Curated OER
Surrender at Yorktown
Eighth graders examine the start of the American Revolution. In this American History lesson, 8th graders analyze primary sources. Students prepare a narration of events leading up to the revolution.Â
Curated OER
Portraits of History
Eighth graders research the Post-Revolution to Pre-Civil War era by investigating the life and contributions of a notable person. They create silhouettes which are framed with timeline. Also, they add the research information to the...
Curated OER
Pilgrims: The First Americans
Fifth graders become familar with the pilgrims and first Thanksgiving through essays about important people of the time. For this Thanksgiving lesson, 5th graders choose an important figure from the time of the Pilgrims and write a two...
Curated OER
Underground Railroad/Quilts
Students explore the Underground Railroad communication system. In this cross curriculum fine arts and United States history Civil War instructional activity, students view several websites that feature quilts constructed by slaves...
Curated OER
African Americans in the Maritime Trades
Students explore Civil Rights by analyzing U.S. history. In this African American workforce lesson, students discuss the history of African Americans in Baltimore and the need for steady work that formed. Students define vocabulary terms...
Curated OER
My Way
Students culminate a humanities project by improvising music to accompany a video of a particular era in US history.
Curated OER
Research Lesson on the Dust Bowl
Eleventh graders connect art (photographs) to the historical period and conjecture about conditions during this era in American history, sharing ideas in class discussion. Each student completes a project on a period depicted in one of...
Curated OER
Stand Up And Sing
Students examine pieces of sheet music and identify context, purpose, and perspective with regard to the political, social, and economic conditions existing at that time. They create a cover illustrating a topic of the Progressive Era.
Curated OER
George Washington in Song
Students establish similarities to George Washington's time in office with the song "Yankee Doodle."Â In this U.S. History lesson, students learn the song "Yankee Doodle" then create a timeline of the song and a timeline of George...
Curated OER
A History of the War of 1812 and The Star-Spangled Banner
Students examine the causes and outcomes of the War of 1812, and determine the chronology of the Star-Spangled Banner. In this War of 1812 lesson, students learn vocabulary and read a narrative about the War of 1812 before participating...
Curated OER
Latino Contributions To American Culture
Young scholars create their own working definition of what it means to be an American. They examine the achievements of Latinos and discuss how the contribution of these Americans have enriched and helped shape American culture.
Curated OER
African American Experiences: Window to the Past
Students examine African life during slavery on the Internet. In this slavery lesson, students use the Internet to research slavery and create a scrapbook. Students review pictures of slavery and label them as primary or secondary sources.
Curated OER
African Americans: 1800 - 1870
Students explore living and working environment of both slave and free African Americans from places throughout the United States.
Curated OER
Urban Concentration and Racial Violence
Students research one of the many urban race riots in U.S. history, from the New York City riots during the Civil War to the "Red Summer of 1919" or the hate-strikes of 1943. They present their findings in the form of a newspaper's front...
Curated OER
American Revolution
Young scholars review the events leading to the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence. Using the internet, they examine many different political cartoons from the time period and discuss the political atmosphere. In...
Smithsonian Institution
Changing Gender Roles on the Home Front
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...
NPR
Suffrage Lesson Plan
Has life changed for American women in the last century, or are there common themes between the lives of 21st century women and the struggle of suffragettes from the 1910s? Explore the ways media reflects the position of women in the...
Curated OER
Exploring US Foreign Policy after WWII--The Cold War
Scholars explore U.S. Foreign Policy and Cold War ideologies adopted after WWII. They conduct Internet research on a topic or issue related to the Cold War Era, watch two films, and compose a time line and a multimedia presentation to...
Curated OER
Cultural Comparisons Interview
Pupils interview a family member and give an oral report. In this oral history instructional activity, students create interview questions relevant to an American historical period. Pupils interview a family member and present an oral...
Curated OER
Artwork of World Cultures
Seventh graders research a culture and art produced by the people of that culture. They create a PowerPoint presentation to explain their findings. Students make a sand painting depicting the art of that era.
Curated OER
Getting To Know an Era
Students explore the ways which we commemorate the important events in our country's history. They examine the state quarters and discuss events portrayed on the reverse. They design a coin to commemorate an important event in an era...
Curated OER
Malcolm X and Race Relations
Students read sections of Malcolm X's autobiography. In groups, they create a poster which highlights the events in his life and explains his philosophy on race relations. They present their poster to the class and answer any questions...
Curated OER
A House Divided: Photography in the Civil War
Students study Civil War photography and write captions for each picture based on context. In this Civil War photography lesson plan, students match photographs with their original captions. Students read included short biographies of...
Curated OER
I Dream of Castles: A Comparative Study of Castles in Feudal Europe and Japan
Students study castles of Japan while comparing and contrasting them with those of in Europe from the feudal era. They complete a unit of studies that includes reading, writing, Internet research, and critical thinking. They examine how...