Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Phineas Gage: Questioning Strategy

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Focus on chapter two of Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science with a questioning activity. After teaching and modeling several types of questions, learners work with partners and then independently to answer and...
Activity
John Wiley & Sons

Build a Pyramid

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
Learners discover fascinating facts about the Great Pyramid of ancient Egypt and construct a scale model of the pyramid with this fun activity learning exercise. 
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Unit Plan for The Catcher in the Rye —A “Place-Based” Approach

For Students 10th Standards
"People never notice anything." As part of their study of The Catcher in the Rye, class members adopt Holden Caulfield's approach and spend time as quiet observers of their surrounding, recording their observations/reflections in a...
Unit Plan
Lerner Publishing

Meet the Dinosaurs

For Teachers K - 3rd Standards
Take your class of youngsters on a prehistoric adventure with this four-lesson series on dinosaurs. Accompanying the Meet the Dinosaurs books by Don Lessem, these lessons engage children in writing their own dinosaur books,...
Activity
School Rack

Westward Expansion Project Choices

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
What a great list of brief research projects for reviewing the era of westward expansion in the United States! Learners are directed to choose and complete three of the projects on the given list, which includes opportunities to design...
Handout
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Going SmokeFree Matters: Casinos

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Everyone has the right to a smokefree workplace, but those who work in casinos are exposed to so much secondhand smoke that they can suffer the same ailments as heavy smokers themselves. Learn more about the effects of secondhand smoke,...
Website
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Smithsonian Institution

Vietnam

For Students 5th - 12th Standards
What do Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, and communism have in common? They all have something to do with the Vietnam War. Scholars engage in readings, view related images, and read about important artifacts on the website.
Interactive
US National Archives

Eastern Europe 1939-45 — Berlin

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
The inevitability of World War II has arrived: Berlin has fallen. Young historians watch contemporaneous footage of the event, analyze primary source documents, and write a news report that details the roles of the Soviet, British,...
Lesson Plan
Curriculum Development Institute

Factors for Economic Integration in Western Europe since 1945

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
While the European Union has been a part of economic landscape for decades, it grew out of a period of economic integration after World War II. Using a round table method, class members analyze and discuss the events leading up to the...
Unit Plan
Museum of the American Revolution

Hamilton Was Here: Rising Up in Revolutionary Philadelphia

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Hamilton may be a hit Broadway show, but there is so much more to learn. An eight-unit resource guides young historians through the life of Alexander Hamilton and the Revolutionary War. The lessons include hands-on-activities, writing,...
Interactive
DocsTeach

Exploring America's Diversity: Gertrud Danneberg (Beginner)

For Teachers 4th - 10th
Everyone is an immigrant in their own way. Young scholars read historic documents to understand one woman's journey from Germany to the United States. The activity uses a mixture of text, discussion, and written prompts to help...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Friar Margil & The Spanish Missions

For Teachers 1st - 12th
Students explore the life of Friar Margil de Jesus as well as other Spanish friars. They research Friar Margil and write a paragraph explaining why Spanish friars came to Texas. In groups, students create a PowerPoint presentation...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Cartoons for The Classroom: Lame Duck Congress

For Students 9th - 12th
Clear up "lame duck" congressional confusion with this political cartoon analysis worksheet. Background information on the concept's history and current use is provided, and 2 cartoons give a past and present context. Three talking...
Lesson Plan
Pace University

Jacksonian Democracy

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Jacksonian Democracy ... a total success or a complete failure? Young academics examine Jacksonian Democracy, including the concept of the supremacy of the federal government and the forced relocation of Native Americans. Scholars...
Activity
National Park Service

Maltese Cross Cabin

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
The Maltese Cross Cabin, a frontier residence of Theodore Roosevelt, is a time capsule that commemorates Roosevelt's time in the Dakota territory. An explanatory video and response guide takes students on a virtual tour of the wooden...
Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

John Brown

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How did the raid on Harper's Ferry contribute to the start of the Civil War? Curated for high school historians, the activity explains John Brown's contribution to the start of the Civil War by using violence to demand an end to slavery....
Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Connecting with Ruby Bridges

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
When Ruby Bridges entered an all-white school in New Orleans in 1960, she also entered history. Scholars consider what the experience must have been like for the young girl using two books that document her experience as well as a double...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Instruments From Around the World

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
How much does the environment affect how and what man creates? Children explore the effect of the environment on primitive man as they research raw materials from a specific location. They use their findings to write a short essay about...
Handout
New Bedford Whaling Museum

A New Bedford Voyage!

For Students 5th - 7th Standards
A thorough set of activities, articles, and reference material can enlighten your class about the history of whaling in New England. Kids travel back to a time when whale products were valuable and hunting whales was a way to help the...
Handout
ProCon

Drinking Age

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Eighteen is the age of adulthood in the United States, but 21 is the legal drinking age. Pupils use the provided website to determine whether the age to legally purchase and consume alcohol should be lowered. They weigh the pros and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Oklahoma! The Cultural Myth of America

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners explore cultural myths in America by collecting images and characteristics of stereotypical Americans. They read a primary source document, discussing the views of the author in class. Next, they compare the terms used to...
Lesson Plan
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Huntington Library

Everyday Life - Exploring the California Missions

For Teachers 4th Standards
Young scholars relive history as they examine primary sources that document everyday life in the California missions. During a class viewing of the included slideshow presentation, children analyze documents, paintings, and...
Lesson Plan
University of Minnesota

Beautiful Brain: Brain Inspiration

For Teachers 5th - 9th Standards
"Neuroscientists consider Cajal as important to their discipline as Einstein is to physics." The first of four lessons has scholars view Santiago Ramon y Cajal's drawings of neurons. They reflect and respond to the art through writing...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Crawford Grill: Opening the Doors of Opportunity

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Analyze the role the Crawford Grill played in the history of Jazz music. Budding historians research interviews and video clips to learn about the Crawford Grill in Pennsylvania and black music history. The lesson culminates when...