University of Chicago
Addressing Stereotypes
How is a stereotype defined, and what are some mechanisms we can use to combat negative stereotyping? Your young historians will discuss how and why stereotyping occurs, as well as consider the roots of modern conceptions of...
Curated OER
Absolutism in Central Europe
Supplementing a class lesson on the Holy Roman Empire and Prussia and the Austrian Empire, this series of images will help contextualize the time period and historical figures for students. Maps and portraits both flesh out the details...
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...
University of Arkansas
Assessment and Discussion
"Without concerned citizen action to uphold them (human rights) close to home; we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world. . ." Eleanor Roosevelt's comment is used to set the stage for the conclusion of a five-lesson unit...
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Analyzing the Inaugural Address
Get high school historians to step outside their own shoes by responding to JFK's inaugural address from the perspective of a civil rights activist, a soviet diplomat, or a Cuban exile. After a class discussion about the address,...
National Wildlife Federation
I Speak for the Polar Bears!
Climate change and weather extremes impact every species, but this lesson focuses on how these changes effect polar bears. After learning about the animal, scholars create maps of snow-ice coverage and examine the yearly variability and...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Immigrant Discrimination
For a class learning about Chinese and Irish immigration in America, here's a great starting lesson plan. It has your critical thinkers examining song lyrics, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, and a political cartoon, and finally...
Curated OER
Diseases Are Real
Eleventh graders research industries that contribute to sanitation and pollution problems. They investigate the direct result of unhygienic practices including disease outbreaks or specific illnesses. They create a Power Point...
Curated OER
Traveling Around Nebraska
Students analyze a current or historical photograph from their textbook and as a class complete a worksheet of the analysis. Using the Photographic Analysis Form, they locate and analyze two transportation photographs and use the...
Curated OER
Before We Travel, We Research
Young scholars conduct research on a historical site in preparation for a field trip. In small groups, they conduct research, and present the information to the class in the form of a PowerPoint presentation or poster.
Curated OER
Turn-of-the-Century Child
Middle schoolers are put in the role of historians and develop strategies for applying methods in historical inquiry:
Curated OER
Scotty T-Rex: Inspiring History All Year Round
Young scholars study changes that occur in geological and historical time. They place themselves in relationship to the universe, the world, Canada, and Saskatchewan.
Curated OER
Annotated Time Line
Young scholars write biographies and timelines of famous people. They research a famous historical figure and his associated events. They write a two-page biography of the figure and create a timeline detailing the events of his life. ...
Curated OER
Using Primary Documents: The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake
Students examine primary documents from various key historical events, including those from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. They discuss the importance of such documents.
Curated OER
Out in the Middle of Nowhere: Inevitable Lifestyle Changes
Eleventh graders examine the interaction between Utah's geography and its inhabitants. They explain how looking at cause/effect relationships is an example of historical thinking.
Curated OER
Aston Hall and the Victorians
In this internet field trip instructional activity, students answer twenty five questions about Aston Hall and the Victorian period in American history.
Curated OER
Neoclassical Influences
Students study how artists of the Neoclassical period were influenced by major historical events during the Enlightenment. They identify and analyze the Neoclassical style. discuss and identify the historical influences of Neoclassical...
Curated OER
Gatsby and the American Twenties Newspaper
Students research 1920's US History. In this historical literature instructional activity, students use the novel The Great Gatsby as a tool to examine the era. They work in individually to create newspaper articles based on...
Curated OER
Get to Know Your Bill of Rights
Sixth graders research and examine the first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America. They sequence events significant to this time period, read and discuss text, and in small groups prepare and present the...
Curated OER
Bossy Britain Upsets Colonists
Students examine the causes of dissatisfaction that led to the American Revolution. Then they make a Flap Vocabulary Book and glue on a map of the thirteen colonies and make a title page called "Road to War in it." Students also...
Curated OER
Dino History
Students create a timeline of the times dinosaurs lived. In this dinosaur timeline lesson plan, students research the various periods when dinosaurs lived. Students work in groups to research the dinosaurs of a specific time...
Curated OER
Playing with History
Students consider the elements that make computer games compelling, then use these elements to develop game 'narratives' based on historic events.
National First Ladies' Library
The Play's the Thing...or Two
Students explore melodram as a form of theatre. They write about lucid and factual news accounts and about sensationalism. Students gain experience in relating one time period with another and with doing historical research.
Curated OER
Create a Hero Trophy
Learners research and read about the lives of some famous American heroes. They examine the qualities that make or made these people heroes and how the time period they lived in influenced their images as heroes.