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Lesson Plan
Newseum

You Can’t Say That: Right to Know vs. Security Risk

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Print or block? That is the question young journalists debate as part of their study of the freedom of the press. Half the class represents the journalists' legal team, and the other half represents the government's legal team. Teams...
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Lesson Plan
Cultures of Dignity

Equity and Equality Lesson

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Equality does not equal equity and this lesson explains why. Class members compare two images--one labeled "Equality" and the other "Equity." Using the provided discussion questions, they then develop definitions that distinguish between...
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Lesson Plan
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Facing History and Ourselves

Many Voices, One National Identity

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
To conclude the unit on "Exploring Identity in the United States," pupils consider whether it is possible to combine many voices into one national identity. After creating an identity chart that lists words, phrases, and images that they...
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Lesson Plan
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Facing History and Ourselves

Connecting to the Past

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Young historians research the connections between their personal histories and the histories of our country to gain a deeper understanding of who they are. To begin, class members write about an object that they consider significant to...
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Lesson Plan
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Facing History and Ourselves

Identity and Choices

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Timshel! Thou mayest! is the big idea in a lesson plan that reminds learners that they have choices about how they present themselves to others. To begin, individuals rate the degree to which the choices they make each morning are...
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Lesson Plan
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Facing History and Ourselves

Identity and Labels

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Scholars look at the connections between identity and labels, assumptions, and stereotypes, in a lesson that examines identity in the United States. To set the stage for a discussion of these connections, class members analyze a cartoon,...
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Lesson Plan
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Facing History and Ourselves

Identity and Names

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Would a rose smell as sweet, as Juliet Capulet asserts, if called by any other name? The importance of names and the connection between names and identity are examined in a lesson that explores identity in the United States. After...
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Interactive
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Read Works

The What and Who of Elections

For Students 4th Standards
As citizens living in the United States, it is our civil duty to vote. But how does the voting process work? After reading a five-paragraph passage on the basics of elections and voting, young constituents respond to 10 questions based...
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Lesson Plan
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Facing History and Ourselves

Finding Your Voice

For Teachers 6th - 12th
To begin a study of what it means to be American, high schoolers first consider their own identities. They draw a picture of what they think an American looks like and share their images. Next, they examine an image of the "Flag of...
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Lesson Plan
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art

Can Girls Do That?

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
Why be limited by stereotypes? Young scholars examine a series of works of art, list the different ways boys and girls are represented, and then discuss the common stereotypes found in the works. They then search for art that does not...
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Lesson Plan
Academy of American Poets

Teach This Poem: "When Fannie Lou Hamer Said" by Mahogany L. Browne

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
After watching an excerpt from a video of Fannie Lou Hamer's testimony before Congress, pupils do a close reading of Mahogany L. Browne's poem "When Fannie Lou Hamer Said," annotate words and phrases that draw their attention and list...
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Lesson Plan
Academy of American Poets

Teach This Poem: "Alice Paul" by Katharine Rolston Fisher

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
Powerful women need not look like Wonder Woman. After writing a paragraph about a strong woman they know, young scholars examine images of Alice Paul and then do a close reading of Katharine Rolston Fisher's poem "Alice Paul." Finally,...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

“The Great Migration” by Minnie Bruce Pratt

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Minnie Bruce Pratt's poem, "The Great Migration," offers young scholars an opportunity to reflect on how where we come from influences who we are. Groups conduct a close reading of the poem, recording observations about the poem's...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

“Every Day We Get More Illegal” by Juan Felipe Herrera

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
A study of Jan Felipe Herrera's poem "Every Day We Get More Illegal" opens the door for a discussion on immigration. To begin, class members examine the photograph "Desert Survival," record their observations of the image, and then...
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Lesson Plan
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Memorial Hall Museum

Dedham Deed

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Class members examine primary source documents that expose the contrasting views of land ownership between the Pocumtuck and English settlers.
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Harriet Jacobs and Elizabeth Keckly: The Material and Emotional Realities of Childhood in Slavery

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Young historians learn how to make generalizations based on primary sources in a activity that uses the autobiographies of two women born into slavery. The class watches a historical re-enactment of scenes from the lives of Harriet...
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Lesson Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Actions that Changed the Law

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
The Fair Play Act of 2009 came about due to the actions of one woman. Young historians research Lilly Ledbetter and what she went through to get pay equal to that paid to men for the same work at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. The...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Identity Theft: Don't Let This Happen to Your Grandma!

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Class members consider how people steal online identities as they discover the essential elements of identity theft and consumer fraud. Pupils demonstrate learning by creating a poster or video about how to avoid identity theft. 
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Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

The Suffragist: Educator's Guide for Classroom Video

For Teachers 5th - 12th Standards
Class members take on the role of historical investigators to determine why it took 40 years for women in the United States to get the right to vote. Sleuths view videos and analyze primary sources and images to gather evidence to answer...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
While many have heard of Harriet Tubman, few are aware of the many ways this remarkable woman was involved in the United States Civil War, the abolitionist movement, and the Underground Railroad. Young historians examine primary source...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

African-American Communities in the North Before the Civil War

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Middle schoolers may be surprised to learn that before the American Civil War there were more slaves living in New York than there were in Kentucky! Young historians examine maps and census data to gather statistics about...
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Lesson Plan
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Learning for Justice

Marian Wright Edelman

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Marian Wright Edelman's 2014 Commencement Speech at Lewis and Clark College serves to inspire young scholars to investigate a problem in their community, to determine why the problem is important, and then to develop a plan for one thing...
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Lesson Plan
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Learning for Justice

Mary McLeod Bethune

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Young historians conduct a close reading of the text of an interview with Mary McLeod Bethune, the daughter of former slaves who taught herself to read, grew up to establish schools for other Black women, and went on to become an advisor...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

Student Dress Codes: What's Fair?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
The controversy over school dress codes continues. The debate involves questions like, why is there a policy? Who sets the policy? Who enforces the policy? What is a fair policy? Tweens and teens have an opportunity to engage in the...