Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Steps to the American Revolution

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students should understand the series of steps that led to the American Revolution.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Right to Remain Resilient

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the Civil Rights Movements in the U.S., both current and historic. In small groups students investigate a specific civil rights group, create an illustrated timeline, noting key events, people, and state and federal laws.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

We The People: A History

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Young scholars play a game about taxation where they have tax collectors that simulate the feelings and reasons that led to the American Revolution. In this taxation lesson plan, students learn about why the people in the colonies were...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Virtual Colony Project

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students develop strategies to create a successful colony by analyzing the environment, individual rights, and responsibilities. They gain an understanding of the challenges faced by colonists.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Birth of a Nation

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders portray one of the actual framers of the Constitution. They summarize each class period with a journal entry and culminate the experience with the actual framing and signing (or not signing) of the Constitution.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Women's Rights and Reform

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Students evaluate primary source documents. They assess the development of women's rights in the United States. They identify other rights beside suffrage that were important to famous women reformers.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Johnny Tremain/Boston Tea Party

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders understand chronological order of events. In this Boston Tea Party instructional activity, 5th graders compare the events surrounding the Boston Tea Party to current times. Students learn vocabulary and customs of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Revolutionary War, Timeline and Causes

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders explore important events leading up to the Revolutionary War. In this Revolutionary War activity, 3rd graders work in pairs to research dates and important events prior to the Revolutionary War. Class discussion is followed...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding Loyalist Vs. Revolutionary Ideology

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students understand some causes of the American Revolution. Students learn the viewpoints of the loyalists and the American Revolutionaries. Students learn a timeline of facts which they use to compare and contrast the views of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Indian Removal: The Cherokees, Jackson, and the “Trail of Tears”

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars examine executive power. For this Indian Removal lesson, students listen to their instructor present a lecture regarding the "Trail of Tears". Young scholars respond to discussion questions regarding the lecture.
Handout
ProCon

Gun Control

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
According to some estimates, there are more guns than people in the United States. Learners decide if America should enact more gun control laws. They analyze information about gun deaths in the United States by year, read about the...
eBook
Rice University

American Government 2e

For Students 9th - Higher Ed
An informative resource provides a textbook on American government that covers topics such as the definition of government and how democracy works. Each section provides brief questions at the end to assess scholars' understanding. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Obstacles to Perseverance

For Teachers 6th - 8th
What does it mean to persevere. Young historians review the definition of perseverance then brainstorm a list of obstacles colonists and revolutionaries had to overcome during the American Revolution. Using this list, they identify...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Colonists Protest Song

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore the role of protest songs. In this early American history lesson, students research the acts passed by the British that angered colonists. Students then listen to protest songs from contemporary American history prior to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Road to the American Revolution

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students consider the case for forming a new, independent nation. In this American Revolution instructional activity, students examine the people, places, and events that led to the outbreak of war in the colonies. Students compare...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Preamble to the U. S. Constitution

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explain the purpose of the government by examining the Preamble to the Constitution. They identify ways in which the government is preserving those rights today. They discover one of the fundamental principles of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Road to Democracy

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders examine the road to the American Revolution. For this American Revolution lesson, 11th graders read Thomas Paine's works and identify the issues that the colonists had with the British government.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jamestown Colonies and the Powhatan Indians

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders discuss the Jamestown colony and the Powhatan Indians. In this colonial history instructional activity, 8th graders talk about conflicts between the Native Americans and the colonists. They read a biography about...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bill of Rights

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students research, list, define and discuss all the aspects to the United States Bill of Rights. They assess their foundations by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson and reflect on all the conditions happening at the time period of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Changes In The New Nation: New Beginnings

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Students consider the role of American newspapers in the revolution and plans for new government. In this early American history lesson, students determine how communication provided by newspapers contributed to the organization of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Slavery, Manumission, and Freedom: Free Blacks in Charleston before the Civil War

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students explore the concept of slavery and manumission through a variety of activities. In this civil rights lesson, students gather information from primary sources, then analyze the politics and historical context of the time....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Mayflower Compact

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders explore the events leading up to the Mayflower Compact. In this government lesson, 4th graders have a teacher-led class discussion on the importance of government, then complete a worksheet on the topic.
Lesson Plan
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Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary

Learning the Printing Trade

For Teachers K - 2nd
Young scholars explore U.S. History by reading biographical text in class. In this Benjamin Franklin instructional activity, students read about the famous American's first job and the transition he underwent from printing to politics....
Interactive
Curated OER

Quiz on Colonial America

For Students 5th - 12th
In this Colonial America worksheet, students complete an on-line quiz, choosing questions and matching answers. Students score 1 point for each correct answer; a printed version is available.