Eighth graders create a propaganda poster. In this US history lesson students research the various sides during the Mexican-American War. They present their poster and their position for or against the war.

Fifth graders write a speech.  In this history lesson, 5th graders define the word infamy and listen to a speech by FDR.  Students work in groups to summarize his speech and rewrite sections of the speech.

Readers decode and deconstruct political cartoons to heighten critical thinking, extra-textual literacy, and making meaning from symbolism and metaphor. A compatible activity to use in English class when your 8th or 11th graders are...

Take a look at tobacco advertising techniques through the decades. Students analyze the differences in strategies, and write an essay on the advertising history of one brand of tobacco, how tobacco advertising has changed over time, or...

Ripped from the headlines! Discuss topical social issues like racism, discrimination, and diversity while exploring the concept of citizen journalism. Begin with a professional-looking presentation on the history of citizen journalism....

In his article about color-blind casting entitled, "Willy Loman Is Lost, Still Looking for Stimulus Plan and Some Dignity," Charles Isherwood quotes August Wilson as saying,  "To mount an all-black production of a 'Death of a...

Class members examine depictions of Thanksgiving in various mediums and discuss how point of view influences the composition and presentation of the work. While the focus here is on important events in American history as seen from the...

Centered on the short story "The Tenth Man" by Polish Holocaust survivor Ida Fink, here is a solid one-day resource to support study of World War II or Nazi history, short stories, or to complement any ELA unit on The Diary of Anne Frank...

The Apaches: People of the Southwest offers readers a chance to employ the “Ready-Set-Go-Whoa!” strategy (an adaptation of the KWL) to test what they know and summarize what they learn as they read Jennifer Fleischner’s nonfiction...

Tackle ethics in your high school history classes with a Socratic seminar about torture as a means for obtaining information. The plan allows for pupils to take the reins during the seminar. On the first day, class members read several...

Even history can be the basis for the inquiry process. First, several images of a bowls and vessels used in Japanese tea ceremonies are examined. Then, the class crafts questions about the origin, purpose, and use of the items. They use...

Step into history and step out with a new understanding of events. These strategies bring a new level of understanding of key events by asking viewers to engage in and respond to projected images. Complete directions for the activity, a...

Readers of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry expand their understanding of discrimination by using the provided graphic organizer to record the definition of the word, characteristics of and different types of discrimination, as well as...

Introduce young musicians to the history of and different styles of music with an inquiry-based learning activity that asks them to play detectives to determine the similarities and differences among the sheet music found at a series of...

Class members pair up to discuss how the author of A Long Walk to Water altered history. They then work independently on Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Comparing Water for Sudan and A Long Walk to Water. Readers close the lesson plan...

Is that a true story? Readers work to gather evidence for comparing the historical and fictional text Time Trip: Sudan’s Civil War and A Long Walk to Water. Scholars identify the use of real people and experiences versus the use of...

That's history. Scholars work together to review the text Abolition and its accompanying text-dependent questions. They then determine what information to add to the Historical Context anchor chart. For homework, individuals think...

Young scholars compare the histories of Japan and the United States by creating horizontal time lines of the two countries. They conduct research via the internet and available text books to complete their time line. The class discusses...

Students explore 19th century American artwork.  In this cross curriculum New York history and art appreciation lesson, students view a reproduction of the painting "Situation of America, 1848," and identify visual symbols and...

Fifth graders create a video. In this historical presentation, 5th graders watch a video clip of a dramatization of a historical event in American History. Students discuss how this video was put together. Students divide into small...

Students explore the history of bark paintings in South America and produce their own version of these paintings.

Students analyze the work of Diego Rivera. They participate in a class discussion, critique various paintings, write a short story based on a Rivera mural, and create a class mural.

Students analyze selected pieces of art and infer how they reflect a sense of disillusionment, and/or cynicism in American society in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and Watergate scandal. Then they identify and place cultural attitudes...

Students explore the historical sequence of cultures throughout history. They demonstrate the ability to organize events in chronological order and demonstrate how time is measured and annotated.