University of California
Decolonization
The ripple effect from one small event can impact many others. Young historians research the ripple effect World War II had on decolonization in the second installment of an eight-part series. Through primary and secondary documents as...
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Perks and Perils
Learners research the life of the first family. In this U.S. Government lesson plan, students take a White House quiz, read an article about the first family and write in their journals about a typical day in their lives versus what a...
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Civil Rights Leaders
Tenth graders investigate three American leaders from the Civil Rights Movement while they examine the early 1960's and the topic of racial equality. They listen to music from the era, read speeches, and look at images of Martin Luther...
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Paths to the Presidency
Seventh graders investigate a timeline of the career paths that US presidents took before they became the president. They how these career choices prepared these men for the presidency.
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Using Primary Sources: Letters from the Presidents
Students research the life of a president by reading personal letters on the American Presidents web site, and explore the ways that the character and personality of the president affected the ways they handled historical events.
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Poetry and the American Presidents
Fifth graders choose a poetry activity in order to focus their research about American presidents.
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Digital Dreams
Students write a speech. In this dreams lesson, students define the word dreams and list their own dreams. Students read and discuss Langston Hughes work, read and discuss excerpts from speeches by JFK and Martin Luther King, Jr., and...
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How did Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson affect the Civil Rights Movement?
Students research Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson then utilize their findings to determine what each of the three Presidents contributed to the Civil Rights Movement. In this U.S. History lesson, students work in small groups to create...
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Sources of Information
High schoolers review information from a previous lesson about JFK and his assassination. As a class, they identify sources they believe historians use and describe the difference between a primary and secondary source. In groups, they...
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President Notebook
Students make presidential notebooks which they add to throughout the year. They arrange information about each president into an informational chapter.
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Jefferson vs. Franklin: Renaissance Men
Students investigate the achievements of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. They conduct Internet research, identify their achievements, and participate in a 'competition' that compares/contrasts the two men.
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In The Words of Abraham Lincoln...
Students explore the words of Abraham Lincoln. In this Abraham Lincoln lesson, students analyze segments of "The Gettysburg Address," his annual address to Congress in 1862, and his letter to Mrs. Bixby. Students conduct further research...
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Cuban Missile Crisis
Eleventh graders determine how causation shaped the Cuban Missile Crisis. For this Cold War lesson, 11th graders examine photographs and documents related to the crisis and analyze the television address that President Kennedy made to...
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The Unfinished Lincoln Memorial
Learners develop a list of images of President Abraham Lincoln: for example, self-taught youth, great debater, advocate of abolition of slavery and assassinated hero. They must determine if these images of Lincoln stand up under scrutiny.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Red States/Blue States: Mapping the Presidential Election
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...
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Red, Undecided, and Blue
Students analyze voter preferences in past elections, and then write letters to a presidential candidate, recommending winning strategies drawn from their research.
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Barbara Jordan
Learners examine the contributions made to our country by Barbara Jordan. They read and discuss the books "The Sneetches" and "Building a Bridge," write journal entries, participate in a discrimination simulation, create a class...
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Truth, Trash and Treasure
Students investigate how democracy in the United States makes civic virtue possible. They examine the rights and responsibilities associated with democracy. In small groups, they create public service posters that highlight these ideas.
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Jefferson vs. Franklin: Renaissance Men
Middle schoolers list a variety of interests and achievements of Franklin and Jefferson. They take a position that one or the other's interests and achievements were more wide-ranging or that they were equivalent. They write out their...
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Big Trouble in the New Frontier: The Bay of Pigs
Eleventh graders explore the Bay of Pigs invasion and defend both sides of the issue.
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Holding Out for a Hero: Roberto Clemente
Students brainstorm lists of heroes, heroic qualities, and ways to pay tribute to heroes. In this Holding Out for a Hero lesson, students record Clemente's heroic attributes as athlete ad humanitarian. After visiting the Beyond Baseball...
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Introducing Vocabulary
Eleventh graders create a timeline of events. In this vocabulary lesson, 11th graders work in groups to create a timeline of major events that occurred during the Civil Rights era. Students present to class then create a larger class...
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Research as a Historian, as an Artist
Students work together to research one area of history that is of an interest to them. Using primary sources, they examine photographs and disuss what they already know about the topic. They present their images and information to the...
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Develop Your Own Interpretation
Students use pieces of Andy Warhol's art to write critiques. Using different points of view, they answer discussion questions and share them with the class. They also interpret the art from a historian and artist point of view. They...