Smithsonian Institution
Cuban Missile Crisis
The United States—specifically John F. Kennedy—played a large role during the Cuban Missile Crisis. A history resource poses questions that encourage critical thinking as well as in-depth analysis of images from the time period.
Curated OER
An Early Threat of Secession: The Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Nullification Crisis
Students analyze an interactive map of the Missouri Compromise to identify the regions and their relation to slavery. In this pre-civil war era instructional activity, students read primary source documents and research online to answer...
Curated OER
The Growth of U.S.-Japanese Hostility, 1915-1932
Students explore the relationship between Japan and the United States between 1915 and 1932. In this diplomacy lesson, students examine the Open Door Policy, 21 Demands, and the invasion of Manchuria by Japan. Students conduct research...
Curated OER
Connection to the Past
Students learn basic interviewing and biography writing skills. They first identify a senior citizen in their community who remembers the Great Depression.
Curated OER
The Great Depression - FDR and the New Deal
Students consider the role that government should play in economics. In this Great Depression instructional activity, students analyze New Deal legislation to develop an informed opinion about the public programs and then present their...
Curated OER
America's Wars
High schoolers classify information regarding American involvement in wars. In this classification instructional activity, students examine the causes of the war in which the United States has been involved, and classify them as mainly...