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Participating in Democracy
Students analyze film clips in class. In this democracy lesson, students identify the differences between civil liberties, democracy and freedom. Students view a video regarding Japanese internment and answer study questions as well as...
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Under Construction
Students examine the concept of 'nation building,' focusing on outcomes of U.S. involvement in nation building efforts in Afghanistan, past and present attempts at nation building and how the U.S. should proceed in the war against...
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Portrait Sculptures
Eighth graders study Marisol's art work by comparing ad contrasting several sculptures. They create a 3-D portrait of a person they either know personally, or to portray a social issue. The sculpture be made of a cardboard structure they...
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Immigration into an Urban Industralized Northeast: 1879-1914
Students study how three ethnic groups were introduced to urban, industrialize, northern cities. They examine how these groups were greeted and accepted be the 'native born' Americans and how successful they were in assimilating with...
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Wheel and Axle
Fifth graders construct a wheel and axle model using a Lego Dacta set. They read and discuss informational text from the book "It's Science! Machines We Use," and in small groups create a simple machine using Legos.
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Women in Progressive Era
Students study the Progressive Era. They identify the important people, places, and evens of the Era and determine how women influenced the progressive movement. In addition, they create an article to address issues related to the movement.
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They Called Him Sequoyah
Middle schoolers become familiar with George Gist and his life as a Cherokee. In this Cherokee lesson, students research the ways people have communicated in the past and presently. Middle schoolers recognize that better...
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Unit Plan Template
Use this U.S. History unit plan as a template for creating your own! Simply download the resource and edit the text fields with your own customized unit plan. This is a great jumping-off step, especially for newer teachers.
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New Nation
Fifth graders discuss leadership, citizenship, symbols for a nation, how to create peace after reading "The Iroquois Constitution," "The Declaration of Independence," and "Letters from An American Farmer." They create their own nations...
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Group Newspaper-American System of Government
Eighth graders, in groups, design, research, and create a newspaper that explains four historical events that have influenced the American system of government.
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Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858
Students examine the transcripts of the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates and create a platform for each candidate in the 1858 Senate race. They utilize the candidates' arguments to explore the historical and political impact.
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Mythical Animals
Young scholars create imaginary animals by assembling pictures of body parts from pictures of real animals. This is one of three linked tasks. The others are "Who's Parts Do I Have?" and "Animals Piece by Piece."
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Which Court Would You Use?
Students study court system and the various levels of courts in their state. In groups, they create their own brief scenario for each court they have studied. As a follow-up activity, they match given scenarios to the correct court, as...
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Who or What is Un-American?
Students explore concepts about civil liberties, research the history of sedition-related legislation in the U.S. and create a position paper on the topic.
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Freedom to Worship
Fifth graders read the biographies of seven colonists and determine their position on the freedom of religion. They conduct a panel discussion of seven personalities and debate the religious freedom in America.
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Supreme Court Newspaper
Students examine the purpose and responsibilities of the Supreme Court and its justices. In groups, they research a specific case and identify how the Supreme Court affects their lives. Using the information they find, they create a...
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Civil Rights
Students are introduced to the concept of Civil Rights. In groups, they use a timeline of the Navajo tribe to identify the ways the tribe has made advances in Civil Rights throughout the years. To end the lesson, they take notes and...
Department of Education (Ireland)
Understanding Influences
"Understanding Influences," a richly detailed, carefully scaffolded unit, asks middle and high school scholars to examine how internal and external factors like friends, media, and society influence their attitudes and...
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Supreme Court: Practice with Precedents 2010
Eleventh graders examine the term precedent in the court system. In this American Government lesson, 11th graders research various court cases in history. Students create a study chart that shows comparisons of these...
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Online Lesson Political Parties, Platforms, and Planks
Learners explore historical political parties and their platforms. After studying the origins and functions of political parties, students create their own platform to address current issues. In groups, learners design an ad campaign...
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Powers of Government
Students explore and identify the power of national and state governments. They discuss the concept of federalism and the distribution of governmental powers. As a class, they examine the balance of power between the federal and state...
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American Heritage Themes
Students explore American freedom, unity, progress, and responsibility. In this American history lesson, students discuss what it means to be an American as they reflect on contributions of noteworthy Americans and write a composition...
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Fairness: Incarceration of Japanese Americans During World War II
Learners examine fairness in relation to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII. In this equality lesson, students watch a video "Rabbit in the Moon" and discuss what happened to the Japanese Americans during WWII. Learners...
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Japanese Internment
Eleventh graders read about and discuss the Japanese Internment of World War II. In this Japanese Internment lesson, 11th graders examine the Japanese Internment. They talk about the civil rights aspect, how they would deal with being...