High schoolers examine American identity through race, ethnicity, class, gender, regionalism, political values, and beliefs focusing on the Depression era.

Tenth graders view paintings to determine the identity of the United States in a specific time period. As a class, they listen to their teacher give the title of the painting and they write a prediction about what the painting might be....

In this engaging activity involving close analysis of abstract expressionist art, your class members will not only discover more about artist Friz Scholder's Native American art, but they will also have the opportunity to consider...

Students brainstorm a list of stereotypes associated with the Hispanic or Latin culture. In groups, they use the internet to research issues of importance to the Puerto Rican community. They focus on the cultures that speak Spanish and...

Challenge algebra learners to use the difference of cubes to solve this problem. Once your charges have taken out the factor (a - b), combined the like terms and set them equal to zero, the problem becomes a factorable quadratic...

As the United States has changed, so has the census! While required by the Constitution, the questions the government asks to allot representation and federal funding has developed over time. Using images of previous censuses, young...

Students explore African American history by researching the Jim Crow laws. In this Civil Rights lesson, students define the Jim Crow laws, the reasons they were put into place, and how they were ultimately defeated. Students write a...

Students describe the Mexican culture and relate it to their own culture. They investigate the Mexican culture through internet research, textbooks, and class discussions. Students create a mural of their school culture. They interview...

Students examine the suggestion that the subjective experience of everyday life and sense of identity has changed in America in recent years. In this post-modernism and mass culture instructional activity, students engage in 4 multi-step...

Students explore African american culture of the late 1950's and 60's through various primary sources including literature, music, art and others. They then prepare and conduct a mock interview and present with the class.

Students investigate the cultures of Native Americans and Euro-Americans through their clothing.  In this photograph analysis lesson plan, students observe historic photographs and analyze the style of clothes people wore and how it...

To gain a better understanding of Hispanic heritage and culture, as well as to build informational comprehension skill, learners explore facets of Hispanic American History. They engage in a class discussion, research three facts, and...

A set of 14 primary sources provides background for a study of Lorraine Hansberry's drama, A Raisin in the Sun. Featured are images from stage productions of the play, white supremacy protests, a clip from a television interview, and...

Young scholars take a field trip to an art gallery reflecting on the paintings they like the most. Individually, they use magazines to find pictures related to their personality. In pairs, they make a mask to represent their ethnic...

From stagecoach to railroad tracks, your class will discover how advancements in travel in the United States during the nineteenth century played an integral role in the industrialization and development of American society. The main...

Young scholars explore American history by reading biographical text in class. In this Benjamin Franklin lesson, students research the famous inventor by reading assigned text and answering reading comprehension questions afterwards....

Social Studies and role-playing can go hand in hand. Learners use supporting evidence found in primary and secondary source material to develop a character from the Five Points neighborhood in the 1850s. Each student takes on the role of...

Students examine colors and describe how colors contribute to the way a person may feel after listening to several books. Students also survey class for favorite colors and graph results, as well as discover how different colors are made...

Students examine the culture and art of the Deaf Community. They discover the history of the Deaf Community using art and their values. They compare and contrast different pieces of art.

Students examine culture and how immigrants adapt to American culture while contributing elements of their various cultures to that of the United States.

Students participate in an election for the purpose of comprehending the political process and the responsibilities that come with citizenship in a free society. They elect officials with no identity and are surprised with the revealing...

Students begin the activity by discussing the causes and effects of the movement west. Using primary sources, they develop their own definition for manifest destiny. In groups, they view examples of paintings and read poems on the...

Learners discover the impact of women on civil rights in United States history by analyzing primary source clues to identify influential female figures.

Students listen to songs from the French and Indian War period. They answer questions about the song and identify any historical terms. They examine the role of music in their own lives.