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Mystery Strategy for Elementary Students

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Learners of all ages solve historical mysteries. Elementary learners research historical topics by organizing information presented by their instructor, formulating hypotheses, and considering solutions to mysteries presented about...
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Tibet and the U.S.

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers study the Tibetan situation. In this global issues lesson, students listen to a lecture regarding Tibet, its location, and its ties to China. High schoolers then create political cartoons or write letters to their...
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The Volstead Act and Related Prohibition Documents

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students listen to the 18th Amendment. After a discussion on Prohibition, the groups determine if it was a success or a failure and present their findings to the class. They view political cartoons of the day and analyze their meaning.
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Immigration

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners explore the concept of immigration. In this immigration instructional activity, students read literature, analyze photographs, and evaluate political cartoons that reflect feelings about immigration in America during...
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Virginia In the World: The Geography of Commerce

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine how Virginia connects with the world through export trade. Using a map, they use symbols to depict the value of trade and the direction of the flow of goods. They complete a scavenger hunt using electronic almanacs and...
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The Cost of Progress

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the cost of progress from the 1500's to the 1800's around the world and create informative websites based upon their research. This activity is intended for a high school World History class and uses the Keynote...
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What is the Character of Maine?

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students create an individual portfolio using assignments from a unit on the character of Maine. They choose two of the best assignments from each of four chapters studied and then write an essay or create a magazine which synthesizes...
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1880s Agricultural Nation: Foods and Families on the Move

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students complete activities to learn about the agriculture during the 1880s. In this agricultural history instructional activity, students discuss the brainstorm questions about their neighborhood and its agricultural history. Students...
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Jazz in America

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders explore Jazz in America. They examine greats in Jazz, such as Duke Ellington. They are also to discuss the cultural implications of the music itself.
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The Kansas and Nebraska Act

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers use a primary source of a political cartoon to set the context for a lesson. They answer key questions in writing or orally. Students conduct a class discussion about the issue to stimulate higher order thinking skills...
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30 Day Journal

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students collect articles, political cartoons, photographs and other artifacts relating to a specific traumatic event, such as September 11th. They reflect on their artifacts in written journals.
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The Union is Perpetual: Lincoln is Elected

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars view primary documents about the race for President in the time of Abraham Lincoln.  In this election lesson, students prepare arguments for and against Lincoln using an analysis sheet.  Young scholars create a...
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Satire in Fiction

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders identify satire in various fictional texts.  In this language arts lesson plan, 12th graders will learn to define satire, parody, and caricature. Students will identify different forms of satire in historical...
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Bystanders in the Holocaust

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students recognize effects of apathy and indifference, examine behaviors associated with obedience, conformity, and silence, and explore legal responses to issues raised by the Holocaust.
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Pumped Up Gas Prices

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students calculate gas prices. In this transportation lesson, students tally the mileage and gas costs of their car for one months. They figure out how much was spent on gas and create a graph showing average gas prices over time. 
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World War I: War in a Democratic Society

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students research opposition and support for World War I from a number of perspectives. They analyze a number of primary and secondary sources, while considering what (if anything) makes a war just and write a letter expressing his/her...
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The Civil Rights Movement

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Learners analyze the tensions that existed in American society during the Civil Rights Era as well as the problems that children experienced. They evaluate editorial cartoons dealing with the American Civil Rights movement to view the...
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The Shot Heard Around the World

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders examine the events leading up to the beginning of the Revolutionary War. In groups, they put the events into chronological order and create a timeline. As a class, they discuss the reprecussions of the Stamp Act,...
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The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire: 100 Years Later

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders examine the impact of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire.  In this American History lesson plan, 11th graders analyze various sources.  Students create a cartoon representing the impact of this fire on the United...
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Map Skills

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the nations, battlefields, troop movement of the Germans through Belgium and the location of both fronts during World War I by creating a map. They visualize the strength of the Germans early in the war.
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Charolotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wall-paper" - the "New Woman"

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
Students analyze the life of American middle to upper-class women in the mid- to late-nineteenth century and early twentieth century. For this women's suffrage lesson, students visit the given links in the lesson to analyze the changing...
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Nursery Rhyme Mania

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students become familiar with many different nursery rhymes. They use nursery rhymes for a variety of creative activities including writing, singing, poetry and acting.
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Brick by Brick

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students use their previous knowledge of the Pyramid Lake War to help them analyze different primary sources of Fort Churchill. In this source analysis lesson, students work in groups to study 4 different primary sources for Fort...
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Working Conditions in America: 1880s versus 2000s

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students conduct research into the life of Americans and how working conditions have changed over time from the 1880's to modern times. They use primary and secondary resources in order to compile research in order to report the findings...