After reading the article Choices: Truman, Hirohito, and the Atomic Bomb, class members engage in a simulation, assume the role of President Truman or one of his advisors and discuss the options open to the president. The exercise...

Collaboration and complicity. Class members examine a series of photographs and consider how active participation and passive complicity represented in the photos contributed to the Holocaust. 

Imagine a learning community committed to using Costa and Kallick's Habits of Mind as the basis of curriculum design. The resource book is packed with lessons that are designed for and identify the standards and...

The second half of 1943 found Allied soldiers struggling to separate Italy from the Axis Alliance and to solidify the new Italian government under Prime Minister Pietro Badoglio. High schoolers take a deeper look at the intricacies of...

Any study of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement would be incomplete without an examination of the life of Malcolm X. Class members view a short biographical video and analyze primary source documents to gain an understanding of the...

An interactive timeline uses images, videos, primary source documents, and links to informational text to chronicle the history of the Holocaust from 1933-1945.

Young historians examine primary sources, including diaries, poems, and photographs, to consider the conditions in the ghettos and how they fit into the escalation of the Third Reich's plot against the Jewish people. 

What does it mean to be a rescuer during the time of the Holocaust? Learners consider the role of those who resisted the Nazi invasions, including hiding Jewish people, throughout Europe. Activities include listening to the testimony of...

Resistance to the Holocaust took on many forms. Learners explore the passive and active resistance of Jewish people who continued their practices and observances, as well as organized resistance against the evils of the Nazis. An...

High schoolers view a video clip about the reconstruction efforts in Iraq. They work together to compare and contrast the reconstruction plans after the Spanish-American War and World War II. They compare those results to the situation...

Students discuss the decision after World War II of Japan's to follow a policy of pacifism. After reading an article, they identify the ways Japan is strengthening its military. They watch a video to discover how their Constitution was...

Students investigate themes of justice and rights while reading the novel Farewell to Manzanar. They research contemporary civil rights issues and write reports. They also research the background of internment camps during World War II.

Students view the treatment of people of Japanese and German descent during World War II. They explore the problems in assigning blame to populations during times of war. They identify modern examples of discrimination and stereotyping.

Students understand what cryptography is and how to design original number-based codes. In this cryptography instructional activity, students research codes during World War II. Students develop number-based codes.

Students research how the development of the atomic bomb affected people in World War II, participate in a debate about the bomb's use, and investigate how it has affected people's lives since 1945.

Many of your class members will have heard of Executive Order 9066 and the Japanese internment camps of World War II. Some may even recognize the terms “Issei” and “Nisei,” but few will have heard of Enemy Alien Hearing Boards, of the...

Students review the Bill of Rights. They interpret how the American Government violated these rights with regard to Japanese Americans during World War II. They write down the violations of the Bill of Rights during Japanese ...

Students examine letters of Japanese-American children during internment in World War II. They discover what it was like in the camps and how they were treated once they were released. They also view photographs of the camps.

Students create animations to match their social studies. in this 20th century lesson, students work in groups to read and present to their classmates World War I, World War II, The Great Depression, The Space Race, or the Civil Rights...

Students identify and interpret the power of symbols. Then they research and identify what type of information that they can locate at the Library of Congress website and list what they learned from it in the time allotted. Students also...

Students analyze and discuss how propaganda influenced anti-Semitism and it's role in World War II. In this propaganda lesson plan, students define the terms involved in this assignment. Then they will discuss their reactions to a film...

For this World War II worksheet, 10th graders read about life in a Japanese internment camp.  Students give personal response and opinions in 5 short answer questions.

Students read an article about the new interest in Harry S. Truman. In groups, they review his foreign policy decisions and how situations might have been different if he had made a different decision. They also examine the problems he...

Students write a modified "foreign policy" between their own high school and a rival school in the conference. They describe the significance of a foreign policy from the World War II era.