PBS
Making Change: Revolutionary Tactics of the Civil Rights Movement
The film American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs introduces viewers to the differing philosophies of and strategies employed by 1960s civil rights leaders such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. and the debate over...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Classroom Constitutional Convention
Students investigate the eight phrases that comprise the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution to determine its principles and purpose. Their own Constitutional Convention is convened to craft a preamble for their school's governance.
Curated OER
Keep Your Eye On the Prize
High schoolers learn about citizens who were actively involved in the civil rights movement, and the strategies they used to overcome the Jim Crow laws that were so prevalent in the 1960s. They investigate the voting amendments of the US...
Curated OER
Fort Life in the Green Bay Area, 1816-1841
Ninth graders examine from the perspectives of military personnel, Native Americans, families of soldiers, and civilians who lived and worked in the region during the era. They create a 2-page scrapbook layout from at least two of the...
National History Day
Propaganda Posters of World War I: Analyzing the Methods Behind the Images
The power of a picture. During the events surrounding World War I, propaganda posters were widely distributed in American society to sway the emotions of its citizens. By analyzing World War I propaganda posters in the first installment...
National Humanities Center
Teaching The Great Gatsby: A Common Core Close Reading Seminar
The 41 slides in a professional development seminar model how to use close reading techniques to examine the many layers of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. In addition to passages from the novel, slides provide biographical...
Curated OER
Japanese Internment
Fourth graders practice their writing skills. In this reading comprehension lesson, 4th graders review baseball terminology and then read Baseball Saved Us. In this story students learn about Japanese Americans that were taken from...
National First Ladies' Library
Missionaries, Expansionism, and The Philippines
Students examine the quality of sources in research in the process of gaining an understanding of the Spanish American War, American expansionism, and the role of missionaries in history. They meet in groups to provide an audio/visual...
Curated OER
American Colonial Life in the Late 1700s: Distant Cousins
Students explore daily life and its influences in the late 1700s for two families in different colonies- Delaware and Massachusetts by becoming historical detectives. After gathering information from artifacts to make inferences about...
Curated OER
Sandra Day O'Connor
No unit on important women in history would be complete without a lesson on Sandra Day O'Connor. After reading background information about the first female Supreme Court justice, middle schoolers engage in several activities addressing...
Curated OER
Westward Expansion
Students explore the Westward Expansion Movement of U.S. history. In this Westward movement lesson, students use primary and secondary source documents research personal accounts of those who travelled west during the era....
Savvas Learning
Political Parties
What is a political party, and what major parties exist in American politics today? How did the party system develop in American history, and how are parties organized? These questions and many other details regarding the political party...
Curated OER
This Land is My Land, That Land is Your Land!
Students explore the Native American migrant experience in the United States. They define and describe reservation and the relationship between the U.S. Government and Native tribes through individual textbook research and class discussion.
Curated OER
An Irresistable Offer?
Young scholars identify inducements the emperor Constantine offered people to move to his fledgling capital city of Constantinople and compare similar situations offered by the American government in our history and by local governments...
Curated OER
Why Do We Separate Power?
Students investigate the separation of powers that are outlined in the Constitution. The lesson includes essential questions that are used to guide the research. The information is used to increase knowledge of how power is used in...
Curated OER
Narrative History - Hypertext Dialogues
Students create scripts about California settlers. The document reflects the settlers' fears, expectations, and realizations.
Curated OER
The Importance of Inauguration Day
As Inauguration Day approaches, prepare your learners by researching the protocol of years past.
Curated OER
Philanthropy and You
Students identify human rights and study the values of historical figures who fought for human rights. In this human rights instructional activity, students define the term human rights and research examples of human mistreatment in...
A&E Television
Thomas Jefferson: Teachers Guides
Thomas Jefferson remains one of the most fascinating figure in American history, both for his innovative contributions to the United States government and his remarkably contradictory personal life. A series of discussion questions and...
Curated OER
Women’s Suffrage Movement
Though the movement for Women's Suffrage stretched over several decades and across two centuries, the final few years were the most difficult hurdle in many ways. Use a document-based question writing exercise to make inferences about...
ProCon
Voting Age
Should age matter when it comes to voting? Scholars read an article discussing the pros and cons of lowering the voting age to 16. They then consider both the advantages and disadvantages of having younger voters. After thinking about...
Curated OER
Changing Opinions
Students compare their preconceptions of Native American movement with their current perceptions. They identify why they have changed. Students conclude with a final reflection addressing how they define the Native American experience in...
Curated OER
The Changing Union
Fourth graders analyze a document and make assessment and historical prediction based on the text. For this establishment of American government lesson, 4th graders analyze a poem and discuss the climate of the Union in the early 1800's....
Curated OER
Farewell to Manzanar
Students investigate themes of justice and rights while reading the novel Farewell to Manzanar. They research contemporary civil rights issues and write reports. They also research the background of internment camps during World War II.