Fourth graders examine slavery and Reconstruction in Virginia. In this Virginians during Reconstruction lesson plan, 4th graders research primary sources for the story of William Jasper and other slaves. Students hypothesize how rights...

Fourth graders write about the forced Potawatomi migration. For this primary source lesson students are read journal entries from an emigrating party of Potawatomi Indians. Students reflect on the items the Indians might have taken with...

Ben Franklin was a man with a plan. Learners investigate his plan for self-improvement using excerpts from Franklin's autobiography. Then, pupils develop their own plans and discuss how to sell them to others using the two-session lesson...

What does it mean to be Latino? With an eye-opening lesson plan, pupils discover what it means to be Latino in the United States. They participate in classroom discussions, use graphic organizers, and watch a short video to help...

Tennessee was the pivotal state in ratifying women's suffrage in 1920, with its vote coming down to one man: Harry Burn, a 24-year old state representative who changed his nay to an aye on the advice of his mother. Learn...

Imagine a learning community committed to using Costa and Kallick's Habits of Mind as the basis of curriculum design. The resource book is packed with lessons that are designed for and identify the standards and...

Young scientists meet Edward Alexander Bouchet who, in 1876, was the first African American to receive a PhD in Physics. This two-part lesson first looks at the debate between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois about the type of...

Public art, especially monuments and memorials, are designed to celebrate and honor those who have made significant contributions to a community or even an entire nation. Here's a lesson that asks scholars to consider who is represented...

Class members investigate the Jim Crow Laws, Executive Order 9066, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the Indian Removal Act to gather information about not only the challenges encountered by diverse groups of Americans, but their...

The mobilization of soldiers for World War II resulted in a worker shortage in the defense industries, especially in the fields of physics and other sciences. The Engineering, Science, and Management War Training program (ESMWT) was...

After a brief introduction to the history of women's colleges in the United States and a discussion of the resistance such institutions faced, young scientists investigate seven traditionally women's colleges and their physics programs....

A 13-page packet introduces high schoolers to a lady of amazing firsts. Shirley Chisholm was the first Black woman elected to Congress, the first Black woman to run for President of the United States, and a leader of the Women's Rights...

The Nineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote—as long as they were white. High schoolers read articles and essays about racism in the suffrage movement and consider how intersectionality played a role in the movement. Scholars...

The Fair Play Act of 2009 came about due to the actions of one woman. Young historians research Lilly Ledbetter and what she went through to get pay equal to that paid to men for the same work at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. The...

Bystander or up-stander? The final lesson plan in the "Looking Back Reaching Forward" unit asks participants to consider how they can become involved in encouraging change in their school and community. 

Has the integration of U.S. schools proceeded "with all deliberate speed?" Has progress been made? Those are the questions young historians must consider as they examine the barriers to and opportunities revealed in a study of timelines...

Outcome + available resources  +  schedule + timeline + steps to complete project = Action Plan! The second lesson in the "Service Learning" module outlines for scholars the steps to take when designing an action plan for their...

"Equal pay for equal work!" may sound logical but it is not the reality. High schoolers begin a study of the gender wage gap with an activity that asks them to position themselves along a line that indicates whether they strongly agree...

The controversy over school dress codes continues. The debate involves questions like, why is there a policy? Who sets the policy? Who enforces the policy? What is a fair policy? Tweens and teens have an opportunity to engage in the...

Dora, Buzz Lightyear, Mufasa. Swiper, Dr. Porkchop, Scar. The six lessons in this unit packet focus on how good and evil, and violence, are portrayed in children's animation. The lessons encourage kids to consider how violence is...

Discover activities to help learners increase self-awareness, build peer and family relations, and develop positive self-esteem. Here you'll find six suggestions for instilling a sense of confidence and self awareness in youngsters. Each...

As part of a study of immigrant bias, high schoolers investigate the language used in blogs, readings, media reports, and current legislation whose language perpetuates xenophobia. They then consider ways they can get involved in...

Students discuss "education" and gender equity. They examine primary sources (video clips) of women/girls who do not have the privilege of an education. They create a pamphlet that will be used to publicize the issue of girls' education...

Introduce positive social skills and friendship to young learners with this wonderfully designed eight-lesson unit. It includes several activities to help learners identify positive attributes, build empathy, and understand...