Mexican Repatriation: the forgotten deportation of American citizens. The resource focuses on the deportation of Mexican American citizens during the Great Depression. Young historians read documents, complete a free-write, and fill out...

Pledge your loyalty to the king and the Stamp Act or sign an oath against the tax. After simulating an in-class tax for school supplies, young historians consider the reasons for the Stamp Act and similar colonial policies. The...

Take a closer look. Young academics become detectives in an engaging instructional activity on the American Revolution. Scholars work in groups to analyze documents to uncover whether the American colonists or British soldiers fired the...

The Manhattan Project was a massive undertaking involving multiple sites and thousands of scientists and technicians. To gain an understanding of the women who participated in the project, groups select an oral history of a woman...

As part of the study of segregation in U.S. schools, scholars research and create a timeline of events that led to the historic Supreme Court case, Brown V. Board of Education. Groups research a topic or event that led to the decision,...

Frequently banned, often challenged, a mainstay of middle school curriculum, Tales from the Secret Annex, is the featured text in the seventh unit in the Teacher Guide Core Knowledge Program. The 134-page guide includes an...

Scholars generally agree on the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. This inquiry-based lesson asks high schoolers to consider more than the claims of who freed the enslaved people but the significance of the issues...

Before diving into the engaging tale of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, conduct this directed reading and thinking activity. Assess your pupils' knowledge of Greek gods and mythology through a knowledge web,...

The traditions, costumes, and the music of the Mardi Gras Indians, African-Americans and those with African American or Native American Heritage are the focus of a unit that introduces class members to a little-known group that...

Class members investigate The Indian Removal Act of 1830, U.S. Theft of Mexican Territory Timeline, and President Abraham Lincoln’s letter to Horace Greeley, 1862, and then conduct a mock trial of each of these documents to determine...

Colonial Independence is a hot topic in the 4th and 5th grade; this PowerPoint highlights the victories, the decision for Independence, and the forces for and against colonial independence from England. This PowerPoint presents scant...

Here is a great interactive idea that may need a little refining. Students play 3 rounds, where they answer questions explaining how different countries have gained independence throughout history. While this resource has music and...

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...

Jack Kerouac's cult classic, On the Road, is the focus of this resource designed for teachers

Aaron Douglas, Meta Warrick Fuller, Palmer Hayden, William Johnson, and James Lesesne Wells, the painters and sculptors of the Harlem Renaissance, are featured in a unit study of artists of the Harlem Renaissance.

How did the Klu Klux Klan manage to gain so many members during the 1920s? Class members examine Klan documents and promotional materials to gain an understanding of the propaganda techniques used to attract members.

“Compared to war all other forms of human endeavor shrink to insignificance.” “War is not healthy for children and other living things.” These two views of war, embodied in George Patton’s statement and Lorraine Schneider‘s famous 1966...

Students examine the impact of WWII on the development of jazz music and consider how jazz music helped to boost morale of both soldiers and those left at home. They identify the function of jazz as a cultural export and discuss its...

Europe was in a state of transition and upheaval that spanned a time of 60 years, beginning in 1850 and running through the first World War. Uncover the wars, key players, politics, and social movements that marked this time period in...

Working in groups, young historians review a war poem written by Stephen Crane. After reviewing the poem, they present an oral interpretation of the poem and hold a panel discussion about their analysis. The panel is made up of five or...

Take young padawans on a journey towards ultimate relaxation with a series of Star Wars themed yoga poses. Following a mindful and imaginative story, the force is strong with stretches including the Rey's Pole,...

"Now is the summer of our happiness/Made winter by this sudden, fierce attack!" Luke Skywalker meets Hamlet in a 10-lesson unit based on Ian Doescher's William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, a New Hope. Using Star Wars® as source...

Seventh graders investigate the War of 1812. In this early American history lesson, 7th graders read a handout about the war, watch video clips, and complete written exercises that complement the reading and video clips. 

Class members engage in an experiential activity and research topics related to the exercise to gain a deeper understanding of the conditions in the trenches during World War I. A potent and thought-provoking activity.