Curated OER
Have Minorities Gained Acceptance
Learners cite evidence gathered from magazines about how much Blacks are accepted into the mainstream of American life. They support their conclusions by writing an answer to an essay question.
Curated OER
Trails to the West
Eighth graders research American history of the 1850's. In this American history lesson, 8th graders write about how different American groups looked at the idea of Manifest Destiny. Students then draw the Oregon and Santa Fe Trail.
Curated OER
Jackie Steals Home
Students draw on their previous studies of American history and culture as they analyze primary sources from Jackie Robinson and Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s - 1960s in American Memory. A close reading of two documents relating to...
Curated OER
Lessons in Drama: Learning About American Political Thought
Students develop critical thinking skills so that they may produce their own written plays or music from their thoughts and feelings. They express their thoughts based on what has been presented to them over the duration of the course.
Curated OER
Whose Side Are You On?
Learners role play, persuading and staying neutral during arguments. In this viewpoint activity, students examine the viewpoints of soldiers in the Spanish-American War and role play. After a discussion, some learners try to persuade the...
Curated OER
Progression of Political Movements
Students examine the various political parties throughout history. In groups, they are given documents identifying the platforms of the parties in the 1868 election. To end the activity, they share their information with the class and...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Understanding the Koreas
Though this resource was designed in 2005, US tension with North Korea remains a relevant topic for exploration and understanding. Unfortunately, this lecture and reading-based lesson is unlikely to engage the class. The end product is a...
Curated OER
The Homestead Act
Eighth graders analyze the Native American's viewpoint of the Homestead Act. Using one Native American group who lived in Nebraska, they write a letter to the editor of a local newspaper discussing the Homestead Act and how it affected...
Curated OER
Rosa Parks/Segregation
Students examine the role of Rosa Parks in ended segregtation in the South. Using new vocabulary, they observe the effects of segregation by being placed into different groups over a two day period. They discuss the feelings and emotions...
PBS
The Sixties: Dylan Plugs in and Sells Out
Before Woodstock, there was Newport. Get plugged in to the social changes of the 1960s with a lesson that looks at Bob Dylan's performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival as a symbol of the radical changes that marked the era.
Curated OER
Evaluating the "Save the Indian" Reforms
Students explore the policies of the "Save the Indian" reforms. Working in groups, they review the motives, methods, and effects of the "Save the Indian" campaign of the late 19th century. Through discussion and writing, they form an...
Curated OER
Myths of the Wild West
Students examine the Wild West as it was depicted in films and books. In groups, they compare this information to what it was really like as they find out in books. They also discover the role of the Native Americans in the Wild West...
Curated OER
Women’s History
Students examine the "Cult of Domesticity." In this women's history lesson, students visit the specified Web sites to engage in research related to the characteristics that were thought to represent true womanhood as well as information...
Curated OER
VH1's When Disco Ruled the World
Learners choose a minority culture or an event and research the musical influences of that culture or event on American popular music. They discuss how minority cultures and events in American society influenced the Disco era.
Curated OER
"Martial Law in Hawaii After the Attack on Pearl Harbor"
Students explore the concepts of martial law, writ of habeas corpus, due process, discovery and human and constitutional rights during World War II. They assess the roles and responsibilities of government leaders and citizens during...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
America in Space: German Voices from Huntsville, Alabama
Project Paperclip, the Redstone Arsenal, and the Huntsville Space Center are all featured in a resource that investigates the contributions of Dr. Werner von Brawn and other German scientists to the US space program....
State Bar of Texas
Brown v. Board of Education
You walk each day over 20 blocks to school as a 9-year old because the color of your skin does not allow you to attend a school in your own neighborhood. Scholars use the 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education to investigate...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
The Homestead Act
To understand how the Homestead Act of 1862 changed the US and the lives of the people during that time, class members examine primary source materials including letters, broadsides, and images. They then assume the voice of a...
State Bar of Texas
Plessy v. Ferguson
Where did separate but equal originate and what does it mean? Scholars investigate the Supreme Court Case Plessy v. Ferguson. Using a short video clip, they analyze the impact the decision of legal segregation had on society in 1896....
State Bar of Texas
Sweatt v. Painter
Is separate but equal actually equal? The 1950 Supreme Court case Sweatt v. Painter discusses the law of segregation and inequality. Scholars investigate the impact of the case on the desegregation of public schools across the nation...
Curated OER
With Malice toward None: Lincoln's Assassination
Learners analyze primary documents regarding Lincoln's assassination. For this lesson on Lincoln's assassination, students analyze three primary sources of information regarding President Lincoln's assassination.
Curated OER
The Industrial Age in America: Robber Barons and Captains of Industry
Students define terms "robber baron" and "captain of industry," list positive and negative actions of one or more captains of industry/robber barons, and take and support stand as to whether particular financier/industrialist is or is...
Curated OER
Topsy Turvy Kids
Sixth graders study the artwork of Jaune Quick-to-See Smith before creating their own. In this painting lesson, 6th graders examine two pieces of work by Jaune Quick-to-See from the online collection of the Missoula Art Museum and read a...
Curated OER
Kensington Mansion: Plantation, Sharecroppers, Tenants
Eleventh graders investigate the significance of the Kensington Mansion. In this South Carolina history lesson, 11th graders take field trips to the mansion and research primary and secondary sources about plantations, sharecropping, and...