Students develop a legal system. For this justice system lesson, students examine case law in the Untied States and draw on that experience to create a legal system for a "moon colony" which integrates the legal systems on Earth.

Students examine the structure and function of the United States government established by the Constitution. They also explore the problems the country faced under the Articles of Confederation.

Fourth graders create their classroom rules.  In this Mayflower Compact lesson, 4th graders listen to the Plymouth story and learn about the Mayflower Compact.  Students analyze the Mayflower Compact and create a class compact...

Sixth graders write a historical fiction narrative. In this interdisciplinary lesson, 6th graders read the historical fiction Henry Spelman: The Powhatan Indians' English Boy. Students write a piece from the point of view of the main...

Students identify the difficulties and benefits of a utopian community. They examine their own ideas of utopia and research an example of one such community that has had an impact on our own culture.

Third graders explore, examine and identify the importance of the arrival of Africans and women to the Jamestown settlement. They review the groups of people in Virginia during the early 1600s and explain how having a government brought...

Students describe life in the Virginia colony. They explain how money, barter, and credit were used. Students simulate trading items among classmates. Students compare/contrast credit and trade.

Students discover the definition of a Pioneer, when the largest groups of people of African descent came to Nova Scotia, and what materials and resources were brought with them to establish a new life.

Students learn about the legal foundations for slavery and explore autobiographical writings of slaves. Students trace the development of laws that enforced the slave status of Africans and their descendants.

Young scholars investigate the aspect of colonizing the moon by comparing techniques that are used on Earth. The colonization takes place with the planning of a hypothetical model. The model is used as a point of discussion and target...

In this Vermont history worksheet, students read two and a half pages of information about Vermont history. After reading, students complete 10 true or false questions about what they read.

Young ecologists examine the case of the prairie dog, and their near extinction. They read a terrific student handout embedded in the plan, and engage in a class discussion that's based on what they read. Learners perform research on...

What did the English settlers think of the Native Americans inhabiting the Chesapeake region of the United States? Learners analyze a series of documents and images to determine the English perception of the local inhabitants. A great...

Prepare yourself for a top-notch presentation on colonialism in Africa! Discussed are the reasons for African multilingualism. Maps and a country-by-country look at various colonists that made their mark on the African continent are...

Bring the Age of Exploration into the 21st century with this ancestry activity! Learners get a chance to explore the complex genealogy of the Spanish settlers through watching two video clips (approximately five minutes each) featuring...

Fourth graders tour the Carlyle House and Gadsby Tavern while working on worksheets covering both places. They are to write an essay and thank you notes to finish the lesson.

Pilgrims, puritans, and Pennsylvania are all featured in a reading comprehension worksheet that asks kids to read a short passage about these early settlers and then to answer a series of questions based on the article.

"No taxation without representation!" While many have heard this rallying cry of the American colonists prior to the Revolutionary War, rarely is time given to hear the British reasoning behind their implementation of the Stamp Act. This...

Who was William Penn? Learn about him while correcting grammatical mistakes in a short paragraph. There are errors in capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and grammar.

Observe Constitution Day with a worksheet that delves deep into the who, what, why, when, where, and how of the U.S. Constitution. Scholars read a short informational text then answer 10 questions—short answer and multiple choice. 

Class members read a series of primary and secondary source materials to examine the effects of Queen Anne's War, also know as the War of Spanish Succession, on the Pocumtucks and other Native Americans in the area of Deerfield, MA.

Teach the class about the predecessor to Declaration of Independence—the Virginia Declaration of Rights. Using the foundational documents, scholars examine the two writings to consider how they are similar and how they are different. A...

Use Nathanial Hawthorne's immortal text on the influence of religion on the early American settlements, as well as its continued impact on American culture, with a unit that focuses on The Scarlet Letter. In addition to Hawthorne's...

Have you ever started a project only to realize you need to scrap it and start over? Scholars analyze the issues leading to the fall of the Articles of Confederation. A group investigation into Articles II, III, and VIII unveil the...