Students analyze an interactive map of the Missouri Compromise to identify the regions and their relation to slavery. In this pre-civil war era lesson, students read primary source documents and research online to answer questions...

Three activities comprise an eight-page packet designed to accompany a study of Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage. First, class members investigate the types of recruiting posters used today, analyze the types of appeals used,...

Students investigate civil liberties in the U.S. They watch and discuss a PowerPoint presentation, conduct research on an event from a timeline, complete a worksheet, take an ideology quiz, and conduct a debate.

Learners examine the role of Matthew Brady photographing the Civil War and compare it with the role of photographers embedded in the War in Iraq.

Sixth graders investigate Civil Rights by participating in role-playing activities.  In this U.S. History lesson, 6th graders research the history of slavery in order to portray a story through their debating and acting...

Is the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) good for America? The informative website is a one-stop shop for ACLU debate resources. Scholars read about the topics surrounding the issue, including free speech, national security, and...

How have groups struggled to have their unalienable rights recognized in the United States? Acting as a research team for the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, your young historians will break into groups to research...

While America says it welcomes from other countries the tired and poor yearning to be free, the record is mixed on whether there has been a warm reception for immigrants. Class members use an interactive graphic scale and primary source...

Students examine the issues surrounding Gulf War Syndrome. In groups, they analyze evidence from the war and medical information. They participate in a debate in which they support their feelings on whether the government of the United...

Eleventh graders, in groups, analyze newspaper articles and then debate and discuss if Virginia should succeed from the Union or not.

Young scholars examine history of slavery in United States, discuss abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass who worked to end slavery, listen to excerpts from Douglass' autobiography, and visit interactive Underground Railroad web site.

Fourth graders examine slavery and Reconstruction in Virginia. In this Virginians during Reconstruction lesson, 4th graders research primary sources for the story of William Jasper and other slaves. Students hypothesize how rights became...

Eleventh graders study the Presidency of Abraham Lincoln.  For this American History lesson, 11th graders analyze documents related to Reconstruction.  Students participate in a debate on Reconstruction.  

The strategies civil rights activists Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois proposed for blacks to achieve racial progress is the focus of an activity in which class groups identify the strategies as well as the benefits and drawbacks...

President Abraham Lincoln: a true humanitarian or a savvy politician? The lesson focuses on Abraham Lincoln's presidency and the secession of the southern states. Academics interpret how Lincoln's presidential platform promoting African...

Learn more about the policy of the United States to contain communism during the Cold War. The fifth installment of an eight-part series looks at primary and secondary materials about a challenging time in history. After analyzing the...

The Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the Confederate states. The Thirteenth Amendment banned slavery in the United States. However, neither document defined freedom. The second lesson in the Reconstruction Era series examines...

The debate over the integrity of stories in media is not new. Young journalists analyze historical sources that reveal freedom of the press controversies and draw parallels to challenges freedom of the press faces today. 

Students research Muhammad Ali's act of civil disobedience. In this civil disobedience lesson, students research Ali's defiance of the Vietnam War draft and compare his reasoning to Martin Luther King's thoughts on the war. Students...

Students discuss democratic ideals and constitutional principles. They decide which side of the issue they are on dealing with the placement of Japanese-Americans in camps during World War II. They examine primary source documents for...

Young scholars analyze primary source material from the Civil War. They describe the war as it was perceived by those on the homefront in Johnson County, Indiana. Students describe how Hoosiers responded to the draft. They write a...

Students explore the views of both sides of the Civil War. Through class discussion and debate, they look at how each side justified their position during the Civil War. Students write a letter explaining one of the viewpoints from the...

Students examine the changes in the U.S. in the period of industrialization before the Civil War. They analyze census data, list/describe inventions and innovations, explore various websites, conduct a Factory Simulation activity, and...

The presidencies of John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan were defined by the Cold War. Using primary source documents and scaffolded analysis questions, pupils explore the effect the Cold War had on these presidencies. A...