US National Archives
Eastern Europe 1939-45 — Camps
Britain's decision not to bomb German death camps in World War II has provided many questions for historians, but with a primary source analysis lesson, high school students may be a step closer to finding out the truth. Learners read...
National WWII Museum
The Red Ball Express: Statistics as Historical Evidence
Historians use all kinds of information to make conclusions ... including statistics. Young scholars examine how two historians evaluate The Red Ball Express—a supply line staffed primarily by African Americans—using numbers. The...
Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment
Managing Influences and Making Decisions
Does patience help people become more responsible? Class members explore the topic with a What's It To Do With Me? quiz to assess their personal responsibilities. They engage in a whole-class discussion about pros and cons of instant...
Josephson Institute
Trustworthiness
Build trust—literally—with a lesson that sparks reflection, grand conversation, and creativity. Scholars construct a trust tower out of blocks showcasing a picture that represents a good deed they have done to gain trust from their...
Anti-Bullying Alliance
Anti-Bullying Lesson Plan
Wicked is not just a Tony Award winning broadway musical. It also makes for a strong base to teach character education, specifically anti-bullying. Scholars listen, discuss, role play, and show what they know through a group...
Channel Islands Film
Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island: Lesson Plan 2
After watching West of the West's documentary The Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island, class members imagine how Juana Maria/Karana may have felt about living alone on the island for 18 years and craft a blackout poem or a narrative in...
Education City
Black History Month
Enhance Black History Month with a twenty-page resource designed to boost scholars' knowledge of the great accomplishments made by African Americans. Learners take in fun facts about famous inventors such as George Washington Carver and...
College Board
2014 AP® Psychology Free-Response Questions
A college undergrad has a lackluster first year. Why? A structured prompt from the College Board asks learners to explore various psychological dynamics and how they can affect a young man's freshman experience. A second question asks...
College Board
2013 AP® Psychology Free-Response Questions
A school district is trying to get its learners to read more, but what is the best way to motivate them? A scenario investigates whether the district should use pizza coupons to encourage literacy. Other practice questions from College...
Smithsonian Institution
John Brown’s Legacy
So who exactly was John Brown? John Brown fought for abolition during the Civil War. Scholars learn all about his legacy through the variety of activities in the sixth of 15 lessons, including viewing and analyzing primary source...
American Battlefield Trust
The Common Civil War Soldier
If it were possible to step back in time, what would learners want to know about the Civil War? With the aid of discussion prompts, they now have that chance. Invite a Civil War re-enactor to your classroom and have all their questions...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Why We Have Freedom of the Press
A newspaper receives documents that reveal not only a devastating secret the public needs to know, but also troop movements that could put American lives at risk: to publish or not to publish? Using background readings, discussion...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Slavery and the Electoral College
How did slavery mold the creation of the US Constitution? The final lesson plan in the series focuses on how slavery impacted the creation of the Electoral College. Academics learn how the Electoral College was created because Southern...
PBS
Out of the Shadows | Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise
Two powerful video clips launch a study of race relations in the United States after the Selma, Alabama riots, the passage of the Votings Rights Act, and the riots in Watts, California.
DocsTeach
Suffragist Susan B. Anthony: Petitioning for the Right to Vote
What is the best way to get a point across: a petition or a protest? Using primary sources, including a petition from Susan B. Anthony and a photo of a White House protest from the early 1900s, young historians examine what women did to...
John F. Kennedy Center
Musical Harlem: How Is Jazz Music Reflective of the Harlem Renaissance?
Bring jazz music and the Harlem Renaissance to light with a activity that challenges scholars to research and create. Pupils delve deep into information materials to identify jazz terminology, compare types of jazz and jazz musicians,...
Briscoe Center for American History
Who Was Mary Maverick?
To begin a study of how to use primary source documents, class members read a brief biography of Mary Maverick, one of the first white women settlers in Texas, and answer comprehension questions based on the reading. The first is a...
Historical Thinking Matters
Scopes Trial: 3 Day Lesson
Was the Scopes trial more complicated than a simple debate between evolutionists and creationists? As part of a structured academic controversy (SAC) activity, pupils consider multiple perspectives of the Butler Act and engage in close...
Miama-Dade County Public Schools
Patriot Day September 11, 2011
While many of our learners may recognize the date of September 11, 2001 in the United States, most will not be able to personally recall what transpired. On Patriot Day, introduce your young learners to the events, aftermath, and...
Federal Reserve Bank
The Great Inflation: A Historical Overview and Lessons Learned
Your young economists will explore the roots of fears about high inflation by learning the effects of rising prices during the world wars and in particular the Great Inflation of the 1970s.
Library of Congress
Women's Suffrage Movement Across America
An engaging resource provides many primary source materials to inform a study of the Women's Suffrage Movement. Suggestions include building a timeline of the fight, using the documents as the basis of a DBQ, and/or using a Venn...
iCivics
Step 3: Become an Expert
Have you ever been called an expert before? Pupils analyze how to break down sources of information using group work and individual skills. They begin to understand the tools of becoming an expert on a topic by using subtopics and...
Annenberg Foundation
Placing Artifacts in Time
Can history distort the true story behind famous people? Scholars analyze the many faces of the Native American Pocahontas. Incorporating technology and historical thinking skills, they uncover the many different sides to the Pocahontas...
Federal Judicial Center
Amistad and Dred Scott—a Comparative Activity
What do slaves fighting for their freedom on board a ship and a slave fighting for his freedom in a courtroom have in common? Budding historians investigate the two different cases of the Amistad slave revolt and the Dred Scott argument....