Smithsonian Institution
A Ticket to Philly—In 1769: Thinking about Cities, Then and Now
While cities had only a small fraction of the population in colonial America, they played a significant role in pre-revolutionary years, and this was certainly true for the largest city in the North American colonies: Philadelphia. Your...
Curated OER
Then and Now: Life in Early America, 1740 - 1840
Learners complete a unit of lessons that examine life in early America from 1740-1840. They compare items with similar objects we use today, explore various websites, create a paper doll, try and guess the function of various objects,...
Curated OER
Settlement Exploration: Then and Now
NASA has crafted an imaginative and memorable series of lessons, "NASA and Jamestown Education Module." This lesson is one of the five components. In it, middle schoolers connect history and science by comparing the settlement of...
Smithsonian Institution
Native Resistance: Native Resistance Then and Now
Native Americans lost so much—and gained so little in return. Scholars explore Native Americans' resistance to the United States government. The lesson uses primary sources to explore the different forms of protest and gives a voice to...
Curated OER
Miss America
The first part of this article by PBS on the Miss America pageants can be used in a health class when it's time to talk about body image. There are links to related articles. There are some great questions for discussion. There are ideas...
Curated OER
Pilgrim Immigration Lesson Plans: Then and Now
Pilgrim immigration lesson plans offer more than a study of these early settlers. It gives students an insight into modern immigration.
Curated OER
North America, Then and Now
Students identify ocean, lake, gulf, and continent on maps of North America from 1845 and the present, and identify Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, the Great Lakes, and the Gulf of Mexico on maps of North America from 1845 and the present.
Curated OER
America Established Because of Protest
Students explore events and causes that led to American Revolution and examine popular pro-Patriot renderings and texts of these issues created both at that time and in later years. Students then prepare and deliver oral presentations...
Annenberg Foundation
America's History in the Making: Classroom Applications One
Someone finds a time capsule 100 years from now, and it includes your family photo album. What would the photos tell that person about you and your place in history? Scholars investigate how artifacts tell stories. Using photos, maps,...
Curated OER
My Name is America
Students read My Name is America about the Donner Party journey and create a scrapbook of what they read. In this Donner Party lesson plan, students also map out the journal they read about.
Curated OER
Native Americans and the Clash of Cultures: Then and Now
Learners begin the lesson by identifying how and why the Native Americans came to North America. Using the internet, they examine how their culture spread throughout the continent and in groups they discuss the stereotypes between the...
Curated OER
Thanksgiving Then and Now
Learners create a Venn diagram to compare the Pilgrim's "First Thanksgiving" with today's Thanksgiving celebration. They use one type of graphic organizer, a Venn diagram, talk and read about the Thanksgiving celebration of 1621 at...
Curated OER
Renaissance Occupations - The New Middle Class
Learners share their knowledge of the Renaissance Period. For this creative activity, pupils create fliers detailing services offered during this era. They focus on a particular occupation and detail how this job has changed from then...
Curated OER
Everyday Heroes Then and Now
Middle schoolers explore the concept of philanthropy. In this philanthropic heroes instructional activity, students read Kate Shelley: Bound for Legend and discuss the Industrial Revolution. Middle schoolers consider Kate Shelley's...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
The Boston Massacre: You Be the Judge!
The importance of considering multiple perspectives of the same event is the big idea in this exercise that focuses on the Boston Massacre. Class groups examine photos of four depictions of the massacre, an English and an American...
Curated OER
Willie Nelson: All Together Now!
Students recite Willie Nelson's lyrics in one voice and then analyze their tone and vocabulary usage. They research Willie Nelson's history and dramatize the song: "On the Road Again."
Curated OER
The Fabric of America
Students examine the theme of independence in American history by participating in a class-wide paper quilt project. Each student creates three quilt squares representing the past, present and future of independence in the United States.
Curated OER
Pennsylvania Colony
Students research the main reasons for the colonists moving to the Pennsylvania colony. They analyze maps, label a bubble map, list similarities/differences of immigrants then and now, and create a colonial newspaper advertisement.
Curated OER
European Expansion in America
Students explore human settlement in America - from the 1500s to about the turn of the 20th Century. They follow the relationships and changes beginning in the east, then head west to witness the final battles of this era.
Curated OER
America's Stone Age Explorers
Students watch a Nova program examining the earliest in habitants of the Americas. In groups. they take notes on various topics covered in the program. Among the topics covered are: the Clovis people, Solutrean culture, migration...
Curated OER
Reading the World, Then and Now
Students distinguish geographic features using Ptolemy's map of the world.
Curated OER
Pilgrims/Voyage to America
Second graders are read the story "Tattered Sails". Using the text, they discover the reasons why the Pilgrims came to America. They identify the hardships they faced on the voyage and once they settled on land. Using a map, they locate...
Curated OER
The Greatest Show on Earth: Then and Now
Students explore the history of the circus in the United States. They explore the life of John Bill Ricketts, founder of the first circus. Students compare Ricketts' first circus to the modern circus.
Curated OER
Then and Now: Tolerance as a Casualty of War
Students compare terrorist attacks on the US. In this lesson on tolerance and war, students use various resources and links to examine the concept of toleration during war. Students will focus on the attacks of Pear Harbor in 1941 and...