Lesson Plans and Worksheets
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Colonialism Lesson Plans
Find teacher approved Colonialism lesson plan ideas and activities
Eighth graders research U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. They view actual footage and Hollywood clips. They form opinions about the war and complete a project from a list of suggestions regarding the war and make presentations to the rest of the class.
Students research Muhammad Ali's act of civil disobedience. In this civil disobedience lesson, students research Ali's defiance of the Vietnam War draft and compare his reasoning to Martin Luther King's thoughts on the war. Students debate nonviolent action and write a response to Ali's violent/nonviolent nature in his life and draft resistance.
Tenth graders explore the massive immigration from Vietnam and Cambodia. In this World History activity, 10th graders examine the crisis that led to this immigration. Students participate in a debate on whether the United States owes a special obligation to resettle refugees from countries in which it fights wars.
Eleventh graders examine events leading up to and during the Vietnam War. They research assigned topics utilizing interviews, Powerpoint presentations, timelines, and collages in their presentations.
Students examine the arguments for and against the United States involvement in the Vietnam War. In groups, they must assign the Vietnam War a just or unjust war using the techniques used to fight and the reasons used by the government to declare war. They present their ideas to the class making sure to support their arguments. To end the lesson, they develop viable alternates to war.
Students investigate some the ways art has responded to conflict throughout history. Through teacher lecture and demonstration, students witness the historical background of a piece of artwork and how it reflects the conflict it represents. Students create their own piece of artwork to illustrate what September 11, 2001 meant in terms of US history.
Young scholars identify problems associated with applying the U.S. laws and history to an international situation. They draw on legal concepts from law and events in American History to design a legal system for a hypothetical moon colony.
Young scholars role play an interview. After researching Audrey Tatou and the movie "Amelie," pairs of students take turns interviewing each other. One plays the role of a journalist and the other plays the role of an actress. During the simulation, young scholars speak in French. The teacher observes their proper use of questions and placement of adjectives.
Students analyze selected pieces of art and infer how they reflect a sense of disillusionment, and/or cynicism in American society in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and Watergate scandal. Then they identify and place cultural attitudes of recent generations of Americans within a historical context. Finally, students identify how art and/or literature and films mirrors a distrust, uneasiness, or cynicism from some Americans about how they view their government and its role.
Students develop a legal system. In this justice system lesson plan, students examine case law in the Untied States and draw on that experience to create a legal system for a "moon colony" which integrates the legal systems on Earth.
