Curated OER
Cuban Missile Crisis: Teaching Activities
Students create a timeline of the important events of John F. Kennedy's presidency. They construct a timeline of the major events of the Cuban Missile Crisis. They compare the Missile Crisis events with their presentation in the movie...
Curated OER
The Gettysburg Address (1863): Defining the American Union
Students explore the Gettysburg Address. For this U. S. history lesson, students examine Abraham Lincoln's speech and it's themes of freedom, equality, and emancipation.
Curated OER
Are We Americans Again? A Portrait of Japanese American Internment
Students study letters and images of the Japanese American Interment during World War II. They discuss the issues presented.
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Franklin Roosevelt's Proposal for Reforming the Supreme Court: 168 Days of National Debate
Students explore the Great Depression and issues facing Franklin D. Roosevelt. They analyze the legal struggles surrounding the fight against the Depression. Students investigate the agenda of Southern Democrats who defied FDR and...
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The Great Society and A Thousand Points of Lights
Students compare 2 preseidental speeches. For this presidential agenda lesson, students compare and contrast a Lyndon B. Johnson speech with a George H. W. Bush Speech.
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Emancipation Proclamation
Learners analyze key components of a portrait and relate the elements to the historical context. In this lesson students evaluate the "Emancipation Proclamation" and it's significance.
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The Gettysburg Address
Students become familiar with the Gettysburg Address as well as the historical importance of the document in history. They brainstorm its implications and then in groups translate the language used in the address into modern day...
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Abigail Adams: Integrating Social Studies and Language Arts
Third graders increase reading strategies while learning about Abigail Adams and her role in history. In this Abigail Adams lesson, 3rd graders read about the American Revolution and Abigail Adams using all the balanced literacy...
Curated OER
A "Capital" Idea
Eighth graders prepare for a field trip to Washington, DC by researching landmark, monument, or building in Washington. They use the information in small groups to design a multimedia presentation. They include a spreadsheet that shows...
Curated OER
Lesson III: Crisis, Pearl Harbor, Internment
The third in a series of lessons introduced by “A Fence Away From Freedom,” uses the Smithsonian website, “A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans and the U.S. Constitution” and focuses on the section of the presentation devoted to the...
Curated OER
Making a Case
Start the day by sharing opinions about human rights. Then, read "A Defiant Hussein Pleads Not Guilty to Mass Execution" with your middle and high school class. Your pupils research the specific charges in the case against Saddam...
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The Unfinished Lincoln Memorial
Students develop a list of images of President Abraham Lincoln: for example, self-taught youth, great debater, advocate of abolition of slavery and assassinated hero. They must determine if these images of Lincoln stand up under scrutiny.
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Presidential Places Quilt
Students design historical quilts. In this presidential history lesson, students research past presidents and landmarks named for them. Students create quilt squares to represent the landmarks and piece all of them together in a large...
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Learning to Ask Questions
First graders analyze historical materials and create questions about Dwight D. Eisenhower. In this question writing lesson, 1st graders ask and answer questions about the life of Eisenhower. Students write about photographs they...
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History, Today and Every Day
Learners assess, by analyzing historic New York Times front pages, how print journalism reflects the values and language of the society in which it is created.
National First Ladies' Library
Eleanor Roosevelt: Economics, Discovery and Daily Life
Examine the causes and effects of the Great Depression and the role of Eleanor Roosevelt during the era. Pupils take an inventory of their home for wants and needs, and conduct online research on The Great Depression. They then convert...
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Executive Orders
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this foreign policy lesson, students examine U.S. foreign policies of Presidents since World War II. Students prepare PowerPoint...
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The Gettysburg Address
Students examine Lincoln's life. For this U.S. history lesson, students examine facts about Abraham Lincoln and then complete 6 extension activities that require them to complete research regarding the Civil War.
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American Thanksgiving Through Time
Students explore five web sites in order to identify the various ways Thanksgiving has been celebrated in the past and how it is celebrated today. They consider the diversity of United States and this affects celebrations of the day.
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Abraham Lincoln and the U.S. Constitution
Students investigate President Abraham Lincoln's use of the U.S. Constitution and its importance to the Civil War. For this US history lesson, students read text about President Lincoln and the US Constitution. Students examine the...
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All Americana
Fifth graders research American landmarks and symbols. In this United States history instructional activity, 5th graders create a KWL chart about the symbols of America and take notes during a PowerPoint presentation. Students complete...
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Lincoln's Reconstruction Plan
Students explore Lincoln's Reconstruction plan. In this Reconstruction lesson, students examine Lincoln's speeches and writings on bringing the country back together following the war.
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"O Captain! My Captain!"
Who was Walt Whitman, and what link does he have to president Abraham Lincoln? After Lincoln's assassination, Whitman wrote "O Captain! My Captain!" This poem and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" are the focus of...
Scholastic
Thomas Jefferson and Monticello: An Introduction to Writing Historical Fiction
Thomas Jefferson is one of the most recognized names and faces in America—but is there more to the third president of the United States? Upper elementary and middle schoolers conduct research on Jefferson, his famous home at Monticello,...