Learners discuss the life and death of both Elaine De Kooning and the president she painted, John Kennedy. They learn how Kooning chose to describe President Kennedy through abstract expressionism and why her choice of color and...

The transition of power between former President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump may be the first political process that your students have followed. Fill out the details between these two leaders with a set of vocabulary...

Who knew that one poster about George Washington could have so many learning possibilities attached to it? Here you'll find an attractive learning display on the first president of the United States, as well as worksheets and...

Hilary Clinton may have been the first woman to run for president on a major party ticket, but she was only one example of an historic candidacy. Class members use video clips curated from C-SPAN to examine historical firsts in...

Of all the amendments found in The Bill of Rights, the First Amendment contains some of the most important freedoms for American citizens. A unit plan on the First Amendment features interactive lesson plans designed to teach about those...

As the first American president to win the Nobel Peace Prize, and only one of four presidents to do so in United States history, Theodore Roosevelt's foreign policy achievements and preservation of peace are often overshadowed by his...

Guess Who? The first lady edition! Scholars read documents to figure out the first lady that is being described. The activity focuses on Pat Nixon, the wife of President Richard Nixon. Academics then work in pairs and share their...

Travel the world with the First Lady!  Academics study images from Pat Nixon's travels as First Lady to discover her role in Richard Nixon's presidency. Historians match images to world locations, complete a worksheet, and...

Elementary schoolers examine money, then read a news article about new coins being produced by the U.S. Mint. The teacher introduces the article with samples of American money and a vocabulary activity, then students read the news piece...

A two-part instructional activity asks young scientists to research the contributions of African American scientists at Bell Laboratories. After presenting their findings, class members watch two demonstrations that introduce them to...

Why did the United States choose to invade Cuba in 1898? As part of a 3-day lesson, your young historians will first develop working hypotheses to answer this question, then work with a variety of historical primary source documents that...

Sometimes one trip shakes up the entire world. When President Richard Nixon traveled to China, he defied international and political boundaries. Nixon was the first American president to visit mainland China, which was a communist nation...

Here you'll find a fantastic resource for analyzing several primary sources regarding Thomas Jefferson's presidency, from his election and home in Monticello to the Lewis and Clark expedition and the Louisiana Purchase.

Students explore time period and events surrounding George Washington's inauguration, demonstrate how Washington set precedent for each action he took as American Republic's new president, and compare and contrast traditions and events...

Does the lens of history portray George Washington as a good leader? A three-lesson unit looks at Washington's early military career as the commander of the Virginia Regiment, his role in the fight for independence...

Times change; behaviors that were once considered acceptable can be seen in a very different light. Middle schoolers revisit the legacy of George Washington in a three-day lesson plan that uses primary sources to reveal Washington as a...

Why would an African-American slave fight in the Civil War? Read and analyze primary source documents to understand the ex-slave perspective on fighting in the Union Army. Everything to complete this instructional activity is included.

Amanda Gorman, the United States's first National Youth Poet Laureate, is featured in a resource from the Academy of American Poets. Class members first read Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech and note what King wanted...

Every president of the United States must be a natural-born citizen, but the definition of natural-born is not as straightforward as it seems. Secondary scholars examine two points of view surrounding the constitutional requirement...

Walk in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark as they discover the wonders, beauty, and dangers of the American frontier. After gaining background knowledge about Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, young explorers use primary...

When in the course of a course on historic American events, it becomes necessary for learners to examine, with decent respect, the Declaration of Independence, it becomes evident that there are six separate and equal parts of that...

Young scholars analyze period political cartoons and the causes of the economic downturn that began in1836. President Martin Van Buren's response as president and the reaction to his measures form the focus of this lesson.

Students examine and discuss the philosophical differences that arose during the Constitutional Convention and how these differences played a role in the formation of the first political parties.

Free Trade and Sailor's Rights! Pupils dive into America's first declared war, the War of 1812. They analyze the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison through diary entries and historical reasoning. To conclude the lesson, they use their...