Teaching for Change
A Documents-Based Lesson on the Voting Rights Act
How did the Voting Rights Act affect the daily lives of American citizens? A document-based lesson developed by the Student Non-Violent Coordinating committee (SNCC) presents a case study of the impact of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 on...
Curated OER
For The Sake Of Security: U.S.A. Patriot Act & Bill of Rights
A substantive New York Times article about the U.S.A. Patriot Act, military tribunals, racial profiling, and the Bill of Rights forms the basis for a discussion of the complex interplay of fundamental American rights and the aftermath of...
Center for Civic Education
What Basic Ideas Are in the Preamble to the Constitution?
Introduce young historians to the US Constitution with this upper-elementary social studies lesson plan. Beginning with a general discussion about the role of government in society, students go on to work in small...
Curated OER
How Do I Act Like A Friend?
Students engage in a lesson that is concerned with the meaning of being a friend. They take part in a series of activities to define the meaning of friendship. Students are presented with scenarios and then role-play how to act to...
Curated OER
Personal and Ethical Skills
Fourth graders work together and generate a list of skills needed to work with diverse groups of people. They brainstorm the meaning of "diversity."' Students write as many skills as they can in two minutes. They listen and share ideas...
Curated OER
Random Acts of Kindness For Kids
Develop a world-wide, email chain on which class members can showcase their acts of kindness. After defining the meaning of random acts of kindness through discussion and through a reading of Random Acts of Kindness,...
Albert Shanker Institute
Dream Under Development
As part of their study of the 1963 March on Washington, class members do a side-by-side comparison of the original text of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream Speech" with a transcript of the speech he delivered. The take away from the...
Carolina K-12
How Do I Pre-Register and Vote in North Carolina?
Did you know that in some states your pupils can pre-register to vote? Teach the advantages to pre-registering and engage the classroom in an intriguing discussion about youth voting trends. Class members participates in a live polling...
Positively Autism
What to Expect on Halloween
Halloween is a wonderful and highly social holiday, it includes dressing up, meeting new people, and of course candy! However, for a child with autism, Halloween might be a holiday of stress and uncertainty. Prepare your students for the...
Curated OER
Good for Goodness Sake?
After discussing their opinions of performing community service, young learners read an article about different benefits of serving the community. They participate in a debate about whether their school should require pupils to perform...
Curated OER
Women and the Homestead Act: Creating a Place for Themselves In the West
Eighth graders examine basic elements of the Homestead Act, describe gender make-up of the West before and after the Homestead Act, connect the Homestead Act with women's suffrage, and create a modern day business propaganda pamphlet.
US House of Representatives
Keeping the Faith: African Americans Return to Congress, 1929–1970
The third lesson in a unit that traces the history of African Americans serving in the US Congress examines the period from 1929 through 1970. After reading a contextual essay that details the few African Americans elected to Congress...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Why We Have Freedom of the Press
A newspaper receives documents that reveal not only a devastating secret the public needs to know, but also troop movements that could put American lives at risk: to publish or not to publish? Using background readings, discussion...
Curated OER
Finding My Pathway
Eighth graders engage in a lesson plan that is concerned with the acquiring of skills necessary to make informed career choices. They examine the type of language that should be acquired for communication in the workplace. They also have...
Center for Civic Education
What Basic Ideas About Government Are Included in the Preamble to the Constitution?
Young historians explore the meaning of the Preamble to the US Constitution in this upper-elementary social studies lesson. Working with partners or in small groups, children discuss the purpose of government before reading and analyzing...
Curated OER
What is a Philanthropist?
What does a philanthropist do? Help your class explore philanthropy using character development and literacy ideas. Learners will define and give examples of philanthropy, listen to The Lion and the Mouse, discuss how the characters help...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Refugees from the Caribbean: Cuban and Haitian “Boat People”
Should refugees fleeing poverty be allowed the same entrance into the United States as those fleeing persecution? High schoolers read about US foreign policy in the late 20th century regarding refugees from Cuba and Haiti, and engage in...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Special Order 40
The city of Los Angeles' 1979 Special Order 40 states: "LAPD officers shall not initiate police action with the objective of discovering the alien status of a person." After reading a fact sheet that details the history of Special Order...
Annenberg Foundation
Masculine Heroes
What were the driving forces behind American expansion in the nineteenth century, and what were its effects? Scholars watch a video, read biographies, engage in discussion, write journals and poetry, draw, and create a multimedia...
Annenberg Foundation
The Search for Identity
Discover how writers express identity in their writing. Learners explore how issues of identity surface in the literature of minority writers. Scholars watch a video, read and discuss biographies, conduct research, engage in creative...
Curated OER
George Washington on the Sedition Act
Students investigate the Sedition Act and George Washington's position on the act. In this United States Colonial history lesson, students read about George Washington's position on the Sedition Act. Students then participate in a...
Curated OER
On-the-Job Skills
First graders verbally list personal, ethical and work habit skills needed for classroom jobs during discussion. They discuss why it is important to be honest when doing a job in the classroom? Students give examples of three skills....
Curated OER
Getting Ready for Success, Part 1
Third graders verbally respond to the following questions: Which category does each skill fall into? and "Do skills fall into more than one category?" They review what personal, ethical and work habit skills are: personal skills, ethical...
Curated OER
Be a Problem Solving Star
Second graders investigate the skill of solving problems. They have class discussion about problem solving and identify the steps in settling conflicts. The strategies are demonstrated for application to problem situations and student...