Activity
Library of Congress

The Harlem Renaissance

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
Learning to Give

The Beginning of the Storm

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Introduce readers to Mildred Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry with a lesson that sets the context for the novel. Class members research the bigotry in Mississippi during the Great Depression and identify examples in the story of how...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Great War: Evaluating the Treaty of Versailles

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars examine and evaluate the Treaty of Versailles. They read and discuss primary source documents, explore various websites, develop a list of postwar goals for France, Germany, and the U.S., and evaluate whether the treaty...
Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

Soviet Espionage in America

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The war against Communism and Joseph McCarthy’s place in it are the focus of a series of three lessons examining postwar America from 1945-1950. This first lesson asks groups to read an introduction that describes the Verona Project and...
Lesson Plan
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Lesson Snips

Lessons from the Holocaust

For Teachers 6th - 10th Standards
Connect global examples of attempted genocide with a well-designed social studies lesson. It includes an excellent informational text with background information on the Holocaust, as well as worksheets, book report guidelines, and...
PPT
Curated OER

20th Century American Art

For Teachers 12th - Higher Ed
See the changes, controversy, and innovations that define postwar American art. The onset of the modern art era in American history is well-defined in this slide-show. You'll see how Abstract Expressionism shifted into conceptual, pop,...
Worksheet
Worksheet Web

Analyzing the Text

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Practice analyzing informational text with a reading passage that details the Great Depression. Scholars read about the impacts of World War I, the Roaring Twenties, and the Depression, then answer 10 true or false questions. 
Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Women Who Changed the World

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
While you don't always find the names of famous women in history books, there are a variety of ways to help pupils learn about these notable females.
Lesson Plan
Global Oneness Project

A Vanishing Island

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The effects of rising sea levels on Isle de Jean Charles, located off the coast of Louisiana, are documented in Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee's poignant short video. Viewers are asked to consider not only the plight of residents but also what...
Lesson Plan
Global Oneness Project

Then and Now

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The devastating changes happening to the Native American inhabitants of an island off the coast of Louisiana are the topic of an informational lesson. After scholars break into groups to explore particular topics, they come back together...
Lesson Plan
Facing History and Ourselves

Do You Take the Oath?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Why did so many go along with Nazi policies during World War II? An investigatory unit includes four handouts, reading analyses, classroom discussion topics, and intriguing philosophical questions, helping learners understand the...
Study Guide
Penguin Books

A Teacher’s Guide to the Penguin Edition of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed Standards
The dry Oklahoma landscape in America's Dust Bowl sent many farmers in search of the promised land. A teacher's guide to John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath discusses the characters' desire for a better home along with other themes...
Website
Anne Frank House

Who Was Anne Frank?

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
Set the stage for a study of The Diary of a Young Girl with a resource that includes background information about Anne Frank's early years, the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands, her Secret Annex hiding place, and her capture and...
Lesson Plan
Digital Public Library of America

Teaching Guide: Exploring To Kill a Mockingbird

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, considered by many to be a seminal piece of American literature, contains many complex literary themes that carry through United States history. Use a series of discussion questions and classroom...
PPT
Curated OER

Great Depression

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Examine the Great Depression with your pupils. First you'll discuss the causes of the Great Depression, such as the stock market crash of 1929. Then, you'll examine key facts, like the Dust Bowl, the New Deal, and economic recovery.
Lesson Plan
Teach With Movies

The Glenn Miller Story (Film) - Teacher's Guide

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Anthony Mann's 1953 film biography, The Glenn Miller Story, is the focus of a series of activities that introduce class members to Miller's life and music. Of particular interest to music students will be the cameos by many famous...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Woody Guthrie: Life and Art

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Woody Guthrie will capture the imagination of even your most reluctant learners. Using his work, your class will develop their skills in non-fiction reading comprehension, interpreting primary source material, and use of multiple forms...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sequencing of Events

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Young scholars pick a time period and put events in chronological order using symbols.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz in America

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students explore the Swing Era and its implications. They answer questions and listen to music from the era.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz in America

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students learn vocabulary associated with the Swing Era. They also listen to music from the time period.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Hard Times Come Again No More" : Letters From Arkansas Families in the Great Depression

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Through this series of terrific lesson plans, pupils learn about the extent of poverty in the state of Arkansas during the Great Depression. They read documents from the period which describe how hard times were, view an online photo...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

It's All In How You Look At It

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students work collaboratively to create artistic renderings of digital photographs using a color value scale and grid techniques in this late-elementary school lesson based upon Ted Rose's book Discovering Drawing. The lesson includes a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Causes of Prohibition

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders explore the origins of the Prohibition Movement in the United States. In small groups, they analyze the influence of World War I in the passage of the eighteenth amendment. Students explain how different demographics of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Port of Entry

For Teachers 6th - 12th
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.

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