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Lesson Plan
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Alabama Department of Archives and History

Extra! Extra! Read All About It?

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Remember the Lusitania! As part of their study of the causes of World War I, class members examine newspaper articles and propaganda posters about the sinking of the Lusitania and then craft their own news story about the event.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ancient Aztecs

For Teachers 8th Standards
Is it a calendar? A religious symbol? A political statement? One thing for certain is that Aztec sun stone designs remain an important symbol in Mexican cultural art. Young artists craft their own Aztec Sun design incorporating ideas...
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Lesson Plan
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Museum of Tolerance

The Price of Personal Responsibility

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Day of Infamy:Analyzing FDR’s Pearl Harbor Address

For Teachers 6th - 8th
In 1941 FDR spoke out on the events at Pearl Harbor. The class will get to analyze word choice,  word meaning, author's craft and structure by analyzing an actual draft of this speech. They will look critically at the words used,...
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Lesson Plan
Stanford University

Letter from Birmingham Jail: The Power of Nonviolent Direct Action

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
What strategies are most effective in changing an unjust law? Class members examine the tactics used in the Birmingham Campaign of 1963 (Project C) to achieve social justice and social transformation. After examining documents that...
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Lesson Plan
Alabama Department of Archives and History

How Would You Feel? The Bravery of Civil Disobedience

For Teachers 6th - 8th
As part of their study of the US Civil Rights Movement and the Montgomery bus boycott, class members read Dr. Martin Luther King's "Integrated Bus Suggestions." They then craft a short story about the first week of Montgomery bus...
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Lesson Plan
Academy of American Poets

Teaching the Vietnam War with Poetry and Archives

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
The language of and the perspective of photographs, poems, and official reports differ. After a close reading of two photographs, two poems, and a military report about the Vietnam War, individuals adopt someone's voice or something from...
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Handout
Stanford University

Historical Thinking Chart

For Students 5th - 10th Standards
Narrow down your questions about author perspective, historical context, and veracity of claims in a document with the help of a historical reading chart. Learners track the basics of the document along with advanced evaluation skills...
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Unit Plan
Pearson

Langston Hughes

For Students 7th Standards
An author study provides learners the opportunity to explore in depth the life of, the influences on, and the works of a single literary figure. Introduce middle schoolers to Langston Hughes with a unit that models how to approach an...
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Unit Plan
Los Angeles Unified School District

Capitalism and Socialism

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
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 critically...
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Slavery and Freedom

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
How do nineteenth-century texts by African American and Native American writers contribute to the country's ideals of freedom and individuality? Learners explore the topic by watching and discussing a video, reading biographies, writing...
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Lesson Plan
Global Oneness Project

A Collapsing City Skyline

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Have your high schoolers learn about the modern history of Myanmar by close-reading an article about the city and people of the city Yangon. As they'll learn, the country is going through some dramatic transitions. After reading the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas-Dancing With the Indians

For Teachers K - 5th
Students read Dancing With the Indians by Angela Shelf Medearis. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the study of Native American festivals and traditions. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing,...
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Lesson Plan
Academy of American Poets

Teach This Poem: "Election Day, November, 1884" by Walt Whitman

For Teachers 6th - 12th
To begin a study of Walt Whitman's poem, "Election Day, November 1884," learners first call out a word or two that describes their reaction to the recent presidential election. They then read an encyclopedia entry about the Presidential...
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

Chinese New Year

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students complete a variety of activities as they study Chinese New Year and the Chinese Zodiac. They act out a story of the Chinese Zodiac. They make several crafts including Chinese lanterns and paper fortune cookies.
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Lesson Plan
Alabama Department of Archives and History

African American Life After the Civil War - Sharecropping

For Teachers 4th - 5th Standards
What is the sharecropping system? What role did it play in the post-Civil War economy of the South? Who were the sharecroppers? Who employed them? How were they paid? To answer these questions, kids examine a series of sharecropper...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
Imagine what it was like to be a slave in the United States in 1845. Eighth graders are given an opportunity to experience life from the point of view of Frederick Douglass as they read and discuss an annotated passage from Narrative of...
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Lesson Plan
5
5
Curated OER

Persuasive Practice: A Mt. Rushmore Addition

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Budding authors research a US President and persuade the National Park Service to add him to Mt. Rushmore. In addition to the persuasive essay, individuals are required to develop a visual presentation using a web-based software that...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Whose Point of View? The Journey of Three Generations

For Teachers 5th - 10th
A reading of Whale Journey, a fact-filled picture book by Vivian French, launches a study of the life cycle and migration of three generations of gray whales. The interdisciplinary lesson offers opportunities extensions into all subject...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Historical Agency in History Book Sets (HBS)

For Teachers 5th - 12th Standards
Study historical events by combining the study of historical fiction and non-fiction. Learners read about true past events in historical fiction novels and then research non-fiction accounts of the same events. What are some differences...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Finding Historical Evidence: David Brion Davis

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students study the Tran-Atlantic Slave Trade and learn to evaluate historical arguments. For this slave trade lesson, students read about the Atlantic Slave System. Students take notes on slave trade and make a timeline for the...
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Unit Plan
ReadWriteThink

Analyzing Famous Speeches as Arguments

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A speaker, a message, an audience. After analyzing these elements in Queen Elizabeth's speech to the troops at Tilbury, groups analyze how other speakers use an awareness of events, and their audience to craft their arguments....
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Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

The War in the North, 1775–1778

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Using primary source documents, including maps, learners examine Revolutionary War events from 1775 to 1778. The focus here is on the challenges George Washington and the Continental army faced and how they persevered in spite of those...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Boogie Woogie with a B: Using Alliteration while Exploring Patriotic Tunes

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Are you looking for a way to bring writing into your history lesson plan - or history into your writing lesson plan? This cross-curricular activity is helpful and fun, no matter what class you're teaching! Using "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"...