The Great Fire by Jim Murphy provides the text for a study of the Chicago fire of 1871. The plan is designed as a close reading activity so that all learners have the same background information require for writing. Richly detailed, the...

Even lawyers can find the US Constitution to be very wordy! Help learners create a foundation for understanding the Constitution with several analysis essays. Multiple activities complement the reading and allow for active and meaningful...

Everyone living in the United States today is a descendant from an immigrant—even Native Americans. Learn about the tumultuous history of American immigration with a reading passage that discusses the ancient migration over the Bering...

If you are looking for a secular approach to teaching about Easter, this may just be the resource for you. Pupils read a paraphrased text depicting the last supper, arrest, and crucifixion of Jesus Christ as told in the Bible,...

The First and Second Amendments remain some of the most famous, even to this day. Learners read about several clauses from the US Constitution through a variety of captivating activities including before and after reading, group work,...

Did you know that lawmakers have proposed more than 5,000 bills to amend the US Constitution in Congress? Your class learns intriguing facts about the process of choosing amendments. A variety of activities including before and after...

To observe preservation techniques firsthand, learners dry a flower in sand and compare cucumber slices soaked in salt water for a week with slices left out to dry in the open air. Video resources (not attached) include one about mummies...

Declaring war is not as easy as some may think. High schoolers learn about Congress's limits regarding war by reading important clauses in the US Constitution. Various independent and collaborative activities reinforce learning, making...

Young historians discover the experiences of runaway slaves after reading the brief biography and narrative excerpt of Henry "Box" Brown, who escaped slavery by having himself shipped away in a crate and popularized his...

Class members will dig this activity that has them trying their hand at recovering artifacts. Groups are assigned a section of a sandbox, carefully uncover the artifacts in their section, and then develop theories about who might...

To gain a better understanding of Hispanic heritage and culture, as well as to build informational comprehension skill, learners explore facets of Hispanic American History. They engage in a class discussion, research three facts, and...

Students search for and read articles about the initial United States strike on Afghanistan from non-U.S. news sources, then describe the journalists' perspectives and reflect on how difficult it might be to maintain an objective wartime...

A reading of Patrick Henry's "Speech in the Virginia Convention," Henry David Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" launch a discussion about the price one is willing to pay to...

Capitalism, socialism, communism ... these may seem like a whole bunch of isms to your scholars. High schoolers won't  confuse them after completing an informative resource. Your class masters how to use primary sources to...

Katherine Paterson’s young adult novel Lyddie is the foundation of a differentiated instruction unit that not only explores the rise of industrialization and labor but women’s rights issues as well. After learners read the novel, they...

Even in court, your class members have procedural rights provided by the amendments. Teach high schoolers this important lesson by using the 18th installment of a 20-part unit exploring the US Constitution. The resource provides several...

Voices from the past. Young scholars listen to a podcast interview with a historical re-enactor as they continue their research in the eleventh instructional activity of this unit on colonial trade. Applying their close reading skills,...

Discover how writers express identity in their writing. Learners explore how issues of identity surface in the literature of minority writers. Scholars watch a video, read and discuss biographies, conduct research, engage in creative...

Through a careful reading and examination of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, scholars take part in grand conversations about the novel's contents, slavery, and the impact the book had on it. Furthermore,...

Explore the idea of democratic poetry. Upper graders read Walt Whitman, examining daguerreotypes, and compare Whitman to Langston Hughes. They describe aspects of Whitman's I Hear America Singing to Langston Hughes' Let America Be...

Students explore schools during the Colonial period. In this American history lesson, students participate in a simulation of school days in Colonial America. Students visit a museum and use the schoolhouse as a setting for their...

Students identify the characteristics of a community. In this Seedfolks literature study lesson, the second in a unit, the teacher finishes reading the class Seedfolks and students answer comprehension questions and examine how...

Students read about children in Ghana, Sri Lanka and Haiti. They compare these children to themselves in a structured instructional activity that focuses on note taking and research skills. Students work in groups to write a short essay...

Explore the Great Depression! Discover the challenges people experienced during the time period. Learners investigate photographs from the Dust Bowl and WWII era and create a story line about the photographs, writing a newspaper article...