Who were the enslaved people in colonial America? Using ads from enslavers looking to recapture escaped people, young historians put faces and identities to them. Primary sources, such as wanted ads, help scholars reconstruct who these...

Volume One of the 299-page Core Knowledge History of the United States covers events from the Precolonial Period to the 1800s.

Could you live without your phone? What about cars, steel, or clothing? Class groups collaborate to produce presentations that argue that either the telephone, the gramophone, the automobile, the textile industry, or the steel...

Eighth graders research the Post-Revolution to Pre-Civil War era by investigating the life and contributions of a notable person. They create silhouettes which are framed with timeline. Also, they add the research information to the...

From the Louisiana Purchase to the Spanish-American War, the history of the United States is intertwined with the story of Hispanic Americans. Using an article about Hispanics in Congress during the 1800s, learners research their lives...

Should land be redistributed to former slaves after the Civil War? This essential question guides a lesson on the Reconstruction Era, as learners analyze primary sources (linked), recording responses on a worksheet (linked). To model the...

Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this Reconstruction lesson, students research details pertaining to Congress's role in Reconstruction. Students use the provided worksheets to...

Students examine the causes of the American Revolution. In this colonial America lesson, students read handouts regarding the sequence of events that led to the commencement of the war. Students complete the provided worksheets and...

What's missing from most studies of the American Revolutionary War is information about the role African Americans played in the conflict. To correct this oversight, middle schoolers research groups like the Black Loyalists and ...

Fifth graders write a paragraph comparing their lives to the lives of a child working in South Carolina during the early 1900's. In this Industrial Revolution lesson plan, 5th graders explore primary and secondary sources to teach them...

All revolutions in science and technology have both pros and cons. Kids examine the advent of the Green Revolution, nuclear growth and use, and the countries considered nuclear powers. They'll construct three responses to each of these...

Students break into families of 4 members. They brainstorm issues that they would encounter as an immigrant family by creating a web. Students are given roles to research focusing on that perspective: father, mother, grandparent, and child.

Students investigate the events of the Boston Tea Party. They read and analyze first-hand accounts, answer discussion questions, develop a chart of facts, and create a newspaper article, letter, or factual report.

Eighth graders examine the time period of the Industrial revolution in American history.  In this American History lesson, 8th graders read the chapter on this time period.  Students create a presentation on this time period to...

Young scholars consider how colonial citizens chose sides in the American Revolution. In this Revolutionary War lesson, students role play Loyalists, Patriots, and undecideds in a classroom simulation. Young scholars research their...

In this Cold War worksheet, students read an article titled "Introduction to the Early Origins of the Cold War," and then make a list of key dates and events from the selection.

Learners examine how how groups and institutions work to meet individual needs and promote the common good, and identify examples of where they fail to do so. They describe how workers with specialized jobs and the ways in which they...

Learners investigate the American Revolutionary War era from the perspective of Britain and the American colonists by researching causes, effects, events and people. They compare the views of the Colonists, and the British and recognize...

Students research the various cultures in Colonial America. In this American history lesson, students analyze and complie the research they find presenting what they have found into a short presentation.

Students read and predict the outcome of a story set during the Civil War, then map the story. To prepare for the activity, students determine why it is important to look at historical events from all angles by using primary and...

Eighth graders apply their knowledge of North American history from the mid 1600's through the mid 1700's to a role-playing scenario. In small groups they plan, write, and perform a dramatic skit of a group that was affected by events in...

Candace Fleming's award winning Ben Franklin's Almanac is the anchor text for a classroom guide that provides teachers with a cache of pre, during, and post-reading activities.

Students consider the role of American newspapers in the revolution and plans for new government. In this early American history lesson, students determine how communication provided by newspapers contributed to the organization of the...

Fourth graders compare two colonial plantations. In this South Carolina history lesson, 4th graders compare the Drayton Hill plantation of Charleston Co. to the Walnut Grove Plantation of Spartanburg Co. This lesson plan uses primary and...