A reading of a New York Times review of the movie Beloved launches research into how the Civil War affected the lives of people living during this period. Creative thinkers select a person from an included list of historical figures and...

The struggles of Sam McCulloch, a free black man, to be recognized as a citizen entitled to own land in Texas are the focus of research project that ask groups to examine a series of primary source documents and piece together...

No wonder the ship was called the Titanic. An investigation of Norse, Roman, and Greek Mythology provides insight into mythological characters and corresponding words in the English language. A close look at roots, prefixes, and suffixes...

High schoolers complete a unit of lessons examining the cultural context of the novel, 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.' They write a critique of the novel, compare/contrast two published critiques, and explore various websites.

Scary stuff! Whether approached as the first horror story or a "serious imaginative exploration of the human condition," Frankenstein continues to engage readers. Here's a packet of activities that uses Mary Shelley's gothic...

Wow! Here is a most-impressive series of lessons and activities that revolve around the classic story, The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The purpose of the lessons are to provide an agricultural theme in the reading, writing, and science...

Women were in the workplace long before Rosie the Riveter pushed up her sleeve. Learn about the working options available to women during the Industrial Revolution, the Progressive Era, and the Great Depression with a instructional...

World War I was known for its gruesome battlefields and horrific injuries. Using photographs from a battlefield surgeon's scrapbook, scholars see first-hand what life was like in the trenches. After creating a timeline of the war using...

Numerous people from China immigrated to the US during the era of industrialization and expansion. Provide your class with a glimpse into the life of a Chinese immigrant through the poetry they left behind. They then compose a poem of...

Students evaluate leadership traits in 18th century Hawai'i and modern times. In this leadership skills lesson, students identify leadership traits and read the story of Ka’iana. Students monitor the leadership activities of a partner...

Did you know that the world's first novel was written by a woman? Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji, was published in 1021. Class members research Eastern and Western cultures in the 10th and 11th centuries, view modern adaptations of...

Madison was there! Scholars go on a journey to discover the person behind the founding father label as they explore James Madison's role in the formation of the United States government. The culmination is a writing assignment and...

Students interview a veteran or he/her family to gather information about the person's life. They produce an iMovie that describes the veteran's military experience.

What does the French and Indian War have to do with the American Revolution? Following the war, Britain issued the Proclamation of 1763 in an attempt to limit the colonists' western expansion. To understand how the proclamation, the...

Introduce learners to the design elements and artifacts of interior environments in Victorian Canada (or any people and era you care to explore) based on artwork that represents their world. Your secondary social historians view the art...

Students discover details about Mexican Revolution era artists. In this Mexican Revolution lesson, students research the events and people of the time period. Students then research the artists of the time and create their own artwork in...

Learners explore the American-Mongolian paleontology expedition of Cretaceous fossil beds at Ukhaa Tolgod in the Gobi Desert. They present information about the life forms, tectonics, climate and geology of this time.

Twelfth graders explore figurative language as it appears in Washington Irving's original text, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, answer questions based on story, and write sequels to it by using the different types of figurative language...

Eleventh graders demonstrate their knowledge of the effects of television on the political, economic, religious, social, intellectual and artistic life of the US nation from the 1950's. Research how television shaped public opinion with...

Students explore the origins and development of a literary genre. They investigate how shared imaginative concerns link the members of a literary period and compare works of literature from different eras.

Young scholars examine the origins of rice production in the South. They identify the steps involved in rice cultivation, examine photos of plantation life, conduct interviews, and research the economic base of their own community.

Students examine how posters can depict history and reflect societal issues of an era. They apply principles of poster art to create original posters reflecting society in 19th century England.

Fourth graders complete a variety of activities as they study the Spanish colonization of California, including the relationships among missionaries and Indians and their interactions with soldiers and people in the pueblos and ranchos.

Eleventh graders explore importance of abolitionists who worked to advance freedoms of black Americans prior to/during Reconstruction era, read and identify key concepts in Frederick Douglass's narrative, recognize how Douglass's slave...