Get your historians to hop into someone else's 18th century shoes with a simulation on rights in early America. Each individual gets an identity card, indicating their race, gender, and status (slave or free). Areas around the room are...

Students participate in a series of activities to explore the lives of slaves in 19th century America. They examine the design of slave ships, the hardships endured, and the ways that owners depended on slaves for their economic survival.

Five segements from Ken Burns' documentary series Prohibition, easily accessed on the PBS website, are at the center of a terrific short unit on the roots of America's ambivalent relationship with alcohol. Engage your secondary...

Students examine the causes of the American Revolution. In this colonial America lesson, students read handouts regarding the sequence of events that led to the commencement of the war. Students complete the provided worksheets and...

Fourth graders analyze colonial rule and policies with regard to the causes of the American Revolution. In this Colonial America simulation lesson, 4th graders role play in an Independence Game, reacting to a variety of "events" that...

Students explore America's racial wealth divide. In this Teaching Tolerance lesson, students play a "rigger" version of the game Monopoly and reflect on the game and economic injustice in the United States.

Third graders research life of Plymouth Plantation and write letters about life there home. In this Plymouth life instructional activity, 3rd graders complete a webquest as they gather information about the journey to America on the...

Learners pretend to be 18th century shopkeepers or trades people and create signs representing their shops or trades.

Fifth graders listen to the song America by Neil Diamond, view pictures of Ellis Island, and role play as processing officers who evaluate, classify and recommend which immigrants can stay in America.

Students watch a Nova program examining the earliest in habitants of the Americas. In groups. they take notes on various topics covered in the program. Among the topics covered are: the Clovis people, Solutrean culture, migration...

Fifth graders study the immigration station on Ellis Island. Through several activities, they see that immigrants who arrived at Ellis Island came to America from different countries, mostly those in Europe, for a variety of reasons.

Students will identify and locate Central and South America and their countries and features, as well as Meso-American civilizations. Students will compare civilizations and discuss voyages of relevant explorers.

Eighth graders apply their knowledge of North American history from the mid 1600's through the mid 1700's to a role-playing scenario. In small groups they plan, write, and perform a dramatic skit of a group that was affected by events in...

Students explore food supply distribution. In this GNP distribution lesson, students participate in a simulation that requires them to eat foods from the American continents. Students are served according to their chance positions in...

Third graders research world geography by creating a class presentation. In this South American lesson, 3rd graders read assigned text regarding the customs and traditions of different Indian communities in South America. Students...

Fourth graders are given a worksheet stating the goal of the day, different sections to visit, and time spent on each section. They are given the CDs, 4th graders are told to insert the CDs into the computer. Students go to The Plains...

Students investigate Native American culture reading and writing about early Native American authors. They listen to an expert to extend their understanding of the culture.

Seventh graders identify types of human settlements, urban and agricultural, and determine geographic influence on why people settle where they did by use of maps and charts. They, in groups, identify the needs of a new settlement, which...

Students perform a play about the early explorers to America.

Students present tableaus showing scenes from The Memory Coat,  a book about immigration. In this tableau lesson, students examine the cover of the book and make predictions about what is happening and who the people are. They...

Fourth graders examine and discuss the location, lifestyle, and culture of the people of the Appalachians. They listen to a tape of an Appalachian dialect, the story, When I Was Young in the Mountains, and write and conduct questions for...

Students explore American colonial times. For this U.S. history lesson, students research typical colonial life and script interviews with people that might have lived during the time period. Students create podcasts of the interviews.

Fourth graders explore U.S. history by creating a timeline of the Colonial era. In this American Revolution lesson, 4th graders identify and discuss the conflicts that led to the revolution and list ways people deal with conflicts....

What was it like to pass through Ellis Island? Learners move through the immigration process of the early 1900s in a simulation activity. A comprehensive activity includes role-playing profiles and other manipulative items such as...