Decode primary sources in a fast-paced activity. A quick guessing game helps pupils use visual clues to understand primary sources. Academics look at a picture of the cotton gin and must guess what it is without other knowledge or clues....

All of the people in your class would agree that life would be different without the invention of the telephone! Study Alexander Graham Bell's most famous and influential invention through the primary source document of his...

Your teenagers may have heard of fracking, but do they really know what it is? And could they debate the benefits and risks? Educate your environmental science class with a lesson about hydraulic fracturing, non-renewable energy...

The Great Depression not only impacted city folk and factory workers, it also had a profound effect on farmers. Young historians examine primary source materials that document the struggles of Alabama farmers during this time and...

Using data from the Census Bureau, learners discover the growth in minority-owned businesses over time. After crunching numbers, analytical questions probe the reasons behind the shift. 

After reflecting on jobs people perform in the present day, scholars discuss what they believe jobs would have been like in Colonial Virginia during the American Revolution. Small groups then perform a jigsaw using informational packets....

Fourth graders examine the agriculture explosion in California in the late 1800's to the early 1930's. They analyze primary source material putting themselves into the shoes of a child laborer. They also gain an understanding of...

Seventh graders determine how Kansas become a producer of airplanes. In this Kansas history lesson, 7th graders read selected Read Kansas! cards and articles. Students then discuss the primary sources they read regarding Wichita's growth...

Students examine the past and present effects of energy sources on geography in the 21st century. They compare/contrast energy consumption and production in the U.S. and the world, make predictions for future energy consumption, and...

Here is a set of advertising lessons, explore language, techniques, representation, and target audiences. Discuss the impact ads have on our daily lives. What do we see and how do they make us feel? Observe ads from around the...

Ninth graders analyze media messages. In this media messages lesson, 9th graders identify techniques in television commercials that appeal to the senses and emotions. Students analyze the elements in example ads. Students keep journals...

Learners acquire knowledge about the importance of climatic changes on the agricultural industry as it relates to Florida's economy. In this climatic changes lesson, students are introduced to the geography and history of Florida....

Fourth graders analyze how people are different.

Middle schoolers explore how the innovations in culture and technology influenced the development of a leisure industry in America at the turn of the twentieth century.

Students study the automobile industry. In this cultural history lesson, students explore 1950s America as they view a teacher-created PowerPoint presentation regarding the 1950s. Students research how the automobile changed the 1950s...

Students design a solution to a problem based on the Industrial Revolution. In this design lesson plan, students come up with architectural designs and present them to teachers in a simulated factory.

Students investigate the impact of the automobile on Americans. In this 1950's America lesson, students listen to audio clips, read about Levittown, and explore the Interstate Highway Act from the decade. Students then discuss their...

Students look into their community's historical changes. In this community lesson, students see what draws  people to their community and research important buildings or national historic sites. They look at local architecture and...

Eighth graders compare and contrast transportation and agricultural methods in the United States from Colonization to Reconstruction. They, in groups, create and present Ohio Memory Scrapbooks to rest of class.

Students use materials from their own environment to design a kite. In this kite design lesson, students research the history of kites and obtain a formal mathematical definition of a kite. Students sketch kite designs after discovering...

Analyze primary sources in the media gallery and create an illustrated poem to learn how Asian Americans were scapegoated for the downturn of the U.S. economy and American auto industry during the 1980s.