Curated OER
Medieval Coat of Arms/Heraldry
Students examine the history of Heraldry from medieval times in preparation for reading the novel "Freak the Mighty." They view and discuss examples of shields and discuss the color system and how shields were divided. As a culminating...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Folklore in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God
Learners define folklore, folk groups, tradition, and oral narrative. They identify traditional elements in Their Eyes Were Watching God Analyze and understand the role of traditional folkways and folk speech in the overall literary...
Curated OER
Evacuation: The Japanese Americans in World War II
Students examine Japanese internment camps of World War II. In this World War II lesson, students use primary and secondary sources to research the evacuation process and life within the internment camps. Students discuss the racial bias...
National Endowment for the Humanities
On This Day With Lewis and Clark
Walk in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark as they discover the wonders, beauty, and dangers of the American frontier. After gaining background knowledge about Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, young explorers use primary...
Museum of Tolerance
Citizenship Then and Now: Comparing Ancient Rome and Contemporary American Society
Class members research citizenship in Ancient Rome and in the United States and use the provided graphic organizers to compare the rights and responsibilities of citizens in these two democracies.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Driver’s Licenses And Unauthorized Immigrants
Should driver's licenses be granted to unauthorized immigrants? That is the question class members grapple with in a lesson that asks them to first read a fact sheet that details the arguments for and against licensing unauthorized...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Arizona v. United States — States and Immigration Law
As part of a study of immigration law, class members read a summary of the Supreme Court case, Arizona v. United States. They then examine a series of examples and acting as federal court judges, must determine if the scenarios...
Museum of Tolerance
Where Do Our Families Come From?
After a grand conversation about immigration to the United States, scholars interview a family member to learn about their journey to America. They then take their new-found knowledge and apply their findings to tracking their family...
Curated OER
Telling Our Own Stories
Explore online profiles and social media with your middle and high school classes. Use blogs to inspire your class to craft a well-written, thoughtful response to a prompt you give. A few example prompts are given.
Museum of Tolerance
Disenfranchised People of the New Nation
Why are some immigrant groups in the United States embraced while others become disenfranchised? To answer this question, teams investigate why groups emigrated to the US, why some of these these peoples were...
Curated OER
Refugees from the Caribbean: Cuban and Haiti "Boat People"
Students investigate the plight of Cuban and Haitian refugees. For this refugee lesson, students discover the history of "boat people" and U.S. policies regarding refugees. Students role play presidential advisers that must recommend new...
Curated OER
Rock n' Rollin in the '50s
Students explore the culture of the United States in the 1950's. In this history lesson, students research culture in the 1950's, with a focus on fashion, music, television, automobiles, etc., then work in groups to create a...
Curated OER
Ancient Greece Across the Curriculum
Sixth graders explore Ancient Greece using resources in literature, math, social studies, and science.
Curated OER
Archeological Finds
Students explore archeology and it contributions to human history. They write a magazine article describing the discovery of a dig.
Curated OER
Planning A Railroad Online Lesson
Students plan a route across Donner Summit using topographical maps in order to understand the challenges involved in constructing the railroad in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In this history lesson, students first discover how to read...
Curated OER
refugees From Vietnam and Cambodia
Tenth graders explore the massive immigration from Vietnam and Cambodia. In this World History lesson plan, 10th graders examine the crisis that led to this immigration. Students participate in a debate on whether the United...
Curated OER
How Do We Balance Environmental Conservation with Human Needs?
Young scholars role play a meeting between conservation biologists and local representatives who want to advance the livelihood of local population. In this history lesson, students research the necessities and conservation issues of...
Curated OER
The See Family
Third graders examine photographs as primary source documents. Students are broken into groups and are given photographs of the See Family.
Curated OER
About Life: The Photographs of Dorothea Lange
Students use art to analyze a period in history. In this instructional activity about the effect of art on history, students study many different pieces of photography by Dorothea Lange. Students will observe photographs from certain...
Curated OER
Debating the bomb
High schoolers research how the development of the atomic bomb affected people in World War II. In this American History lesson, students participate in a debate about the bombs use. High schoolers investigate how it has...
Curated OER
Call to Arms: A Service Project
Sick of selling candy and washing cars? How about hosting a Digital Day or a Learning Lunch? The suggestions here make fund raising fun and rewarding. Raise money to preserve important maps and other primary source documents.
TPS Journal
Sourcing a Document: The First Thanksgiving
How reliable is a painting of the first Thanksgiving if it was created 300 years after the fact? Learners assess the validity of a primary source image to determine what it can actually reveal about this event.
Museum of Tolerance
The Price of Personal Responsibility
A reading of Patrick Henry's "Speech in the Virginia Convention," Henry David Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" launch a discussion about the price one is willing to pay to...
Judicial Branch of California
Our Government Today…What A System!
A group of citizens in North Canada has decided to leave their country, and they are asking for help in setting up an American-style democracy. Using a carefully structured activity, pupils lay out the principles in the American...