Everyone living in the United States today is a descendant from an immigrant—even Native Americans. Learn about the tumultuous history of American immigration with a reading passage that discusses the ancient migration over the Bering...

Social media and United States history combine as your young historians design a Facebook page for two major defendants of landmark Supreme Court cases. The resource includes a detailed rubric for research and page design, as well as a...

Students explore political parties by researching world history in class. In this Australian government lesson, students identify the term "federation" and discuss the elements of Australian politics. Students analyze a map of Australia...

High schoolers learn about citizens who were actively involved in the civil rights movement, and the strategies they used to overcome the Jim Crow laws that were so prevalent in the 1960s. They investigate the voting amendments of the US...

Though the grandeur and elegance of the British palace remains unchanged throughout history, the role of the monarch has shifted from absolute rule to collaboration with a constitutional parliament. Young historians learn about the...

Eleventh graders investigate the role of New York state during the American Revolution. In small groups, they research a particular region within colonial America, analyze primary source documents, complete Document Analysis Sheets, and...

The process of nominating and confirming federal judges can sound like a lot of bureaucratic hoops, but a resource breaks down the steps of the Supreme Court nominations in a simpler manner. Learners participate in four activities that...

Young historians investigate how voting patterns have changed by comparing the outcome of the 1960 election to the outcome of the recent election. A creative final assessment has participants making a news show wherein they provide...

Students examine both the Preamble of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They work in small groups to connect the two documents and analyze how the documents are important to their lives today. They create a poster that visually...

Students explore U.S. history by completing a quiz about civics. In this Benjamin Franklin lesson, students read assigned text about Franklin's role in the development of the Constitution and the creation of a new society. Students...

First graders simulate the signing of the constitution. In this American history lesson plan, 1st graders take on the roll of newspaper reporters during 1787. Students must pretend to interview signers of the constitution and create a...

Can a negative perception of a president's foreign policy harm his or her historical legacy? A project that winds the clock back to the date of Theodore Roosevelt's death puts students at the editorial desk of a fictional newspaper....

Students develop their own social studies textbook using a blank theme book as they complete activities and learning experiences throughout the year. The activities are in art, music, simulations, read alouds, shared writing and a class...

Students advertise for the perfect president. In this presidential duties lesson plan, students determine the attributes that the ideal president should have and then write job descriptions for the role.

Explore how the Civil War impacted the Civil Rights Movement. Class members complete a series of projects for a unit that uses a layered curriculum approach to learning. 

Create a digital movie documenting research about an American President. Using internet sources, students with special needs gather information about their chosen president. Working in groups, they use this information to create a...

Fifth graders read a rewritten version of the Declaration of Independence, create a set of pictures illustrating the Preamble of the Constitution and create a version of the Declaration of Independence in the form of a song, a poem,...

Students compare/contrast the media messages they see in two different communities in their city. They list the elements of art and the principles of design in the photographs they have taken in those two different communities. They...

Eighth graders investigate historical documents of the United States by reading the Mayflower Compact.  In this U.S. History instructional activity, 8th graders analyze the wording of the original Mayflower Compact of the first U.S....

A group of citizens in North Canada has decided to leave their country, and they are asking for help in setting up an American-style democracy. Using a carefully structured activity, pupils lay out the principles in the American...

Focusing on the differences between traditional Hopi government and the Hopi Tribal Council, this resource is a good addition to your unit on Native American culture. Learners conduct Internet research, analyze primary source photos, and...

Fourth graders write new rules of their school. In this rules and U.S. Constitution lesson, 4th graders discuss why we celebrate the fourth of July and examine the U.S. Constitution. Students discuss the differences between people now...

Bring history to life for your young scholars with a Fourth of July lesson series. After a class reading of the Declaration of Independence, students translate this pivotal document into layman's terms before working in small...

The Olympic Games are indeed a significant and far-reaching cultural component in our international community today, but from where do they originate? Where do our traditions stem from, and how do we choose the sports that constitute...