Lesson Plan
National Park Service

Making Choices

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
What factors go into a decision to enter a war? Use a collection of primary source documents and images to prompt a discussion about the American Revolution and the reasons for entering a war against Britain.
Lesson Plan
George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens

George Washington: Centerpiece of a Nation

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
A neat Presidents Day activity, this lesson provides a culminating learning experience for upper elementary aged learners. After analyzing George Washington's, "A Display of the United States of America," your learners will conduct...
Handout
ProCon

Cuba Embargo

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
President John F. Kennedy bought 1,200 Cuban cigars the night before he enacted the Cuban trade embargo in 1962. Should the United States maintain the embargo? Using the website, pupils explore the topic to prepare for a class debate or...
Lesson Plan
Middle Tennessee State University

Fights, Freedom, and Fraud: Voting Rights in the Reconstruction Era

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
As part of a study of post Civil War era, young historians investigate the changes in voting rights during the Reconstruction Era (1863-1876), the fraud involved in the Hayes-Tilden presidential election of 1876, and efforts by Pap...
Handout
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: The Revolution Begins

For Students 9th - 10th
General Thomas Gage, an amiable English gentleman with an American-born wife, commanded the garrison at Boston, where political activity had almost wholly replaced trade. Gage's main duty in the colonies had been to enforce the Coercive...
Handout
University of Groningen

American History: Biographies: John Dickinson (1732 1808)

For Students 9th - 10th
Dickinson has correctly been called the "Penman of the Revolution" by later historians. But his activities extended fortwo decades into the life of the new republic, years in which Dickinson's contributions were many. Dickinson's career...
Handout
Digital History

Digital History: Viva La Raza!

For Students 9th - 10th
This Digital History site provides an informative overview of the Mexican American civil rights movement in America.
Handout
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Harcourt: Biographies: Henry G. Cisneros 1947

For Students 3rd - 8th
Visit this site to gain insight into the life of the first Hispanic American to serve as U.S. secretary of HUD (Housing and Urban Developement). Read all about Henry Cisneros' accomplished political career.
Handout
University of Virginia

U of Virginia: Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Study

For Students 9th - 10th
Participants in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study were never told that they had syphilis. Instead, the doctors and scientists said they had "bad blood." Find out what took place during this study, and the social and political consequences...
Handout
Other

Linda Chavez Thompson: Executive Vice President, Afl Cio

For Students 9th - 10th
A message from Linda Chavez-Thompson, Executive Vice President of the AFL-CIO, regarding the importance of unionization and being active politically.
Handout
Bill of Rights Institute

Bill of Rights Institute: James Madison

For Students 9th - 10th
James Madison's slight stature and reserved personality gave little indication of his keen intellect and shrewd nature. No other Founder had as much influence in crafting, ratifying, and interpreting the United States Constitution and...
Handout
Countries and Their Cultures

Countries and Their Cultures: Multicultural America: Amish

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides an overview of the traditional culture and lifestyle of the Amish. (Note: Content is not the most current.)