National WWII Museum
On Leave in Paris: Maps as Primary Sources
Primary sources—even those that seem mundane—offer a window into those who experienced history. Using a Red Cross map offered to soldiers stationed in Paris after World War II alongside worksheet questions, scholars consider what life...
New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: January 2012
What led to the United States Civil War? Interested historians consider a variety of political, social, and economic factors using primary sources and an essay prompt in an authentic high-stakes test. Primary sources include political...
Anti-Defamation League
7 Ideas for Teaching Women's History Month
Celebrate Women's History Month with hands on-learning. The resource provides seven strategies to help educators teach Women's History Month, ranging from watching films to reading books written by women. Activities including writing...
National Park Service
Pulley Systems Used at Fort McHenry
What a great opportunity to integrate science into your instructional activity on the War of 1812! Discover how pulley systems were used to move 1,000 lb. cannons at the Battle of Fort McHenry, and to raise the flag that would...
K20 LEARN
Globalization Since 1945
Using sources from various publications and a series of videos, pupils consider the global economy and the positive and negative effects of globalization. With a jigsaw discussion and a writing assignment, scholars weigh in on whether...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Benjamin Franklin, Elder Statesman
Ben Franklin was the only American to sign The Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Alliance with France, the Treaty of Paris, and the US Constitution. An interesting resource explores his role in the latter by comparing the US...
National Park Service
Lesson 5: Coded Spirituals, Metaphor in African Spirituals
If a picture is worth a thousand words, song lyrics also can communicate many meanings. Using the lyrics of spirituals, young historians analyze them for coded messages about freedom. Resources include a chart to help individuals track...
Montana State University
Everest Extremes: Biodiversity
How many animals can live in a climate as cold as Mount Everest's? Find out with a science lesson all about biodiversity. Activities include research, presentations, group work, coloring maps, and a simulation of a food web.
New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: June 2010
Just how successful were the reform movements of the ninteenth and twentieth centuries? Using documents ranging from the writings of Mother Jones to the marriage vows of Lucy Stone, individuals consider the question in a scaffolded...
Judicial Branch of California
American Heroes
What makes a hero? After discussing the term and considering a book about Franklin D. Roosevelt, classmates work together to write a script and present their biography of a Great American hero. Notes sheets help group members organize...
K20 LEARN
Government Power: Do the Actions of Government Effect Me?
What does the government have to do with getting a driver's license? Including the calorie count for a meal on a restaurant menu? By discussing these kinds of questions and researching how concepts behind federal, state, and local...
Curated OER
Art as Social Commentary
Students view artworks that make a statement about social conditions. They discuss the artworks, write about them and present their ideas to the class. They create socially conscious art pieces of their own.
Curated OER
Designasaurus: An Activity in Paleontology
In this dinosaur worksheet, students are given a dinosaur skeleton and they work in teams to report about a "newly discovered dinosaur". They create and include it's name, a model of it, its size, the habitat it lived in, its diet, its...
Curated OER
Writing to Persuade
Students discover effective writing techniques to create persuasive essays. In this writing lesson, students investigate ways to express facts and points of view through persuasive essays. Finally, the students write their own persuasive...
Special Olympics
A World of Difference
Kids engage in a series of activities that ask them to consider differences and similarities in characteristics, both visible and invisible. With this new understanding, the class investigates the Special Olympics program and develops...
Anti-Defamation League
Identity-Based Bullying
What is identity? What is bullying? What is identity-based bullying? After discussing these questions as a class, pupils engage in partner discussions before participating in a small group activity to act out bullying scenarios. Then,...
Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program
Civil War on Sunday
Reading Mary Pope Osborne's Civil War on Sunday? Here's a packet crammed with activities, exercises, reading guides, and project suggestions. A must-have for your curriculum library.
Foreign Policy Association
U.S. and Europe Online Lesson Plan
Class groups investigate the economic and political implications of a country's policies on genetically modified foods, craft a position paper detailing that policy, and share their findings with the class. Armed with this...
Friends of Fort McHenry
Citizens For and Against the War of 1812
Use this exceptional resource to examine the discourse and debate that occurred at the start of the War of 1812 with your class. Learners will first consider their own position on the war in a silent journal writing activity. Then after...
National History Day
Uncovering a World at War
Has media always had an influence on public policy? After researching and reading news articles written during World War I, learners understand the influence of communication and media. They discuss articles in small groups and as a...
Historical Thinking Matters
Spanish-American War: 3 Day Lesson
Why did the United States choose to invade Cuba in 1898? As part of a 3-day instructional activity, your young historians will first develop working hypotheses to answer this question, then work with a variety of historical primary...
Smithsonian Institution
POWs
Why did Vietnam POWs and their families receive more media attention than POWs in previous wars? To answer this question, class members view artifacts, read articles, and engage in class discussion. Individuals then assume the...
100 People Foundation
100 People: Global Issues Through Our Lens
If the world were 100 people...17 would not have access to safe drinking water, 18 would not be able to read or write, and 52 would not have a primary education. Using the theme of "100 people," this resource explores other major issues...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Differences Among Colonial Regions
Classes look at and analyze primary source images to explore the differences between the colonial regions during the Revolutionary era. They break into groups to tackle each region and then present their findings to the class. A final...