Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Benjamin Franklin and the U.S. Constitution

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students explore U.S. history by completing a quiz about civics. In this Benjamin Franklin lesson, students read assigned text about Franklin's role in the development of the Constitution and the creation of a new society. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Harriet Tubman: An American Hero

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students explore U.S. history by viewing a Civil Rights video. In this Harriet Tubman activity, students identify the era in which Tubman fought for equality and list her important achievements after viewing a biographical film. Students...
Lesson Plan
Maryland Department of Education

Our Children Can Soar

For Teachers 4th - 5th Standards
Amazing efforts of African American leaders are celebrated in a instructional activity on civil participation. The engaging resource focuses on primary and secondary sources to analyze the impact of African American leaders such as Ella...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits: Grades 3-5

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore the contributions of African Americans of the 20th century. In this African American history lesson, students examine portraits of Muhammad Ali, Romare Bearden, Lorraine Hansberry, Judith Jamison, and Leontyne Price in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Rise and Fall of the Jim Crow Era

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars explore African American history by researching the Jim Crow laws. In this Civil Rights lesson, students define the Jim Crow laws, the reasons they were put into place, and how they were ultimately defeated. Young scholars...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Town Meeting with Class

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students discover civic responsibility and the purpose of town meetings.  In this U.S. Government lesson, students investigate how the government is involved with almost every decision made in a city, no matter how big or small....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Participating in Democracy

For Teachers 8th - 9th
Students analyze film clips in class. In this democracy lesson, students identify the differences between civil liberties, democracy and freedom. Students view a video regarding Japanese internment and answer study questions as well as...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is Suffrage? Understanding the Right to Vote

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students discover one of the restrictions forced on women of the early 1900s. In this civil rights lesson, students investigate suffrage and why women were not allowed to vote in the early twentieth century. Students create a mock...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Open Mic" - Giving Creative Expression To The Connection Between The Japanese American Internment, September 11, And Our Rights Today

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students explore the similarities of the Japanese-American experience in WWII and Arab-American experience in post-September 11 US policy. They create presentations on their reflections and express themselves through poetry, dance,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

We The People

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners consider the main concepts of the Preamble of the United States Constitution They research different issues explored in the Constitution which have both historic and modern connections.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Discriminating Issues

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine how U.S. Law Defines Discrimination In this instructional activity. They research the issues surrounding a variety of types of discrimination, and then write editorials analyzing legal and social positions on...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

We the People: 270 out of 538

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students engage in a lesson that helps them better explain the quadrennial ritual surrounding the election of a president in the United States of America.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

If These Walls Could Talk

For Teachers 7th - Higher Ed
Students investigate the influence of the Enlightenment on American society and government. In this Enlightenment lesson, students work cooperatively in groups to define the principles of the Enlightenment, American...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Racism in Jazz

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students listen to the Louis Armstrong song, "What Did I Do to Be So Black and Blue?" and consider it as a protest song. They write in their journals about Armstrong, his music, and civil rights.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

President Obama's Address to Students Across America

For Teachers Pre-K - 6th
Students listen to President Obama's speech, and discuss its meaning. In this President Obama lesson students learn about the president, about how to deliver a speech, and the ways they can make a difference. They create posters, write...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Civil War as Photographed by Mathew Brady

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers gain historical background on the Civil War era from textbooks, encyclopedias, or supplemental material. Assign at least two photographs for each student to analyze using the Photograph Analysis Worksheet which is imbedded...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Political Cartoons Illustrating Progressivism and the Election of 1912

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study a current political cartoon to introduce the ideas of symbolism, humor, exaggeration, and caricature in editorial cartoons. They study cartoons from the past to gain an understanding of the culture of 1912.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

ZIP: A One-Act Play

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students review amendments of the Constitution relating to due process. They discuss the Constitution in the case of Eberhard "Zip" Fuhr. They research the provisions of the WWII Alien Enemy Control Program. They determine how national...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The White Line - A One Act Play

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Pupils discuss amendments of the Constitution that cover due process and discuss them in relation to the play "The White Line". They determine how national security measures conflict with the issues of due process during wartime. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rosa Parks

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students complete a variety of written and discussion activities regarding Rosa Parks and the Alabama bus boycott and how they changed an accepted way of life in America.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sow the Seeds of Victory! Posters from the Food Administration During World War I

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students engage in a class analysis of posters, responding to each of the worksheet questions. They identify the similarities and differences between the posters.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Memorandum of a Conference with President Eisenhower after Sputnik

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars document and list excerpts from a document that shows how calmly officials reacted to the launching of Sputnik. They research contemporary magazines and newspaper articles of the day as well.