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Rallying to the Cause
Students study the role of volunteering during the Civil War, the Reconstruction, and today. In this volunteerism instructional activity, students work with a partner to read biographies of volunteers while looking for their Core...
National First Ladies' Library
What Does It Mean to Give Your Time?
Students identify and consider what it means to sacrifice time and effort in helping others. Then they decide areas where their help may be needed, and pursue this area in the local community. Students also search the World Wide Web to...
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Bridges for All: Better Way
Pupils explore organizations founded for the common good. In this character education lesson, students read about organizations that developed for the common good during the Civil War and Reconstruction. In small groups, pupils present...
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Bridges for All
Students describe how the brave word of one female Quaker served as a lifeline for fugitives before the Civil War. In this research lesson, students research several examples of the philanthropic work of individuals and organizations...
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Killing Fields
Students view a television program that explores people's perceptions and expectations in war prior to and after WWI. They discuss the effects of trench warfare and write a journal entry or short oral report reflecting on their...
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Coming On Home Soon
Students explore the role of women during World War II. Through a reading of the book "Coming On Home Soon" students gain insight into the ways women helped the war effort. Research and writing activities help support their point of...
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Veterans
Students explain what the term veteran means to them. They discuss the meaning of remberence day. They also examine how war affects people throughout the world.
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Navajo Code Talkers
Pupils investigate the Navajo Code Talkers and their role in World War II. They complete a Webquest, explore various websites, encode a short message, analyze maps, answer discussion questions, and read newspaper articles about secure...
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Vietnam: Lesson 4
Young scholars take a closer look at war memorials. For this Vietnam lesson, students research the Vietnam War Memorial and then visit the memorial. As a culminating activity, young scholars research other war memorials.
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Conscience and Public Service
Students study conscientious observers (COs) in the Civilian Public Service (CPS) during World War II. They explore how the media sources influence public opinion and policy makers, and complete a writing assignment about the topic.
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Bridges for All Lesson 1: Fighting Chance (1850-1877)
Students study how a Quaker woman, Laura Smith Haviland, served as a lifeline for fugitive and freedmen during the American Civil War era. They research other philanthropic organizations and the associate vocabulary of this era.
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The Life of a Hoosier Soldier, based on the letters of Lt. John V. Hadley
Eighth graders take a closer look at the life of Union soldiers. For this American Civil War lesson, 8th graders read and analyze a series of letters from Lt. John Hadley to his fiancée. Students chart their findings from the letters on...
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Battle of Stones River
Students will read the story "Battle of Stones River" and define a set of vocabulary words. In this Civil War lesson, students complete a fill-in-the-blank vocabulary activity after reading the story and defining the words.
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Fugitive from Labor Cases:
Students examine the cases of Henry Garnett and Moses Honner, both of the 1850s. Students analyze the political climate building up to the Civil War through the lens of these similar cases with different outcomes.
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Arrest of the Maryland Legislature
In this Civil War history worksheet, students read and discuss a selection regarding the arrest of the Maryland legislature.
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The Role of African American soldiers in World War II
Students design and create a poster, advertising for recruitment of African American volunteers for the Tuskegee Airmen. Students Create a historical newspaper front page, from 1996, which details the awarding of the Medal of Honor to...
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Unscramble the Words: Civil War on Sunday
In this historical word scramble learning exercise, students unscramble ten words about Civil War on Sunday. A word bank is provided. The historical event this refers to is not clear.
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Recruiting a Few Good Citizens
Students write persuasive speeches to recruit soldiers for a Civil War company. In this Civil War U.S. history and writing lesson plan, students work in groups to create a recruiting poster and write a speech to persuade soldiers to join...
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Yorktown
Young scholars examine the last major battle of the Revolutionary War at Yorktown. After viewing photographs, they participate in simulations of the surrender by Cornwallis. To end the lesson, they put the events of the battle into the...
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Teaching With Documents: Powers of Persuasion - Poster Art of World War II
Students analyze 11 posters from wartime and complete a worksheet. They discuss the similarities and differences between the posters and where the posters might have been posted. Student volunteers from each group present the posters to...
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Infection Wars
Students observe blood cells under a microscope and make drawings of their observations. They write and act out a short play starring blood cells, antibodies and bacteria to demonstrate fighting infection.
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Breaching the Gulf Between Cultures
Students read excerpts from Jim Toner's memoir Serendib which chronicles his experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer in Sri Lanka. They work in small groups to analyze the excerpts and discuss how the author came to terms with Sri Lankan...
National First Ladies' Library
Rosie the Riveter
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...
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Civil War
Students explore rules of conduct in a political body, first drafting rules that apply to their classroom, then adapting them to political actions in Congress.