New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: January 2010
From the trade of the colonial era to the Clean Water Act, water has shaped American history. Class members unpack how water affected the American story using primary sources that span events including the Lewis and Clark expedition to...
National Woman's History Museum
The National Woman’s Party
Two parties led the women's suffrage movement. The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was a moderate organization while the National Women's Party (NWP) was more militant. Young historians investigate why members of the...
American Battlefield Trust
1861: The Country Goes to War
What was it like to know the Civil War was coming? Using a graphic timeline activity and excerpts of speeches from Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, learners consider the early days of the conflict. The resource includes prompts for...
Stanford University
League of Nations
An interesting lesson plan explores the Treaty of Versailles and the creation of the League of Nations to prevent further large scale warfare in World War I. A presentation explains how the United States Congress reacted to the offer to...
Facing History and Ourselves
A Contested History
Memories of and interpretations of history change—that's the key takeaway from a lesson that has young historians compare the story of the Reconstruction Era as told by the historians of the Dunning School to the view of scholars today...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Chronicling and Mapping the Women's Suffrage Movement
While women's suffrage is often believed to be the result of a single constitutional amendment, the effort of women to secure the vote spanned decades and continents. Using primary sources in online archives, class members explore the...
DocsTeach
How Effective were the Efforts of the Freedmen’s Bureau?
The legacy of Reconstruction and the Freedman's Bureau is complicated. Using an interactive web resource, learners literally weigh the evidence using an online program in primary sources such as labor contracts and marriage records to...
DocsTeach
Comparing Civil War Recruitment Posters
African Americans fought in the Civil War, and they were recruited by both the Union and the Confederacy! By comparing the wording of posters—one directed at freedmen and another to the owners of enslaved people—young historians discover...
DocsTeach
Oh Freedom! Sought Under the Fugitive Slave Act
Using the harrowing story of the Crafts, a couple enslaved in the South who escaped to freedom, young historians trace the story of the Fugitive Slave Act. After examining documents, including affidavits and arrest warrants for the...
DocsTeach
Lincoln's Suspension of Habeas Corpus During the Civil War
What is the balance between constitutional rights and security during a war? Young historians debate the question while looking at Lincoln's decision to suspect habeas corpus during the Civil War. After reviewing his order, discussion...
DocsTeach
To What Extent was Reconstruction a Revolution? (Part 1)
Some scholars consider the Civil War and Reconstruction a second American Revolution. Class members weigh in after examining primary sources, including a Congressional resolution calling for the Fifteenth Amendment and the credentials of...
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
Making Your Mark: Free Verse Poetry
Using the insight they have gained into the experiences of detainees at the Angel Island Immigration Station, young poets create their own free verse poems that they feel captures what it may have felt like to be an immigrant interned on...
DocsTeach
Landing a Man on the Moon: President Nixon and the Apollo Program
Take the small step for man and giant leap for mankind with the Apollo astronauts using primary sources. Young historians explore the documents related to the American space program up through the lunar landing, including presidential...
DocsTeach
The Titanic Disaster: One Survivor's Story
An activity focuses on Lucy Ridsdale, a survivor of the sinking of the Titanic. Scholars analyze primary sources and place them in the correct sequence. Academics also complete a worksheet and participate in group discussion to...
DocsTeach
Analyzing a Letter from Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Before her career as a Supreme Court Justice, the Notorious RBG was a legal activist for women's rights. Using a letter from then-Professor Ginsburg, young historians carefully examine a letter from Ginsburg to a member of Congress...
Center for History Education
Reshaping American Society: How did Immigration and Urbanization Affect America in the mid 1800s?
From the Know-Nothings to the Bible Riots, immigration and urbanization changed the face of America in the middle of the 1800s. Using documents that range from immigrant experiences to renderings of violent conflict between immigrants...
Center for History Education
Cold War Case Files: The Rosenberg Trial - Was Justice Fairly Served?
The Rosenbergs—executed for their role in a Soviet-era spy ring—continue the captivate the American imagination. Using a history lab format, young historians examine the trove of documents associated with the case, including photographs...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: “Making History” by Marilyn Nelson
What makes an event newsworthy, worth a reference in a news magazine or textbook? Who decides? These are questions Marilyn Nelson asks readers of her poem "Making History" to consider. To begin, class members list details they notice in...
National Gallery of Canada
Home Sweet Home
What are your pupils' homes like? Incorporate their homes into a drawing lesson. Using an enlarged photograph, class members draw a grid so they can easily split their drawing in half. The final product should demonstrate cool colors,...
National Gallery of Canada
Urban Desire
Urban spaces are often overlooked and broken down. Offer your pupils the opportunity to reimagine an urban space. Learners examine and discuss works of art related to this theme and consider their own communities. Small groups then...
National Gallery of Canada
The Roots of My Family
Represent family history visually by requiring your young artists to create family trees that express balance and symmetry. Pupils examine works of art, research their family histories, and put together large family tree posters.
National Gallery of Canada
Contemporary Reflections
Combine art and writing in a lesson about legends. After viewing Inuit art, class members examine their own cultural surroundings in order to write and visually represent a legend. Individuals are invited to take the creative reins when...
National Gallery of Canada
Build Me a Legend
Legends are full of imagery and action. Transfer a scene from a legend to a three-dimensional art piece. Class members first view Inuit art and discuss legends. They then build scenes that include action, setting, and characters.
National Gallery of Canada
My Own Tree
Nature contains both symmetry and asymmetry. Have your young artists examine symmetry and asymmetry in their own surroundings. After viewing works of art, pupils find trees in their neighborhoods and determine if they are symmetrical or...