3D printers, selfie sticks, smart watches. GPS, self-driving cars, YouTube. Imagine life without inventions. Believe it or not, these items were all invented in the last 10 years. Inventions, and the inventors responsible for them,...

Why did Stephen Douglas support the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854? Why did Abraham Lincoln oppose it? Young historians examine how the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 affected the political balance between free and slave states and explore how...

"I have never been able to forgive the rich for being rich, and it has colored my entire life and works." This colored view is the focus of a close reading activity that asks readers of The Great Gatsby to examine the way...

Thomas Jefferson is one of the most recognized names and faces in America—but is there more to the third president of the United States? Upper elementary and middle schoolers conduct research on Jefferson, his famous home at Monticello,...

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...

By studying Benjamin Franklin's work as a printer, your class will have a fantastic opportunity to learn about the economic concepts of entrepreneurship, human capital, and investment. 

High schoolers analyze a character of Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury to catch a glimpse of a family and the changes they, and the Old South, undergo. The use of time as it relates to the structure of the plot is covered in this...

Have you ever listened to a song that had a deeper political meaning to it? Every examined a work of art with layers of meaning? Pupils analyze the drawings of Arthur Szyk. They research the deeper meaning of several artistic cartoons...

As part of a study of the American Civil Rights movement, class members search the Internet to find important facts, people, events, and pictures that they use to create a timeline of events between 1955 and 1970. 

Students write their own version of "Peter and the Wolf". They explore the characters and the instruments that represent the characters. They use graphic organizing software to brainstorm ideas for characters and story lines for...

Scholars know him for his role in the American Revolution, but Ben Franklin was also a journalist and printer. Learners investigate his standards for what was fit to print using primary sources—including writings where Franklin explains...

Students compare and contrast the details from the life of the real David Crockett and the legendary folk hero he later became. They identify the characteristics of a tall tale and follow a rubric to create a tall tale of their own.

Students analyze documents, cartoons, speeches and articles about Joseph McCarthy and his crusade against "Un-American" activities. They guide their research with a worksheet and participate in class discussions about their findings.

Use some provocative modern art to get your class considering stereotypes and the impact they have on us all. Your class will discuss the print art Indian Look-Alike by Melanie Yazzie and stereotypes in general before...

We are all immigrants to this country and the study of immigration can help students connect to history in a personal way. Students will listen to audio clips from the Ellis Island web site, discuss the treatment of immigrants in the...

Students analyze period political cartoons and the causes of the economic downturn that began in1836. President Martin Van Buren's response as president and the reaction to his measures form the focus of this lesson.

Students define genre in the visual arts, particularly in Western painting and explain the differences between subject and genre. The genre of a variety of works of art is identified.

Young scholars examine the differences between the White House and Monticello. In small groups, they complete a virtual tour, complete a graphic organizer, take notes during the tour, and identify activities taking place at the White House.

Upper graders critically examine the history and process of amending the U.S. Constitution in light of the current issue facing the courts on legalizing gay marriage. They read a variety of articles, watch news clips, and develop a...

Students examine changes the White House has undergone in the past two centuries. They view and discuss online images and designs, compare diagrams, read information from various websites, and answer discussion questions.

Learners explore Jananese history through the use of the woodblock print called "ukiyo-e" prints. The audience attracted to the prints, their interests and tastes as well as how the prints reflected the life of the merchant class is the...

Students explore the parallel development and increasing complexity of writing and the growth of civilization in the Tigris and Euphrates valleys in ancient Mesopotamia.

Students examine the controversies over slavery's expansion and how the federal tariffs further entrenched the dividing line between northern and southern interests.

Students explore the wide-ranging debate over American slavery and the lives of its leading opponents and defenders and the views they held about America's "peculiar institution."