Curated OER
Election Time Line
In this reading a time line about the election of the president worksheet, students read about the campaign, inauguration, primaries, national conventions and election day and put them in chronological order. Students rearrange 5 events.
Curated OER
Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence
Students examine readings and symbols to learn about the War of Independence and Thomas Jefferson. In this War of Independence lesson, students explore the role of Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration for Independence. Students answer...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Choices and Commitments: The Soldiers at Gettysburg
Young scholars investigate the Gettysburg Campaign and the major actions for each day of the battle. They read primary source documents, write a diary entry, analyze the Gettysburg Address, and write a persuasive speech regarding an...
Curated OER
Modern African Art and Artisans
Students are explained the difference between artists and artisans. They discuss some of the common themes among artisans, such as traditions, materials, process, and inspiration. Students descsribe other modern-day African artisans and...
Curated OER
Presidential Election One Year Away
Learners identify political parties, then read a news article about the 2008 election. In this current events lesson plan (written prior to the 2008 election), the teacher introduces the article with a discussion and vocabulary activity,...
Curated OER
A Nation Divided
Fifth graders participate in various activities related to the Civil War. In this Civil War lesson students understand the events and feelings of people during the Civil War by studying primary sources, journal writing, readings, viewing...
Curated OER
A Day at Mount Vernon
Students discover daily life on George Washington's plantation, Mount Vernon. In this compare and contrast lesson, students examine the life styles at four distinct sites at Mount Vernon to become familiar with the people,...
Aspen Institute
The Voice That Challenged a Nation
Included here are step-by-step instructions for conducting a close reading of The Voice That Challenged a Nation by Russell Freedman. After an individual and class reading, class members read carefully through the text excerpt,...
Curated OER
My Secret War: Lesson 5
Fifth graders determine how freedom comes with rights and responsibilities through literature and poetry about World War II. In this World War II lesson, 5th graders use the letters in the word "infamy" to write an acrostic poem. They...
Curated OER
Writing Formal Letters
Help your young writers recognize the importance of composing formal letters. Middle schoolers read letters written by Thomas Jefferson and analyze the components that make it a formal letter. They will then compose their own...
American Press Institute
In the Newsroom: The Fairness Formula
Reporting the news is easy, right? Think again! Show young scholars the difficult choices journalists make every day through a lesson that includes reading, writing, and discussion elements. Individuals compare the language and sources...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King (Marzollo)
Looking for a vocabulary lesson relevant to MLK Day? Try this reading comprehension idea designed around Jean Marzollo's biography Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King. Go over new terms (freedom, justice,...
Curated OER
"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...
Anti-Defamation League
Shirley Chisholm: Unbought, Unbossed and Unforgotten
A 13-page packet introduces high schoolers to a lady of amazing firsts. Shirley Chisholm was the first Black woman elected to Congress, the first Black woman to run for President of the United States, and a leader of the Women's Rights...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Victory and the New Order in Europe
A New Order in Europe calls for a new lesson plan! This third plan in a series of four sequential lessons encourages high schoolers to read primary sources about the development of the New Order and follow up their knowledge with a...
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,...
Curated OER
George Washington's Birthday
Students recognize George Washington and why his birthday is celebrated as a national holiday through pictures, a story, crossword puzzles, and other activities involving other presidents.
Curated OER
Presidential Power and Influence
Middle schoolers analyze the powers and duties that Article II of the US Constitution grants the President. They determine the influence the President has on the nation and how philanthropy changes in a nation.
Curated OER
The Kennedy Administration and the Civil Rights Movement
Students evaluate the Kennedy Administration's involvement in the civil rights movement. In this Civil rights lesson, students read and take notes from speeches connected to the historic March on Washington from the National Archives in...
Curated OER
War Support
Young scholars view a video clip on Vietnam war veterans. They discuss the video on Vietnam War veterans. Students use the veterans statements about the war to relate it to the decrease in support for the war. They read section 3, and...
Curated OER
iCivics: Executive Command
Learners explore the role of President of the United States. In this executive branch lesson, students play an online game that requires them to consider the needs of Americans as they act as president.
Curated OER
LBJ-- Escalation in Vietnam and Domestic Programs
Eighth graders investigate the Vietnam War. In this Vietnam War lesson, 8th graders research the escalation of the war during Lyndon Johnson's presidency. Students also explore the domestic programs that Johnson promoted. Students...
Curated OER
Social Life in the 1950's and Domestic Politics and Policy
Eleventh graders examine the cultural mood and politics of the 1950's in the United States. They read a section of their text and take notes, view a clip of the movie "Pleasantville" and discuss societal roles in the 1950's, and listen...