Students examine the Westward expansion. In this North American settlers instructional activity, students will view a PowerPoint presentation and answer critical thinking questions. Students will write an essay that analyzes the impact...

In this online interactive history quiz learning exercise, students respond to 50 multiple choice questions about the French and Indian War. Students may submit their answers to be scored.

Connecting social studies and American literature, students study the Great Awakening and draw comparisons between its impact on England and on parts of Colonial America. They research the lives and experiences of people who lived during...

Students explore ways to volunteer. In this volunteerism and philanthropy lesson, students brainstorm how the early Americans benefited from philanthropy, then discuss how others benefit from our philanthropy and how we choose ways to...

Students research the pilgrims in terms of why they left England, their voyage to America, the challenges they faced when they arrived, and their relationship with the American Indians. To conclude this unit, the students have a...

Students discover the importance and history behind the Thanksgiving feast. Using walnut shells and toothpicks, they construct models of the Mayflower and simulate giving them to the Native Americans for helping the Pilgrims survive.

Inventor, astronomer, surveyor, mathematician, clock maker. Learners celebrate the life of Benjamin Banneker by building creative analog clocks, making scale models, and solving problems related to surveying. The activities model the...

Need a model for character education? Benjamin Franklin presents himself as in a constant state of striving to become the man he hoped to be, making his autobiography is far more accessible to learners than those of people who consider...

The British and Spanish both had footholds in the New World, yet they had different approaches. Scholars explore the dynamics, along with the reasons behind immigration to the United States and business practices of the Gilded Age in a...

Academics explore the topic of life in California Missions for Native Americas. Class members complete a research activity, respond to writing prompts, and engage in hands-on-activities to learn who lived in the missions and what life...

Placing Ben Franklin’s ideas about a free press next to those embodied in the First Amendment sheds light on both. Learners interpret and compare two primary sources and then examine them in the light of a contemporary survey about...

Third graders locate several important American colonial cities on a map and research how their proximity to water and nearby arable land affected the rate and success of settlement.

Students read about and discuss the reasons European countries were interested in the Ohio Valley. They complete a puzzle to review vocabulary and watch a video on the Illinois Prairie and the I & M Canal. They rewrite the historical...

Third graders research life of Plymouth Plantation and write letters about life there home. In this Plymouth life lesson, 3rd graders complete a webquest as they gather information about the journey to America on the Mayflower and the...

Fourth graders explore the events leading up to the Mayflower Compact. In this government lesson, 4th graders have a teacher-led class discussion on the importance of government, then complete a worksheet on the topic.

Students reflect on the Declaration of Independence.  In this U.S. History lesson, students read the Declaration of Independence then complete an activity and worksheet on the topic.

Students compare and contrast school life today with that of Pennsylvania in the 1900's. For this school life lesson students create a description of a typical one-room schoolhouse. They think critically about attending school in a...

Learners research information about the Mayflower, Pilgrims, the Plymouth Colony, the Wampanoags, and the first Thanksgiving. They take an online tour of the Mayflower, interpret timelines, create a postcard, and compare and...

Students participate in a "To Tell The Truth" game show activity in order to determine the role of Sam Adams in the Revolutionary events that took place in the Boston area. They ask questions of three students posing as Sam Adams to...

Students examine the military leadership of George Washington. In this military leadership lesson plan, students use Internet and print resources to research Washington's military experience and his successful military campaigns....

Drawn by promises of fertile land, thousands of settlers poured West because of the Homestead Act of 1862. By examining images of the ads that drew them westward, learners consider the motivations for movement. They also consider how the...

Learn about the first Thanksgiving with a unit centered around the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians. First graders read and discuss books, create a mural, complete a worksheet about five blessings in their life, prepare...

Third graders draw pictures to show the life of early colonists and how they set the standard for rice farming. In this rice farming lesson plan, 3rd graders read about how and when Americans set the standards for growing and producing...

Fourth graders research the conflict between the American colonies and England and write about it. In this America verses England lesson plan, 4th graders read books, watch videos, and have class discussions about this time in history...