Students define what it meant to be an American early on in the nation's history. In this American identity lesson, students examine the noted quotations and determine what was meant by each of the authors with regards to an American...

Full of good information and photos from the 1700's to the 2004 election, this powerpoint could be a great resource in a lecture about American nationalism. While the slides require commentary and smooth transitions (as well as a little...

How does identity influence the way people respond to events? That is the central question class members grapple with as they examine a political cartoon, read a vignette by Sandra Cisneros, watch of video of police officers discussing...

Three Latino Americans are the focus of an interactive that spotlights their accomplishments. Scholars get to know Lin-Manuel Miranda, Judy Reyes, and José Hernández through short informative text and videos. Participants read, take...

High schoolers examine American identity through race, ethnicity, class, gender, regionalism, political values, and beliefs focusing on the Depression era.

How did the founding of the American colonies lead to a revolution? Use the essential question and sample activities to guide learners through a series of history lessons. Additionally, the packet includes effective strategies to...

Discover how writers express identity in their writing. Learners explore how issues of identity surface in the literature of minority writers. Scholars watch a video, read and discuss biographies, conduct research, engage in creative...

Ninth graders examine the tension experienced by African-Americans as they struggled to establish a vibrant and meaningful identity based on the promises of liberty and equality in the midst of a society.  In this American History...

Students explore the concept that one's identity is imposed by others, such as one's family, friends, classmates, society, age, race, gender and socioeconomic status. They assess a poem pertaining to Vietnamese American identity and...

Exploring the idea of working to achieve the American Dream, the class reads an excerpt from How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents by Julia Alvarez. Following, the class analyzes the excerpt and discusses the theme of the reading using...

"Native American history leaps boldly off the colorful quilts and patchwork designs." Learners discuss Native American identity and symbolism by reading about a variety of Native quilters and their unique art process, and participate in...

The American Revolution was born out of a European conflict that spilled over into North America—and the documents prove it! Using primary sources from the era of the French and Indian War, including British plans to try to unite its...

Tenth graders view paintings to determine the identity of the United States in a specific time period. As a class, they listen to their teacher give the title of the painting and they write a prediction about what the painting might be....

Students examine American identity. In this immigration lesson, students explore the plight of Chinese Americans in their attempts to assimilate into the American culture while keeping their Chinese identities. 

Young learners discover how the Sioux and Assiniboine tribes preserved native culture through the making of traditional dresses, identifying the resources used to make the dresses and discussing behind the meaning behind some...

Students are be able to examine primary sources for evidence of Native American culture. They identify what culture is and discuss the difficulty of stereotypes. Students are given examples of different cultures.

Ninth graders explore Native American culture. In this early Americans lesson plan, 9th graders will visit several stations around the room and examine native American artifacts then draw comparisons to other cultures. Students will...

Many American writers in the late nineteenth century wanted their writing to reflect real life. Individuals watch and discuss a video, read and explore author biographies, write a journal entry and a poem, and complete a multimedia...

Students create a presentation explaining how they can guard against identity theft. Prior to creating the presentation, students research identity theft: how it occurs, how to avoid it, what to do when someone thinks it has happened to...

Students research and discuss the origins of the American colonies and explore how colonists were still influenced by English culture. As a follow-up project, students produce a portrait of an individual.

Scholars learn all about the Puritans in the third installment of a 16-part lesson series. After watching a video, they read and discuss biographies of Puritans and Quakers from American history, write journal entries and poetry, and...

In this engaging activity involving close analysis of abstract expressionist art, your class members will not only discover more about artist Friz Scholder's Native American art, but they will also have the opportunity to consider...

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 view and analyze various artists' representations of slavery. They create their own illustrations of slavery.