Alabama Department of Archives and History
New Deal Programs in Alabama
New Deal programs are the focus of an activity that prompts middle and high schoolers to consider the end of the Great Depression. Groups examine primary source materials to gain an understanding of how these programs were...
Curated OER
Analyzing Sources on Imperialism
Ninth graders explore the concept of imperialism. For this imperialism lesson, 9th graders analyze primary sources regarding British imperialism in Africa. Students analyze the sources for credibility as they gain an understanding of the...
Curated OER
Follow Your Dreams: Career Goals
It is so important for impending high school graduates to start thinking about their potential careers. Here, they discuss the persistence of Blondie Hasler and his impressive transatlantic trip. They follow various routes on a map and...
Curated OER
Jewish Ghettos and Death/Concentration Camps
Students trace and explain the antecedents, causes, major events, and global consequences of World War II, including the Holocaust. They assess the conditions of Jewish inhabitants of the Ghettos and death/concentration camps and the...
Curated OER
What is War?
Students establish what war signifies to them. They demonstrate this by voting on statements. Students are invited to ponder about how they feel about issues, their world history, and to defend their positions.
Curated OER
Social Studies: Bombing of Hiroshima
Students read a first person account of the bombing of Hiroshima written by a Japanese physician. By reading Michihiko Hachiya's journal, they discover the fatalities caused by the bomb itself and later by radiation poisoning. To...
Curated OER
Imperialism and Expansion: Part 1
Young scholars explore the era of imperialism and expansion of the United States. In this American history lesson, students play a game regarding the U.S. attempts to expand the nation in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Curated OER
Surviving Hitler
Are you thinking of reading Surviving Hitler with your class? If so, you will find these worksheets to be useful. They include great activities which are designed to help your readers respond to the book. Predicting events and a chart...
National Geographic
Exploring Modern Human Migrations
Using maps, images, websites, and handouts, learners work to understand the nature of human migrations. They compare and contrast human migration from the past to the present, identify causes for migration, and trace migration routes on...
Curated OER
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Have your class explore the effects of war by reading Eleanor Coerr's story, "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes." This is a story about a sixth grader who lives in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb is dropped. Learners answer questions,...
Curated OER
The Westward Movement
Students study the westward movement through examining stamps. In this westward movement lesson plan, students draw conclusions, determine cause and effect relationships and examine the westward movement of the United States by...
Curated OER
Teaching Economics and Rock and Roll: Unemployment
Students explore the consequences of unemployment. In this macroeconomics lesson, students listen to the songs “Johnny 99” and “Worried Man.” Students discuss the socioeconomic costs of unemployment as they analyze the songs.
Curated OER
The Study of the Spanish-Speaking People of Texas: Overcoming Adversity
Students examine the photographs of Russell Lee and identify the obstacles faced by Mexican-Americans in Texas during the early and mid-20th century. They discuss the ways they overcame these obstacles and relate it to obstacles in...
Curated OER
Japan's Place In The World
Students conduct research into the history of th Japanese rise to economic power. They use a variety of sources for information and engage in a variety of in class and out of class activities.
Curated OER
The Fall and Rise of the White-tailed Deer Population: Conservation Success Story?
Students analyze the problems that have come along with the conservation movement and the fall and rise of the white tailed deer population. In this conservation lesson plan, students see how important the deer were to the Native...
Curated OER
"Disapproved": Censorship of Film in Pennsylvania
Students analyze primary source documents of the 1920s to find the roots of film censorship and understand Pennsylvania's leadership in this movement. They analyze government censorship documents that banned a film in Pennsylvania and...
Curated OER
History of Miss America
Learners make a time-lines of of decades using images from Miss America. In this history instructional activity, students looks at the country's beauty pageant and how it changes the lives of women in America. Learners...
Curated OER
Checks and Balances: Japanese-American Incarceration
Students examine the three branches of the Federal Government and their decision to place Japanese-Americans in camps during World War II. They analyze debates made by leaders during this time period.
Curated OER
Life on the American Homefront
Seventh graders examine the conditions of the homefront during World War II. Using propaganda, they discuss its role and how it affected people who viewed it. They identify the role citizens played during the war and create their own...
Curated OER
WWII and the Atomic Bomb
Students explore three decisions about the atomic bomb faced by the U.S. during WWII, take a position on each of the decisions, and defend their position. Should a bomb have been built, dropped, and was the right decision made?
Curated OER
Houghton Mifflin Social Studies/Chapter 11, Lesson 1: California in Wartime (pp. 250-253)
Fourth graders explore the crisis of Japanese Americans during World War II. The benefits of the California economy are explored. The lesson has a discussion portion that is culturally relevant for many types of students.
Harry S. Truman Library & Museum
Marshall Plan: Convince the American People
This is an excellent resource for US history classes, especially AP history. After learning some background on the Marshall Plan, the class, divided into two groups, researches opposing positions on this aid program. Groups read and...
Curated OER
Tolerance and Genocide
Students investigate the causes of genocide. In this cultural diversity lesson, students discuss genocide incidents in Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Students then write essays about what they would do if their cultural...
Curated OER
Ethnic Culture and Identity in the Columbia River Basin, 1850-1950
Students explore cultural history of immigrant groups that settled in the Columbia River Basin from 1850 to World War II, and examine various primary sources to explore role cultural and social customs played in keeping alive immigrant...