Ninth graders focus on how filmmakers have changed their view of the Second World War. They create portfolios or their own documentary to investigate the various screen interpretations of the wartime era and explain different points of...

Check out this simple and organized viewing guide for the film Glory! Questions prompt learners to consider the evolution of characters over the course of the film, and to analyze the effects of the film and the efforts of the 54th...

The post-Civil War convict leasing program, rarely covered in textbooks, is the focus of a lesson that asks class members to use information drawn from primary source documents to assess the program. While the focus is on Alabama's...

Activist, feminist, and labor organizer Dolores Huerta are perhaps best known for her work with Cesar Chavez to create the United Farm Workers. Class members explore primary source documents to learn more about this Medal of Freedom winner.

Learners analyze two of Dorothea Lange's portraits and create their own portraits of classmates. In this portrait analysis activity, students define portrait and discuss two images of Lange's. Learners interview a classmate and use...

Eleventh graders consider what life was like for American slaves. In this primary source analysis lesson, 11th graders read slave narratives from Unchained Memories and then participate in a discussion about the conditions in which...

Students research visual arts by creating an art project for their homes. In this art analysis lesson, students identify the work of Keith Haring by researching the Internet and examining images. Students utilize tempera paints, poster...

Students watch the movie Shrek and compose a text that displays an understanding of the film. Also, they create writing that reflects a critical analysis of content and a personal interpretation of the film's meaning.

Ninth graders view the film "Pay It Forward" and discuss what kind of public campaign is needed to move people to positive action. They consider different ways of presenting information (graphs, visual displays, etc.) as tools for...

Students read about Jim Frankoski and his art to examine various elements in environmental art. In this art analysis lesson, students analyze the location of photographs and how images create illusions that capture new viewpoints.

In this probability and statistics worksheet, students examine the “fairness” to the Vietnam draft lottery system by constructing box plots of each of the twelve months using data provided.  The three page worksheet contains one...

Students research social-documentary photography using Dorothea Lange’s documentary projects. In this photography analysis lesson, students analyze examples of photographs by Dorothea Lange and research one or more of Dorothea...

Students use reading strategies for Night of the Twister. In this reading strategies lesson plan, students name five major catastrophes and books about each. Students complete a vocabulary section, make inferences and predictions, read...

Lois Weber has been forgotten. So have Dorothy Davenport Reid, Gene Gauntier, and many others. High school sleuths use advanced search engines to investigate these women and discover clues to their disappearance from filmography and...

This is a must-have resource for every social studies teacher covering the civil rights movement. Through an engaging video and detailed viewing guide, young historians learn about the Freedom Riders, and discover how everyday...

The murder of Emmett Till is the focus of a guided inquiry that asks scholars to research the events, the trial, recent attempts to reopen the case and the effect of the murder on people today.

After analyzing newspaper articles portraying different perspectives of the explosion of the Battleship USS Maine, your young historians will take a stand on which position is the most believable in both discussion and writing.

If you've never heard of the Equal Rights Amendment, it's probably because there isn't one in the United States Constitution. Delve into the contentious history behind the ERA, its founders and supporters, and reasons for its political...

21st-century learners live in such a visual world that many are unused to letting their minds imagine the picture that words create. An excerpt from Carl Sagan's lecture, "The Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space,"...

What's the "deal" with the Civilian Conservation Corps? Primary sources help historians discover the impact of this landmark legislation. After an introductory slideshow and 7-minute video, groups analyze packets of images and a primary...

Introduce your class to "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe with this series of activities, exercises, and worksheets. Class members examine an image, analyze a movie trailer, read a prose version of the poem, look up vocabulary, and pick out...

Examine paper money from the American revolution! Historians study the paper bills and discuss the history of money. How has money changed over the times? Activities are included. 

Watch selected scenes from the mini-series, The Path to 9/11, and then have your class download and explore the 9/11 Commission Report. How are these two sources similar and different? Have your learners summarize each source and compare...

Students explore the words of Abraham Lincoln. In this Abraham Lincoln lesson, students analyze segments of "The Gettysburg Address," his annual address to Congress in 1862, and his letter to Mrs. Bixby. Students conduct further research...