Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Siege and Battle of Corinth

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students complete a variety of activities that go along with the study of and possible fieldtrip to thesite of the Siege and Battle of Corinth in Mississippi. They examine the role transportation routes played in the formation of their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

To Move or Not to Move? Decision Making and Sacrifice

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine the motivations that prompted people to move westward during the 19th century. They take on the role of an average citizen and weigh the costs and benefits of making such a move and decide if they would have participated...
Lesson Plan
National First Ladies' Library

Martha Goes To War!

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers investigate how women went to war and the contributions that they have made in history. They conduct research using a variety of resources. The information is used in order to create a class presentation and answer some...
Unit Plan
1
1
Curated OER

Unit 1: Building Historical Background Knowledge: The Road to Revolution 1754–1776

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
What were the conditions that led to the American Revolution? What are the conditions that lead to revolution in other times and places? Class members examine primary source materials and use evidence drawn from these documents to craft...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Abraham Lincoln and Reconstruction

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Learners study Presidential Reconstruction during the Civil War years. They examine the role of the Executive Branch of government, especially in wartime. They investigate the complex issues of how Congress took on the role of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Whose Side Are You On?

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students role play, persuading and staying neutral during arguments. In this viewpoint lesson plan, students examine the viewpoints of soldiers in the Spanish-American War and role play. After a discussion, some students try to persuade...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Backward Lesson Plan

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore and analyze the position of freedmen in the post Civil War period as well as the impact of Andrew Johnson's presidency on Reconstruction. In addition, they evaluate the laws and amendments that were put in place during...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Press Perception of Jack Johnson

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students role-play the role of journalists during the 19th and 20th centuries. They create their own sports newspapers. They report on Jack Johnson's life and career.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Desmond Tutu

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders examine the contributions of Desmond Tutu and the history of apartheid in South Africa. They listen to the book "The Story of Ruby Bridges," listen to a lecture and analyze a timeline, conduct an interview, and participate...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Uncle Tom's Cabin and American Culture

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students examine and analyze primary sources. They analyze the causes and effects of major events of the Civil War. They explain a variety of antebellum notions of slavery. They understand the impact that Uncle Tom's Cabin had on the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

With Malice toward None: Lincoln's Assassination

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students study the manhunt for, John Wilkes Booth, the man who assassinated Abraham Lincoln. In this lesson about a president, students write and role-play they are announcers who are informing the world of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Immigration to America

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine reasons for immigration to the United States in the 19th century. They role play as immigrants asked to write accounts of their immigrant experiences.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Getting Here from There

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars role-play early 20th century immigrants on their way to Indiana. They consider the methods of travel available to them and write a letter to a friend outlining their travel plans and adventures during the trip.
Worksheet
Charlesbridge

Under the Freedom Tree: A Readers Theater

For Students 4th - 6th
Susan VanHecke's Under the Freedom Tree is transformed into a 12-part readers theatre script appropriate for a performance by upper-elementary classes.
Lesson Plan
Civil War Trust

Gettysburg Address

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
The Gettysburg Address may have been four score and seven years ago, but its message is still as relevant today. Young historians explore the context of the famous speech, as well as its central theme and argument, before discussing the...
Worksheet
Curated OER

5th Grade Social Studies

For Teachers 5th
In this social studies instructional activity, 5th graders answer multiple choice questions about important court cases, World War II, Abraham Lincoln, and more. Students complete 14 questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who’s Got Rights? An Introduction to Human Rights and Human Rights Defenders

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore human rights issues. In this social justice lesson plan, students examine human rights as they read segments of the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights," discuss photographs with human rights implications, and play a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

ON BECOMING A NONVIOLENT WARRIOR

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students examine the concept of non-violent social change. In this lesson on social change, students research and role play to demonstrate ways in which this might be accomplished while making connections to various events in history.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Helping the Adolescent Cope with Family Life

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students are introduced to the proper ways to deal with conflict at home. In groups, they define family based on what it means to them and identify factors that lead to a breakdown in communications. They participate in role-playing...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Battle of Gettysburg

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders participate in a basketball game that involves taking on the roles of Union and Confederate armies. In two teams, each wearing either gray or blue fabric strips, they attempt to capture their opponents and free their own...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Graveyard Investigation

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders visit a cemetery and copy the headstones of soldiers killed during the Civil War. They role-play as soldiers aand write letters about their war experiences.
Lesson Plan
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Facing History and Ourselves

Emmett Till: Connecting the History of Lynching to The Murder

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Though the murder of Emmett Till shocked 1950's America into turning attention to the racial crimes of the South, it was far from the first time racism had erupted into violence. High schoolers examine the killing in context with the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Across Five Aprils

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students read the novel, Across Five Aprils and investigate the theme of the individual vs, community loyalties. They keep a daily journal, role-play situations, hold a mock debate, and write a research paper on "coming of age."
Lesson Plan
National First Ladies' Library

Riding the Underground Railroad

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Young historians explore the underground railroad and life as a slave during the Civil War. After internet research, they discuss the hazards of travel as a slave and the benefits of freedom. Individually, students write a short story...