Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Being Old

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Young scholars examine the characteristics of being a senior citizen in today's society. In groups, they develop a list of stereotypes associated with senior citizens. They use the internet to research their financial situtation, proper...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Uncle Sam is Rich Enough to Give Us All a Farm:

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars examine websites and video clips to become familiar with tenets of the Homestead Act, challenges faced by settlers and misconceptions about settlers. They role-play colonists on the Planet XR-38 and make choices similar to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Images of Black Women in Drama

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers examine different portrayals of African American women in poems and plays. Individually, they identify the character they want to play and reject the others. After acting out the scene, they hopefully realize that their...
Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

The Five W's of Tax Day

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Use April 15th to teach your students the fundamentals of the American federal tax system.
Website
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Smithsonian Institution

Mexican War

For Students 5th - 12th Standards
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...
PPT
Curated OER

Big Business & Industrial Cities

For Teachers 4th - 7th
This is a true gem. This PowerPoint is well-organized, has bullet points you control (which gives you time for discussion), has sound effects, and covers several aspects of American industrialization after 1900. The presentation begins...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Busting the Prairie: Planning a Homestead Community

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students research, design and advertise a homestead community. This is an extensive instructional activity with a variety of ativities and learning experiences.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sectionalism

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students examine sectionalism. In this sectionalism lesson, students explore reasons sectionalism developed. Students realize the conflicts that led to the Civil War and how sectionalism affected citizens on the border of Kansas and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rights of Non-Citizen Immigrants

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students continue their discussion of if coming to America was the best thing for a group of immigrants. As a class, they complete the citizenship test offered by the INS. They research the benefits and responsibilities of being a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Great Depression and the New Deal

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine New Deal legislation. In this Great Depression lesson plan, students read the listed materials in order to gain insight into what American citizens thought about New Deal legislation when it was passed.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

FDR Fireside Chat

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders examine the purpose of Franklin D. Roosevelt's chats.  In this American History lesson, 11th graders collaborate with their group members on becoming an expert on a specific chat. 
Lesson Plan
Carolina K-12

Who the People? Representative Democracy in North Carolina and Congress

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Our elected officials are supposed to represent us, but what does it mean when they aren't like us? Budding citizens explore the demographic makeup of the US Congress, the role of money in political elections, and the Citizens United...
PPT
Curated OER

Saddam Hussein and Modern Iraq

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Take your class through a moment in modern history in this presentation, which details the rise of Saddam Hussein and the dynamics between Iraq and its neighbors during the Persian Gulf War and the current Iraq war. Though slightly...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who Knows? Your Privacy in the Information Age

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Teach young adults how to become advocates for their privacy in the modern information age. In a series of five lessons, learners explore their beliefs and opinions about privacy vs. the actual laws regarding who has the right to access...
Lesson Plan
Council for Economic Education

Tax Time Scavenger Hunt

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Is a 1040EZ tax form really easy? Scholars investigate the complexities of the United States taxation system with an economics instructional activity. Using a wide variety of web sources, they interpret IRS taxation rules and regulations...
Organizer
Library of Congress

Muhammad Ali

For Students 3rd - 6th Standards
Muhammad Ali was the greatest, as he'd tell you himself. A set of reading comprehension worksheets walks through parts of Ali's life and promotes individuals to become good readers and writers.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

ON BECOMING A NONVIOLENT WARRIOR

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students examine the concept of non-violent social change. In this lesson on social change, students research and role play to demonstrate ways in which this might be accomplished while making connections to various events in history.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Respect and Care of the American Flag

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students properly fold the American Flag and demonstrate proper care and use of the flag to younger students. They properly raise and lower to the flag on a flagpole and demonstrate care and use to younger students as well.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Isolation or Intervention?

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students research the attitudes and politics of pre-World War II America. They become isolationists or interventionists and present their points of view during a simulated city council meeting.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Importance of Representative Democracy

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the general concept of representative democracy, and compare/contrast the American representative democracy to the monarchical system. They research the role of legislative bodies in serving the government, particularly...
Primary
Cornell College

Dred Scott v. Sandford Supreme Court Decision

For Students 8th - 12th Standards
Dred Scott was a harbinger of the Civil War. An enslaved man claimed freedom because his owner had taken him into free territory. Not only did the Supreme Court rule that Dred Scott and his wife were to remain enslaved, but it also ruled...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Race and Representation

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students consider race and representation. In this voting rights lesson, students listen to their instructor lecture on the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Georgia congressional districts, and North Carolina voting districts. Students respond...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Ongoing Debate: Crime Control v. Due Process Protection

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students investigate the Exclusionary Rule and other ways of to enforce the protections found in the Bill of Rights. They study how effective criminal control and public safety is carried out while citizens Constitutional rights are...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Problem-Solving Processes and Figurative Language

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Nonfiction texts about people on the move provide young readers with an opportunity to examine not only the problem-solving strategies employed by immigrants, but to also find examples of figurative language these writers use to tell...