Curated OER
Life in Ancient Ghana, Mali, and Songhai
Learners study the ancient African kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. They brainstorm what they know about ancient African kingdoms before investigating the trade and barter situations, and researching one of the kingdoms for an oral...
Curated OER
Roles of Virginians During Revolutionary War Era
Students examine the various roles Virginians played during the Revolutionary War era. They participate in a jigsaw activity, reading an article and presenting information to their group. Students then complete a Venn diagram comparing...
Curated OER
The Virginia Assembly
Students examine the first permanent English settlement in America. Using the Internet, they identify the importance of the Virginia assembly. They answer questions based on different scenarios given to them by their teacher and how...
Curated OER
Slavery in Virginia
Fourth graders assess primary sources to analyze the effects plantation life and slavery had on Colonial Virginia. They study the issues of slavery, rural life, movements, colonization and revolution. Each student makes predictions,...
Curated OER
Salt Relief Map of Virginia
Fourth graders create a salt relief map of the four regions of Virginia. They indentify land forms and bodies of water, and summarize how they made their project.
Curated OER
Organizing Info into Short Reports
The class brainstorms a list of prominent people from their knowledge of social studies. Groups of two pupils get together and select one of these people to research. They create five questions to research on their person and record them...
Curated OER
Famous Virginian Biography Project
Fourth graders research, analyze and complete a writing project on the history of Virginia. They are assigned a famous Virginian to research utilizing a variety of resources and then prepare a written report and an oral presentation to...
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Oral History of World War II
Young scholars research how citizens from the United States respond to the onset, duration and aftermath of World War II. They view clips from the movie "Swing Shift" and discuss the roles of civilians, minorities and military personnel....
Curated OER
National Debate Over Treaty Ratification
Students review the main points of the Versailles Treaty. In groups, they analyze a variety of political cartoons about Wilson and the treaty itself and share their findings with the class after completing a worksheet. To end the lesson...
Curated OER
History by Heroes
Middle schoolers role play one of the Presidents between 1877 and today. Individually, they use the internet to research the President through official documents, political cartoons and various editorials. Throughout the year, they are...
Curated OER
Expansion and Reform: Applying the Declaration of Independence
Students conduct inquiries and research-acquiring, organizing, analyzing, interpreting, evaluating, and communicating facts, themes, and general principles operating in American history. They use the Declaration of Independence to...
Curated OER
North and South - Impact of the Abolitionist Movement
Students examine history of slavery in United States, discuss abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass who worked to end slavery, listen to excerpts from Douglass' autobiography, and visit interactive Underground Railroad web site.
Curated OER
Understanding the Declaration of Independence
Students identify and interpret the Declaration of Independence and the rights and privileges demanded in the document. They also identify how those rights and privileges have affected our history. Students then research about the...
Curated OER
Integration of Education
Learners explore the history of Civil Rights and how the struggle for Civil Rights and the Second Reconstruction, transformed society and politics in the United States in the 1950s. Then they identify why American Schools are integrated...
Curated OER
Jamestown Scavenger Hunt
Learners identify and share Primary Sources in Early American History by Janey Levy. Then they discuss the usefulness of using primary sources in uncovering the past. Students also research original documents from Jamestown to complete...
Curated OER
The Economic Differences Between the North and the South Prior to the Civil War
Seventh graders identify and explain the economic differences between the North and the South incorporating photographs and a Venn Diagram to interpret the two sides. They complete a KWL and T-chart to assist them with their task for the...
Curated OER
Cultural Impact of Jim Crow Laws and Civil Rights Movement
Pupils compare the cultural customs of people from European descent and African Americans between 1900 and 1940. Next students listen to interviews about life during the time of Jim Crow laws, and determine how life might be different...
Curated OER
The Search for Mid-East Peace
Twelfth graders demonstrate an understanding of the competing forces and their demands in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process by completing a "Force Field Analysis" (developed by John Rossi at Virginia Commonwealth University) and by...
Virginia Department of Education
Analyzing and Interpreting Statistics
Use measures of variance to compare and analyze data sets. Pupils match histograms of data sets to their respective statistical measures. They then use calculated statistics to further analyze groups of data and use the results to make...
Curated OER
Civil War
Historical poetry is lyrical in form and rich with content. After examining the differences between the Northern and Southern states before and during the U.S. Civil War, learners complete a Venn diagram and create an illustration of the...
Curated OER
The First North Americans
Students identify and interpret the different North American Indian groups, by region, and the type and impact of their interaction with Europeans.
Then they complete an overview of one main Native American group during the age of...
Defining US
Integration of Education and American Society
How did the struggle for Civil Rights during the 1950s transform American society and politics? Why are American schools integrated today? Class members explore these essential questions by examining a series of primary and secondary...
Curated OER
Was the Stamp Act Fair?
Elementary and middle schoolers examine and evaluate different perspectives concerning events leading to the American Revolution. In this case, they hone in on the Stamp Act. They research controversial bills, laws, or events of the time...
Curated OER
Jefferson Administration
High schoolers research the major domestic issues that were present during the administration of Thomas Jefferson including the acquisition of the Louisiana Territory, Lewis and Clark's expedition, and his foreign policy. They...