What would future archeologists learn from your scholars' personal belongings? Have them bring in a box of "primary sources" from their home. Discuss the difference between observations and inference, using some of your own items to...

Theodore Roosevelt and the Marquis de Mores were both born in 1858, and both came to the Dakota territory in 1883, but they influenced the developing country of America in different ways. Elementary and middle schoolers apply written and...

Students use scientific observation and inference to examine the Hazen Brigade Monument. In this observation activity, students review the reasons for building monuments in society. Students then recall monuments they have seen and...

Analyze the constitutions of five different countries and see how they relate to each country's culture and traditions. Pupils read the preambles to the constitutions of India, Ireland, Russia, Suriname, and the United States. After...

Separate and very unequal! An interactive presents learners with two images: a photograph of a boys' bathroom at a school in Gloucester County, Virginia, and a second of a girls' bathroom at a different school in the same county. The...

Elementary schoolers learn about young John F. Kennedy. After a teacher-led discussion about his high school years, pupils examine a photograph of Kennedy and four of his friends taken on the grounds of the Choate School in Connecticut....

Take this simulated archaeological dig one layer at a time with your young pupils to encourage observation, critical thinking, and careful attention. Using a transparent box full of layers of sand and artifacts, pupils examine the...

NASA has crafted an imaginative and memorable series of lessons, "NASA and Jamestown Education Module." This lesson is one of the five components. In it, middle schoolers connect history and science by comparing the settlement of...

Students analyze documents, cartoons, speeches and articles about Joseph McCarthy and his crusade against "Un-American" activities. They guide their research with a worksheet and participate in class discussions about their findings.

Students infer the use or meaning of items recovered from a North Carolina Native American site based on 17th-century European settlers' accounts and illustration.

"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi," from The Jungle Book, offers young readers a chance to examine how Rudyard Kipling uses setting and personification to bring to life the brave mongoose who battles cobras to protect his family. Class members...

Actual ship diagrams and a table of voyage data gives young historians an authentic glimpse of on-board experiences during the Atlantic Slave Trade. The class examines a projected diagram of the slave ship Brooks, recording thoughts....

A study of Jan Felipe Herrera's poem "Every Day We Get More Illegal" opens the door for a discussion on immigration. To begin, class members examine the photograph "Desert Survival," record their observations of the image, and then...

To understand how the allotment policy embedded in the Dawes Act, passed by the U.S. government in 1887,  affected the tribal sovereignty of Native Americans, young historians examine various maps and documents and Supreme Court...

Photographs from the freedom movement in Selma, Alabama serve as the basis of two Socratic Seminars. Class members prepare for the seminars by closely observing the images, form a hypothesis, and use evidence from photo to support a...

Students are given a coin to observe and make inferences about. Using a worksheet, they make two columns to list their observations and inferences in an organized manner. They develop a hypothesis based on one of the inferences and...

Explore multiple perspectives through a jigsaw activity that will improve your pupils' understanding of the characters in Esperanza Rising as well as their understanding of strikes and human rights. Tapping into prior knowledge, and...

Learners compare and contrast their own culture with an Indian girl named Asha. In this culture lesson plan, students read, look at pictures, and make inferences.

Encourage your learners to explore the differences between hard news and news analysis. They outline a complex news analysis about the upcoming presidential election, then endeavor to write an analysis of the same topic, using local...

Fourth graders examine the artifacts obtained from an excavated Siouan village site. They make inferences about the people who once lived there based on the artifacts and complete a Research Team Report.

Students investigate the hardships and difficulties that the Continental army faced in the early years of the American War for independence. the battles of Lexington and concord and the expectations of the Continental Army forms the...

Students identify the main food in the different cultures they have examined. In groups, they compare and contrast their expected table manners to the ones in Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zambia. Using this list of behaviors, they identify...

Students make defensible inferences based on observation of perceived evidence. They use observation and inference to recognize the validity of alternative approaches or solutions.

Students study and observe types of sea ice found in Alaska. In this sea ice activity, students use the student network for observing weather to study the different types of sea ice. Students study sea ice depicted in Alaskan art.