Role-play and simulation exercises are fantastic ways to help learners understand the reality behind many social and historical events. Pretending they are colonists, upper graders choose a location, create a history, establish laws, and...

Third graders describe some of the factors that brought early settlers to Ann Arbor. They read Narrative-A Trip from Utica, New York, to Ingham County, Michigan in 1838. As an added challenge, 3rd graders can use maps to track Silas...

The United States of America was founded on firm ideals of both the pursuit of happiness and a spirit of reverence. Through a close reading of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The May-Pole of Merry Mount," you can examine what some consider was a...

Honor family traditions with a lesson plan that examines the variety of winter celebrations. Class members discuss their family's traditions then complete a cut-and-paste practice page in which they match a picture to the name of a...

Tenth graders identify and locate Africa, the United States, the Original 13 colonies, and the region of West Africa on a map. They list examples of culture and African American culture. Students link the culture of West Africa with the...

Students explore the history and domestication of the Bovidae family and their importance to our prairie ecosystem. Using a map of the United States, students located the American Great Plains. They complete worksheets and discuss...

In this Powhatan gender roles worksheet, students read a 4-page selection regarding the gender roles in Powhatan culture. Students discuss the selection.

Students explore the fur trade between the settlers and Native Americans. Through class discussion, students explain and give examples of how the fur trade worked. In groups, they simulate the fur trade using materials provided by the...

Students use primary sources to investigate, explore and represent varying perspectives on the 1704 Deerfield Raid. They consider the reasons Deerfield was at the center of English, French and Native American conflicts in the early 18th...

Young scholars investigate and develop relationships between selected themes and resources. In this Us history instructional activity, students interpret, analyze, and evaluate shifts in continuity throughout US history. Young scholars...

Students reflect on the events that led up to slavery in the early years of North America.  For this United States History lesson, students read excerpts from the book "Out of Many," then gather in small groups to answer specific...

Fourth graders identify the three Native American groups highlighted in this lesson. In this Native American lesson plan, 4th graders answer comprehension questions, and classify the adaptations of the groups in a worksheet.

High schoolers listen to and analyze the ballad "American Pie." They utilize a worksheet imbedded in this plan. They circle the appropriate descriptive words of the song's medium form, melody, tempo and dynamics, and style.

Students view the photo of the The Tea Trade Painting and discuss what they see. They will then discuss what went into the beginning of a major sea voyage. Next they explore routes traveled by the New England traders. They study sailing...

Explore the idea of democratic poetry. Upper graders read Walt Whitman, examining daguerreotypes, and compare Whitman to Langston Hughes. They describe aspects of Whitman's I Hear America Singing to Langston Hughes' Let America Be...

Class groups examine conflicting primary and secondary sources describing the 1704 attack on the fort at Deerfield by French and Native Americans and analyze the implications of discrepancies.

Class members read a series of primary and secondary source materials to examine the effects of Queen Anne's War, also know as the War of Spanish Succession, on the Pocumtucks and other Native Americans in the area of Deerfield, MA.

As part of a study of colonial and Native American history, class members focus on the beliefs and land use of the Pocumtucks, who settled near Deerfield, Massachusetts. Students examine their beliefs about land use and ownership, the...

Students discover how the United States became involved in the Vietnam War, the importance of the Tet Offensive in turning American public opinion against the war, and how the Vietnam War is still a part of American life and culture.

Students listen to many examples of Motown music and explain the relationship between the word "Motown" and the city of Detroit. They examine and identify distinctive musical elements of the early "Motown Sound."

Young scholars are introduced to Frederick Jackson Turner and how early Census data, when combined visually with maps, effectively demonstrated the end of the frontier.

Ninth graders research early mining in California. They study the "placer method" for mining gold, which is surface mining that does not involve tunneling. They examine what it was like for the early miners to pan for gold with...

Students engage in a lesson that discusses how Native Americans lived in all different parts of North America. They focus on investigating the region's natural resources and how the indians used them to build shelter, make clothing, and...

Students research and retrieve information from the Internet. They participate in an online quiz. They identify areas of cultural diversity in United States history.