Explore U.S. geography with your class by viewing a documentary. Show a portion of the Ken Burns documentary "The National Parks," and identify the individuals responsible for keeping the parks in order. Elementary and middle schoolers...

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,...

Youngsters celebrate Memorial Day by creating a coloring book of the major holiday events, as well as constructing a windsock donning stars and stripes.

Students study the United States flag. In this American history and government lesson, students define and give examples of familiar symbols.  Students design a classroom flag.  Students identify and describe the American flag.

Ninth graders investigate specific individuals involved in Operation Iraqi Freedom and working backward to stories from World War II.  In this US History lesson, 9th graders read documents that depict the conflicts faced by...

Students examine the lives of refugees. In this human rights instructional activity, students use the provided refugee cards to play games that require them to learn details about the lives of the refugees. 

Eleventh graders explore areas of concern to the African American community in the 1820's.  In this American History lesson, 11th graders examine how the establishment of the nations first African American newspaper addressed these...

Sixth graders examine the meaning and background of the song, "America the Beautiful." In this "America the Beautiful" lesson plan, 6th graders read the words and history of the song and answer comprehension questions about it.

Learners understand why historians conduct research and the importance of perception when it comes to studying history. The resource covers The Wars of Expansion and the Battle of Little Bighorn/Greasy Grass through group work, debate,...

The Vietnam War and World War I were two very important—and different—wars. To understand the differences, and similarities, class members watch videos, examine primary source documents, and then create a newscast that examines the...

Eleventh graders examine how nations around the world restrict the privacy of their citizens.  In this American Government instructional activity, 11th graders compare the freedoms of US citizens with those of people living in other...

Students discuss that governments exist for many purposes. They describe that governments maintain social order, provide public services, provide national security, manage conflict, establish justice, and manage resources.

Young historians closely examine the words of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address with this primary source analysis worksheet.

Invite your learners to take a close look at Abraham Lincoln's presidency through analysis worksheets of several images and primary documents, presented on an educational poster entirely dedicated to this great United States...

A key challenge in teaching kids how to read informational text, particularly primary source documents, is finding suitable resources and then developing questions that guide readers. Never fear, help is here in the form of a series...

Honor Abe Lincoln with a set of activity-based worksheets that can be used independently and in collaborative groups. Young historians participate in a listening activity where they fill in the missing blanks in a passage while being...

Using this interdisciplinary worksheet, your young historians will have the opportunity to practice their math skills while learning about the drastic population increase in the United States during the presidency of Andrew Jackson....

Proficient reading of informational text, especially primary source documents, requires practice. This message from Thomas Jefferson about the Louisiana Purchase offers readers a chance to develop these comprehension skills.

Teach the class about the predecessor to Declaration of Independence—the Virginia Declaration of Rights. Using the foundational documents, scholars examine the two writings to consider how they are similar and how they are different. A...

Students recite a poem to organize the steps to tie their shoes. In this shoe tying lesson, students learn a poem that gives the directions on how to tie shoes.

Young scholars sing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of patriotic music, including "America" and "The Star Spangled Banner," to sing expressively with appropriate dynamics, phrasing, and interpretation.

Students examine the Declaration of Independence. In this colonial America lesson, students read literature regarding the document as well as excerpts of the document itself. Students also perform a Reader's Theatre script based on the...

Students examine both the Preamble of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They work in small groups to connect the two documents and analyze how the documents are important to their lives today. They create a poster that visually...

Young scholars investigate the history of patriotic music and practice singing the tunes with classmates.  In this U.S. History instructional activity, students examine lyrics of the traditional song "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and...