Explore connections within and between informational texts with this lesson about encyclopedia articles. Middle schoolers write encyclopedia articles focusing on topics in American history. They discuss how to determine credibility...

Test release items can be a big help for getting the class ready for the end of the year state exams. Prep your 7th graders with 30 release questions in PowerPoint form. Questions cover US government/civics, US geography, and US history. 

Young historians explore US culture by investigating the US flag. They will use their textbooks, prior knowledge, and sources provided by the teacher to research the history of the American flag. They will design and create a trading...

Way before the digital age radio was the medium of popular culture. After listening to excerpts from radio programs (easily available on the Internet), participants return to the radio age by creating a two-minute sketch based on a...

Here is a complex lesson plan that interweaves the history of the Jim Crow South and the Great Migration with the study of poetry, art, and blues music from the Harlem Renaissance. The plan helps young historians develop a deep...

ELLs are introduced to the experiences of Filipino immigrants to the United States. As a class, they discuss the various waves of immigration to the United States and state the reasons why they would leave the Philippines. They compare...

Examine the United States through the lens of intolerance using this 2-week unit plan, which includes details for 13 days of instruction. Scholars study examples of prejudiced behavior throughout history, discuss issues in groups,...

To better understand who George Washington was and why we celebrated the bicentennial, pupils read a story and complete a worksheet. They sing and talk about the song, "Yankee Doodle Dandy" as they march around the room.

The class analyzes a series of documents intended to show the events that lead to women gaining the right to vote. They play a Tic-Tac-Toe style game, make a time line with sequencing cards, and review the 4 steps of social change....

Guide your students' reading with this instructional activity. Included are five matching and five multiple choice questions focused on aspects of the two-party system employed in the United States. Use as a quiz, guided reading...

Travel back in time with your class and actually see what a Revolutionary War battle may have looked like. This video depicts a historical re-enactment of a battle. Filmed at a reenactment camp in Illinois, this amateur clip may be...

Students analyze photographs of high plains sod homes and read accompanying narratives. They then choose one photograph and, using the copy and paste features and simple drawing tools available in Microsoft Word, students identify...

Seventh graders experience the structuring of researched information and placing documented resources into a visual presentation. students can be paired into small groups to promote tutoring in using PowerPoint.

Students research patterns of immigration throughout American history. The focus is on the process of how immigrants came through Ellis Island. Students reflect upon the topic to develop critical thinking skills.

Young scholars perform research into the Emancipation Proclaimation. The document will aid learners in understanding the history and culture of the time of writing. Finally critical thinking skills are used to formulate contextual meaning.

Learners use documents from California As I Saw It: First Person Narratives, 1849-1900 , in American Memory to create a script depicting the motivations, expectations, fears, and realizations of immigrants who settled California between...

Fifth graders create a PowerPoint presentation about Christopher Columbus. The integration of technology helps them to be engaged in the subject matter. The basis for the information in the presentation is for students to answer some...

Students focus upon the Civil War era using research methods of drawing information from primary sources. Literature and photographic images reflect, communicate, and influence human perspectives of historical events. The lesson helps...

Seventh graders review the content of American History and focus upon the original thirteen colonies. They also study the geography of the region. It is recommended that students have other lessons delivered on the topic prior to this one.

Students conduct research about the Civil War and the slavery movement. They examine primary and secondary resources. The use of the internet and web slides are resources made available for students to make cognitive connections.

Students use primary sources - diaries, letters, and photographs - to explore the experiences of women in the Civil War. By looking at a series of document galleries, the perspectives of slave women, plantation mistresses, female spies,...

Have your class learn through exploration. They use their texts and go on a US Constitutional scavenger hunt. Included are 45 questions they must hunt to find answers to. This plan uses the text as the main resource, why not give clues...

Students investigate the history of America with the help of children's literature. The story is structured as a timeline that begins at the time of Columbus and progresses to the present. The teacher reads the story with the class and...

Learners create a timeline that is broken down into significant events that are divided into decades. They participate in open discussion and create some open ended questions to stimulate further conversation.