Newseum
Before and After: Analyzing Turning Points in History
Scholars examine front-page news stories to gather evidence about significant historical events. They hypothesize how these events changed people's lives who lived through them and how they continue to impact lives today.
Newseum
Civil Rights: Turning Points
As part of a civil rights movement study, groups select an event from an interactive timeline that they feel marks a turning point in the struggle. After collecting evidence to support their choice, the teams develop a multimedia...
We are Teachers
Phrases to Outlaw in Students' Writing
If your writing classroom was the Wild West, what phrases would be "outlawed"? Here is one poster that every writing instructor, and really, any teacher of communication, should have in their classroom!
Curated OER
Writing Exercises: World War I, #2
In need of three good writing prompts focused on World War I? Learners respond to three prompts, each having them examine an aspect of World War I. They describe the role nationalism played in the war, the impact of the fall of the...
Curated OER
Different Points of View
Considering an examination of point of view? Use visual arts to engage learners in of this element of art and literature. Class members select a portrait from the Renaissance Connection and, guided by a series of brainstorming...
Curated OER
Note Taking By Crayon
Skim a brief biography of Amelia Earhart with your class, and then assign groups of researchers one of four topics listed: Amelia's family life, important airplane flights during Amelia's life, turning points in Amelia's life, and...
Curated OER
Breaking Barriers
Determine how African-Americans have broken barriers in this history lesson. Middle schoolers discuss the 15th Amendment and the American civil rights movement prior to analyzing Barack Obama's speech "A More Perfect Union," taking care...
ABCya
Thanksgiving Crossword Puzzle
Solve an eight-question crossword puzzle all about Thanksgiving. Players click on rows and columns, read a question, and answer using the given letters. Hints are provided at a point cost.
YMCA
Turning Courtrooms into Classrooms
Turn the class into the next episode of Law & Order! Scholars work together to create a mock trial over the course of several weeks before going before a judge for the case performance. They take on different roles, go through...
Curated OER
Woodblock Printing: Early Printing Traditions in China
Students examine important role of woodblock printing in Chinese history, identify message important to them, and create woodblock prints to gain first-hand understanding of how it was used as tool for communication.
Education World
Every Day Edit - D-Day
In this editing learning exercise, learners correct grammatical mistakes in a short paragraph about D-Day. The errors range from punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and spelling.
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Preamble to the Constitution: A Close Reading Lesson
"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union..." These familiar lines begin the Preamble to the Constitution, but do learners know what they mean? A close reading exercise takes a look at the language of the...
Curated OER
Informative Speech Assignment
Allow your pupils to take on the role of the instructor with an informative speech that covers a new topic related to your unit of study or new information on a subject your class has already studied. Pupils fill out the provided outline...
Syracuse University
Harlem Renaissance
The music and literature of the Harlem Renaissance defined American culture, including its poetry. Using a poem from the period, individuals explore its musical qualities and how it is reflective of the period. Then, they use what they...
Curated OER
Push/Pull factors in Immigration
Learners explore the push/pull factors experienced by immigrant families. They interview a parent and an American about their family's immigration history. Students write a summary of the interview and compare the push/pull factors of...
Curated OER
Struggling To Survive: Life In Sarajevo
Students gain an understanding of the impact that wars have on society. They use Web sites to gain information about Sarajevo, create characters using what they learn from watching video clips and viewing news footage online and engage...
Curated OER
U.S. History: Immigrant Scrapbooks
Students role-play as immigrants coming to America around the turn of the 19th century. They conduct Internet research and print out pictures to use in an immigrant scrapbook. Students write captions for the pictures and narratives to...
Curated OER
Family Stories and Personal Narratives
Fourth graders read various stories in their literature books about families. Individually, they make a timeline showing the most important events in their lives. They bring in one artifact from their lives and write a paper about it...
Curated OER
African American Poetry: Songs of Protest and Pride
Students are introduced to various time periods in history in which African Americans wrote songs and poetry to cope. In groups, they travel between different stations to listen or read poems and music from the Civil War period, Civil...
Curated OER
Black History Stamps
Students explore the lives and contributions of the many black Americans who are honored on U.S. commemorative postage stamps, make a presentation that synthesizes information about a historical figure and time, and write a persuasive...
Curated OER
Out with the Old, in with the New
Eleventh graders review the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, and explore the major debates during the writing of the Constitution. They review vocabulary and compare primary source documents to study the three branches of...
Curated OER
Middle Ages Center: Games--Build-A-Knight
In this Middle Ages vocabulary terms worksheet, learners participate in a game that deals with four game cards and the unscrambling of letters to create Middle Ages terms of interest.
Curated OER
Lee & Low Books: Giving Thanks Teacher's Guide
Fourth graders participate in reading comprehension activities associated from a teacher's guide. In this reading comprehension lesson, 4th graders read Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message by Chief Jake Swamp and...
Curated OER
History-5 Word Search
In this literacy worksheet, middle schoolers find the words that are in the word search puzzle that focus upon the vocabulary that is from the theme of the sheet.