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The Decisive Victory: Philadelphia and the Winning of the War for American Independence

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers examine primary documents and apply their knowledge to describe them.  For this primary document analysis lesson pupils interpret sources and evaluate roles of foreign allies. 
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Incan Artifacts - Clay Pottery Lesson

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students study Incan artifacts found at an online database and create samples using clay pottery and paint.
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Rebuiding Houses of Worship

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore architecture as a reflection both of culture and history as well as practical/functional considerations. They discuss examples of local architecture they find beautiful or interesting, and their criteria for making such...
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Grades 6-8 Lesson Plan - Cities as Transportation Centers

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers examine maps of the 1800's and 1900's. In this geography skills lesson, students collaborate to read core maps and identify transportation centers and travel networks.
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Hail to the Chief

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore how the New York Times has represented presidential victories on its front page throughout the 20th century.
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Religious Tolerance in Pennsylvania

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students analyze Quakers including their beliefs.  In this religious tolerance lesson plan students predict the future effects of the colonies. 
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Finding an Earthquake's Epicenter

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the process used to identify the epicenter of an earthquake. They identify the Richter scale and interpret a seismograph reading. They also view photographs of the aftermath of earthquakes.
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Terror Tantrum?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore elements that help shape political and economic relationships between different countries and examine the effects of a recent terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia.
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The Founding of Los Angeles, California

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders examine the social and cultural impact of settler groups in California and the origins of the founding of Los Angeles, California. They read and discuss an informational handout, and discuss what it is and was like to...
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Taxes: Where Does Your Money Go?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the concept of taxes. In this tax lesson, students investigate types of taxes and deductions taken out of a paycheck before they see it. Students calculate the tax on a given dollar amount. Students discuss 401(k)s...
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"Separate But Equal" Revisited

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the struggle for desegregation during the Civil Rights Movement. They assess ways in which race relations have and have not changed since the Brown v. Board of Education decision.
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Conflicts of Current Interest

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students use conflicts in the Middle East to explore tactics of conflict resolution.
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Climate

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students make and record observations about local weather. They write about their favorite kind of weather and what it would be like to live in a climate of their choice. They take a quiz on regional U.S. climates.
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Reflections of Hunger and Poverty: the Works of Lange, Kollwitz, and Orozco

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore the Great Depression depicted in artwork. In this interdisciplinary lesson plan, students analyze artwork by Dorothea Lange, Kathe Kollwitz, and Jose Clemente Orozco. Students create brochures that feature details...
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Dangerous Straits

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students view a film and read articles that explore controversial Chinese and American relations. They conduct interviews, participate in class role-plays and develop policy recommendations for government agencies.
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Perspectives on Civil Rights

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine speeches of the Civil Rights Era. In this American history lesson, students listen to speeches delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr. and John F. Kennedy. Students respond to guiding questions as they listen to the...
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Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students investigate the years during World War II in which Japanese Americans living on the West Coast were held in internment camps.
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Local Government

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders research services and responsibilities of local government. They use cameras to take pictures of local government in action and create posters with them.
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The Battle of the Battlefields

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers simulate the role of a presidential analysis group to research a location for a Revolutionary War museum. They conduct research, and write a summary of their findings to present to the President.
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Picturing History

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars consider the value of a photograph and the circumstances under which photographs are taken, research the importance of a particular photograph. They create original photographs that illustrate the emotions, events or...
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Native American Village Days

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students research the tribes of American Indians in Virginia and settled, agricultural tribes in other regions of America. They explain how geography and climate influenced the way various Indian tribes lived, and evaluate the impact of...
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Causes of the American Revolution

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students access websites for background information and learn how to interpret political cartoons. They incorporate higher-order thinking skills to determine if the information presented in the cartoons is accurate, what the colonists...
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Island Inquiry: Based on the Northern Mariana Islands Quarter

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students research two physical and/or human characteristic topics of the Northern Mariana Islands in groups of four students. In this social studies lesson, students analyze how to write magazine articles and research the two topics...
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Looking for Clues

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students infer the cause of a shipwreck based upon information about artifacts found in the wreck. In this marine archeology lesson, students use an inventory list to infer the cause of a shipwreck. Students discuss the maritime...