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Creating a Memorial Day Poster Poem
Does your class know about the meaning of Memorial Day? Discuss the history of the holiday in this lesson, which prompts elementary and middle schoolers to create word webs of ideas about the holiday. Additionally, they create poems...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The President Under the Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation sounds like one big, fancy title to middle schoolers. Here, scaffolded steps help to ease novices into understanding this all-important American document. Discussion questions, lesson activities, and ideas...
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The Red Badge of Courage: A New Kind of Courage
Students provide examples of Crane's treatment of the "manly virtues" associated with war using support from the text of The Red Badge of Courage. They describe the three published endings of The Red Badge of Courage and the difference...
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Paul Revere: The Midnight Rider
Students watch a video of "Paul Revere: The Midnight Rider," complete a vocabulary list and discuss the video using the questions that are provided.
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Lesson Plan
Eleventh graders will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding Key Idea: As listeners and readers, 11th graders will collect data, facts, and ideas, discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations. As...
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A Burning Desire: A Focus Group Turns Its Attention To Old Glory
Students explore the issue of a Constitutional amendment to ban flag burning. They simulate the role of a Senator's aide, conduct Internet research, write and prepare an oral and a written response based on research,
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Color My World
Students examine colors and describe how colors contribute to the way a person may feel after listening to several books. Students also survey class for favorite colors and graph results, as well as discover how different colors are made...
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Building a Nation
Eighth graders identify the main ideas of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. They read and discuss text, read and summarize a section of the Declaration of Independence in small groups, and write a paper on why the colonists felt it...
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The Old Folks Will Bless You and the Girls Kiss You
Fourth graders reflect on the Revolutionary War. In this Colonial America history lesson, 4th graders discuss various battles of the war, specifically the Battle of Cowpens. Students begin by watching a video chronicling...
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Taxation Without Representation
Eighth graders empathize with how colonists felt when they were taxed without representation. They use a metaphor of students and a school principal to describe the strained relationship that developed between the colonies and Britain.
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Taking Up Arms and the Challenge of Slavery in the Revolutionary Era
Students examine a series of documents which discuss the contradiction in the Americans' rhetoric about slavery. They act as members of designated Committees of Correspondence in the five different colonies, communicating their...
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Simple Symbols and American Children
Students are introduced to a variety of symbols representing the United States. As a class, they identify places in which they have seen the various symbols and discuss what they mean. To end the instructional activity, they state the...
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Different Viewpoints - Loyalist or Patriot
Third graders use primary sources to study U.S. history and government. In this primary sources lesson, 3rd graders practice gathering information from "eye witness" accounts of history.
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Political Campaign Ads
During a political campaign, you can hardly turn around without encountering an endorsement or attack on a candidate. High schoolers examine the ways that negative advertisement, positive advertisements, and everything in between can...
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Evaluation Essay
Students write an essay about previous studied lessons that is applied to the Japanese American experience. They have to role play being a Caucasian, or Nisei in California at a given time based on what they have studied. What would...
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Mixed Blessings
Students investigate the recent federal appeals court decision finding the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional. They further investigate the notions of constitutionality and separation between church and state by analyzing a patriotic...
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Communism and Containment
Learners "discover" top secret documents that describe the "Patriot" program. They are assigned the task of educating the American people about the threat of Soviets taking over America, including the key points of the Truman Doctrine...
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Consequences of Individual Choices
Students take the sides of Patriots or Tories. In this colonial American lesson, students read primary sources that feature James Murray and Captain Jones. Students then write dialogues and limericks based on a fictional meeting of the 2...
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Hooray For Heroes
Students identify and interpret what heroes are by researching various American heroes of the past. Students select several school heroes and interview them, as well as their own personal hero and write a story about them. Students...
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America Poems
Students examine examples of how other Americans have expressed their feelings about America through songs and poetry, and write their own poems to express their relationship with America.
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Can't You Make Them Behave, King George?
Fifth graders describe the changes in King George III's policy toward the American colonies by sequencing key events between the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. They explain the colonial reactions to command decisions...
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History of Aaron Copland
Third graders study the history of Aaron Copland, the famous American composer. They dance to the song Hoe-Down composed by Aaron Copland.
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Discovering Fall
Young scholars explore the American landscape during fall. After viewing paintings of fall, learners imagine themselves there and what it would be like. They then build an understanding of the painter's use of detail and color...
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Government: War Powers Limitations
Students examine historic examples of authority during wartime. They interpret the Fifth Amendment. They debate the merits of the Patriot Act.