Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Benjamin Franklin: Master Diplomat for One Last Time
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...
Judicial Branch of California
Articles of Confederation…Well, They Were Trying!
Different currencies, multiple armies, unreliable protection from thieves: class members experience these challenges playing a game that demonstrates life under the Articles of Confederation. After playing the game—which takes them on a...
DocsTeach
Analyzing a Map of the Louisiana Purchase
With the stroke of a pen, Thomas Jefferson roughly doubled the size of the United States. The Louisiana Purchase not only grew the new country, but also it gave rise to the legends surrounding westward expansion and accelerated the...
Center for History Education
Why is John Adams Standing on Thomas Jefferson's Foot?
Was it a bromance, or were they frenemies? Young historians use a controversial portrait and letters between Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and others to evaluate the relationship between the two Founding Fathers. Examining the primary...
Curated OER
Evacuation: The Japanese Americans in World War II
Students examine Japanese internment camps of World War II. In this World War II instructional activity, students use primary and secondary sources to research the evacuation process and life within the internment camps. Students discuss...
National Endowment for the Humanities
American Literary Humor: Mark Twain, George Harris, and Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne as a humorist? Really? The three lessons in this series focus on the the storytelling style, conventions, and literary techniques employed by Hawthorne, George Washington Harris, and Mark Twain.
Curated OER
A Historical and Educational Perspective on American Sign Language
Using Sign Language to Communicate with Your Special-Needs Students in the Classroom
Curated OER
Intermediate Guided Reading Lesson Plan for: Corn is Maize The Gift of the Indians
A lovely guided reading lesson awaits you and your students. They read the book,Corn is Maize: The Gift of the Indians, by Aliki, summarize the important events of the story, and describe how corn has helped develop culture in America.
Curated OER
Dressing in Early American Times
Fifth graders, by doing research and seeing actual and simulated artifacts, gain knowledge of and make comparisons about clothing in the Colonial and early Republican eras with attire of present time.
Curated OER
The African Burial Ground
Learners analyze African American burial grounds. In this African American history lesson, students draw conclusions about African American communities in early New York and consider how archeology made it possible to study the communities.
Curated OER
A Visual History: Industry, Society, and Social Mobility in Hartford
Eleventh graders examine the industrialization of Hartford. In this American History lesson, 11th graders analyze pictures in Hartford. Students participate in a gallery walk of artifacts.
Curated OER
A New Society Project
Ninth graders examine the social and political movements of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. In this American history lesson, 9th graders work in groups to form their own society and laws. Students make a diagram of their town and...
Curated OER
Imperialism and Expansion: Part 1
Pupils explore the era of imperialism and expansion of the United States. In this American history lesson, students play a game regarding the U.S. attempts to expand the nation in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Curated OER
Intellectual/Social/Cultural Movements: 1870s - 1914 (2)
In this online interactive American history worksheet, students answer 10 multiple choice questions regarding the social and cultural movements from 1870-1914. Students may submit their answers to be scored.
Curated OER
The Early American Contradiction
Students use the Constitution and Declaration of Independence to investigate the apparent contradictions between slavery and freedom. The activity looks at the reasons for the incorporation of slavery into early colonial life even with...
Curated OER
Sporting Tolerance
Learners investigate African-American baseball players from the early 20th century. They read an article, answer discussion questions, write a journal entry, and create a poster-size baseball card for an athlete.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Slavery and the American Founding: The "Inconsistency Not to Be Excused"
High schoolers examine slavery in the revolutionary and colonial eras of the United States. In this slavery lesson, students investigate the presence of slavery in early America, the language of the Constitution, and the intent of the...
Curated OER
Bison on the Plains
Fifth graders explore U.S. geography by reading assigned text about American Indians. In this migration lesson, 5th graders identify the differences between Native Americans and European settlers who traveled through middle America in...
Library of Congress
Suffragists and Their Tactics
Students research the fight for voting rights. In this women's history lesson, students analyze primary sources to develop an understanding of the strategies employed by the suffragists to gain voting rights.
Curated OER
The First American Party System: Federalists and Democratic-Republicans: The Platforms They Never Had
Young scholars investigate the beginnings of the political party system in the US. They determine the key positions of both the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. They compare the views of the early political parties with those...
Curated OER
The Oblate Sisters of Providence and Early African American Education in Baltimore
Eighth graders examine the educational system for free African-Americans in Baltimore in the early 19th century. For this American History lesson, 8th graders read a handout and answer focus questions. Students analyze photographs.
Curated OER
Historical Fiction Writing: Connecticut’s African and Native Americans in the American Revolution
Students explore what life was like for African-Americans and Native Americans during the American Revolution. For this early U.S. history lesson, students research primary sources to find out more about their lives in order to write...
Curated OER
Pre-fieldtrip Preparation: Museum Windham Textile & History
Eleventh graders prepare for a trip to the Windham Textile and History Museum. In this industrialization lesson, 11th graders discover what it was like to work in the textile mills and then write their own oral history accounts of life...
Curated OER
Cattle Trails
In this cattle trails study guide worksheet, students read about the American West. Students read 4 sections of information.