Lesson Plan
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Walter Cronkite: Witness to History

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students brainstorm a list of news sources. They interview people about today's media and discuss their results. After watching segments of a film about Walter Cronkite, they role play as reporters and subjects from an historic period...
Lesson Plan
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The Free Trade Conundrum: Balancing Worker Wages and Consumer Prices Comparing the 19th and 21st Centuries

For Teachers 9th - 12th
By examining free trade, protectionism, and analyzing 19th and 21st century arguments for and against the tariff, students will be able to compare and contrast the 19th and 21st century. They will analyze text, answer discussion...
Worksheet
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America in the 1950's

For Students 5th - 8th
In this America in the 1950's worksheet, students read about housing, education, entertainment, and the Cold War in the 1950s. Students then answer 5 questions about this time.
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Lesson 2: The Debate in Congress on the Sedition Act

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Pupils research and discuss the provisions in the Constitution that supported the arguments for and against the Sedition Act. They articulate objections to and arguments in favor of the Sedition Act.
Worksheet
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Cartoons for the Classroom: Stand by for Regime Change

For Students 8th - 12th
For this current events worksheet, students analyze a political cartoon about the lame-duck period for Presidents-elect and respond to 3 talking point questions.
Worksheet
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Cartoons for the Classroom: Strangled by Special Interests

For Students 8th - 12th
In this current events worksheet, students analyze a political cartoon about special interests groups and respond to 4 short answer questions.
Worksheet
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Cartoons for the Classroom: Sisyphusian Auto Bailouts

For Students 8th - 12th
In this current events worksheet, students analyze a political cartoon about auto bailouts and respond to 3 talking point questions.
Lesson Plan
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Democracy Sense

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students define democracy and distinguish representative from direct or pure democracy. Then, with the focus on representative government, students will discuss and trace voting patterns in the United States.
Lesson Plan
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Poetry In the World Around Us

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students engage in a lesson plan which is designed as a literacy connection to science lessons on the effects of water on plants. This lesson plan uses an excellent Reading Rainbow episode on the effect of drought, and then rainfall,...
Lesson Plan
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Picky Pyramid

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students learn the food pyramid and compare their meals with suggested guidelines. Students graph their lunches, discuss the results and how their choices affect their level of energy.
Lesson Plan
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Follow The Road to Riches

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students examine the various events occurring at the time of the Gold Rush. They see archival photographs and hear historians talk about this era. They create a time line in order to facilitate thinking about this region during the...
Lesson Plan
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The Wilderness Concept: Our National Parks, History and Issues

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine the history of the National parks. In groups, they discuss the concepts of conservation and preservation. They discuss the use of natural resources and how some are renewable and non-renewable. To end the lesson, they...
Lesson Plan
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Thomas Jefferson on the Sedition Act

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers research and cite arguments Jefferson used in objecting to the Sedition Act. They discuss Jefferson's opinion on how constitutional questions about the Sedition Act could be resolved.
Lesson Plan
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Urban Renewal

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders write down their best guess at the meaning of "urban renewal." students stage a Mayor's press conference announcing a new urban development plan for the Fillmore.
Lesson Plan
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Is London Bridge Really Going to Fall Down?

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students discover what forces work together to hold up a suspension bridge. They see various bridges around the world, and learn the basic principles that enable each bridge to support itself. Groups design their own bridge, testing how...
Lesson Plan
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Electoral Politics

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars formulate their own opinions about the issues in an election campaign through a critical examination of political advertisements, candidate debates, and political cartoons.
Lesson Plan
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History: The Lessons of Vietnam

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the influence of U.S. involvement in foreign wars on Smerican society. They develop interview questions to ask veterans of the Vietnam War and write letters of introduction to them. Following the link interviews,...
Lesson Plan
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Paul Conrad's Perspective on Civil Rights

For Teachers 11th
 Students review a political cartoon and discuss desegregation.  In this cartoon analysis instructional activity, 11th graders discuss the impact of a political cartoon and its relation to a Supreme Court case.  Students...
Lesson Plan
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Reviewing the Election Process by NOW Classroom for PBS

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students take a closer look at presidential elections. In this election process lesson, students discuss the roles of the primary, caucus, polls, Electoral College, delegates, and lobbyists in the process. Students then access the listed...
Lesson Plan
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Louisiana Purchase

For Teachers 5th - 11th
Students explore U.S. territorial expansion. In this Louisiana Purchase lesson plan, students investigate how the purchase was funded and determine how diplomatic actions were part of the land transfer. Students analyze several primary...
Lesson Planet Article
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Geography Awareness Week: Practice Mapping Skills

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
You won't get lost, after learning map skills during Geography Awareness Week.
Lesson Plan
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The Testing of the Feebleminded Immigrants

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the intelligence testing of Henry Goddard during the early 1900s. They discover criticisms that are still occuring today. They analyze how science and technology is contributing to this practice.
Lesson Plan
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Citizen Participation

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students compare and contrast political parties and interest groups. They examine the role citizens play in how to improve the community. They develop a survey to determine the needs and services opportunities in their community.
Lesson Plan
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Sow the Seeds of Victory!

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Learners use the National Archives and Records Administration's records to research the history of the U.S. Food Administation.