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Lesson Plan
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Carolina K-12

On the Road to Revolution: Creating a Living Timeline

For Teachers 8th Standards
Divided into nine topic groups, from the Proclamation of 1763 to the Battles of Lexington and Concord, your young historians research significant events on the road to the American Revolution, then create a two- to three-minute sketch...
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Lesson Plan
University of North Carolina

Sitting Down To Stand Up For Democracy

For Teachers 8th Standards
Boycotts and bus rides, sit-ins and speeches. The focus of this amazing resource is on those people who were willing to put themselves at risk to take a stand for their belief in equal rights for all. A must-have for your curriculum...
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Unit Plan
C3 Teachers

Women’s Rights: What Does It Mean to Be Equal?

For Teachers 7th
A guided-inquiry lesson asks seventh graders to research the compelling question, "What does it mean to be equal?" Guided by three supporting questions, researchers complete three formative performance tasks and gather evidence from...
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Unit Plan
C3 Teachers

Celebrity Social Responsibility: Does Celebrity Require Social Responsibility?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Is much required of those to whom much is given? That's the central question asked of middle schoolers in this lesson. Scholars consider the actions of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, Colin Kaepernick, Lady Gaga, and others who have taken...
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

Changemakers Lesson Plans

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Teens and tweens are invited to become changemakers in a five-lesson unit, asking them to investigate and share what they have learned about exemplary, contemporary Native Americans. They gather facts about their research subject, record...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

8 Ideas for Teaching National Hispanic Heritage Month

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
Here are eight ideas to celebrate National Hispanic Month! Scholars have the opportunity to read and discuss literature, include people and events in history, examine art, watch and discuss films, listen to and dance to music, explore...
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Unit Plan
Vaquera Films

Wonder Women - The Untold Story of American Superheroines: Middle School Curriculum Guide

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Women in power are the focus of a three-module unit that employs comic books to bring home the importance of equality and proficient media literacy skills. In module one, scholars examine gender roles in media—boosting media literacy and...
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Lesson Plan
Pulitzer Center

The Paradise Papers: A Lesson in Investigative Journalism

For Teachers 6th - Higher Ed Standards
The Paradise Papers, a year-long research project from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) exposed how political leaders, business people, and wealthy individuals used offshore entities to avoid taxes and hide...
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Unit Plan
New York City Department of Education

Grade 8 Science: Genetic Modification of Organisms

For Teachers 8th Standards
Genetic modification is a hot topic in the science and political world. A complete unit gives learners an opportunity to research genetic modification, play an interactive genetic engineering simulation, and interact with the information...
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Activity
US Apple Association

Apples: A Class Act! (Grades 4–6)

For Students 4th - 6th
Middle schoolers have a bushel of fun as they engage in activities and research core facts about apples. Packed with suggestions for in-class activities and out-of-class research, the colorful 6-page packet is sure to satisfy hungry...
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Lesson Plan
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PBS

Malcolm X: Minister and Civil Rights Activist

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
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PBS

Muhammad Ali: Boxer and Civil Rights Activist

For Students 3rd - 7th Standards
Many young people today know Muhammad Ali as the aging boxer who lit the torch at the 1996 Olympics. Introduce young historians to Ali the boxer, the Civil Rights activist, the war protestor, and the humanitarian with a powerful lesson...
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Lesson Plan
Stanford University

Observing Human Rights Day

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
How much intervention is appropriate for America to take in cases of human rights violations? Class members ponder a question that has lingered since the birth of America with a series of primary sources that reflect the degree to which...
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

The Search for Identity

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Discover how writers express identity in their writing. Learners explore how issues of identity surface in the literature of minority writers. Scholars watch a video, read and discuss biographies, conduct research, engage in creative...
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Becoming Visible

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
The television and interstate highways both came of age in 1950s America. Scholars use film, text, and discussion to explore how these and other cultural icons shaped the literature of the time. Pupils also create a family history...
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Rhythms in Poetry

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Rhyme, rhythm, free verse, imagery: Do these words describe poetry, or jazz music? The answer is both! A resource explores these similarities as scholars watch a video, engage in discussion, read author biographies, write poetry and...
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Lesson Plan
Digital Public Library of America

Teaching Guide: Exploring Little Women

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Louisa May Alcott's Little Women is a literary masterpiece as well as a timestamp of the formative mid-nineteenth century in America. Using a primary source set of photographs, letters, and portraits, readers discuss the ways...
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Lesson Plan
California Department of Education

Evaluating Web Sites

For Teachers 8th Standards
If it's on the Internet, it must be true—right? How can someone tell if a website contains less-than-truthful information? Savvy surfers evaluate sources in the fifth of a six-part college and career readiness instructional activity...
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Lesson Plan
California Department of Education

I Have “M.I.” Strengths!

For Teachers 6th Standards
There are so many ways to be smart! Can your class identify their intelligences? The third of five career and college lesson plans designed for sixth graders challenges them to assess their unique skills. Once they determine their...
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Interactive
Smithsonian Institution

The Price of Freedom: Americans at War

For Students 5th - 12th Standards
An interactive resource covers all of the United States' most prominent and influential historic wars including the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the War of 1812, and the Korean War. Learners observe cause and effect as well as how violence...
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Lesson Plan
Constitutional Rights Foundation

If Men Were Angels: Teaching the Constitution With the Federalist Papers

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Much like the methods of group work, the writers of the Federalist Papers worked together to advocate for their viewpoints against the anti-federalists. The resource enables learners to break into small groups and conduct research before...
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Lesson Plan
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Smithsonian Institution

Students’ Response to 9/11—A Documentary Report

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Young historians research the devastating attacks of 9/11 and use that information to script their own documentaries. The follow-up activity includes recording the documentary and conducting classmate interviews, 
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Lesson Plan
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Smithsonian Institution

The Soldier’s Experience—Vietnam versus World War I

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
The Vietnam War and World War I were two very important—and different—wars. To understand the differences, and similarities, class members watch videos, examine primary source documents, and then create a newscast that examines the...
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Lesson Plan
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Smithsonian Institution

Changing Gender Roles on the Home Front

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Many historians discuss how gender roles changed because of World War II, but how did this come to be? An informative resource challenges scholars to do some digging and research the information for themselves. They research how...