Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reconstruction

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students explain how the Civil War and Reconstruction both solved and created problems for our nation. They study how Reconstruction caused a further decline in relations between the North & South and how racism has been and is...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A New Birth of Freedom: Black Soldiers in the Union Army

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students investigate the history of civil rights by viewing historical photographs.  In this U.S. history lesson, students discuss why Black Soldiers fought for their rights by joining the Union Army in the 1800's.  Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Why Can't I Vote?

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders take an unannounced test (failure is expected) and the top scores are rewarded with candy bars. They compare this test to the literacy tests given before 1960 and votes to candybars. They journal their responses.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Why is Delaware Called "The First State"?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners learn why Delaware is called the First State and the background leading to Delaware's ratification of the US Constitution. Students, in groups, choose an individual in today's world that has the greatest influence on their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comparing Time Periods in U.S. History: The Ashford Project

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders use a "fact book" comparing periods in American history then students create a picture to illustrate their assigned periods. # # students use their pictures and concept maps to write expository paragraphs about their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Getting To Know an Era

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students explore the ways which we commemorate the important events in our country's history. They examine the state quarters and discuss events portrayed on the reverse. They design a coin to commemorate an important event in an era...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Recognizing Peace

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students read the statement of Alfred Nobel and discuss the Nobel Peace Price and its criteria. They consider criteria and selection process to establish a school or community peace award. Students consider potential recipients for the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

NAFTA Trade Unit

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners research the geography, economics and government of Canada and how that affects US/Canadian trade relations. In this NAFTA lesson, students play a game, read about Canadian history, and creat a graph.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Dynamic Duo

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students engage in the research of history that surrounded the actions of the federal government during the years from 1907-1937. The focus of the lesson is upon the regulations imposed on business during the time and how it effected the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Taking a Stand - 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights March

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights March. They view pictures reflecting their perceptions of their most important rights as citizens, write journal responses, create collages illustrating courage, and read...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Civil War and Viet Nam are they Related?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students identify and explain Civil Rights as they relate to the Civil War and Viet Nam eras. They explore civil rights through literature, artworks, news coverage, video and Internet sites. Students work in a group to develop a concept...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Brown v. Board: Where are We Now?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore  the concept of resegregation. In this civil rights lesson, students research the impact of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling in their community. Students define and research...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Desegregation and the Courts

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate Judge Garrity's ruling in the Boston bussing dilemma. In this desegregation lesson, students view segments of "Eyes on the Prize" and examine the role that courts played in desegreration. Students also determine...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Three Faces of Isaac Stevens

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders examine three images of Isaac Stevens for information about the man and his activity as a US soldier, territorial governor and participant in treaty councils. Students are also shown Union Army pictures with different...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Problem in Inarqi

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Learners practice identifying and solving problems. They assume a role to solve an authentic problem. During the simulation, students explain the structure of the government and reasons for adopting that particular structure. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Revolving Door: U.S. Immigration

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students compare current cultural perceptions of the immigrant experience with ones of the past. They will relate current immigration stories as seen in the PBS documentary "The New Americans" to those of the historical past.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cultural and Social Transformations Since 1865

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students research cultural and social issues in the areas of Westward Expansion, Immigration, and Civil Rights. They use their research to create a PowerPoint electronic book to be used by other students.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Anne Frank: Interviews

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students conduct an interview with a person who was alive during WWII. They explore the media coverage of human rights abuses and speculate about what American knew and when regarding the Holocaust. They prepare a commentary with their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tell About South II: Poets and Prophets

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Pupils explore the life of Richard Wright. They create a Power Point presentation to showcase Wright's journey from Mississippi to Memphis, Chicago, New York, and France and how he was an example of an African-American who moved north....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Abraham Lincoln and the U.S. Constitution

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students investigate President Abraham Lincoln's use of the U.S. Constitution and its importance to the Civil War. In this US history lesson, students read text about President Lincoln and the US Constitution. Students examine the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Perseverance

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine how the failure of Reconstruction led to the systematic passage of Jim Crow laws in states across the South and the negative impact these laws had on the growth and development of the US.
Lesson Plan
State Bar of Texas

Brown v. Board of Education

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
You walk each day over 20 blocks to school as a 9-year old because the color of your skin does not allow you to attend a school in your own neighborhood. Scholars use the 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education to investigate...
Lesson Plan
State Bar of Texas

Plessy v. Ferguson

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Where did separate but equal originate and what does it mean? Scholars investigate the Supreme Court Case Plessy v. Ferguson. Using a short video clip, they analyze the impact the decision of legal segregation had on society in 1896....
Lesson Plan
State Bar of Texas

Sweatt v. Painter

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Is separate but equal actually equal? The 1950 Supreme Court case Sweatt v. Painter discusses the law of segregation and inequality. Scholars investigate the impact of the case on the desegregation of public schools across the nation...