Echoes & Reflections
The Ghettos
Young historians examine primary sources, including diaries, poems, and photographs, to consider the conditions in the ghettos and how they fit into the escalation of the Third Reich's plot against the Jewish people.
Echoes & Reflections
Studying The Holocaust
While many young scholars are familiar with the Holocaust, they may not understand the specific history that led to the unprecedented atrocity. The first lesson in the unit helps teachers gauge their pupils' background knowledge. A...
Echoes & Reflections
The "Final Solution"
Nazi policies shifted from deportation and imprisonment to extermination of the Jewish people in death camps in the "Final Solution." Learners examine photos of artifacts, read poetry written by survivors, analyze testimony from...
Curated OER
Replacing Missing Links in the Evolutionary Chain
Examine the evolution of various species of hominids from their earliest existence approximately 4.5 million years ago to today. In small groups, learners research one of the ten stages of hominid evolution and then create a poster and...
TCI
The 57th Inaugural Ceremonies
Attend the party of the year with a hands-on learning experience focusing on the 57th inauguration of the president of the United States. Middle schoolers role play as guests at the prestigious Inaugural Ball, and learn...
Curated OER
Create a Public Opinion Survey: The Middle East in the News
Though the discrete content here is a pair of New York Times articles about a 1998 military strike on Iraq and the coincident impeachment by the House of Representatives of then-President Clinton, this detailed plan for creating,...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
What Brought Settlers to the Midwest?
Drawn by promises of fertile land, thousands of settlers poured West because of the Homestead Act of 1862. By examining images of the ads that drew them westward, learners consider the motivations for movement. They also consider how the...
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: Vanishing Newspapers
What is happening to our newspapers? In the context of the current trends of media and the ever-declining print news industry, this handout includes two political cartoons for pupils to analyze, both created by artists working for...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
The Boston Massacre: You Be the Judge!
The importance of considering multiple perspectives of the same event is the big idea in this exercise that focuses on the Boston Massacre. Class groups examine photos of four depictions of the massacre, an English and an American...
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: Dogging the Dems
Political cartoons add an element of fun as your scholars study current events in Washington D.C. This analysis handout uses two cartoons to bring learners into discussion about the many issues democrats have concern over as November...
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: What's Replacing Our Newspapers?
What is happening to print media? Use this political cartoon analysis handout to facilitate pupil exploration of the online-media takeover and the decline of newspapers. Background information gives them context, and 3 talking points...
Scholastic
Building Trust in a Classroom
Check out these three great trust-building activities that will help your young learners understand the importance of safe, trusting relationships and environments.
The New York Times
Where to Draw the Line: Balancing Government Surveillance with the Fourth Amendment
The question of how to balance Fourth Amendment Rights with national security concerns becomes critical in an age of planned terrorist attacks, election interference, and fake news. Get young social scientists involved in the debate with...
Curated OER
Blogging To Create A Community of Writers # 5 of 7
Here is lesson plan 5 from a 7 lesson plan unit on using blogging to create a community of writers. The aim of this lesson plan is to get students writing about what Archaeologists do and how they use material data to study the past....
Curated OER
Blog Your Truth
Students explore communication by participating in a digital journalism activity. For this aboriginal research lesson, students view a sample blog on the Internet and identify the techniques behind blogging and Internet journalism...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Strange Fruit: Lynching in America
To continue their study of the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the beginning of the civil rights movement, class members watch the YouTube video of Billie Holiday singing "Strange Fruit" as an introduction to an examination of...
Curated OER
Science in the Court Room
Share their opinions on the use of DNA databases in criminal investigations. After reading an article, they evaluate the pros and cons of the databases and work in groups to answer discussion questions. They write a letter to a state...
Curated OER
The First (and Last) Words
What does "freedom of speech" mean to your class, especially in the context of Internet communications? In round-table discussion format, middle and high schoolers address the issues discussed in "State Legislatures Across U.S. Plan to...
Curated OER
Facing the Ghosts of Our Past
A reading of a New York Times review of the movie Beloved launches research into how the Civil War affected the lives of people living during this period. Creative thinkers select a person from an included list of historical figures and...
Close Up Foundation
Teach the Vote
Why is voting important? A social studies unit presents a non-partisan approach to the importance of voting, to voting laws and procedures, and to resources that voters need to become informed voters.
National Woman's History Museum
Tea with Penelope: A 2-Point Perspective of the Edenton Tea Party
A brief introduction to Penelope Barker sets the stage for a discussion about political cartoons and the persuasive technique used to create them. A graphic organizer aids scholars in the analysis of a piece of work using a 2-point...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
End of the Cold War
How significant was the Cold War during the 20th century? After reading and analyzing speeches by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, learners consider the historical context of foreign policy decisions made during the Cold...
Echoes & Reflections
Timeline of the Holocaust
An interactive timeline uses images, videos, primary source documents, and links to informational text to chronicle the history of the Holocaust from 1933-1945.
Vaquera Films
Wonder Women - The Untold Story of American Superheroines: Middle School Curriculum Guide
Women in power are the focus of a three-module unit that employs comic books to bring home the importance of equality and proficient media literacy skills. In module one, scholars examine gender roles in media—boosting media literacy and...