Annenberg Foundation
Masculine Heroes
What were the driving forces behind American expansion in the nineteenth century, and what were its effects? Scholars watch a video, read biographies, engage in discussion, write journals and poetry, draw, and create a multimedia...
Annenberg Foundation
Spirit of Nationalism
What were the virtues and values that helped form America? Pupils watch and discuss a video, read biographies of early Americans, chart the differences between early American religious movements, write journals and letters, draw, and...
University of Kansas
Newspaper in the Classroom
Newspapers aren't only for reading—they're for learning skills, too! A journalism unit provides three lessons each for primary, intermediate, and secondary grades. Lessons include objectives, materials, vocabulary, and procedure, and...
Annenberg Foundation
Utopian Promise
Scholars learn all about the Puritans in the third installment of a 16-part lesson series. After watching a video, they read and discuss biographies of Puritans and Quakers from American history, write journal entries and poetry, and...
Annenberg Foundation
Exploring Borderlands
What motivated Europeans to explore the New World, and what effects did their exploration have on Native American populations? The second installment of a 16-part American Passages series prompts pupils to watch a video and read several...
Orange Public Schools
Stagecraft
The house lights dim, the curtain parts, lights slowly come up, revealing the stage. Before the actors appear, before a word is spoken, the audience is drawn in by the lighting, by the colors, by lines of the set, by the props, and...
iCivics
Step Two: The News and You
With so many news resources, scholars likely feel incredibly confused about what the news means. Pupils participate in reading activities, fill out graphic charts, answer questions on worksheets, and complete a quick write activity.
Little Kids Rock
The Latin Rhythms of “Despacito”
When you hear the first few beats of "Despacito," the unrivaled Latin pop hit of 2017, you can't keep your feet from moving! A music analysis lesson plan examines the intoxicating hit by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee and introduces the...
iCivics
Step Nine: Action Campaign
It's time to take action! Learners strategize their action campaigns by using the resource and past brainstorming activities from the series that help them pinpoint problems in their communities. They use included templates to get the...
iCivics
Step Eight: Positions, Please!
Everyone sees the results of public policy, but not everyone understands the strategy that goes into creating an effective one. Now that your class understands the brainstorming process from earlier in the series, they continue on to the...
iCivics
Step Seven: Brainstorm A-Brewin'
Brainstorming—the art of coming up with endless ideas. Pupils brainstorm how to solve local problems in their counties and eventually narrow their ideas down to one solution as a team.
iCivics
Step Five: All about Public Policy
Public policy is important to understand because it affects everyone. The resource tells middle schoolers how the government uses policy to accomplish goals in the administration. It includes a reading, true or false worksheet, a...
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund
Hometown Heroes
Transform studying about veterans in a textbook to personal interviews with veterans in the community. Four varying lesson plans make up an entire unit or individualized learning based on your class's needs. Exercises include researching...
Mr. Nussbaum
Abraham Lincoln Reading Comprehension—The Middle Years (Part 2)
Abraham Lincoln's face may only be worth one cent, but the online reading passage and questions about his life are an invaluable resource. Pupils read a passage about Lincoln's experience with the Illinois Legislature, earning his law...
Mr. Nussbaum
Abraham Lincoln Reading Comprehension—The Middle Years (Part 3)
How did Abraham Lincoln begin to change the minds of American citizens? Join him in his quest with a reading passage about Lincoln's experiences as a congressman and public denouncement of slavery. The resource contains reading...
Mr. Nussbaum
Abraham Lincoln Reading Comprehension—The Middle Years (Part 1)
Learn more about Honest Abe with an informative passage that details his life chronologically. As learners read sections of the text, they answer multiple choice questions that draw on their ability to recall details from the passage.
Center for Civic Education
The Power of Nonviolence: Rosa Parks: A Quest for Equal Protection Under the Law
Teach young historians about the historical legacy of Rosa Parks with a multi-faceted lesson plan. Pupils follow stations and use journals to explore prominent events, analyze primary resource documents, and engage in interesting...
PBS
Women's History: Parading Through History
Want to teach your pupils about debate, effective speech techniques, propaganda, and the women's movement? The first in a sequential series of three, scholars analyze real propaganda images from the the historic women's movement, view a...
PBS
The Goals of the March on Washington
Who else had a dream other than Martin Luther King, Jr.? Pupils explore civil rights leaders in a fourth lesson out of a series of five about people who paved the way to freedom for African Americans. The inquiry-based unit has your...
National History Day
Helping Life and Aiding Death: Science, Technology, and Engineering at Work during World War I
Science, engineering, and United States history? Pupils research collections of artifacts from the Smithsonian to learn about historical scientific innovations. At the end of the lesson, they write an essay to discuss technology's...
National History Day
Heroes Who Made a Difference: Memorializing a Distinguished Service Cross Award Recipient
Ever wonder how to memorialize World War I heroes in the classroom? Activities in a high-quality social studies resource prompt middle schoolers to research Internet sources, complete a graphic organizer, and write an editorial feature...
National History Day
More Than Mud and Cooties: The Poetry of World War I Soldiers
Poetry is not just for romance. Teach middle schoolers about soldiers' experiences during World War I with poetry written by the soldiers themselves. The lesson includes a simulation activity, a graphic organizer activity, and a...
National History Day
“War Is Hell. We Know it Now.” American Soldiers in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive
Understanding the soldier's experiences during World War I sometimes takes a newscast. Learners see the importance of understanding multiple points of view with a newscast project surrounding the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Compare and...
National History Day
“The Art of War”: Trench Art of World War I
Teach pupils how veterans used art to deal with PTSD and shell-shock from trench warfare during World War I. Scholars use graphic organizers, a cartoon analysis sheet, and their own inferences to analyze primary source art work by veterans.