High schoolers are have begun to learn  the art of diplomacy with each other, but do they understand how diplomacy works at a global level?  The second in a series of four lessons, guides scholars in evaluating primary sources....

Remind young historians that many technological advancements influenced the events of World War I. After analyzing technology's evolution through primary sources, discussing the changes over time, and watching various video clips,...

World War I was known for its gruesome battlefields and horrific injuries. Using photographs from a battlefield surgeon's scrapbook, scholars see first-hand what life was like in the trenches. After creating a timeline of the war using...

Are sports essential to American life? Young historians ponder the question as they examine letters between the owner of the Boston Red Sox and Navy Secretary Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War I. The owner wanted two star players...

Has media always had an influence on public policy? After researching and reading news articles written during World War I, learners understand the influence of communication and media. They discuss articles in small groups and as a...

Did you know that way before Hitler became a dictator, he actually spent nine months in a German jail? Provide the background for the escalating point before the Nazi party took over in World War II through the exercises in the resource....

North and South: two opposite directions and two opposite economic and social systems in time of the Civil War. Pupils peruse census websites and primary source photographs to understand what life was like for the everyday person before...

Build scholars' ability to understand their own values and learn about World War II at the same time. Scholars write poetry and discuss identity and place in depth with an in-depth social studies resource. 

Scholars find out how the government used propaganda to mobilize children to help in the war effort. Lesson exercises include analyzing a quote from Franklin Roosevelt, viewing propaganda images and posters, and participating in a lively...

When it comes to the law, is justice always served? Teach scholars about how law sometimes enables prejudice of entire groups of people with a unit on World War II that includes a warm-up activity, analysis of primary sources,...

Sometimes the most important details of an informational text aren't within the text at all. Teach your class how to read timeline with a set of activities that prompts them to find specific dates and events on the timelines, as well as...

Students explore the concept of American Imperialism. In this American foreign policy lesson, students take notes on the Spanish-American War and foreign policy practices of the United States in the late 1800s.

The Crusades sounds like a glamorous time period in the Middle Ages full of glory—but was it? Scholars find and review the truth of the Crusades' influence on the world through the resource. The study guides, separated individually by...

Eleventh graders study the history of immigration from 1850 to the present.  In this American History lesson, 11th graders compare the 1924 and 1965 immigration acts and give a reasoned opinion on each.  Students research,...

The class receives background information on NATO, an atlas, and a blank world map. They color the original 1949 countries in red, the 1952 additions in green, and the 1990 additions in blue. This exercise would be a good starting point...

Students investigate WWII by researching Adolf Hitler. In this dictator biographical lesson, students identify the role Adolf Hitler played in the self destruction of Germany by reading secret transcripts from German leaders. Students...

Learners draw a time line on graph paper on a scale of one square to every five years beginning in 1770 and ending at 2000. They place historic events and inventions in their correct time period on the time line, and add their birthday...

Students study the Revolutionary War. In this colonial America instructional activity, students read Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes. Students discuss chapter 1 as they respond to the provided discussion questions.

Get your pupils outside and teach them about peace at the same time! Scholars create a list describing peace, hike outside, add to that list, and later create poems. The exercises support differentiation for your individual classes as...

Students explore reading comprehension strategies. In this character development and reading comprehension lesson, students brainstorm common traits of "heroes." Students read Heroes, then identify the personal conflicts the story...

Students have tournaments in teams after learning information about The Middle Ages. For this Middle Ages lesson plan, students learn that tournaments are mock battles, but that they will have these battles by answering questions in...

Students use countries and dogs from around the world to answer the questions.

The Harlem Renaissance brought forth many American art forms including jazz, and the writings of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Using a carefully curated set of documents from the Library of Congress, pupils see the cultural...

Ninth graders examine the tension experienced by African-Americans as they struggled to establish a vibrant and meaningful identity based on the promises of liberty and equality in the midst of a society.  In this American History...