Students examine how African-Americans were affected by the Great Depression. In this African-American history lesson plan, students conduct independent research on the social conditions of the time period using the suggested resources....

In this online interactive philosophy worksheet, students respond to 7 short answer and essay questions about the Gilded Age and Progressive Era in the United States. Students may check some of their answers...

Students research the positions of civil defense and nuclear disarmament during the Cold War era. They participate in a class debate to support a given position.

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...

What did segregation look like in the beginning of the 20th century? Middle and high schoolers view images of segregated areas, read passages by Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois, and come to conclusions about how the influence of...

Students investigate the Gettysburg Campaign and the major actions for each day of the battle. They read primary source documents, write a diary entry, analyze the Gettysburg Address, and write a persuasive speech regarding an issue in...

High schoolers investigate the history of the law of war. In this international law lesson, students listen to a lecture regarding the history of international law spanning from Pax Romana to Collective Security. High schoolers...

The struggles of Sam McCulloch, a free black man, to be recognized as a citizen entitled to own land in Texas are the focus of research project that ask groups to examine a series of primary source documents and piece together...

Eighth graders interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this Reconstruction lesson plan, 8th graders research the role of Reconstruction in South Carolina by simulating the environment of East Bay...

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

Students write a first-person narrative from the perspective of a runaway slave, or a historical character of the period, and present their story orally.

Students explore the implications of habeas corpus. In this Civil War lesson, students analyze the writ of habeas corpus by Lincoln during the war. Students examine primary sources from Lincoln and Chief Justice Taney. Students design...

Young scholars explore Lincoln's Reconstruction plan. In this Reconstruction lesson, students examine Lincoln's speeches and writings on bringing the country back together following the war.

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...

Revolution and counterrevolution. Protest and counter-protest. Collaborators and bystanders. The focus of the fifth resource in the Reconstruction Era and Fragility of Democracy series is on the political violence that followed Radical...

What does a true American represent? Scholars investigate the equal rights era of the 1960s and 1970s in the 20th installment of a 22-part series on American history. Using photographic, magazine, written, and video evidence, groups...

Memories of and interpretations of history change—that's the key takeaway from a lesson that has young historians compare the story of the Reconstruction Era as told by the historians of the Dunning School to the view of scholars today...

Were unfair taxes really the cause of the American Revolution? Learners explore the complicated historiography behind the revolutionary period using authentic College Board prompts. The free-response questions from the exam feature...

Young scholars explore the challenges involved in carrying out a program to care for the needs of Civil War veterans an to mark their graves after their deaths. The biography of a veteran from the community is researched and written in...

Tenth graders study songs and music of the US Civil War period. They use technology to compose a song that highlights an event or concept from the war.

Students examine the battle of Prairie Grove and Arkansas's role in the Civil War. They discover the realities of war on the soldiers and civilians. They analyze historical documents for content.

Students read and analyze stanzas of Civil War poem, The Flags of Michigan, to get perspective on what life was like and how Americans viewed Civil War, rewrite stanzas in modern language, and share new versions of poem with classmates.

Young scholars use maps, readings and photographs to locate prisoner of war camps in the North during the Civil War. They identify the camp's population sizes and mortality rates and how the camps' uses have changed over time.

Students use maps, readings, illustrations and photos to analyze the Civil War Rivers Bridge battlefield and describe how geography affected the outcome of the battle. They explore and explain the causes for the battle's heavy human...