Examine the Texas social studies curriculum controversy with your class. Using a current events instructional activity, learners read the article "A Christian Land Governed by Christian Principles," respond to the discussion questions,...

One of the keys to success in school is organization. This resource leads learners through the process of creating an outline for a chapter from a social studies text. In addition, they review facts they have learned in their class...

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...

Identify various methods of assessment utilized in social studies classrooms. You will design non-traditional assessments for use in elementary-level social studies classrooms and discuss what assessment methods may be most appropriate...

Intended for a Christian audience, bible study, or home-school setting, this lesson has learners analyzing the significance of the ten commandments in today's world. They consider the commandments themselves, discuss their historical and...

How can social media help or hinder civil dialogue? How can information shared on social media be verified? As the investigation of media reports of the events surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown continues, class members read...

Eighth graders discuss the culminating activity to a unit in which they determine how they will present their "Design for My Future" and "My Personal Plan of Study." They pull together all of their work from the unit before writing a...

Are there differences in the brains of liberals and conservatives? That is the question young political scientists are challenged to answer. Class members examine studies, consider how the results are presented, and how the studies were...

Entitled American Studies, this small unit covers various topics related to the study of the United States. Learners warm up by creating a dictionary of democracy, then dive into three different lessons focused on government, famous...

Sexual harassment and sexual violence are by no means new issues. What has changed is the role of social media in these issues. This powerful and troubling lesson uses a specific rape case to launch research into a discussion of the...

Focus on a particular geographic location with this resource. Learners use their social studies textbook to look up information about a specific place. They write down a list of facts and read them to the class. Classmates guess which...

The Le Moyne brothers, Jean-Baptiste and Pierre, were among the first explorers of the Gulf Coast. Class members read biographical information and journal entries about these men, study maps showing where the settlements they established...

Students explore Africa and mind maps created by students from other schools. They discuss Africa and the number of countries, diversity of language, cultures, races, religions, and lifestyles and in groups study a mind map from another...

Ever wonder how to memorialize World War I heroes in the classroom? Activities in a high-quality social studies resource prompt middle schoolers to research Internet sources, complete a graphic organizer, and write an editorial feature...

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...

How propaganda was used to change the concept of women's roles during World War II is the focus of an online exhibit provided by the National Women's History Museum. Packed with propaganda posters and pictures, the packet points out how...

All of the people in your class would agree that life would be different without the invention of the telephone! Study Alexander Graham Bell's most famous and influential invention through the primary source document of his...

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...

A very timely lesson looks at the social and political factors that affect the spread of disease. Using the 1918 Influenza Pandemic as a case study, pupils research factors that influenced the spread of the disease, including the role of...

The reading of a contextual essay launches a study of Black Americans who served in Congress from 1870 through 1887. Young historians identify the African Americans who served during this period, investigate the ways they won national...

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....

As part of a study of the Civil Rights Movement from 1868 to the present, class members examine first person narratives, the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, and other significant events in civil rights history....

Students study a social issue involving gorillas, and work in groups to develop strategies to increase awareness of and problem solve a solution for the issue. They collect data using handheld computers and write a report.

Any study of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement would be incomplete without an examination of the life of Malcolm X. Class members view a short biographical video and analyze primary source documents to gain an understanding of the...