Handout
World Atlas

World Atlas: North America

For Students 9th - 10th
Features maps and a description of the geography and history of North America with links to information on its countries, famous people, flags, symbols, and much more.
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Social Realism: Booker T. Washington

For Students 9th - 10th
Focused on his personal racial and civil philosophy, Booker T. Washington moved mountains making the public aware of the injustices and inequalities of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Click "Booker T. Washington...
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: America in Class: Making the Revolution: Rebellion: 1775 1776

For Students 9th - 10th
Primary source material with introductory notes, classroom discussion questions, and supplemental links focussing on thoughts and events of rebellion in the colonies between 1775-1776 preceding the American Revolution.
Handout
Other

Grandma Moses: Reflections of America

For Students 9th - 10th
An essay about Grandma Moses and her apotheosis as an artist.
Website
Other

National Museum of American Jewish History: Only in America Hall of Fame

For Students 9th - 10th
Highlights well-known Jewish Americans who have made significant contributions to their fields in the arts, sciences, business, religion, sports, law, and politics. The public votes for those individuals they feel should be inducted into...
Website
PBS

Pbs: American Experience: The Panama Canal

For Students 9th - 10th
An article on one of America's most famous presidents, Teddy Roosevelt. The title of this article in the site is, "TR's Legacy - The Panama Canal", and it provides great information on the formation of the canal.
Activity
Other

Studs Terkel: Conversations With America

For Students 9th - 10th
Uncover much information here about the incredible life story of Studs Terkel, famous radio personality and prize winning author. Listen to his interviews for some fascinating insights into the diverse culture of American life.
Activity
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: Detective Allan Pinkerton

For Students 3rd - 8th
Allan Pinkerton saved Abraham Lincoln from an assassination attempt, started the United States Secret Service and helped slaves seek freedom via the Underground Railroad. Learn about his early life in Scotland and view a photograph of...
Website
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: Mahalia Jackson

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about the " Queen of Gospel", New Orleans born singer Mahalia Jackson.
Website
Varsity Tutors

Varsity Tutors: Archiving Early America: Lives of Early America

For Students 9th - 10th
Here you will get good information on Ben Franklin, George Washington, Daniel Boone, Thomas Jefferson, and Paul Revere.
Handout
University of Missouri

Famous Trials

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This site looks at famous trials in American history. Trials that shaped American society and changed America's laws.
Article
University of Missouri

Famous Trials: Trial of Anne Hutchinson (1637)

For Students 9th - 10th
America was not always the "Land of Liberty." In the 1630s, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, questioning Puritan dogma could bring you a world of trouble. It could get you shunned, it could get you ex-communicated, it could even get you...
Unit Plan
University of Missouri

Famous Trials: Carthage (Joseph Smith Murder) Trial (1845)

For Students 9th - 10th
One of the most consequential crimes in American history occurred on a summer day in 1844 when a mob stormed a jail in Carthage, Illinois and murdered Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum. The killing of Joseph Smith, the charismatic...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America" S. Robinson

For Students 9th - 10th
Selected (17) reading passages (grades 5-11) to pair with "Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America" by Sharon Robinson. In Promises To Keep, Sharon Robinson, daughter of the baseball legend, shares memories of her famous...
Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Guaman Poma and the First New Chronicle and Good Government

For Students 9th - 10th
This letter written by Guaman Poma is the most famous manuscript from South America dated to this time period in part because it is so comprehensive and long, but also because of its many illustrations. View pictures of the illustrations...
Lesson Plan
Varsity Tutors

Varsity Tutors: Web English Teacher: Langston Hughes

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This resource focuses on the works of famous African-American author, Langston Hughes.
Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: Edward M. Kennedy: "Faith, Truth and Tolerance in America"

For Students 9th - 10th
This is the text, audio, and video [4:27] of Senator Ted Kennedy's speech "Faith, Truth and Tolerance in America" delivered on October 3, 1983, at the Liberty Baptist College (Liberty University), in Lynchburg, Virginia.
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Rhythms in Poetry: Robert Frost

For Students 9th - 10th
Robert Frost is featured in this brief biography which identifies Frost as a popular modernist poet who drew on the rugged life and values in rural New England. Click on "Robert Frost Activities" for related artifacts and activities.
Unit Plan
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Frontier, the Gilded and the Gritty: America, 1870 1912

For Students 9th - 10th
Arguably the most famous essay every written about the impact of land on American history, Frederick Jackson Turner's "The Significance of the Frontier in American History" explains how Americans' relationship with the environment shaped...
Website
Library of Congress

Loc: Built in America

For Students 9th - 10th
This collection documents achievements in architecture, engineering, and design in the United States and its territories. Highlights of the collection include windmills, bridges, and buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: w.e.b. Du Bois

For Students 3rd - 5th
A brief biography of famous African-American, W.E.B. Du Bois. Read about his activism and his attempts to improve race relations. Hyperlinks to additional information about this important man.
Unit Plan
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Capture, Making of African American Identity: V. 1

For Students 9th - 10th
Several narratives of the capture of West Africans, including the famous autobiography of Venture Smith, from the eighteenth century, two accounts of conditions on slave ships, and an audio recording of the memories of the descendants of...
Website
Library of Congress

Loc: Architecture and Interior Design for 20th Century America

For Students 9th - 10th
A detailed look at architectural styles and trends throughout the nation in the early to mid 20th century. Includes a fantastic teacher resource so you can better use the collection for classroom discussion.
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Columbus and the Egg [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
"Columbus and the Egg" is a one page, historical fictional passage about Christopher Columbus's return to Spain after discovering America. Some people said anyone could sail the seas. Columbus used an egg to make a point. It is followed...