Students listen to a guided imagery exercise that takes them back to 1969. They brianstorm ideas to try to discover why they would not be allowed to sit at an empty table at a Burdines lunch counter in 1969. They read letters about the...

Students discover using globes. In this geography lesson, students use a globe to outline the original 13 colonies. Students also use a globe to measure the distance from London to New York City and determine how many days it would have...

Learners analyze a photograph and translate the analysis into words. They explain and explain the impact of governmental decisions made during a specific historical time period.

What have US-Japanese relations been like since the conclusion of World War II? Why do some commentators identify Japan's postwar years as a subordinate independence? Invite your young historians to research Japan's status in the world...

Students examine and analyze various excerpts from documents of freedom such as Magna Carta and Virginia Declaration of Rights, identify how documents influenced each other, and discuss ideas and rights necessary to build representative...

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.

Students discover the ideals of Canada by analyzing its symbols.  In this Canadian culture activity, students identify the symbols that established the U.S. as its own nation and compare them to important Canadian symbols....

Ninth graders research the United States acquisition of the Philippines and their fight for independence. They locate the Philippines on a map and brainstorm how its geography has benefits. They access the Internet and complete a student...

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...

Students examine perspectives for and against the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba, develop a position on the embargo and articulate viewpoints in a public forum.

Students consider how zoning policy shapes the character of neigborhoods. They see how zoning and loan policies have been used historically in the U.S. to benefit some people and discriminate against others. They examine tensions between...

Fifth graders complete a timeline activity in which they outline the events from explorations to the early Colonial era. In groups, they discover an overview of the events that lead up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. ...

Students research topics related to trade, and develop a graphic organizer. They debate and discuss topics related to trade.

Discuss the history of slavery by analyzing historic photography depicting slavery. Learners write fictional stories based on these photographs. This is a creative and motivating way to launch a discussion of these topics. 

Get high school historians to step outside their own shoes by responding to JFK's inaugural address from the perspective of a civil rights activist, a soviet diplomat, or a Cuban exile. After a class discussion about the address,...

Students examine different perspectives on the events during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Using the internet, they research the Cuban perspective on the issue and discover the need for empathy in a situation like this. They use primary...

Students design a plan for a housing development in their city. For this house development lesson plan, students observe pictures of land use, research lawmaking, and develop a plan for an environmentally friendly housing development in...

Students research as a reporter would and present the loyalist and patriot point of view on the American Revolution.  In this patriots versus loyalist lesson plan, students produce a project such as a video debate or webpage...

Students explore the concept of crossing cultures. They examine how Americans may be viewed by people in another culture and discover that that Peace Corps Volunteers are trained to cross cultures respectfully so that they are accepted...

Fifth graders read paragraphs that they've written from a Mountains to Climb self-reflection worksheet.

Students collect information about British actions in Boston and send it by secret message to leaders in Philadelphia.

Students study the impact of social media. In this Iranian election lesson, students examine the outcome of the 2009 election and the public protests that followed it. Students determine how citizen journalism informed people around the...

Students examine and explain the events that lead up to the Revolutionary War. In this Revolutionary War lesson, students summarize and evaluate several of the major battles that defined the Revolutionary War.and major battles involving...

Students explore the Barbary Pirates of the Mediterranean. In this American history lesson, students read a narrative regarding the conflict between the Barbary Pirates and the United States under the leadership of Washington, Adams,...