Alabama Department of Archives and History
W.E.B. DuBois, Booker T. Washington, and Jim Crow
Class members use the think-pair-share strategy to compare the views of W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington and to consider how each man's backgrounds influenced his philosophy.
Curated OER
Immigrating to America
Students study the American immigration experience. In this Ellis Island instructional activity, students research primary documents from the immigration station, take a tour of the station, and then prepare and perform dramatic...
Curated OER
A Bracero Describes Work in New Mexico
In this primary source analysis instructional activity, students analyze an interview with a bracero whose boss tried to take his money. Students respond to 3 short answer questions based on the interview.
Curated OER
Can You Hear Me Now?
Learners explore the industry involving communication and put communication devices into activities. In this communication lesson plan, students put items into chronological order, review primary sources, compare and contrast items, and...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
La Mobile: A Case Study of Exploration and Settlement
The Le Moyne brothers, Jean-Baptiste and Pierre, were among the first explorers of the Gulf Coast. Class members read biographical information and journal entries about these men, study maps showing where the settlements they established...
MacArthur Memorial
In Their Shoes: WWI Through the Eyes of Early Participants
Several social activities provide showcase the perspective of many prominent figures in World War I history. Students read an assigned case study about a memorable person and complete several activities to further understand this...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Strange Fruit: Lynching in America
To continue their study of the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the beginning of the civil rights movement, class members watch the YouTube video of Billie Holiday singing "Strange Fruit" as an introduction to an examination of...
Mr. Roughton
CSI: Florence
Who done it? Class groups adopt the role of crime scene investigators and examine exhibits (primary source documents) to determine who attempted to assassinate the members of the Medici dynasty.
Curated OER
Family and Household Structure
Students examine what the word "family" means today. They identify cultural traditions that are still popular in the United States. They read primary source documents and discover how advice is passed on from generation to generation.
PBS
Predicting/Making a Hypothesis
As an introduction to the hypothesis and testing method of investigation, young history detectives engage in a special investigation of a family artifact. After watching a short video that demonstrates the method, they develop a...
Center for History Education
Did Southern Free Men of Color Fight for the Ideals of the South?
Much of history is distasteful. Primary sources often reveal attitudes acceptable at the time that no longer are. But to understand controversial historical events, historians must examine primary sources that represent a wide variety of...
National Park Service
The Power of Remembrance
On every July 4th, we watch fireworks and celebrate our independence, but how is the history of the American Revolution preserved? Four social studies lesson guide learners through different memorials, commemorative objects, and restored...
Smithsonian Institution
A Life in Beads: The Stories a Plains Dress Can Tell
Young learners discover how the Sioux and Assiniboine tribes preserved native culture through the making of traditional dresses, identifying the resources used to make the dresses and discussing behind the meaning behind some...
Virginia Department of Education
Elements and Electron Configuration
It's electronic! Pupils uncover elements and their electron configurations as they explore mass, groupings, correct charges, and sliding theory. Young scientists learn creative ways to remember various elements and correctly...
Virginia Department of Education
Owl Family Natural Selection
How do genetic mutations within a population lead to future variations? Provide your class with the resources to answer this question and more upon completing an activity on natural selection. The entire class participates in a...
Curated OER
Educator's Guide: Holes
You'll be a star at your next grade level meeting with an educational unit on Louis Sachar's Holes. Based on both the novel and film, the lessons include applications to language arts with character studies and movie reviews; social...
Curated OER
"Dear Ma and Pa" Primary Documents: Letters Home from the War
Pupils read and analyze letters written by a soldier during World War II. They discuss using letters as a primary source of historical information, complete a worksheet, and write a letter to a loved one.
DocsTeach
Evaluating a Needlework Sampler as Historical Evidence
Needlework isn't just for home decor; it can also help record family history. Academics analyze a needlework sampler to understand how they were used to record marriages and births. The activity includes a series of written questions,...
Facing History and Ourselves
California Grape Workers’ Strike: 1965–66
The California grape workers' strike of 1965-66 is the focus of a lesson that asks high schoolers to investigate the strategies farmworkers used to organize and gain contracts with grape growers that ensured higher waters and better work...
Digital Public Library of America
Teaching Guide: Exploring To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, considered by many to be a seminal piece of American literature, contains many complex literary themes that carry through United States history. Use a series of discussion questions and classroom...
Curated OER
The Family: Louisiana Family Folklore
Every family has a different story to share. Your learning community examines the checklist that applies to the lesson, share some of the teacher's family photos, and look for clues in their own family photos in order to complete a...
Curated OER
Abigail as Letter Writer
The fourth instructional activity in the series of 16 asks researchers to analyze an exchange of letters between John and Abigail Adams for what they each valued in letter writing.
Curated OER
Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury: April Eighth, 1928: Narrating from an 'Ordered Place'?
High schoolers analyze a character of Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury to catch a glimpse of a family and the changes they, and the Old South, undergo. The use of time as it relates to the structure of the plot is covered in this...
K20 LEARN
The Emancipation Proclamation: Expanding The Goals Of The Civil War
Should Juneteenth be recognized as a national holiday? To prepare to take a stance on this question, young historians first analyze the Emancipation Proclamation and compare it to Lincoln's first Inaugural Address. Scholars then read an...