Declaring war is not as easy as some may think. High schoolers learn about Congress's limits regarding war by reading important clauses in the US Constitution. Various independent and collaborative activities reinforce learning, making...

Americans wanted to fulfill Manifest Destiny, and this pattern continued with the Mexican War. The resource specifically teaches about the Mexican War through a variety of exercises including a research project, group work, brainstorming...

How would a Frenchman, Englishman, and Native American have each viewed the French and Indian War? Your young historians will learn about their unique perspectives and the war as a whole through a role-playing activity,...

What is the difference between a Cold War and a Hot War? Scholars research the beginning of the Cold War. They analyze diary entries as well as excerpts from various events during the 45-year standoff. To finish, they prepare final...

World War I was the first major conflict on a global scale. Using primary documents, learners determine why the United States chose to enter World War I when it did. After analytical writing and group research, the causes of America's...

The end of World War II saw the world deeply changed over the last few years. Four thorough lessons explore post-war Europe, America, and Asia through reading assignments and discussion questions about the Grand Alliance and the signing...

Is Luke Skywalker the archetype of a literary hero? Follow the path of the Hero's Journey with an engaging lesson that details the plot structure, applies it to Star Wars: A New Hope, and invites class members to choose their own...

The power of a picture. During the events surrounding World War I, propaganda posters were widely distributed in American society to sway the emotions of its citizens. By analyzing World War I propaganda posters in the first installment...

Readers of Lord of the Flies consider the symbols of power William Golding uses in his dystopian novel and support their choice with evidence from the text.

The Nazis used the power of propaganda to encourage confirmative views and the discrimination of Jews. A social studies resource illustrates these issues through discussion, image analysis, and a writing exercise.

Point of view is everything, especially when reporting about the war in Afghanistan. Class members compare and contrast the same event from the war in Afghanistan as reported by five different sources. Learners are also asked to rank the...

Are executives as powerful as they sound? High schoolers find out about the US president and executive branch. A variety of activities include scaffolded reading sections, research assignments, and collaborative group work.

Class members read a series of primary and secondary source materials to examine the effects of Queen Anne's War, also know as the War of Spanish Succession, on the Pocumtucks and other Native Americans in the area of Deerfield, MA.

"I have here in my hand . . ." The war against Communism and Joseph McCarthy’s place in it are the focus of a series of lessons examining postwar America from 1945-1954. Joseph McCarthy takes center stage in this, the final activity...

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...

The end was just the beginning. The period immediately after the end of World War II and the Holocaust is often called "The Return to Life" as survivors looked to reunite and recreate broken families and shattered lives. A two-lesson...

Propaganda posters are powerful. Using images from The Art of War: American Poster Art 1941-1945 exhibit, young historians analyze the symbols, images, colors, and text used to rally support for World War II. Through seven activities,...

The artistic choices Art Spiegelman made in his graphic novel, Maus, are the focus of an exercise that asks class members to compare classic comic book forms with Spiegelman’s panels and frames. Directed to specific pages and guided by a...

Ta DUM, ta DUM, ta DUM, ta DUM, ta DUM. The force will be strong in the hearts of your young Jedi as they use their lightsabers to strike the accentted syllables in lines from Ian Doescher's William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New...

Ann Shin's award-winning documentary, My Enemy, My Brother introduces viewers to Zahed Haftlang and Najah Aboud, two child soldiers on opposite sides during the Iran-Iraq war. After viewing the film, class members are asked to...

Sometimes the New Order becomes synonymous with its implications for European countries, but what about its consequences for East Asia? The final instructional activity in a four-part series teaches scholars about World War II. High...

Originating from the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem, here is a resource to support your world historians in their study of World War II, the Holocaust, your cultural scholars learning about anti-semitism, or your...

Did you know that way before Hitler became a dictator, he actually spent nine months in a German jail? Provide the background for the escalating point before the Nazi party took over in World War II through the exercises in the resource....

How did Ku Klux Klan develop and flourish in the US? How did the government respond to acts of terrorism conducted by the KKK following the Civil War? How does the government respond to acts of terrorism today? This resource...