A fan of Ari's Crispin trilogy? Here is a packet that contains study guides for all three Crispin novels: The Cross of Lead, At the Edge of the World, and The End of Time.

Students examine Thomas Jefferson's complex and contradictory relationship with slavery.

Students research the political traditions of the United States at the national and state levels. After discussing various symbols, students compose essays about the principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

Students explore the US Constitution. For this Bill of Rights lesson, students work in pairs to select and examine amendments to the Bill of Rights. Students will identify what the amendment means, why they chose it, what it protects,...

Although this is part of a series, lesson plan nine has your class take a break from their close study of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) text to read the firsthand account “Teaching Nepalis to Read, Plant, and...

While many often associate Ben Franklin with his kite electricity experiments, budding historians find out he contributed much more. They discover Franklin's political savvy by examining primary sources in the informative installment of...

Students examine the U.S. Constitution. For this American history lesson, students explore the founders' vision of U.S. government as they participate in readers' theatre, role-playing scenarios, and constitutional analysis activities.

Fifth graders explore, examine and identify the reasons why the colonies went to war with England as expressed in the Declaration of Independence. They discover the conflicts that developed between the colonies and England over how the...

In this influence of the Enlightenment on America study guide worksheet, young scholars read the notes provided and add notes of their own regarding the frameworks for the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution.

Young scholars review the events leading to the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence. Using the internet, they examine many different political cartoons from the time period and discuss the political atmosphere. In...

Students read selections from the Declaration of Independence, Northwest Ordinance of 1787, and the Wilmot Proviso of 1846. They contrast the maps of 1820 and 1854 to analyze developments in the national debate over slavery. They...

Students identify the premise of the United States' Democracy. They list the major elements of the document. Students reflect on the inequalities of the late 1700's premise of other units. They complete a KWL chart about the Declaration...

Discuss the definition of parallel structure with your high school class. In small groups, they read a section of "The Declaration of Independence" to identify examples of parallel structure. Each learner writes an essay explaining the...

Did the Declaration of Independence really intend to grant liberty for all? Get your class thinking about historical perspective with documents relaying the experiences of women, white men, and African-Americans during the Revolutionary...

Use primary text documents to learn word roots. Learners listen to a reading of the Declaration of Independence and highlight words they don't know. They compile these words and guess their meanings. They discuss roots, prefixes,...

What is liberty rhetoric? Examine how people have used it in four different time periods and situations. High schoolers investigate original source documents and compare them with the Declaration of Independence to decide how liberty...

Who gets to vote? Learn more about struggles for suffrage throughout United States history with a lesson based on primary source documents. Middle schoolers debate the importance of women's suffrage and African American...

What does an ad reveal about a culture, or about the values of its intended audience? Class members examine a series of runaway slave ads—one of which was written by Thomas Jefferson—and consider what these primary source documents...

Class members investigate The Indian Removal Act of 1830, U.S. Theft of Mexican Territory Timeline, and President Abraham Lincoln’s letter to Horace Greeley, 1862, and then conduct a mock trial of each of these documents to determine...

Twelfth graders summarize sections of the Declaration of Independence and share their interpretations with classmates. They write essays on the Declaration or an essay tracing the rights of minorities from the Revolution to the present.

Eighth graders explain the meaning of the Declaration of Independence. They view a political cartoon of the period, then do a writing assignment for homework. They write about how they would feel if the British were calling them traitors.

A basic overview of the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence, this presentation provides students with key terms and facts about life in the thirteen original colonies. The final slide includes an assignment for students...

At 81, Benjamin Franklin was the oldest delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, where he exercised significant influence in shaping key elements of how the United States operates. The class examines his role, using “The Scene at...

Students use a map of the Missouri Compromise to explain the geographical changes it brought to the U.S. and why the changes provoked a debate over the expansion of slavery in the U.S.