Active Citizenship Today (ACT) is a "unique social studies service learning program" that requires students to learn about the public policy associated with community issues they identify in their local community. This web site...

Learners study the Civil War. They conduct research in order to find out more information about the Battle of Corydon. Using this information, they create accurate props and sets for a play about this battle. They perform the play in...

Learn how to distinguish between curriculum and instruction. Utilize concept mapping strategies to organize a philosophy of elementary social studies education. Your class will be able to explain the process they underwent to organize...

Explore the rainforest with your class. Learners study the meaning of the word endangered, choose an animal to study, gather data, and discuss why the animal is in danger of extinction. This is a motivating way to have your class discuss...

“Humanscape No.65” by Melesia Casas and Ester Hernandez’s “Sun Maid Raisins” launch a study of how works of art can advocate for social change. After examining these two works and discussing the human rights issues raised, class members...

Students in kindergarten and college students engage in dialogue designed to help them get to know each other. They meet at three discussion centers, where the students express what makes them happy, how they are seen, and how they are...

An outstanding lesson on the Arkansas State Flag is here for you. In it, elementary schoolers learn about the symbolism of the flag, and create a replica of the flag as a final activity. They also memorize the Arkansas State Pledge, and...

Twelfth graders consider art as a medium to convey information and opinions on social conflict and issues. They analyze images from the Crocker Art Museum, discuss their effectiveness in raising awareness of an issue, and create a...

Arm your social studies class with knowledge about the middle ages. After learners use the internet to view photographs of the Middle Ages, they research the various types of armor used by those who were fighting and how it was...

Help middle schoolers conduct Internet research and develop a working definition for the discipline of social studies. From a list of websites, they develop classification skills and differentiate between primary and secondary sources....

A part of a study of Australian Aboriginal culture, class members listen to a Dreamtime story about a father who stenciled his handprint on a rock wall.  Class members then make their own hand print art representative of themselves...

An exciting twist on the study of the classical hero and the heroic quest! Using film to explore modern-day tales of heroes, the resource contains complete, ready-to-use lesson plans for as many as twelve days of instruction. Throughout...

Fourth graders study the Civil War and the Underground Railroad. In groups, they create coded quilts like those used in the Underground Railroad. They review secret codes used, plan a phrase they would like to use, and paint quilt...

Fourth graders study the Civil War and discuss what soldiers ate during that time period. In groups, representing Union and Confederate soldiers, they follow recipes, prepare, eat, and share Union hardtack and Confederate Johnnie Cakes.

America was founded by dreamers, and the American dream still resonates in our country today. Track the American dream from its Puritan beginnings to its optimistic descendants with a instructional activity that focuses on speeches...

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...

Second graders create a multimedia painting using warm or cool colors expressively. They demonstrate multimedia techniques in a drawing using pencil, oil pastel and tempera paints. They recognize and discuss mood created by warm and cool...

As Ken Jennings said, "There's just something hypnotic about maps." Certainly, the longer you look at them the more you can learn. In this project-based learning lesson, individuals study both historic and present-day maps of...

Students explore how to draw a world map by hand and how to locate countries.

We are all immigrants to this country and the study of immigration can help students connect to history in a personal way. Students will listen to audio clips from the Ellis Island web site, discuss the treatment of immigrants in the...

First graders make landform maps of the United States. In this landform lessons, 1st graders participate in a discussion of local landforms and make a landform map of the United States. They follow the teacher's directions to add plains,...

Middle schoolers go on an information gathering hunt on the Internet to study West African empires. They work in teams; meteorologists, bankers, writers, and archaeologists. They collect data on all sorts of topics related to West...

Here is a fascinating human geography study of the Zabbaleen. They are a sub-class of people who work as garbage collectors in Cairo, Egypt. I can't say enough good things about this resource in my limited space here. It is fabulous! If...

Youngsters study and discuss the history and importance of the American Flag. They explain the meaning of the Stars and Stripes, the name "Old Glory," and discover when and how the flag is displayed. This well-designed plan has many...