, at least, indentured servitude and slavery were two different practices in the American colonies. Class groups conduct a close reading of two primary source documents, one written by a slave and one by an indentured servant,...
Curated OER
The Greatest Show on Earth: Then and Now
Students explore the history of the circus in the United States. They explore the life of John Bill Ricketts, founder of the first circus. Students compare Ricketts' first circus to the modern circus.
Curated OER
Corn in Ancient America
Young scholars explore the importance of corn to the survival of early civilizations of the Americas. Through research and discussion activities, they read and describe how corn was used as food and currency in early civilizations. ...
Curated OER
History of Miss America
Students make a time-lines of of decades using images from Miss America. For this history lesson, students looks at the country's beauty pageant and how it changes the lives of women in America. Students debate issues such as size...
National Constitution Center
Address America: Your Six-Word Stump Speech
Stump speeches are the focus of this exercise that combines politics and language arts. After learning about this type of speech, the class listens to Obama's 2008 presidential campaign stump speech and answers a series of questions that...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
European Explorers
To compare how the Spanish, French, and English approached the exploration of North America, class groups examine primary source documents and become experts on one of four explorers: Francisco Coronado, Robert LaSalle, Samuel de...
PBS
Baseball: The Tenth Inning - Bases Divided
Baseball is a relatively high-interest topic through which social studies classes can explore racial prejudice in the US. Video clips provide much of the background information that groups record on their handout and then share with the...
Curated OER
John Brown, Then and Now
Eleventh graders study one of the selected images of John Brown and read an excerpt online that describes his role in the Civil War. They identify significant information about John Brown. They think about how this applies to current...
Curated OER
Waste, Then and Now
Students discuss and compare the waste disposal habits of today with those of Native Americans of long ago.
Curated OER
Grand Canyon Suite
Take a trip to the Grand Canyon! Lesson one explores how Ferde Grofe painted a musical landscape of America when he wrote the Grand Canyon Suite. Learners then examine art that shows the Grand Canyon in lesson two. Finally, lesson three...
City University of New York
Urban Politics: Machines and Reformers
Take a trip to the turn of the twentieth century with a resource about industrialism in America. With primary source documents and focus questions, learners think about the ways that government groups and organizations paved the way for...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Rachel Carson and the Modern Environmental Movement
Scholars analyze the environmental movement started in the 1960s. Through excerpts from Rachel Carson's books as well as diary entries, they take a look at the reason for the modern movement to save the planet and then create final...
Curated OER
Geography, Climate, and Community in the Dominican Republic
Students familiarize themselves with the geography and culture of the Dominican Republic. In this Dominican Republic lesson, students use the given scenarios as starting points to analyze the geography and culture of the Dominican...
Seussville
A Classic in 236 Words
Get in the reading spirit on Read Across America Day while celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday with four printable worksheet activities. Included is a word search using story character's names, a quiz to test how many Dr. Seuss titles you've...
NOAA
History's Thermometers
How is sea coral like a thermometer? Part three of a six-part series from NOAA describes how oceanographers can use coral growth to estimate water temperature over time. Life science pupils manipulate data to determine the age of corals...
Curated OER
Ballou High School Marching Band Documentary Lesson Plans
Students examine the journey of the Ballou Marching Band. In this America's Promise instructional activity, students read about Colin Powell and examine the history of America's Promise. Students explore the Five Points of the program...
Curated OER
Ticket to Ride
Consider the images, ideas and words connected with America with your class as they design a new American passport for the 21st century that reflects an individual vision of and for America. Students reflect on the image of America...