What a great list of brief research projects for reviewing the era of westward expansion in the United States! Learners are directed to choose and complete three of the projects on the given list, which includes opportunities to design...

Poetry is everywhere you look! Create found poems using headlines from newspapers and magazines. Young poetry focus on creating alliterative phrases with words they find in headlines, tying their poems to a central theme.

Strong opinions come from deeply held values. Young citizens explore the values that are most important to them in a class discussion and activity. As they prioritize a list of values cards that include freedom,...

Cranberries, oysters, lobster, deer, and cabbage were just a few of the foods found on the table at the First Thanksgiving. After reading a two-page passage about the historic meal, class members respond to 10 reading...

Women were in the workplace long before Rosie the Riveter pushed up her sleeve. Learn about the working options available to women during the Industrial Revolution, the Progressive Era, and the Great Depression with a instructional...

After viewing the West of the West's documentary Cache, individuals craft either a newspaper article chronicling the discovery of the cache on San Nicolas Island, a historical narrative of the placement of the cache in the cliff side, or...

Supreme Court justices debate the meaning of the US Constitution, but we expect teachers to explain it to scholars with far less training and experience. A daunting task for sure, but it's not insurmountable with resources that simplify...

Explore genetic engineering through an engaging "Jurassic Park" unit, which is an extensive use of a cross-curricular teaching event. Planned for AP Biology, English, and Calculus students, learners and teachers are involved for 4-6...

When slavery ended, what did the government do to help African American during Reconstruction? An interesting instructional activity uses primary sources such as newspaper articles to help scholars analyze Reconstruction policies and how...

Upper graders read the story One Grain of Rice, and use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast topics found in the story to current event topics today. Groups of three learners work together to create their diagram. The topics they must...

Learners access the Oregon Trial website to find information on what it was like to experience traveling the Oregon Trial. Then, in groups, they create dioramas depicting events that could have happened along the Oregon Trail.

A PBS clip focused on collecting sports memorabilia launches this research project lesson. Class members then read Dan Gutman’s Honus and Me in which Wagner’s baseball card is used to time travel. The lesson ends with researchers...

Students examine political cartoons from 1774 through today, determine their meanings through analysis and discussion, and create their own political cartoons focusing on historical issues studied in class.

Intended for a Christian audience, bible study, or home-school setting, this lesson has learners analyzing the significance of the ten commandments in today's world. They consider the commandments themselves, discuss their historical and...

Young scholars compare current weather data to historic data to see if there is a temperature change.  In this weather lesson students complete a lab activity and determine average changes in temperature, precipitation and cloud cover.

This 3-day immigration study draws on historical trends and current events. A worksheet accompanies initial research on one group's U.S. immigration history, giving opportunity for collaborative learning through sharing findings. Groups...

Over the course of the lesson plan, your pupils read and analyze a translated eight-line poem from the Tang Dynasty written by Du Fu, a poet caught behind enemy lines during the An Lu-Shan rebellion (755-763). Literary/historical context...

How did major historical figures, such as Henry David Thoreau, Susan B. Anthony, and Mohandas K. Gandhi, explain and defend their beliefs in nonviolence? Your learners will begin by studying the backgrounds of these individuals, and then...

Are you one of the 100 million Americans whose ancestors passed through the doors of Ellis Island? Learn about the historic entry point for immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with an informative reading passage. After...

The ripple effect from one small event can impact many others. Young historians research the ripple effect World War II had on decolonization in the second installment of an eight-part series. Through primary and secondary documents as...

The Olympics are about more than sports—at times, the games are also a place of racism and prejudice! Pupils investigate the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany. They analyze the meaning behind the materials included in the United States...

What led to the fall of Rome? Scholars have debated the question since the end of the great empire. Young historians consider the same question through an economic lens using an engaging lesson that involves a hands-on evaluation of the...

Should the United States continue the practice of capital punishment? Scholars set out to answer the question in preparation for a class debate or discussion about the death penalty. They watch videos, analyze charts about death penalty...

Should physician-assisted suicide be legal? Using a debate topics website, pupils prepare to discuss the morality and legality of euthanasia. Scholars discover historical case studies involving assisted suicide, explore state-by-state...