What does the French and Indian War have to do with the American Revolution? Following the war, Britain issued the Proclamation of 1763 in an attempt to limit the colonists' western expansion. To understand how the proclamation, the...

John Smith's 1616 letter to Queen Anne of England offers ELLs an opportunity to learn about a bit of early American history. The four-page packet includes the full text of the letter. In addition, the packet includes a worksheet...

Young historians explore the reason American colonists were unhappy under British rule. Class members complete hands-on activities and participate in a group discussions to understand why colonists drafted the Declaration of Independence.

Did you know that prior to the American Revolution, Alabama was a part of the British empire and called New West Florida? Class members research the economic, political, and social realities of this territory and compare...

The importance of considering multiple perspectives of the same event is the big idea in this exercise that focuses on the Boston Massacre. Class groups examine photos of four depictions of the massacre, an English and an American...

Use Nathanial Hawthorne's immortal text on the influence of religion on the early American settlements, as well as its continued impact on American culture, with a unit that focuses on The Scarlet Letter. In addition to Hawthorne's...

Scholars examine the first Thanksgiving through books and interviews while they complete a KWL chart. Pretending they are part of the feast, learners craft a scrapbook page that features images related to their experience. Pupils reflect...

Go West, young man! Scholars use PBS video clips, slide shows, and interactive materials to create a picture of Manifest Destiny in the American West. Using a variety of primary and secondary sources, young historians learn about the...

A read-aloud anthology focuses on Columbus and the pilgrims. Young scholars listen to several stories covering Christopher Columbus, the Mayflower, Plymouth Rock, pilgrims, meeting Native Americans, and the first Thanksgiving. Nine...

Thirteen steps make up a lesson that challenges pupils to compare and contrast the daily lives of Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe. Learners revisit the Graffiti Wall then break into small groups for an investigative reading assignment...

In theory, at least, indentured servitude and slavery were two different practices in the American colonies. Class groups conduct a close reading of two primary source documents, one written by a slave and one by an indentured servant,...

Pilgrims, puritans, and Pennsylvania are all featured in a reading comprehension worksheet that asks kids to read a short passage about these early settlers and then to answer a series of questions based on the article.

Class members read a series of primary and secondary source materials to examine the effects of Queen Anne's War, also know as the War of Spanish Succession, on the Pocumtucks and other Native Americans in the area of Deerfield, MA.

Calling upon the legacies of Joan of Arc, Elizabeth I, and Catherine the Great, Esther Reed rallied Southern women to support the American Revolution. Using a broadside by Reed and other primary sources, such as poetry, young historians...

How did early American pioneers decide what to take with them on their journeys, and what was their traveling experience like? Here you'll find a collection of activities to help you explore Westward Expansion with your young learners.

Volume One of the 299-page Core Knowledge History of the United States covers events from the Precolonial Period to the 1800s.

This 262-page Core Knowledge teacher guide presents an overview of the two-volume History of the United States program designed for middle schoolers. The guide includes information about the learning strategies used, a pacing guide, the...

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...

Readers are introduced to some of the conflicts that arose over land and resources in the Americas in a two-part cross-curricular comprehension worksheet that asks kids to study the article and then to use information provided to...

Young historians trace the roots of African slavery and learn about the causes and effects of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade through a PowerPoint presentation and by reading and discussing excerpts from the book Copper Sun.

A lesson looks at the Pilgrims and Wampanoag tribe during the first Thanksgiving. Scholars compare and contrast information presented by an online activity then discuss their findings. Learners examine the two group's daily routines and...

Following an online activity, scholars listen to a read-aloud of If You Were at the First Thanksgiving by Anne Kamma. Pupils discuss their family traditions and complete a T-chart comparing the holiday then and now. Collages are made to...

What was the most beneficial policy for nineteenth-century African Americans: to stay in the United States and work for freedom, or to immigrate to a new place and build a society elsewhere? Your young historians will construct an...

From indentured servitude to involuntary race-based servitude, slavery has taken many forms in American history. Class members examine three manumission petitions that reveal how the rights of African Americans and African American...