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Activity
US Department of Commerce

Community Change

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
America is a country on the move. Analyzing data from the Census Bureau, class members gauge the people moving in and out of their areas. An interactive web feature allows pupils to see who is moving out and moving in, while discussion...
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Activity
US Department of Commerce

Constitution Day

For Teachers 5th - 6th Standards
Give your Constitution Day celebration a timely slant by discussing the census! An activity that includes analysis of the Constitutional call for a census, along with scaffolded worksheets, help pupils understand the connection between...
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Activity
US Department of Commerce

Apportionment: Grades 7-8

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
One person, one voice ... right? Using a simulation where uneven groups are given the same voice, scholars discover why fair apportionment based on an accurate census is important. Once finished, they use actual data to consider what...
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Activity
US Department of Commerce

Featured Activity: Exploring Questions for the 2020 Census

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Just what is the census for? Using data and census questions, class members explore how officials gather information. Then, they consider how the government uses the answers to determine how it spends its money with a collaborative...
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Activity
US Department of Commerce

The Opportunity Atlas

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The American dream is to climb the social and economic ladder, but is it really possible? Using an online opportunity atlas, class members explore income and social mobility throughout the country. Discussion prompts allow learners to...
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Activity
US Department of Commerce

The Census Questionnaire: Then and Now

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
As the United States has changed, so has the census! While required by the Constitution, the questions the government asks to allot representation and federal funding has developed over time. Using images of previous censuses, young...
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Activity
US Department of Commerce

Featured Activity: City Planning With Census Data

For Teachers 5th - 6th Standards
What's more important ... an ice cream store or a police station? How about a school or a hospital? Using a simulation game, pupils allot resources as the federal government would based on the census. Discussion questions round out the...
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Activity
US Department of Commerce

Apportionment: Grades 3-4

For Teachers 3rd - 4th Standards
Apportionment is a big word for young pupils. Use a helpful cartoon video and worksheet with data set to help them understand how the census fuels representative democracy. After examining how the census determines the number of seats a...
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Activity
National September 11 Memorial & Museum

Local Heroes

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
The cover of The New Yorker magazine sparks a conversation about September 11th and the invaluable sacrifices the first responders made to rescue those in danger. Scholars discuss their observations, thoughts, and feelings then take pen...
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Activity
Biology Corner

A Chromosome Study

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Study groups based on sizes of pairs. Pupils use images of chromosomes to create an organized pattern grouped into pairs and organized on size called a karyotype. Scholars create a second karyotype that contains a genetic disorder and...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Analyzing the Cotton Gin Patent

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Decode primary sources in a fast-paced activity. A quick guessing game helps pupils use visual clues to understand primary sources. Academics look at a picture of the cotton gin and must guess what it is without other knowledge or clues....
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Comparing American and French Revolutionary Documents

For Teachers 9th - 12th
This document or that? Historians compare crucial documents from both the American and French Revolution to gain a better understanding of the purpose and impact the documents had on each nation. Academics read excerpts from both...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Evaluating a Needlework Sampler as Historical Evidence

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Needlework isn't just for home decor; it can also help record family history. Academics analyze a needlework sampler to understand how they were used to record marriages and births. The activity includes a series of written questions,...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

From Dred Scott to the Civil Rights Act of 1875: Eighteen Years of Change

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
What do a photo of Abraham Lincoln, a map for the Battle of Antietam, and the Dred Scott decision all have in common? Learners consider the broader question as they examine documents related to civil rights during the Civil War and...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Evaluating the New Departure Strategy in the Fight for Women's Suffrage

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
When women demanded their right to vote, did the Constitution already protect it? The New Departure Strategy in the women's suffrage movement made this claim through court hearings. Using documents, such as transcripts from Susan B....
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Interactive
DocsTeach

How Effective were the Efforts of the Freedmen’s Bureau?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
The legacy of Reconstruction and the Freedman's Bureau is complicated. Using an interactive web resource, learners literally weigh the evidence using an online program in primary sources such as labor contracts and marriage records to...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Juneteenth General Order

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
While Juneteenth was more than 150 years ago, today Americans debate whether it should be a national holiday. Using a military declaration proclaiming the last of the enslaved people in Texas free, individuals look at the significance of...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Letter to President Abraham Lincoln from Annie Davis

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
What freed enslaved people? The answer, it turns out, is complicated. Using a set of online documents and writing prompts, young historians examine a series of primary sources, including a letter from a woman asking if she was freed and...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

A Petition for the Cotton Gin

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
While almost forgotten today, the cotton gin could be seen as one of the causes of the Civil War. The innovation led to more cotton production, which in turn undermined political power balances in the 1800s. Individuals unpack the...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Analyzing a Photograph of Clara Barton

For Teachers K - 2nd Standards
Just who was Clara Barton? Using an archive photo from the National Archives, class members consider the legacy of the founder of the American Red Cross. The activity includes the photograph, along with prompts to help young scholars...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Black Soldiers in the Civil War

For Teachers 7th - 10th Standards
Get hands on virtually with recruitment posters for African American soldiers during the Civil War with an interactive online resource. By highlighting key phrases in the posters using an Internet tool, learners discover how African...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Comparing Civil War Recruitment Posters

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
African Americans fought in the Civil War, and they were recruited by both the Union and the Confederacy! By comparing the wording of posters—one directed at freedmen and another to the owners of enslaved people—young historians discover...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Analyzing a Map of the Louisiana Purchase

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
With the stroke of a pen, Thomas Jefferson roughly doubled the size of the United States. The Louisiana Purchase not only grew the new country, but also it gave rise to the legends surrounding westward expansion and accelerated the...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

For Teachers 6th - 12th
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican-American War, but it did not end tensions between the two nations. The activity provides learners with an opportunity to practical historical analysis with text experts from the Treaty of...

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