Curated OER
Philanthropic Movements in the United States to 1900: 1765 to the Declaration of Independence
Middle schoolers watch and discuss the Johnny Tremain video. They discuss the actions of citizens during the American Revolution and describe these actions as patriotic and/or philanthropic.
Curated OER
Applying Decoding, Vocabulary, and During Reading Strategies
Apply reading strategies to boost phonemic awareness. While reading a provided informational text, learners use decoding, vocabulary, and a graphic organizer to strengthen their overall reading ability. Handouts and the reading passage...
Curated OER
Declaration of Independence
Twelfth graders summarize sections of the Declaration of Independence and share their interpretations with classmates. They write essays on the Declaration or an essay tracing the rights of minorities from the Revolution to the present.
Curated OER
Declaration of Independence
Eighth graders explain the meaning of the Declaration of Independence. They view a political cartoon of the period, then do a writing assignment for homework. They write about how they would feel if the British were calling them traitors.
Curated OER
Fragment on the Constitution and Union (1861). The Purpose of the American Union
Eleventh graders examine how President Lincoln formulated the principles of the Declaration of Independence as the goal of the American Union. In this American Government instructional activity, 11th graders read and analyze...
Curated OER
Jefferson vs. Franklin: Revolutionary Philosophers
Students examine the contributions of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson to American Independence. In small groups, they conduct Internet research, read and discuss primary source documents, and complete a chart.
Curated OER
Declaration of Independence
Students define the words: republic, Articles of Condederation, survey, Northwest Ordinance, republicanism, ordinance, ratified, and Northwest Territory. They view the video Charlie Brown Constitution.
Curated OER
Jefferson's Declaration
Fifth graders understand the people and events associated with the
drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence and the document's significance. They identify the Founding Fathers and
their affiliations. As the lesson...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Franklin, Master Diplomat
While many often associate Ben Franklin with his kite electricity experiments, budding historians find out he contributed much more. They discover Franklin's political savvy by examining primary sources in the informative installment of...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Benjamin Franklin, Elder Statesman
Ben Franklin was the only American to sign The Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Alliance with France, the Treaty of Paris, and the US Constitution. An interesting resource explores his role in the latter by comparing the US...
Heritage Foundation
How to Read the Constitution
Even lawyers can find the US Constitution to be very wordy! Help learners create a foundation for understanding the Constitution with several analysis essays. Multiple activities complement the reading and allow for active and meaningful...
University of Arkansas
Our Responsibilities
The fourth in a five-lesson unit examining human rights and personal responsibility asks class groups to investigate a current rights issue, and using the provided graphic organizer, summarize the issue, consider which rights are being...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Courage “In the Time of the Butterflies”: A Common Core Exemplar
The courage of Las Mariposas, the Mirabal sisters, is the focus of a series of activities designed to accompany a reading of In the Time of the Butterflies that ask readers to consider what it means to be courageous. Beautifully crafted...
Curated OER
Preserving Democracy
Students read excerpts of the Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution. Using the documents, they identify the ideas of how the government should be run. In groups, they develop a skit that encourages people to be...
Curated OER
Fight For Your Right - Leading A Revolution of Change
High schoolers examine civil rights. For this civil rights lesson, students research human rights issues of United States history. High schoolers then discuss their research findings and write Bill of Rights statements for the topics...
Curated OER
American Revolution Simulation: Colonial History, Drama
Middle schoolers explain why the American colonies declared the independence, students should relate to that which is held most dearly i.e. life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They participate in a drama that illustrates this.
Curated OER
Comparing Foundations of Democracy
Students examine democratic values. In this democratic ideologies lesson, students discuss individual rights and rights of the group. Students also discuss the implications of the priorities made in democratic societies regarding rights.
Curated OER
Explore the Constitution
Students examine the U.S. Constitution. For this American history lesson, students explore the founders' vision of U.S. government as they participate in readers' theatre, role-playing scenarios, and constitutional analysis activities.
School Improvement in Maryland
Dividing the Powers of Government
Who does what? To develop an understanding of the balance of power between the US federal and state governments, class members research responsibilities in terms of legal systems, security issues, economic activities, lawmaking, and...
EngageNY
Close Reading: Unpacking Specific Articles of the UDHR
Lesson 6 of this extensive unit finally has your class begin to work their way through specific articles from the text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Before examining the rights actually detailed in the...
EngageNY
Close Reading: Becoming Experts on Specific Articles of the UDHR
A continuation of the previous lesson plan, which is part of a larger group of lessons on human rights (see additional materials). Here, in Lesson 7, your class will explore more articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights....
EngageNY
Main Ideas in Informational Text: Analyzing a Firsthand Human Rights Account
Although this is part of a series, lesson plan nine has your class take a break from their close study of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) text to read the firsthand account “Teaching Nepalis to Read, Plant, and...
EngageNY
End of Unit 1 Assessment: On-Demand Analysis of a Human Rights Account
The last instructional activity in this unit about human rights consists of a final assessment. To demonstrate the skills your class has acquired throughout this unit, they will work with a new article entitled "From Kosovo to the United...
Curated OER
Social Studies 7th Grade: American Revolution
A basic overview of the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence, this presentation provides students with key terms and facts about life in the thirteen original colonies. The final slide includes an assignment for students...