Learners create an advertising campaign to persuade the Founding Fathers to adopt a particular political philosophy. Working in groups, they conduct research about a certain political philosophy. Students create a pitch to be made to...

Students explore the process of writing our Constitution through an interactive program. They are to put themselves in the place of the statesmen and predict how they felt at the time. They compare the founding fathers.

Young scholars examine lives, philosophies, and political beliefs of four Enlightenment Thinkers: Baron de Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Hobbes, and John Locke. Students then work with partner to write short speech from...

Students investigate equality by reading a historical fiction book in class.  In this civil rights lesson, students read the story Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry with their classmates and define the Jim Crow Laws that kept blacks...

Young scholars participate in a scavenger hunt using their textbooks to find information about historical events, people and places in US history during the Revolutionary Era. After creating their list of important people, students...

High schoolers examine slavery in the revolutionary and colonial eras of the United States. In this slavery lesson, young scholars investigate the presence of slavery in early America, the language of the Constitution, and the intent of...

Students explore the accomplishments of world leaders. In this Thomas Jefferson lesson plan, students list the accomplishments achieved by Jefferson and read his epitaph. Students then write epitaphs for recent world leaders or celebrities.

Eighth graders investigate historical documents of the United States by reading the Mayflower Compact.  In this U.S. History instructional activity, 8th graders analyze the wording of the original Mayflower Compact of the first U.S....

Eighth graders complete a unit of lessons on the period of time from Reconstruction to the Civil Rights movement. They analyze and interpret political cartoons and editorials, conduct research on famous civil rights places, and complete...

Fifth graders examine the causes and effects of the American Revolution. In groups, they make a portfolio page and write a response to the Proclamation of 1763. They also make a timeline of the events of the Boston Massacre and answer...

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

Third graders learn the responsibility of citizenship and learn facts about a state they choose to research.

Students view the video "Jefferson's Blood" and complete a series of activities, dealing with both Thomas Jefferson's public and private life, in order to better explain Jefferson as a man and politician.

Students examine the experience of Chinese American immigrants in the PBS series BECOMING AMERICAN. ESL learners investigate and explore their own identities within a multicultural context.

Seventh graders complete a unit of lessons on the American Revolution based on the novel, 'Johnny Tremain.' They define key vocabulary terms, develop a timeline, write a report on a colonial craft, make a colonial flag, and create a...

Using internet research, students compute the costs of different models of card. They discuss the advantages/disadvantages of purchasing a new car versus a used car, the cost of car insurance, and the best way to finance their purchase.

Eighth graders, after working with the software Decisions, Decisions: The Constitution, become face to face with the dilemmas, compromises, and struggles of writing the American Constitution. Each student is evaluated on how well they...

Students participate in a "To Tell The Truth" game show activity in order to determine the role of Sam Adams in the Revolutionary events that took place in the Boston area. They ask questions of three students posing as Sam Adams to...

In this American history game, students use the blank game board and the trivia question cards to play a board game that tests knowledge of American history. There are 28 trivia questions and full directions.

High schoolers research a historic leader and analyze how a philosopher's writings influenced the ruler in an essay. For this philosophy of government lesson plan, students view a video and participate in a class discussion on how great...

Students make recycled paper out of scrap paper, water, and leaves. In this natural resources lesson plan, students learn about conservation of the forest and how we can use recycled paper to fuel our paper supply.

Students investigate how the Supreme Court changed under the leadership of John Marshall. In this Supreme Court lesson, students recognize the role of the Supreme Court as well as the significance of Marbury v. Madison. Students also...

High schoolers consider Lincoln's perspective. In this presidential perspectives lesson, students explore the political thoughts of Lincoln through a series of lessons that make use of primary source analysis. They hypothesize and take a...

How did women use President Wilson's ideals and rhetoric in their bid for suffrage? To answer this essential question, class groups analyze primary written documents and visual images.