University of Arkansas
Human Rights
What basic rights are guaranteed to all Americans? Do citizens, legal aliens, illegal aliens, and minors all have the same rights? Should individuals all over the world enjoy the same rights? Class members read the Declaration of...
University of Arkansas
Promises Denied
"Promises Denied," the second instructional activity in a unit that asks learners to consider the responsibilities individuals have to uphold human rights, looks at documents that illustrate the difficulty the US has had trying to live...
Project Tahoe
Individual Rights vs. The Greater Good Within the Scope of War
When, if ever, is the government justified in restricting individual rights? When, if ever, should the "greater good" trump individual rights? To prepare to discuss this hot-button topic, class members examine primary source documents,...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
New Deal Programs in Alabama
New Deal programs are the focus of an activity that prompts middle and high schoolers to consider the end of the Great Depression. Groups examine primary source materials to gain an understanding of how these programs were implemented in...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "Heart to Heart" by Rita Dove
Take heart! Here's a lesson that will encourage learners to notice details. After listening to Sarah Vaughan singing "My Funny Valentine" and noting how the word heart relates to Valentine's Day, scholars observe a human heart image....
Stanford University
Migrant Mother Photograph
A picture often has hidden stories to tell. Looking at the iconic Migrant Mother photography by Dorothy Lange, individuals examine the human toll of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression at large. Other documents, including a statement...
Nemours KidsHealth
Alcohol: Grades K-2
Two lessons focus on alcohol's effects on the human body and encourage participants to make responsible choices. First, scholars identify five adults they can turn to for guidance and craft a construction paper hand that lists the...
US Environmental Protection Agency
Mapping Greenhouse Gas Emissions Where You Live
After investigating the US Environmental Protection Agency's climate change website, your environmental studies students discuss greenhouse gas emissions. They use an online interactive tool to look at data from power production...
Advocates for Human Rights
The Rights of the Child
Dr. Seuss wrote " A person's a person, no matter how small." The elementary resource uses Dr. Seuss's book Horton Hears a Who to explore children's rights in an engaging way. Young academics listen to the story, participate in group...
Facing History and Ourselves
The Range of Choices
Learners examine crimes against human rights. In this world history instructional activity, students watch a segment of a video about the Armenian Genocide. Learners reflect on the crimes of the Ottoman government in classroom...
Curated OER
The Chesapeake Bay in Captain John Smith's Time
When Captain John Smith visited the Chesapeake Bay in the summer of 1608, what types of animals and habitats did he encounter? Your young historians will analyze primary source documents to answer this question, as well as compare the...
Curated OER
Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay Landscape Long Ago and Today
Combine a fantastic review of primary source analysis with a study of Captain John Smith's influence on the Chesapeake Bay region in the seventeenth century. Your young historians will use images, a primary source excerpt, and maps...
Maryland Department of Education
Our Children Can Soar
Amazing efforts of African American leaders are celebrated in a lesson on civil participation. The engaging resource focuses on primary and secondary sources to analyze the impact of African American leaders such as Ella Fitzgerald....
National WWII Museum
“My Dear Little Boys…” Interpreting a letter home from the war
Letters have long been prized by historians as primary sources for what they reveal not only about events but also about the emotional responses of the writers to these events. "My Dear Little Boys," a letter written by Leonard Isacks on...
iCivics
Tribal Government: High School
Did you know there are 567 federally recognized American Indian and Native Alaskan tribes and villages in the United States alone? The resource helps break down the complexities of many different tribal societies to explain the concept...
NET Foundation for Television
1850-1874 Homestead Act Signed: Who were the Settlers?
Life in the great, wide-open spaces of the West! Scholars analyze the reasons behind the vast movement to the Great Plains after the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Homestead Act. Using photographic, document, map, video, and...
National Constitution Center
Civil Liberties and Rights Worldwide
How do governments differ in how they protect human rights? While the United States prides itself on its Bill of Rights, other countries have their own ways of protecting citizens' liberties. An interactive website, paired with...
Center for History Education
Where Did Thomas Jefferson Stand on the Issue of Slavery?
Thomas Jefferson was a complicated man with a complex legacy. Middle schoolers examine a series of primary source documents to gather evidence for an essay in which they answer where Jefferson stood on the issue of slavery.
Center for History Education
Dust Bowl Story
Images of the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression are haunting in the suffering they show. Young historians use photographs—both iconic and lesser known—to tell about the human experience during this time. A series of photographs, as...
Tennessee State Museum
An Emancipation Proclamation Map Lesson
Did the Emancipation Proclamation free all slaves during the Civil War? Why was it written, and what were its immediate and long-term effects? After reading primary source materials, constructing political maps representing information...
PBS
Helen Keller: Author, Advocate, and Activist
Have you ever had to work through a disability or shortcoming? Scholars analyze the life and impact of author, advocate, and activist Helen Keller. After researching photos, video clips, and primary sources, individuals form a written...
PBS
Eleanor Roosevelt: First Lady, Diplomat, and Activist
Scholars analyze the impact Eleanor Roosevelt had on not just the nation, but also on the world. Primary sources and video clips help form a picture of the First Lady and her accomplishments. As a final activity, individuals create...
Teaching Tolerance
Understanding the Prison Label
Break the chain. An engaging lesson examines why it is so hard to break free of the prison system in the US. Academics participate in a reader's theater, read primary sources, and discuss their thoughts. The lesson explains the hardships...
Curated OER
Revolution! The Atlantic World Reborn
This resource is rich with primary and secondary source material regarding major events in the Atlantic world during the Age of Revolution. While there are suggested classroom activities toward the beginning of the resource, its true...