All About Explorers
How Could They Be so Wrong?
If it's on the Internet, it must be true ... right? Introduce young Internet explorers to the importance of fact-checking through a fun web-based activity. Pairs work together to read and analyze biographies about world explorers, then...
Facing History and Ourselves
Us and Them: Confronting Labels and Lies
Stereotyping and discrimination based on religion catalyze many atrocities in the world. Explain the awful treatment of Jews and the lies Nazis spread by using an informative yet sensitive resource. Learners participate in a warm-up and...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Settlement of Frontier Alabama
What comes to mind when the class imagines settlers traveling out West? The lesson teaches pupils about the western frontier of Alabama and what life was like for people traveling West—in wagons with few possessions. Scholars write,...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
The Effect of the Great Depression on Children and Education
What was it like to be a kid growing up during the Great Depression? Academics study primary sources to analyze the effect of school closures on children during the Great Depression. They then participate in group discussions and writing...
Carolina K-12
Revolutionary War Era Tick-Tack- Toe
So many fantastic activities on the American Revolution! From drawing political cartoons illustrating events of the Boston Massacre to writing a diary entry as a shopkeeper during the Boston Tea Party, your young historians will...
North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies
The Importance of Holocaust Remembrance
Designed as the culminating activity after a unit study of the Holocaust, class members assume the voice of a world leader, write a speech, and participate in a simulation of the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust.
PBS
The Diary of Anne Frank
While designed to supplement a viewing of the PBS Masterpiece Classic The Diary of Anne Frank, this resource can also serve as an excellent informational text and activity source for your learners on the historical context and timeline...
Carolina K-12
The Twenty-Sixth Amendment and the Power of Youth
Empower teenagers to take political matters into their own hands! After completing an engaging warm-up activity, class members discuss both sides of the youth voting issue, learn about the connection between military history and the...
National WWII Museum
Communities at War: Reading Primary Sources Imaginatively
Uncle Sam wants you to support the troops. Learners use an engaging lesson plan to analyze primary and secondary sources to discover what life was really like for American citizens at home during WWII. Pupils complete...
National Endowment for the Humanities
“From Time to Time”: Presidents and Communicating with the Public
While the Constitution requires a "State of the Union" address, it doesn't give many details. In fact, it wasn't until Woodrow Wilson that the periodic update to Congress was given in-person. Using primary sources, recordings and...
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Ask Not What Your Country Can Do for You
Ask not what the lesson here can do for you, but what you can do with the lesson. The answer is quite a lot! Young scholars revisit JFK's famous inaugural address with a focus on his plea for civic engagement. There's a...
Heritage Foundation
The Powers of the Executive
Are executives as powerful as they sound? High schoolers find out about the US president and executive branch. A variety of activities include scaffolded reading sections, research assignments, and collaborative group work.
National Endowment for the Humanities
The New Order for "Greater East Asia"
Sometimes the New Order becomes synonymous with its implications for European countries, but what about its consequences for East Asia? The final instructional activity in a four-part series teaches scholars about World War II. High...
Carolina K-12
Turn of the Century Immigration
In an engaging simulation, class members imagine immigrating to the United States in the late nineteenth century and arriving at Ellis Island. They then write creative journal entries about their experience and chart their journeys.
Carolina K-12
Law, Jurisdictions, and Enforcement Agencies
How do you determine what law enforcement agency has jurisdiction when a crime has been committed? That's the challenge facing class members in this role-play activity.
PBS
Mark Twain: Storyteller, Novelist, and Humorist
Scholars investigate the use of satire in Mark Twain's writing. Literary lovers research the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, political cartoons, and videos to see how Twain uses satire to make the stories more memorable....
Children's Commissioner for Wales
Special Mission — Our Rights
Introduce young learners to the list of children's rights as defined by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) with a series of activities that get class members thinking about what they need to grow up safely and happily.
Judicial Learning Center
The Bill of Rights and Civil Liberties
Why is the Bill of Rights so important to American's civil liberties? An important resource helps scholars find these answers and more by reading through state and federal constitutions to discover their own civil liberties. The activity...
PBS
The Meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment
The Fourteenth Amendment was extremely important to civil rights and is a crucial one to remember. The resource teaches about the Supreme Court decisions related to the amendment through writing exercises, reading, and working in small...
ESL Holiday Lessons
Bastille Day
Eleven worksheets follow an informative reading about Bastille Day. Scholars complete sentences found in the reading by matching, filling in the blanks, and choosing from a series of multiple-choice questions. Participants spell and...
New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: January 2010
From the trade of the colonial era to the Clean Water Act, water has shaped American history. Class members unpack how water affected the American story using primary sources that span events including the Lewis and Clark expedition to...
Pace University
Jacksonian Democracy
Jacksonian Democracy ... a total success or a complete failure? Young academics examine Jacksonian Democracy, including the concept of the supremacy of the federal government and the forced relocation of Native Americans. Scholars...
Collier County Public Schools
Women’s History Month Resource Packet
The women's suffrage movement changed the lives of future. Scholars complete hands-on activities, group discussions, posters, and conduct research to understand the importance of the push for women's right to vote. The resource packet...
American Battlefield Trust
Jeremiah Handley
Designed for middle school scholars, a instructional activity explores the life of Jeremiah Handley, a young man when the Civil War broke out. Pupils read Handley's personal story, accounts of battles, and view images to understand what...