Curated OER
Political Cartoons as Part of the Election Process
Young scholars explore the impact of political cartoons on American elections. In this presidential elections lesson, students discuss the election process and then analyze political cartoons that were published during presidential...
Curated OER
Ethnography of the Lewis & Clark Expedition
Students research the people that Lewis and Clark encountered on their expedition. In small groups, they conduct research on a group of Native Americans, answer research questions, and contribute information to a class chart comparing...
Curated OER
Executive Orders
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this foreign policy lesson, students examine U.S. foreign policies of Presidents since World War II. Students prepare PowerPoint...
Curated OER
American Thanksgiving Through Time
Students explore five web sites in order to identify the various ways Thanksgiving has been celebrated in the past and how it is celebrated today. They consider the diversity of United States and this affects celebrations of the day.
Smithsonian Institution
Mexican War
Did you know that without the Mexican War, the United States would not include the states of Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, Nevada, Utah, and even parts of Colorado? Scholars learn a variety of interesting facts about the...
Curated OER
Valuable Lessons
Students explore how immigration, citizenship, due process of law, and the freedoms of speech and assembly have shaped American values throughout American history
Curated OER
Are We Americans Again? A Portrait of Japanese American Internment
Students study letters and images of the Japanese American Interment during World War II. They discuss the issues presented.
Smithsonian Institution
Conflicting Voices of the Mexican War
Americans wanted to fulfill Manifest Destiny, and this pattern continued with the Mexican War. The resource specifically teaches about the Mexican War through a variety of exercises including a research project, group work, brainstorming...
Curated OER
My Very Own Washington Exhibition
Young scholars work as curators. For this George Washington lesson, students research primary and secondary sources in order to create their own exhibitions of the first president. Young scholars may visit selected Web sites in order to...
Curated OER
The Social Security Act
Students examine the Social Security Act of 1935. In this U.S. history lesson plan, students research primary sources in order to prepare for a mock debate of the act prior to it becoming legislation.
Curated OER
A "Capital" Idea
Eighth graders prepare for a field trip to Washington, DC by researching landmark, monument, or building in Washington. They use the information in small groups to design a multimedia presentation. They include a spreadsheet that shows...
Curated OER
1948 - Berlin Airlift
Young scholars examine a document from the Berlin Airlift in order to research his important event in World History.
Curated OER
George Washington and Slavery: The 1799 Census of Slaves
Students discover details about the slave community at Mt. Vernon. In this George Washington lesson, students examine Washington's 1799 Slave Census in order to determine what life was like for slaves of the first president. An analysis...
Curated OER
Social Studies: Presidential Mock Interviews
Students, working in pairs, conduct mock interviews of American presidents, highlighting personal and political details. They research their chosen president on the Internet prior to their role-playing presentation. Students publish...
Curated OER
Religious Revival: The American Response to the Cold War
Learners examine the impact of religion on the Cold War. In this Cold War lesson, students analyze speeches delivered by Lenin, Truman, and Graham regarding the role of religion in society. As a culminating activity, learners are tested...
Penguin Books
Teacher's Guide: When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
Julie Otsuka's haunting novel, When the Emperor Was Devine, is the subject of a 14-page teacher's guide. The guide includes the text of an interview with Otsuka, background information about Japanese immigration to the United States, and...
Curated OER
Persuasive Practice: A Mt. Rushmore Addition
Budding authors research a US President and persuade the National Park Service to add him to Mt. Rushmore. In addition to the persuasive essay, individuals are required to develop a visual presentation using a web-based software that...
Curated OER
What Portraits Reveal
Students examine how portraits can tell us more about people of the past than just what they looked like. They compare three portraits of U.S. Presidents, analyze portraits of Americans from the Revolutionary War, and write a report on...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
The War of 1812: America’s First Declared War
Free Trade and Sailor's Rights! Pupils dive into America's first declared war, the War of 1812. They analyze the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison through diary entries and historical reasoning. To conclude the lesson, they use their...
Curated OER
Slave Life on George Washington’s Mount Vernon Plantation
Eleventh graders investigate slave life on the Mount Vernon Plantation. In this slavery instructional activity, 11th graders examine photographs of and documents about George Washington's home as they participate in classroom station...
Constitution Facts
U.S. Constitution Crossword Puzzles: Intermediate #1
All of the details of American history fall into place with a clever crossword puzzle. Nearly 100 clues prompt middle and high schoolers to fit the correct answers to topics including the American Revolution, the Civil War, and...
Curated OER
What is Meant by Returning to Fundamental Principles?
What did the Founding Fathers mean by the importance of continually returning to fundamental principles? Your young historians will analyze a series of quotations illustrating the fundamental ideals and principles of the...
National Constitution Center
Thirteenth Amendment Poster
President Lincoln believed in the Thirteenth Amendment so strongly that he signed 14 copies of it, but died before he could see it passed on December 18, 1965. Explore the text that forever abolished slavery in America with a document...
Curated OER
The Debate in the United States over the League of Nations
Students investigate Woodrow Wilson's ideas for peace through the League of Nations. They examine how he attempted to encourage American support for the League and the opposition to it that was found in the Senate.