Learners reflect on fictional and real boxers from Pennsylvania.  In this history lesson, students read, reflect and discuss the historical period following World War II and observe the boxers that were famous from Pennsylvania...

Understanding the causes of war is one way (possibly) to prevent it. World War II is used as a case study to facilitate an understanding of reasons why wars start. Topics covered included Totalitarianism, scarcity of resources, need for...

Tenth graders use video and the Internet to compare runaway teenagers of the 1930s with runaways today. The lesson uses the integration of technology in order to build skills and conduct research.

Students view a video about Betty Ford and how her candid admission of her own battles with addiction has enabled others to face their own addictions. She has done the same for breast cancer, since she was First Lady of the US.

Students research Senator Joseph McCarthy's February 9, 1950 speech, given at Wheeling, West Virginia, in which he claimed more than 200 State Department employees were members of the Communist Party.

What led to the second world war?

Teach your class about neutral rights with a brief reading selection and related questions. Pupils read the passage and answer the four questions on the bottom half of the page. Useful for a homework assignment or a quick warm-up, this...

Queen Victoria ruled Great Britain until her death in 1901. Here are four slides describing the life and times of Queen Victoria in a bulleted format. The last slide sums up the information as a timeline of her life.

Fourth graders explain how California became an agricultural and industrial power. They trace the transformation of the California economy in its political and cultural development since the 1850's.

Students analyze eight case studies of Supreme Court decisions regarding due process of law and their impact on American society in the early 20th century. They digest that although the 14th amendment was intended to give federal rights...

Students determine the influence of World War II on women's roles in society. Students research the answers to questions about how women were able to enter jobs that had not been open to them before the war and how this affected society....

Students investigate the inception of Social Security benefits provided by the Government.  In this Social Security lesson, students debate whether or not people should be entitled to receive money from the government....

Students study the leaders of the isolationist movement within the United States and the causes of the isolationist movement, they recognize and compare the perceptions of both the isolationists within the US and those who took a more...

Seventh graders visit the Smithsonian and are shown different exhibits. They are to make their own drawing about one of the exhibits and write about the experience.

Examine the role of the Securities Exchange Commission. Upper graders watch a short Bill Moyers video, analyze a political cartoon, complete a graphic organizer on the SEC, and develop SEC reform strategies to rebuild investor confidence.

While children may not have the opportunity to directly affect the changes happening in their family life, help them develop necessary coping skills for expressing their emotions and dealing with those changes.

Class groups examine primary source documents to determine how the voting rights of African Americans were restricted after the failure of Reconstruction, and how African American participation in World War II lead to change.

Does having an addict in your family make it more likely to become one yourself? Explore the genetic risk factors, as well as the prominent environmental influences, for substance addiction in a lesson that encourages awareness and open...

Using primary source documents, young historians explore the strategies the US used to defeat Japan during WWII. They also learn about the American military experience, and innovations that changed the style of warfare. Students benefit...

The first part of this article by PBS on the Miss America pageants can be used in a health class when it's time to talk about body image. There are links to related articles. There are some great questions for discussion. There are ideas...

Explore New England's economic and cultural past and possible issues New Englanders will face in the future. Middle and high schoolers research the fishing industry and the need for regulation. They analyze the topography of New England...

Students chart the "cures" for people with disabilities. In this disabilities lesson, students compare and contrast the care and treatment of people with disabilities in the past and present. Students write accurate summaries presented...

The tenant farming and sharecropping systems that developed in the South after the Civil War, the reasons for their development, and the eventual decline of these systems are the focus of this two-day plan.