National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 2: Religion and the Argument for American Independence
Young scholars examine how religion affected arguments justifying American independence. They read and analyze primary source documents, and write an essay analyzing how Americans used religious arguments to justify revolution against a...
DocsTeach
American Indian Voting Rights through History
Vote ... it's your right! An enlightening lesson examines the history of voting rights for Native Americans. Leaners analyze primary documents and place them in chronological order. Academics also create a list of other events that took...
Pace University
Global History: Enlightenment
The core ideas of the Enlightenment—reason, knowledge, and freedom—represented a rebellion against the despotic control of absolute monarchs. As part of the study of the movement, class members assume the voice or either a monarch or an...
Curated OER
South American Revolutions
The revolution bug bit many during the 1700's. Explore a few of the causes and effects that incited South American revolutions. This slide show is lacking in detail and could use added concept clarification. With a teacher's touch, it...
Curated OER
A Rising People: Ben Franklin and the Americans
Young scholars examine the Enlightenment Era and its philosophies, including philosophers. Students gain an understanding concerning what they new science was and what it led to through a series of lessons and a PowerPoint. the end by...
Curated OER
Native American Unit
Third graders explore America's history prior to 1492. This unit of six lessons identifies five regions of the United States and assists students in the development of an understanding of the Native Americans who lived in the regions.
Curated OER
Colonials & Revolutionaries: Background Historical & Cultural Information
The four major trends of the 18th century (The Enlightenment, the Great Awakening, British global ambitions, and economic disagreements) are the focus of a PowerPoint that places in context such influences as deism, mercantilism,...
Curated OER
American Veterans: Past and Present
Research groups present an audio report on modern veteran issues in a radio show format.
Curated OER
Romanticism 1800-1860
What do Roger Chillingworth, Dr. Heidegger, and Ethan Brand have in common? They are all American literature poster boys for Romanticism, advertising the dangers of valuing reason over feeling and intuition. Introduce your class to...
Curated OER
Debating for Land
Students discover about the varying attitudes and definitions of land ownership held by Native and European Americans. They study a variety of primary documents from the nineteenth century.
Annenberg Foundation
Revolutionary Perspectives
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Learners go to the heart of the causes of the American Revolution. Examining political cartoons, Enlightenment documents, and firsthand accounts, they present their ideas and reflective...
K20 LEARN
Analyzing The "I Have A Dream" Speech
The famous words of Martin Luther King still resonate with scholars today. An enlightening lesson helps pupils examine the "I Have a Dream" speech in more depth and learn what impact it had on the civil rights movement. Young historians...
iCivics
Why Government?
Why do people create governments? Where did we get our ideas about government? This is a fantastic introductory lesson for your American government class that begins by reviewing the philosophies of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke in...
New York State Education Department
Global History and Geography Examination: June 2014
Want to test pupils' knowledge of world events? The assessment addresses global history, such as the ideas of the enlightenment, trade, and geography in five different sections. Pupils answer multiple choice, document-based items, and...
New York State Education Department
Global History and Geography Examination: August 2014
What does the class know about world history and geography? The assessment tests high school scholars' skills in a state standardized test from the New York Department of Education. It covers topics such as the Enlightenment and the...
DocsTeach
Exploring America's Diversity: Mercedes Valle (Beginner)
An enlightening activity focuses on the life of Mercedes Valle, an immigrant from Ecuador. Scholars analyze ships and census records to understand the life of Mercedes Valle. In addition, they participate in a group discussion and...
DocsTeach
The Zimmermann Telegram
An enlightening activity explains how a telegram prompted the United States to enter World War I. Scholars examine the telegram and work to decode it. To finish, individuals complete a worksheet and participate in group discussion to...
Curated OER
If These Walls Could Talk
Students explore Enlightenment and Neoclassical art. In this visual arts instructional activity, students compare and contrast images of architecture from both styles. Students create visual art designs that feature the ideals of...
Curated OER
The Spread of Revolutions
In this spread of revolutions study guide worksheet, students read the notes provided regarding the Enlightenment and the revolutions that took place in England, Latin America, Haiti, France, and the United States.
Curated OER
American Transcendentalism and Buddhism:
High schoolers study American transcendentalism through readings of Emerson and Thoreau. They make cognitive connections to the similarities to Buddhism in these writings. The connection of the literary movement is explained in the art...
Curated OER
The Most American Thing in America: The Chautauqua
Students explore the Chautauqua movement. In this Pennsylvania history lesson, students use primary documents to explore what the Chautauqua was and how it made a difference in the American way of life.
Curated OER
Black American Musicans: Precursors of Jazz
Young scholars trace the course of Black music from the 1900's to the beginning of the jazz age. They realize that when education is defined as enlightened training for a place in society and for individual personal development, it was...
Curated OER
Age of Enlightenment
Studnets compare example of primary documents that have shaped U.S. government and our Constitution.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Montaigne “On Cruelty”: A Close Reading of a Classic Essay
An excerpt from Michel de Montaigne's essay "On Cruelty" provides advanced readers an opportunity to polish their close reading skills. Scholars read the passage twice and then respond to the provided questions.