Curated OER
All the President's Men and Women
Students research responsibilities, programs and government departments of leaders that make up the presidential cabinet, in the form of a Web Exploration, after reading "Dueling Power Centers" from The New York Times.
Curated OER
Texas Kid Writes Book About Presidents
Arranged into small groups, learners read a paragraph of the news story "Texas Kid Writes Book About Presidents." As one reads, others mark the text (underlining important information and writing notes in the margin of the story). After...
National First Ladies' Library
The President's Assassin: Motives and Outcomes
Students investigate the assassinations of four American presidents. Through research, groups create a dossier on one of the four men who were the assassins. After presentations of the dossiers, the class looks for common traits in...
Curated OER
What Do They Have In Common?
Fifth graders use a database to gather information on the United States last five Presidents. Using the information, they identify their similarities and differences and what characteristics made them a good leader. In further detail,...
National Endowment for the Humanities
“Read All About It”: Primary Source Reading in “Chronicling America”
Can investigative journalism become too sensationalistic and accusatory, or is it vital for the survival of a democracy? Middle schoolers analyze primary source documents from early 20th-century newspapers as well as Theodore Roosevelt's...
Curated OER
Case Studies in Journalistic Ethics No. 2
Learners use texts on media ethics and various Web sites to explore real world examples of media law issues. For this media ethics lesson, students examine the Food Lion case using a transcript from the court of appeals session and...
Curated OER
Get up, Stand up. Stand up for your Civil Rights.
Fourth graders study civil rights leaders. In this Civil Rights lesson, 4th graders investigate what it means to stand up for something you believe in after reading about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and President Obama. Students create a...
Curated OER
POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT: THE CASE OF LATVIA
Learners compare the powers of a U.S. president to those of leaders of other countries. They pretend they are presidential advisors and make decisions as a group as to what the president has the right do in different situations.
Curated OER
Abraham Lincoln: Our Man for All Seasons
Students analyze perceptions of slavery during the Civil War era. For this Abraham Lincoln lesson, students research Internet and print sources regarding Lincoln's view of slavery. Students also compare pro- and anti-slavery political...
Anti-Defamation League
The Gender Wage Gap
"Equal pay for equal work!" may sound logical but it is not the reality. High schoolers begin a study of the gender wage gap with an activity that asks them to position themselves along a line that indicates whether they strongly agree...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Military Conscription in World War I: Alabamians Express Their Opinions
If called, would you go? Should the US government have the power to impose a draft during any war? The Selective Service Act of 1917 (aka the Conscription Act of 1917) authorized the drafting of men into the military for only the second...
Curated OER
Declaration of Independence: Created Equal?
Students examine how Jefferson dealt with equality. In this activity on the Declaration of Independence, students use primary sources to analyze what the phrase, "All men are created equal" meant. They will compare what they think...
Curated OER
The First World War
In this World War I worksheet, students review a chapter as they match 5 men to their accomplishments, read 5 false statements then make them true, and identify 2 historical themes pertaining America's role in the war.
Curated OER
Stage a Debate: A Primer for Teachers (Lincoln-Douglas Debate Format)
For a comprehensive overview of debate styles and formats, look at this resource. It details the Lincoln-Douglas debate format (one-to-one debate with specific, timed rounds of points, cross-examination, and rebuttals). You can also find...
Curated OER
Making Connection, Using Metaphor
Chief Seatle's "Letter to President Pierce, 1855" provides the text for a skills exercise that asks readers to consider how writers use metaphors to contribute to the meaning and impact of a work. Participants then apply what they have...
Curated OER
Religious Influence On US History
Eleventh graders explore the influence of religion on U.S. History. Using an internet database website, they research the religious affiliation of governors, Presidents and Vice-Presidents. Students write a paragraph explaining how...
Curated OER
Suspect Sources at the Republican Debate
Students explore and analyze statements made during a televised presidential debate. In groups, they research and test the validity of the statements made by the presidential contenders. Students examine sources and draw conclusions on...
Curated OER
Exploring Height with Abe Lincoln
Learners examine a life-size count out of Abraham Lincoln to get a visual comparison of their height and Lincoln's. They work in pairs and trace each other's body and measure from head to toe in inches using a ruler. They then subtract...
University of California
The End of the Cold War (1979-1991)
Scholars use primary and secondary documents, as well as video evidence, to investigate the end of the Cold War. After completing the final installment of an eight-part series, class members better understand the issues surrounding the...
Curated OER
Cast of Personalities - The Louisiana Purchase
The origins of the state of Arkansas are the focus of this history lesson. Elementary schoolers to high schoolers identify persons associated with the development of the state from the very first European contact to statehood in 1836....
Curated OER
Bad Brother
Learners deal with the historian's dilemma of how to write about people in the past who committed wicked deeds. They analyze a well-known cartoon, "Satan Tempting Booth to the Murder of the President."
Curated OER
How Women Won the Right to Vote
Students consider how women gained the right to vote in America. In this suffrage lesson, students investigate major events of the suffrage movement and conduct research. Students also role play petitioning to President Wilson to get the...
National First Ladies' Library
The Civil War Revisited
Students move beyond the generals and battles approach to the Civil War and explore, instead, the issues, ideals, and outcomes of the great conflict that left a president dead, a region destitute, and a nation in shambles.
Curated OER
Civil Rights: An Investigation
Students take a closer look at the political side of the American Civil Rights Movement. In this 20th century American history lesson, students research the contributions of President Johnson, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and J. Edgar...